Matthew and Luke's accounts of Jesus' birth emphasize different details.
We are pretty familiar with the way the gospel of Matthew begins. We learn that Jesus is a descendent of great and noteworthy men like Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and Judah. He is a descendent of the great King David and King Solomon.
We learn how Mary was pledged to be married to Joseph, how she was found to be with child through the Holy Spirit, and how an angel appeared to Joseph in a dream and commanded him to take Mary as his wife, despite her pregnancy. Matthew tells us about the star and the magi who came to worship Jesus and present their gifts of gold, incense, and myrrh. Matthew tells us about King Herod's paranoia. Herod hunted for Jesus, and in desperation ordered that all boys two years old and under, in Bethlehem and its vicinity, be killed. Matthew tells of Mary and Joseph taking flight to Egypt, and settling in the town of Nazareth.
The gospel of Luke gives us different details. Luke doesn't mention an angel appearing to Joseph. Instead, Luke focuses on the angel that appeared to Mary, and foretold the birth of Jesus. Luke tells about Zechariah and Elizabeth, and highlights the circumstances surrounding the birth of John the Baptist. Luke says nothing about Herod, but instead tells us about the census, and how Joseph and Mary traveled to Bethlehem to register. It is also Luke who tells us about the manger, and how there was no room at the inn for Jesus. Luke details how angels appeared to shepherds in a nearby field, announcing the birth of Christ, and how these shepherds came and worshiped the baby Jesus. Luke mentions how Jesus was presented at the temple and was blessed by Simeon and Anna.
I want you to realize that Matthew and Luke have inspired the overwhelming balance of hymns we sing and sermons we hear at Christmas. The baby Jesus, meek and mild, born in a stable, and laid in a manger. Luke 2:19 (NIV) describes how, "...Mary treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart."
Christmas is focused on the baby Jesus.
Christmas has become so safe and innocuous. Who isn't warmed by the sight of the nativity, with magi, shepherds, angels, Mary, and the baby Jesus as the focal point?
There is an interesting story that occurs halfway through Luke's gospel. In Luke 11:27 (NIV), Jesus is teaching to a crowd when suddenly a woman shouts out, "Blessed is the mother who gave you birth and nursed you." Her words timelessly echo our culture's sentimental view of Christmas. Blessed is Mary, the mother of Jesus.
What should startle us is Jesus' response in Luke 11:28 (NIV) when Jesus replies to the woman, "Blessed rather are those who hear the word of God and obey it." I would submit to you this morning that our focus at Christmas is often misplaced.
The gospel message begins far beyond the nativity of Christmas.
The gospel of John mentions nothing of Mary or Joseph, magi, shepherds, stars, barnyard animals, the manger, or the inn. John cuts to the chase! The eternal one, the living word of God, has come into our world in order to reckon the hearts of men! John 1:1-14 (NIV) says, "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning. Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made. In him was life, and that life was the light of men. The light shines in the darkness, but the darkness has not understood it."
"There came a man who was sent from God; his name was John. He came as a witness to testify concerning that light, so that through him all men might believe. He himself was not the light; he came only as a witness to the light. The true light that gives light to every man was coming into the world. He was in the world, and though the world was made through him, the world did not recognize him. He came to that which was his own, but his own did not receive him. Yet to all who received him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God-- children born not of natural descent, nor of human decision or a husband's will, but born of God. The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the One and Only, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth."
You should also notice how the gospel of Mark begins. It doesn't begin in a manger, and it doesn't begin in Bethlehem. It begins in a desert, with the brazen John the Baptist calling upon men to repent and prepare their hearts for the coming of the Lord. For Mark, the gospel begins long after the nativity.
Mark 1:1-7 (NIV) tells us, "The beginning of the gospel about Jesus Christ, the Son of God. It is written in Isaiah the prophet: 'I will send my messenger ahead of you, who will prepare your way'-- a voice of one calling in the desert, 'Prepare the way for the Lord, make straight paths for him.' And so John came, baptizing in the desert region and preaching a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins. The whole Judean countryside and all the people of Jerusalem went out to him. Confessing their sins, they were baptized by him in the Jordan River. John wore clothing made of camel's hair, with a leather belt around his waist, and he ate locusts and wild honey. And this was his message: 'After me will come one more powerful than I, the thongs of whose sandals I am not worthy to stoop down and untie. I baptize you with water, but he will baptize you with the Holy Spirit.' "
Now let's go back to what Jesus said to the woman in Luke 11:27 (NIV) who cried out, "Blessed is the mother who gave you birth and nursed you." I don't want to suggest that we shouldn't contemplate the specific events surrounding the birth of Jesus.
