The Exultation of the Christ-Child
Luke 2:1-18
Turn to Luke 2. As we study our passage, let’s go over some history. If you were Jewish at the beginning of the New Testament, you would have grown up with the hope of the coming Messiah. How real that hope may have been for you would depend upon your faith in the Old Testament promises. Certainly, the Old Testament Scriptures pointed to Bethlehem and Nazareth as places where the Messiah would come and live, as well as the promise that the Messiah would be from the tribe of Judah. Now when I say Judah, this is referring to the largest tribe of Israel, as Israel was divided into twelve tribes which aligned with the twelve sons of Jacob. Jacob’s name back in Old Testament times was changed to Israel and thus his twelve sons became the twelve tribes of Israel. And of all the tribes, it was the tribe of Judah that was the most loyal to God, and it was also the tribe where King David came from. The first king of Israel was Saul who was from the tribe of Benjamin. But the Bible introduces Saul as the people’s choice and not God’s permanent choice. And so, after the death of Saul, David becomes Israel’s second king and after him, his son Solomon. And those glory years in the history of Israel were during these reigns of David and Solomon.
But later there was a divide with only the tribe of Benjamin joining Judah in being loyal to the kingly line which God had chosen, and the remaining tribes turning away from that chosen line. And the tribes of Judah and Benjamin and part of Manasseh and the Levites became known, not as Israel, but as Judah, where we get the name Jews; and the remaining tribes—the other ten tribes—were still called Israel. The capital of Judah was Jerusalem and was the place where God would establish His eternal king, and the capital of Israel was Samaria. And the people of Israel—the ten tribes—were taken into captivity earlier than the people of Judah, and they tended to intermarry with the nations around them more freely. While those of Judah generally kept more to themselves, though they were certainly not angels by any stretch and they too were eventually taken into captivity.
Now at this time, there were nations that were a thorn in the flesh to both Judah and Israel, such as Assyria and Babylon and eventually the nation of Persia becomes the world power. And finally, Rome, which is where we find ourselves at the time of the New Testament. And because Israel the “unloyal” ten tribes tended to intermarry more with the surrounding nations, and because of the fact that their capital was Samaria, they were called Samaritans and often half-breeds because of their marriages. And the Jews—those from Judah and Benjamin—would look down on the Samaritans. So, we can likely assume they had some choice names for the Samaritans. Remember when the Samaritan woman at the well was speaking with Jesus, it says there that the Jews had no dealings with the Samaritans.
So, the Jews had this elevated view of themselves, though both the Jews and the Samaritans were such an insignificant people by this time under the rule of Rome. And we can somewhat understand the division between Judah and Israel. Judah might say, you were not loyal to the line of David, and you intermarried with the nations. And of course, that relationship would not be too easily mended when one side calls the other side “dogs.” Sort of like saying as we did as kids, you’ve got “coodies”, so I need a coodie needle. And also, it would seem that Rome had little love for either of them. As here the Jews, living in their homeland were oppressed by the Romans, and yet these proud people still possessed the promise that the land was theirs, helping us to understand as well, the unwillingness for the Jew to ever share their religion with Rome, or the Samaritans, or any other people for that matter. So, Judah, settled in a hotbed of religion, despising their Israeli brothers, and of course, hating the Romans; and yet in this setting God was about to introduce to the world, the Saviour from this proud and stubborn people of Judah.
So, when we consider the setting, we understand why there was little hope of anyone accepting the Christ. I mean what Samaritan would accept Christ who would come from the people of Judah. And it would be totally natural for the Romans to look at a Saviour coming from Judah? Really? And because Jesus was not the battle victor or the wartime champion over His enemies, even most of the Jews would reject him, and really spearheaded by the Jewish leaders who, because of their hardness of hearts, had no room for such a weak candidate for their supposed king. Yet out of all this, God was going to send His Son, born into the tribe of Judah to fulfill the prophecy written way back in Genesis 49:10 by Moses:
“The scepter shall not depart from Judah,
Nor the ruler’s staff from between his feet,
Until Shiloh comes,
And to him shall be the obedience of the peoples.”
