The Lutheran Hour
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"Something Special Happened Here"
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Text: Luke 2:6-15
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Christ the Savior is born. He is born, indeed! My friends, today I bring you good tidings of great joy that is for all people. Today, from the town of David, we are glad to share the story of the Savior who was born to give His life for your salvation. This Christmas and always may God grant the Babe of Bethlehem be the Savior of our souls. Amen.
A most blessed Christmas to those of you who are listening to The Lutheran Hour around the world and a most special Christmas prayer goes out to the congregation of pilgrims who, this day, are with me in the Shepherd’s Fields in Bethlehem in Palestine. Although the festival of the Savior’s birth is still two days away, and I know you have a great many things to do, I would invite you to stop for just a few minutes and join us here in the fields where the shepherds were watching their flocks the night the Savior of the world was born.
If you do, if you stop, if you close your eyes and take a few, deep breaths, you might easily hear the echoes of sounds from centuries ago. The wind might bring you the loud clatter and conversation which comes from the great supper table of Jesse. It would have been a loud supper table, you know. How could it have been otherwise with those big, strong, strapping young men sitting round? Let’s see there was Eliab, and Abinadab, Shima and Nethaneel, Raddai, and Ozen. No doubt their chief job was to make miserable the lives of their two sisters. Then, of course, there was Jesse’s youngest, the runt of the litter, David. He wouldn’t have been at the evening meal because, as the youngest, he had been charged with looking out for the family’s flocks. Long hours in these fields had taught him to use his slingshot well, as lion and bear which once roamed these rocky hills were brought down by the ruddy lad. Yes, from here you can almost hear the sound of those who lived in Bethlehem long ago.
If you stop with us and take a short breather from the Christmas rush, from the wrappings and the trappings, you can almost see in the distance two women; one older, the other, not unattractive and younger. They are both widows and without someone to support them, they must live off the gleanings, the remnants of that which the harvesters have left in the fields either intentionally or accidentally. The older woman’s name is Naomi; the other is Ruth, Naomi’s daughter-in-law. If you look closely, you may even see these people who lived in Bethlehem centuries ago.
But the truth is, we have not come here to visit the home of David, the giant-slayer and Israel’s most illustrious warrior-king. We have not come to applaud the courteous, the compassionate, the caring friendship shown by two women who were united by their mourning. No, we come here because of another event, an event which if it had not taken place, would have left David a footnote forgotten in the dusty pages of a history book, and Bethlehem would have remained a village undistinguished and ignored.
We, like hundreds of generations before us, have come to the one spot on this globe where God began to make good on a promise He made to save sinners. It is here, in Bethlehem, the Lord’s Son became one of us. This He did so He might begin a life which was dedicated to fully paying the ransom price which would rescue sinners like you and me from sin, death, and devil. We have come here so that we might be given a better understanding of the second greatest watershed moment in the history of humankind.
That is what the birth of Jesus was: a watershed moment. You are acquainted with the term? If not, let me explain. A watershed moment is an event after which your thinking, your decisions, your destination, your life are unalterably and undeniably changed. Every one of you here has had a watershed moment. I’m speaking about an event which was so profound, so important, so enlightening, so devastating that it actually reshaped and remolded who you are.
When Abraham Lincoln went to New Orleans and he saw a slave auction, it was a watershed that shaped his future. When Nobel Prize winner Albert Schweitzer was a boy, he shot and killed a bird. Holding that lifeless bird in his hands was a watershed moment which shaped him to become a doctor for the poor of Africa.
Scripture records watershed moments for God’s people. Abraham had one when he was asked to sacrifice his son. Moses had a watershed moment when God spoke to him from a burning bush and transformed that exiled Prince of Egypt into the leader of the Exodus. As he languished in the belly of the great fish, Jonah’s watershed moment told him that when God said, “Go!” He meant “Go!” When Jesus called His disciples and they left everything that they had owned, that too was a watershed moment.
My friends, I don’t know what your watershed moments have been, but you do. They may have come when you succeeded when other people failed; they may have been as a result of a cruel cut from a classmate, or come about through a profound moment of personal revelation. Whatever it was, who you are today is due, in large part, to one or more of those watershed moments.
But the watershed moment which brings us here, the event which has brought Christians to this city and the fields of Bethlehem for 2,000 years is of far greater consequence than anything I have mentioned up until now.
My friends, something special happened here. Something special happened here the night the Savior was born to save us from our sin. True, when Jesus came into this world, the world paid little attention to the Child who was wrapped in swaddling clothes and placed into a manger. But just because the people of this earth were too wrapped up in their own affairs to notice what God was doing, that doesn’t mean the spiritual realm didn’t take notice. That night both heaven and hell recognized God was doing something which He had never done before and He would never do again. He was investing the life of His Son to save the souls of sinners.