We need to contemplate the purpose for which Christ came to earth.
What I am suggesting is that we cannot get lost in the sentimentalism of the Christmas narrative. We need to contemplate the purpose for which Christ came, and weigh carefully the words of Jesus in Luke 11:28 (NIV) when Jesus replies, "Blessed rather are those who hear the word of God and obey it."
Christmas is about God confronting us in our rebellion and sin, calling us to repentance, offering us the forgiveness of sin, giving us a new birth in baptism, and offering us the gift of the Holy Spirit. There is real power in living in and obeying the living word of God, Jesus Christ.
If you can get past the sentimentalism of the nativity, you will notice what the angel says to Joseph in Matthew 1:21 (NIV). "She (Mary) will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins."
Or consider what Micah the prophet declares about Jesus in Matthew 2:6 (NIV). "But you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah, are by no means least among the rulers of Judah; for out of you will come a ruler who will be the shepherd of my people Israel."
In Luke 1:32-33 (NIV) the angel tells Mary, "He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his father David, and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever; his kingdom will never end."
Or consider the words of Simeon in Luke 2:30-32 (NIV) when he sees Jesus. "For my eyes have seen your salvation, which you have prepared in the sight of all people, a light for revelation to the Gentiles, and for glory to your people Israel."
Is our focus on the nativity, or is our focus on who Christ is? Is our focus on what the living word came to reveal, and on how he came to rule? Is our focus about how Jesus died on the cross to save us, and how he has established his eternal kingdom for ever and ever? Is our focus on how he has poured out his Spirit on all who believe?
On YouTube there is a clip from "Talladega Nights" where Ricky Bobby is praying at meal time. "Dear tiny, infant Jesus", Ricky Bobby prays. "Look sweetie," his wife interrupts. "Jesus did grow up. You don't always have to call him baby. It's a bit odd and off-putting to pray to a baby." "Look," retorts Ricky Bobby. "I like the Christmas Jesus best, and I'm saying grace. When you say grace, you can say it to grown-up Jesus, or to teen-aged Jesus, or bearded Jesus, or to whoever you want to." (Adam McKay, director, Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby (Columbia Pictures, 2006).
There are a lot of people who like the Christmas Jesus best. The Christmas Jesus is nice. He is safe. He is cute and cuddly. He has no expectations, no voice, and no commandments. The grown-up Jesus commands that we repent and be reconciled to God through his death, burial, and resurrection. This is why Mark skips the nativity and drives us to the cross.
The adult Jesus makes demands of us.
Mark tells of Jesus forcing the issue of his identity. In Mark 8:34-37 (NIV) Jesus says, "If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me and for the gospel will save it. What good is it for a man to gain the whole world, yet forfeit his soul? Or what can a man give in exchange for his soul?"
We spoke about Mary in Luke 2:19 (NIV) reflecting upon the birth of Jesus. We learned that, "...Mary treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart." In Mark's gospel, the only overt reference to Mary is in Mark 3:32 (NIV) when the crowd informs Jesus that his, "...mother and brothers are outside looking for you." Mary had come to take charge of Jesus, and to try to put Jesus under her authority. But she would learn an important lesson. In Mark 3:35 (NIV) Jesus rebukes her saying, "Whoever does God's will is my brother and sister and mother."
In John's gospel we have a similar incident at the wedding in Cana. Once again, Jesus had to remind his mother Mary of her place. John 2:4 (NIV) says, " 'Dear woman, why do you involve me?' Jesus replied. 'My time has not yet come.' " It's not until Acts 1:14 that Mary finds her proper posture before Jesus. There, she joins in prayer, along with the apostles, other women, and Jesus' brothers, waiting for God to pour out his Spirit on all believers.
I decided to call this sermon "Twice Amazed" to highlight a simple point. Mary was certainly amazed by the birth of Christ. She was infinitely more amazed by the hope Christ brought through his death, burial, and resurrection. And for Mary, she learned that she was more blessed for having learned to hear and obey Jesus, than for having given birth to the Son of the living God. Luke 11:28 (NIV) reminds us, "Blessed rather are those who hear the word of God and obey it."