Genesis 49:10 (LSB)
A King who would come as God in the flesh. A Man who was sinless. And He would grow up from a place—a Man of Nazareth—a most unlikely place, for what good could ever come out of Nazareth. Sort of like what good could ever come out of Chatham. Yet out of Nazareth came a Man who was unmatched before or after, a Man who changed the world politically, socially, and morally. And so, strangely enough after four hundred years of silence from God, the story begins with a census from a pagan, heathen king, Caesar Augustus; and set about by a Jew, King Herod, who was hated by his own people. It is interesting that the concept of a census being taken was unique to this time, a census that would bring Mary and Joseph to Bethlehem, a little town just outside of Jerusalem.
“And everyone was going to be registered for the census, each to his own city. And Joseph also went up from Galilee, from the city of Nazareth, to Judea, to the city of David, which is called Bethlehem, because he was of the house and family of David, in order to register along with Mary, who was betrothed to him, and was with child.”
Luke 2:3-5 (LSB)
It says here that Joseph was of the house and lineage of David, as the Jews were very meticulous in keeping their genealogies. I know many today have tried to search out their heritage, something I don’t know a lot about, as I don’t know much of the lineage of the “Ottaway’s, other than my great grandparents would have both come from England. Yet I am sure we must have had someone great in our family at some point. So, here Mary and Joseph travel, as Mary was betrothed to Joseph, though they had not physically come together as yet. Yet by Jewish law, a betrothal or what we might call an engagement would require a divorce for them to be free to separate. We also understand here in the story that Mary and Joseph had very little, that they not only come from a supressed nation, but they also were a very poor couple. And although the trip was done in winter, the average temperatures would be similar to the United States in say the Carolina’s. Not bad when we live in warm homes and drive warm vehicles, but it would be a little chilly to travel along the way especially at night.
And this little town of Bethlehem was located on a hill, and would bring back fond memories to Mary and Joseph of many Old Testament stories of people like Ruth and Boaz, and King David, as they might look upon the olive groves, as well as the almonds that would already be starting to bud as almonds are known as the “early waker” of late winter in that part of the country. But also, would come the sadness to see the greatness of Judah now suppressed after years and years of oppression by pagan nations. To think that they were so close to the one-time palace of the great King Solomon or the glorious temple which was only a shadow now of its former glory. Sometimes Anne and I will go to Chatham and drive by our old house and the homes of both our Moms and Dads’, and the school where the boys attended, as well as Emmanuel Baptist Church, and the walk where I used to take Ted #1, #2, and #3 down by the creek. Imagine the thoughts if it had been all taken over by an enemy. There would certainly be a mix of both fond memories and heartache. But however they may have felt, there was the pressing matter of finding a place to stay overnight when they arrived, let alone the issue of Mary was soon expecting. And to make matters worse, that because of the census, there would be countless people arriving.
“Now it happened that while they were there, the days were fulfilled for her to give birth. And she gave birth to her firstborn son; and she wrapped Him in cloths, and laid Him in a manger, because there was no place for them in the guest room.”
Luke 2:6-7 (LSB)
Much has been written about this story over the years, but we are really given only a few details. Alfred Eldershiem reminds us that the gospels were not written so that we would have a biography of Jesus’ life, but they were written for two reasons (John 20:31) that those who read the gospels might believe that Jesus is the Christ, and secondly, that they might have life through His name. Good to be reminded that the summaries of our lives should primary be about our influence and love for Christ, with little said about our temporal accomplishes or places we lived. And we don’t know how fast everything happened here for this couple, but that when the days were accomplished, Mary gave birth to a Son, and laid Him in a manger, as tradition would say a cave where the animals were kept. And this manger, otherwise known as a feeding trough for animals. This fact alone should teach us the truth of this story. For what Jew would have ever written that the eternal King would ever be born in such a humble birthplace.
Now if we were reading this story for the first time, there is a massive twist in the narrative, as Luke leaves the couple and the Child to focus on an event outside of Bethlehem. Though we do need to notice the certainty in which Luke establishes in the mind of the reader that it was Bethlehem, and not Jerusalem, and certainly not Samaria, but not out in the middle of nowhere either, but in Bethlehem. As many years prior the prophet Micah had written:
“But as for you, Bethlehem Ephrathah,
Too little to be among the clans of Judah,
From you One will go forth for Me to be ruler in Israel.
His goings forth are from everlasting,
From the ancient days.”