Something special happened here when the Savior of the world was born. It was so significant that the angels of heaven decided they had to do something to make sure that the event didn’t go entirely unnoticed by the family of man. To that end it was decided that they would send an angelic ambassador, the shepherds who were keeping their watch over the flocks which grazed these rocky fields around us. His duty was to herald this watershed event which would change the world forever.
It’s really not that hard to imagine those men as they kept their lonely vigil as generations of shepherds before and after them have done. For the sheep’s protection, they would have put their flocks into a nearby cave. Then, with the day’s work done, the shepherds would have sat by a small fire. As the sun set, so did their conversation. Things would have been still the night the heavenly light from the angel first sliced through the darkness.
Quite properly, the angel began, “Fear not.” He knew that even though these rough men might be fearless when they faced a wild beast; courageous when confronted by a band of robbers, they were hardly prepared to deal with the appearance of an angel. Their minds would have wondered whether he was showing up to punish them for some forgotten or past misdeed or warning them of some kind of upcoming tragedy. The shepherd’s fear would have been at cross purposes with what the angel was going to say, the effective delivery of his message. “Fear not,” he began and without waiting for a reply, he told them something special was happening in Bethlehem. “I’m bringing you good news of great joy which is for everybody.” He said. “Tonight, right now, even as I’m talking to you, over there, that’s right, in that city over there, your Savior has just been born.”
“Boys,” he might have continued, “this is a watershed moment. You know those lambs you’re watching here, the lambs which are going to be sacrificed at Passover? Since the Exodus, those lambs have been God’s object lesson. He’s been using those lambs to remind you that someday the Son of God, the Lamb of God, is going to be sacrificed to save you from your sins.” The angel might have added, “Well boys, that someday I just talked about is tonight. This is a big deal. Abraham didn’t get to see this day, he only had a promise. Isaac, Jacob, Moses, Gideon, your fellow shepherd, Kind David, could only imagine what it would be like when the Savior was born. Fellas, something wonderful is happening tonight over there.” Finally, the angel might have added, “Now I don’t know what you’re going to do when I go back into heaven. I suppose you could keep watching your flocks. It would be the safe thing to do. Guys, if I were you, I’d go see this thing which has come to pass which the Lord has told you about.”
Yes, the angel could have said any of those things, but he didn’t. He merely assumed the shepherds would be going to Bethlehem. That’s why he told them, “When you get to that town, start looking for a Baby. You will find Him wrapped in swaddling clothes.” That bit of information didn’t help at all because all Israelite children were wrapped in swaddling clothes. But the next sentence narrowed it down somewhat. The angel said, “You will find God’s Son lying in a manger. Yeah, you got it, a manger, because there’s no room in the inn.”
With the particulars out of the way, the portals of paradise positively exploded, erupted with angels who wanted to add their voices to emphasize the importance of this watershed moment. A heavenly host joined together and they said, “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace among those with whom he is pleased!” (Luke 2:14 (ESV) Then, having said more than any heavenly host had ever said in any other place in Scripture, the angels retreated back into heaven. The darkness was the same; the night’s silence was the same, but the shepherds, they weren’t the same. That’s why they decided since God had sent His angels to visit them, they would go and see this thing which had come to pass. The shepherds rushed off to see the Baby, God’s Son, who had been placed in a manger.
Something special happened that night over there. The night Jesus was born. The shepherds knew that, but they didn’t know how they should behave or what they should do when they found the Savior. Not even the law-loving Pharisees had regulations to direct human protocol when they met their Redeemer. So, without direction, they found the Christ Child and they paid their respects. Did they kneel? I don’t know. Did they pray? I don’t know. Did they sing a Psalm? I don’t know. I do know that what they saw in the cradle that night changed them. I know because normally those folks should have rushed back here to their sheep, their livelihood. But they didn’t do that. Instead they went to Bethlehem and they told anyone who would listen… told them, “Something wonderful has happened here in our town. The Savior has been born.”
Indeed, since that night, Christians have been doing that same thing. They have been telling a damned and dying world, “Something special happened in Bethlehem the night Jesus was born.” Right now, I’m doing the same thing. But there is a difference. The difference is this: I can tell you more. Today’s message is not confined to speaking about a Baby Boy born in Bethlehem. I can tell you the rest of His story. I can tell you that that Baby Jesus grew up. Yes, He grew up, but not in Bethlehem.
He grew into manhood, began an active ministry. For 33 years He lived His life, doing good, preaching truth, seeking out the lonely, searching for the lost, lifting up the downtrodden, and healing those who were sick in body, soul, and spirit. During that time He resisted the temptations of the devil and He refused to break the laws of God. Then when He had done all His Father had asked, the world showed its appreciation by beating Him, whipping Him, spitting on Him, lying about Him, and murdering Him on a Roman cross.
