The First Christmas
Service
Pastor David L. Brown, Ph.D.
Sermon Delivered 12/18/05
In order to understand "the first Christmas
service," you need to read the Biblical text from which I get my
outline.
Luke 2:1-20 "And it came to pass in those
days, that there went out a decree from Caesar Augustus, that all
the world should be taxed. 2 (And this taxing was first made
when Cyrenius was governor of Syria.) 3 And all went to be
taxed, every one into his own city. 4 And Joseph also went up
from Galilee, out of the city of Nazareth, into Judaea, unto the
city of David, which is called Bethlehem; (because he was of the
house and lineage of David:) 5 To be taxed with Mary his
espoused wife, being great with child. 6 And so it was, that,
while they were there, the days were accomplished that she should be
delivered. 7 And she brought forth her firstborn son, and
wrapped him in swaddling clothes, and laid him in a manger; because
there was no room for them in the inn. 8 And there were in
the same country shepherds abiding in the field, keeping watch over
their flock by night. 9 And, lo, the angel of the Lord came
upon them, and the glory of the Lord shone round about them: and
they were sore afraid. 10 And the angel said unto them, Fear
not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall
be to all people. 11 For unto you is born this day in the
city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord. 12 And
this shall be a sign unto you; Ye shall find the babe wrapped
in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger. 13 And suddenly
there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising
God, and saying, 14 Glory to God in the highest, and on earth
peace, good will toward men. 15 And it came to pass, as the
angels were gone away from them into heaven, the shepherds said one
to another, Let us now go even unto Bethlehem, and see this thing
which is come to pass, which the Lord hath made known unto us. 16
And they came with haste, and found Mary, and Joseph, and the
babe lying in a manger. 17 And when they had seen it,
they made known abroad the saying which was told them concerning
this child. 18 And all they that heard it wondered at
those things which were told them by the shepherds. 19 But
Mary kept all these things, and pondered them in her heart.
20 And the shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for
all the things that they had heard and seen, as it was told unto
them."
The Old Testament prophet Micah wrote his little
book about 700 B.C. Tucked away in chapter 5 we see the prophecy,
written 700 years before the birth of Christ, that the Messiah would
be born in Bethlehem. The name Bethlehem means house of bread.
How appropriate it is for Christ to be born in, since He is the
bread of life (John 6:35 & 48). Let’s read Micah’s prophecy
-- Micah 5:2 "But thou, Bethlehem Ephratah, though
thou be little among the thousands of Judah, yet out of thee
shall he come forth unto me that is to be ruler in Israel;
whose goings forth have been from of old, from everlasting."
With this foundation in mind, let’s take a look
at The First Christmas Service.
"And there were in the same country shepherds
abiding in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night."
In the Bethlehem area there was a lot of
pastureland. Ephrata was in the same area. The tower of Edar or the
tower of the flock spoken of in Genesis 35:21 is in this
area. It is here, at Bethlehem, David kept his father's sheep (1
Samuel 17:15). Therefore, it should not surprise us to know that
shepherds were here. What a wonderful and historic place for the
first Christmas service to happen.
While we do not know the date of the birth
of Christ, or even the month, we do know the time of the birth of
Jesus – it was at night.
Jerome says, it is a tradition of the Jews, that
Christ will come in the middle of the night, as was the passover in
Egypt. Further it is not likely that the Savior was born at the
latter end of December, in the depth of winter. Shepherds would not
be out in the fields at that time as we see here in Luke. Shepherds
were diligent men, that looked well to their flocks, and watched
them by night, as well as by day, to preserve them from wild beasts
of prey. The Greek literally says, the Shepherds were "keeping
the watches of the night over their flock." The night was
divided into four watches: the even, midnight, cock crowing, and
morning. Some shepherds kept one watch while some slept. They
alternated through the watches.
"And, lo, the angel of the Lord came upon
them, and the glory of the Lord shone round about them: and they
were sore afraid. 10 And the angel said unto them, Fear not:
for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be
to all people."
Most people have a very tainted idea about angels
these days. They think angels are frilly female. However, there is
absolutely NO truth to that in the Bible. When gender is associated
to angels in the Scriptures it is always male (Genesis 19:1 & 5).
Secondly, when people come into contact with angels, it is an
awesome and fearful experience.
"For unto you is born this day in the city
of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord."
The angel says "unto you." John Gill says, "By
this he means not only the shepherds, or the Jews only, but the
Gentiles also; all the children, all the spiritual seed of Abraham,
all elect men; for their sakes, and on their account, and for their
good, he assumed human nature."
George W. Truett (1867-1944) said, "Christ
was born in the first century, yet he belongs to all centuries. He
was born a Jew, yet He belongs to all races. He was born in
Bethlehem, yet He belongs to all countries."
The message was clear, Christ the Savior is
Born! Is He your Savior?
"And suddenly there was with the angel a
multitude of the heavenly host praising God, and saying, 14
Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward
men."
After the celestial announcement the Angel of the
Lord with joined with by the militia of Heaven, God’s Holy Angels.
We do not know how many but the Greek word translated multitude
means a great number. It must have been astounding!
They went with haste to see the Savior – v.
16
They made the message known abroad – v. 17
They went back to their job glorifying and
praising God – v.20
Those who hear the Gospel message and accept it
cannot be silent. Like the shepherds, they must tell others.
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