Micah 5:2 (LSB)
And this too was the birthplace of King David. This little town of vineyards and olive orchards, where all the hopes and fears of all the years were met on that night. So, Luke has established the birthplace. Luke has established that a Child was born. And Luke has established that this is also the place where Joseph had come. But now Luke turns to this other place and event. Sort of the excitement we might expect to read around the location of the birth. Yet this excitement is a distance from this little town. I thought this is sort of a strange thing. Back when our boys were born, we were still in the days where you would have your little guy or gal born and what did we do as husbands? Well, we ran to the payphone in the hospital and began calling Mom’s and Dad’s, and brothers and sisters, friends, and of course, they would rejoice with you. Yet here, Joseph makes no phone calls but there is still a celebration unbeknownst to him miles away, where the heavens exploded outside of Bethlehem. As Luke’s account goes from the hustle and bustle of Bethlehem to a hillside in the country with quiet and silence and starlight and darkness, where the first real phone call or announcement is made.
“In the same region there were some shepherds staying out in the fields and keeping watch over their flock by night. And an angel of the Lord stood before them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them; and they were terribly frightened.”
Luke 2:8-9 (LSB)
Now the fact that the shepherds were terrified would be an understatement. For their first thought would likely be that this is some kind of judgement. For if we saw a bright light in the sky and what might look like an angel before us, not sure my first thought would be, this must be “good news!” What would your thought be? Young people, what would you be thinking if the sky lit up? Today, we might go to our cellphones to see what’s going on. I mean the Weather Channel might have something to say about it. After all, there must be some rational explanation, some connection with global warming or a clash of comets, or a meteor blowing up in the atmosphere. Or a few years ago we might turn on our TVs to see what Fox News is saying about it, a Soviet invasion of something. Or today we might think that this is not even real. It must be AI produced! But Luke goes on:
“But the angel said to them, ‘Do not be afraid; for behold, I bring you good news of great joy which will be for all the people. For today in the city of David there has been born for you a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. And this will be the sign for you: you will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.’”
Luke 2:10-12 (LSB)
See, to these Jewish shepherds, this was the announcement of the long-awaited Messiah. This is the Saviour that they had been waiting for who had been born in Bethlehem. Would they have known that—that the Messiah would come from Bethlehem? Likely, they likely would have been familiar with Micah 5:2, and they would likely know that He would come from the tribe of Judah. And the announcement from an angel in the sky surrounded by (vs 13) a heavenly host would probably have been the clincher for them—it must have been legit!
“And suddenly there appeared with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying, ‘Glory to God in the highest, And on earth peace among men with whom He is pleased.’”
Luke 2:13-14 (LSB)
It is interesting as we consider this story, that we learn more of the effects of the story than the actual details. A lesson in itself of what is communicated here to us by Luke, as we too need to be motivated by what the Bible teaches and to respond to what the Bible tells us, and not only to be aware of all that it says. In other words, important to know the message of the Bible, but then important to respond to the message of the Bible. We should also be aware that though the event is happening on the earth, this same event has a significant impact on this heavenly host. Teaching us that the Christ born in Bethlehem is truly a divine event, of divine origin, as God must have said, fellas, it’s time for the grand announcement. And notice the titles given to Christ here. That He would be the Saviour. To this culture a “Saviour” would have meant someone who saves in a military sense. Yet Luke has already given some background of this “Saviour” in the previous chapter when the angel came to Mary. And Mary then proclaims the greatness of what the Lord has done by sending the Saviour. She says (1:51) that God scatters those who are proud. (vs 52) God has brought down rulers on their throne. (vs 53) God has filled the hungry with good things and sent the rich away empty-handed. And most importantly (vs 77) she says, God has given people the knowledge of salvation.
Then Luke calls this Messiah, Lord saying (vs 11) who is Christ the Lord. This emphasises that this Messiah will not only save people but that He must also be obeyed and honoured. For we who hope in the Christ, must also bow down to the Christ and give Him our full obedience. In other words, His authority can never be questioned and never disregarded by His servants. And then, of course, after the announcement regarding the birth there is this divine celebration, a heavenly host praising God. They proclaim, “Glory to God in the highest.” David Seal wrote:
“To ascribe glory to God does not signify that the angels were adding something to God that was currently not a part of His nature, but instead it acknowledged His existing divine attribute of glory.”