But that is not the end of the story. You see, God accepted the sacrifice Jesus made to save us. That’s why, three days after a dead Jesus was buried, He became our living Lord, defeated death, rose from the grave. And although that story is a story for a different day, you should know something special happened that day, too. The cradle, and the cross, and the open tomb, and all of which happened in between is the story of our salvation. It is the story of what a merciful God did to save His disobedient children. It is the story where the Innocent died for the guilty and where the Perfect was sacrificed to save the imperfect. Today, because the Savior’s story is finished, all who are brought to faith in Him as Savior are forgiven of the wrongs they have done even as they are given eternal life.
Something special happened here. Something special happened the night Jesus was born. The question remains is this: has something special happened in your heart? Has He been born there, too? Today I have spoken about the two greatest watershed moments in the history of humankind, but are they watershed moments for you? If not, then listen for a moment. This week churches across Christendom are celebrating the Savior’s birth. There is nothing, there is nothing they would enjoy more, which would brighten the festivities more than for you to walk into a church and say, “Like the shepherds, I, too, have come to see Jesus, God’s Good News of great joy. I have come to see my Savior.” If you do, all heaven will rejoice at your personal watershed moment; at the moment God moves a soul from damnation to deliverance.
To that end, if you are afraid or unsure, please let me extend this Christmas invitation. We at Lutheran Hour Ministries are ready to help you. Please, call us at The Lutheran Hour. Amen.
LUTHERAN HOUR MAILBOX (Questions & Answers) for December 23, 2012
Topic: Why Doesn’t God Just Show Himself To Us?ANNOUNCER: We’re here once again with our Speaker Emeritus, Pastor Ken Klaus. I’m Mark Eischer. Pastor, is there any truth to the rumor that since your retirement you’ve been moonlighting as a department store Santa Claus?
KLAUS: Hi, Mark. Well, I do sometimes get mistaken for Santa Claus. I think it’s because, with every year that passes, I look more and more like him.
ANNOUNCER: I’m reminded that you also did a video Bible study that tells the real story of Santa.
KLAUS: Yeah, I did. It can be seen or downloaded for free, which is a very good price, from Lutheran Hour Ministries’ Men’s NetWork.
ANNOUNCER: And you’ll find all of that at lhmmen.com-all right, now, on to our question for today.
KLAUS: …continuing with our series of supposedly unanswerable questions…
ANNOUNCER: Here’s one. If God is omnipotent and He wants people to believe He exists, why does He not, then, just show Himself to everyone, all at once, and dispel all unbelief?
KLAUS: Oh, I like that question. It’s one I’ve often thought about. It would, after all, make things so much easier.
ANNOUNCER: …although I think it would put us out of a job, I suppose. Why doesn’t God do that?
KLAUS: A number of answers. The first answer would be, to rephrase a line from an old Jack Nicholson movie: “God? You want to see God? You can’t handle God!”
ANNOUNCER: And you’re not joking either!
KLAUS: Not I’m not. John 1:18 says no man has seen God at any time. Moses came close, but God first had to set up a whole bunch of protective buffers in order for that prophet to see just part of God-and manage to survive. The problem is this, we are sinners and God is holy. It’s sort of like mixing matter and anti-matter. Circuit overload. God’s greatness is simply too much for us. We couldn’t take God full-strength. We’d be consumed, burnt to a crisp. That’s why God reveals Himself to us in a limited, hidden way-through His Word and Sacraments.
ANNOUNCER: For our protection.
KLAUS: Yeah, but there’s more. Why doesn’t God show Himself?
ANNOUNCER: That’s what our listener wants to know.
KLAUS: Well, the Lord already did just that. In the person of His Son, He came to earth to live, suffer, die, and rise for us. When Jesus walked the earth, anybody who wanted to see God could see Him. And you know how that went.
ANNOUNCER: I do, but, give us some examples.
KLAUS: OK, there were times when Jesus told people He was God. I mean, He did miracles that showed He was God, but He also told them. There was the time in His hometown of Nazareth when He read the Scriptures in the synagogue and then He said all those words about the Messiah referred to Him. And how did His old friends and neighbors react?
ANNOUNCER: They tried to kill Him.
KLAUS: When Jesus was on trial, the chief priests couldn’t come up with a charge that would stick. So the High Priest had a brain storm. He asked Jesus, under oath, “Was He the Messiah, God’s Son?” To that question Jesus said, “He was.” And what was the reaction of the High Priest?
ANNOUNCER: He tore his garments and called for the court to find Jesus guilty of blasphemy.
KLAUS: About the only time Jesus didn’t experience a negative reaction was when He asked His disciples, “Who do men say that I am?”
ANNOUNCER: And they said, “Some say you are John the Baptist risen from the dead; others, Elijah or one of the other prophets.”
KLAUS: “And who do you guys think I am?”
ANNOUNCER: Speaking for all the others, Peter said Jesus was the Christ, the Son of the living God. And Jesus said God Himself had revealed that insight to Peter. