CONTRASTS Luke 2:1-20 For centuries in ancient times, empires rose and fell in the Middle East. These were predicted when Daniel interpreted the dream of a large statue that Nebuchadnezzar had. The last empire was the Roman Empire. It would be as strong as iron that would crush and shatter all opposition. The weakness was in the feet, which were made of iron and clay and did not adhere to each other. In the dream, a “stone cut out without hands” crushes the whole statue until there is no trace of the previous empires. The Lord Jesus Christ is that stone.
When Caesar Augustus replaced the Roman Republic form of government with an imperial government, the empire was expanded to include the Mediterranean area and more lands to the north. Caesar maintained the “golden age” of “Pax Romana” by levying more taxes on all the conquered people. To get all the tax money they wanted, they needed to make sure everyone paid the taxes demanded. Everyone in Israel, including females twelve years old and up, had to pay a poll tax. So, a census was taken. Cyrenius, the governor of Syria, of which Israel was a part, had two terms as governor, and a census was taken in both terms. The first one is referred to in the story of the birth of Jesus as recorded by Luke. Luke writes about Gamaliel, referring to another one in Acts 5:37.
All of this is to say that big things were happening in the Mediterranean world when Jesus was born. How small all of this was when seen from the throne room of God when “The Father sent the Son to be the Savior of the world!” When He was “made of a woman, made under the law to redeem them that were under the law, that we might receive the adoption of sons.” Very few think about Caesar Augustus, Cyrenius, or the Roman Empire. When they do, it is with a bored attitude in a school history class. In contrast, a baby boy born to a poor virgin girl named Mary is remembered and talked about worldwide by millions of people every day. They speak His name, Jesus, with enthusiasm and love!
Mary’s firstborn son was Jesus, the Son of God, who humbled Himself and came to earth found in fashion as a man. She lost her virginity when He was miraculously born in Bethlehem. He was born at the right time and place among the right people to fulfill the prophecies made hundreds of years before concerning Him. A manager provided a suitable bed for Him, who took His place among His people when He came to save them from their sins. Even though He was born King of the Jews, and no other person was born a king, He immediately at His birth was among those He loved and who loved Him. Many people do not see the earthly position and the pomp associated with royal births today. It is all kept private until those in charge decide to make it known. Usually, it is sometime later when a new royal child is seen. Jesus was publicly seen from the time of His birth all through His life by those who wanted to see Him.
However, while puny people on earth were concerned about the census and increasing taxes, the host of heaven was focused on the One who was the Son of God and now became the Son of Man who came to seek and save those who were lost. Men and women had to pay taxes to an earthly leader, but in contrast to that cost, “God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.” The God of heaven freely gave His very best to bless the whole world. On earth, at the same time, every person from twelve up in Israel had to pay hard-earned money to support a very few people who thought they were important.
While the newborn son of Mary was resting comfortably in the manger, frightened shepherds who were guarding their flocks, many of which likely would be sacrificial lambs, were spoken to by an angel from heaven who was speaking for God. The message of the newborn Savior did not go to the priests or the political leaders. This message was far more critical because it was for “all people.” Who could reach all people better than ordinary people who would personally herald the good news of a Savior who is Christ the Lord? This full title, designating who Jesus is, identified Him as God.
The “savior” of the Roman empire, what Caesar called himself, was very small in comparison to a child born in an ordinary village, to an ordinary woman who was born “the Savior” for every person who has ever lived, who is willing to believe in Him. This event was on a far higher level than the birth of Augustus or any other famous person. Instead of a nation rejoicing over the birth of a prince, the very gates of heaven opened, and a “great multitude of the heaven hosts crowded the hills of Bethlehem giving praise to God and declaring a peace much greater than “Roman Peace.” The peace the One born King will bring, is world-wide “peace on earth, goodwill to men.”
The message of Luke that he had received from “eyewitnesses” would have opened the understanding of the Gentile believers, as well as the Jews, to the significance of the virgin birth of Christ. His title, “a Savior,” fulfilled the Old Testament promises. “Christ” means the Anointed One who would assure the Jews that God was in control of what was happening even though Caesar was the emperor. “Lord” is used as a title by Luke this one time in this way in the Gospels. That is a title reserved for God. Peace on earth comes to “people of goodwill” or those whose God’s favor rests. “There is no peace, saith my God, to the wicked.”
The “good tidings of great joy” continue today whenever the preached Gospel message is received. A simple faith in what God says results in the joy that lasts. This joy doesn’t come from favorable circumstances or success but from the assurance that God has spoken to us personally. Believing in God is not a complicated ritual. It simply comes to us when we hear God’s word and accept what He says as true. We then put our complete trust in those living words, which leads us to put our trust in the living, loving God.
The shepherds would not have had difficulty finding Jesus because He was likely the only baby in Bethlehem lying in a manger wrapped in swaddling clothes. That was the sign they were given that they were in the right place and looking at the right baby. The shepherds had heard the message; they believed what they heard, acted on what they heard by their choice, and did not wait for a more convenient time. They looked for Him and found Him. That is the same way people today find the Savior.
Sinners who know their own needs, hear the message of the Gospel, and believe what they hear from the scriptures. By their own choice, they act by faith on what they hear without waiting for a “more convenient season” and come to the Savior by calling upon His name as the One who loved them, died for their sins, and rose again for their justification. They find the Savior waiting there for people to come to Him by their choice, and He saves them from their sins. Confessing with their mouths that Jesus is Lord indicates they have come to know Him as a real living Person.
In a way similar to the reaction of new believers today, the shepherds who had seen Jesus made it known that they had seen Him, and the events surrounding that time were their testimony. “If thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and believe in thine heart that God hath raised Him from the dead, thou shalt be saved.” The shepherds did that, and others were amazed by what they said. Reading the passage of scripture, there appears to be a significant contrast between those who heard what the shepherds said and what Mary “treasured up” in her heart. She “treasured up all those things and pondered them in her heart.”
Passages like this make us think Luke must have gotten his facts from Mary herself. When guided by the Holy Spirit, the source gives weight to “the things that are most surely believed among us.” When the news of the birth of Jesus was heard, those who heard it “marveled.” Mary “pondered” them in her heart. The shepherds “glorified God,” and they “praised” Him. This is the response of any person whom God saves. Thanks to Him for saving us. There is reason to want to tell others about Him.
Perhaps some others in Bethlehem eventually came to see Jesus, but we know that the shepherds were not the same when they returned as when they went to see Him. After the shepherds came to see the Savior, Christ the Lord, Mary also had much to consider.
The dominance of Rome contrasts greatly with a manger in Bethlehem. The evidence of a heavenly host being moved to come to earth to give praise to God for the newborn king contrasts greatly with an organized announcement of the birth of a prince. Ordinary people passing on the news from one person to another is in contrast to the news media making an announcement. God brings down the proud and lifts up the humble. Those who are first in the eyes of men are last with Him. Those who are overlooked and last in men's eyes are first with God.
The great God of heaven, the Creator of all things, has come down to earth to become one of us human beings so He can bring us to God. Heaven’s glory and the announcement of earthly peace remind us that God’s program continues in our day, and we are part of what He is doing. The physical discomfort and inconvenience Mary went through would not have meant as much to her as what the shepherds said. Our Lord Jesus Christ came here as one of us, innocent but human, as the sinless Savior to save us from our sins by taking our place as our sinless substitute.