David R. Seal, Communication in the Lukan Birth Narrative 46
Do we ever consider the importance of proclamation? As we know that God is glorified. We know that God created and that God is good and right. And that He has come to save us. But there is a great emphasis in the Bible in ascribing to God His worth and His greatness. We think of the words later recorded by Luke when Jesus was entering Jerusalem and the Jews were indignant that so many were shouting, “Blessed is the King who comes in the name of the Lord. Peace in heaven and glory in the highest!” Sounds a little like the angelic host, doesn’t it? But because of the reaction of these Jews, what did Jesus say? “I tell you, if they keep quiet, the rocks will cry out!” See, there is a connection between true faith and an outburst of joy, as there can be no reality of Christ without an exultation of Christ, there can be no mental understanding of who Christ is without a soul responding in praise to Christ. Show me a dead Christian, and we merely have someone who cannot understand their lostness and misery without Christ. But show me a real believer, and we will witness someone who has difficulty keeping quiet about Christ
Now, admittedly, a soul-response in praise may show itself differently in each one of us. I remember a well-known black teacher at MBI named Winfred Neely, who used to say, “You whites guys all say ‘amen’ on the inside.” Well, however, we might respond to biblical truth, it must include a heart-felt response of our soul if its message truly has a profound impact on us. And there is much room in the heart of the Christian for a quiet, deep, contemplative response—that may or may not be seen as a loud noise before the Lord. As Mary pondered all these things in her heart. As we too know the peace and joy of Christ. “All is well all is well. Lift up your voice and sing. Born is now Emmanuel. Born is our Lord and Savior. Sing Alleluia. Sing Alleluia. All is well.”
You will notice my title, “The exultation of the Christ-Child.” The word “exultation” means to rejoice in the victory or the high standing of someone. In other words, we rejoice in who Christ is. The other word I could have used “exaltation” means to lift someone up, to glorify them or honour them. Either word could be used and both words are used in the Bible. Christ is exulted, in other words, this is His position as King and God, therefore we rejoice in this. Whereas we exalt Christ, in other words, we honour His high position and therefore bring praise to Him, we lift Him up. The word exult is more often used of God to bring praise to His position. Whereas the word exalt is sometimes used of us, that God raises us up. In our 1 Samuel study, Hannah prayed that her heart exulted in Yahweh, and that Yahweh brings some down while He exalts others. And the reason I chose the title, “The exultation of the Christ-Child,” is that it states clearly that this is who He already is. In other words, I would say that exultation comes first.
And what Jesus was saying here is that the joy expressed by these people was so appropriate, as it was simply expressing the proper response of praise. As (Col 1:16) says that all of creation, including us, were made for God’s glory. In other words, everything in creation declares His praise. In Psalm 114:6, when God brought the people out of Egypt, it says the mountains “skipped like rams!” In Isaiah 55:12, when God shepherds His people, it says that they will go out with joy and with gladness, and they shall be led forth with peace, and the mountains and the hills will break forth into shouts of joy before God, and all the trees of the field will clap their hands. Imagine the heartache if you and I ever found ourselves on the wrong side of the praise, on the wrong team. That when our life here on earth is all said and done, and we were not wearing the same jersey as the rocks or the same uniform as the clapping trees. In Psalm 148, David could not keep quiet as he exclaimed:
“Praise Yah!
Praise Yahweh from the heavens;
Praise Him in the heights! all His angels; all His hosts!
Praise Him, sun and moon; all the stars of light!
Praise Him, heavens of heavens, And the waters that are above the heavens!
Let them praise the name of Yahweh,
Praise Yahweh from the earth,
Sea monsters and all deeps;
Fire and hail, snow and clouds;
Stormy wind, doing His word;
Mountains and all hills;
Fruit trees and all cedars;
Beasts and all cattle;
Creeping things and winged bird;
Kings of the earth and all peoples;
Princes and all judges of the earth;
Both choice men as well as virgins;
The old with the young.
Let them praise the name of Yahweh,
For His name alone is set on high;
His splendor is above earth and heaven.
Psalm 148 (abbreviated)
Everyone and everything were created for the pleasure of our sovereign God. Therefore, we need to listen to this announcement of these angels. As they have just been in the throne room of God and are now proclaiming to the shepherds the greatness of Christ. As Jesus shall reign in all the heavens and all the earth. “To Thee be endless praise, for Thou for us hast died, Be Thou O Lord through endless days, adored and magnified.” And then the sound is gone, the heavens are quiet. The angels depart and the blazing light in the sky has vanished. And there again is silence, darkness, the cool night air, and the tired sheep. So, what would these shepherds do? And what did they know? Well, they knew not to fear. They knew that there was good news of great joy. They knew that a Saviour had been born in the city of David. And I trust that in all their excitement, they must have been listening. Because the angel was very specific, you will find the baby wrapped in swaddling clothes and lying in a manger, but that’s it, its all they knew. No GPS. No one around to ask if they had seen the same thing. No cell phone to call ahead.
“And it happened that when the angels had gone away from them into heaven, the shepherds began saying to one another, ‘Let us go to Bethlehem then, and see this thing that has happened which the Lord has made known to us.’ So they went in a hurry and found their way to Mary and Joseph, and the baby lying in the manger.”
Luke 2:15-16 (LSB)
Without the means of knowing what anyone else thought, they acted. In fact, they went in a hurry. And I know that this may have been a large group of shepherds, and they do seem to respond together. But you need to know this, that when you come to Christ, you must do so on your own. There must a decision that is made by every individual. It must be a personal decision.
So, they go and somehow find the baby. And we think it to be a miracle that they would find the Christ-Child in a busy town, only knowing that the baby was wrapped in cloths and would be in a manger. “Excuse me, we are looking for a baby.” “Which baby?” “Well, it’s a boy and He is wrapped in cloths.” “Oh, that Baby!” “You haven’t seen a baby?” “What’s his parents’ name?” “We don’t have a clue; the angel didn’t tell us.” “Ah, maybe you guys need to go back out to your pasture.” It must have been a miracle that they found Him. Yet is not finding Christ for us, too, a miracle? No human effort could ever find Christ as Saviour. For the Shepherd, must reveal Himself to His sheep. Jesus said, “All that the Father gives Me will come to Me.” The Father must have given the shepherds to Christ. “No one can come to Me unless the Father who sent Me draws him.” The Father must have drawn those shepherds to that exact place in Bethlehem. “No one can come to Me unless it has been granted to him from the Father.” The Father must have granted this visit on behalf of the shepherds. So, like us, the shepherds miraculously find Christ.
Now, I wonder if the shepherds found what thy expected. Was there any disappointment? As there is no mention of any great numbers of people coming. Well, there was this guy named Simeon and this lady named Anna; so, there must have been at least two others—an old man and an old woman—that found out about Christ shortly after this. And true, the wise men, but they didn’t show up until two years later. So, not a lot of hoopla or fanfare when the shepherds arrive. So would the shepherds have been a little down with the attendance at the event. That there were more chairs set out than were filled? Any disappointment you think? It doesn’t seem so.
“And when they had seen this, they made known the statement which had been told them about this Child. And all who heard it marveled at the things which were told them by the shepherds.”
Luke 2:17-18 (LSB)
In fact, it may have been the shepherds who were the first to tell the old man and the old woman. Alfred Edersheim wrote:
“Now the hush of wondering expectancy fell once more on all, who hear what was told by the shepherds—this time not only in the hill country of Judah, but within the wider circle that embraced Bethlehem and the Holy City. And yet it seemed all so sudden, so strange. That on such slender thread, as the feeble throb of an Infant-life, the salvation of the world should hang.”
Alfred Edersheim, The Life and times of Jesus the Messiah (vol 1) 189
And so too, the heritage of Christianity that continues on from generation to generation, sort of too hangs on a thread, doesn’t it? As God’s church, those who embrace Christ, are added merely one-by-one. Yet the angels still rejoice when one saint is added to God’s kingdom, as God prepares His people along with His creation to sing and clap their hands before Him. And if we rated Christianity by numbers, it was not all that contagious even at the beginning, as God chose to reveal His Son to the foolish and the poor and the less than popular. As there were not too many band-wagon jumpers in New Testament times. And that is true today as well, isn’t it? As the road to heaven is still narrow, and the wide road or the masses still miss the Saviour But that will not always be the case, as someday all creation will sing:
“A thousand generations falling down in worship
To sing the song of ages to the Lamb
And all who’ve gone before us and all who will believe
Will sing the song of ages to the Lamb.
Your name is the highest … Your name is the greatest
Your name stands above them all … All thrones and dominions
All powers and positions … Your name stands above them all.”
Let’s pray. “The shepherds went back, glorifying and praising God for all that they had heard and seen.” Lord, we proclaim Your greatness this morning, as we sing with all creation the greatness of our wonderful God. So, may we shout louder than the rocks. May we clap harder than the trees. And may we deeply ponder such truth as did Mary. And all God’s people said, amen.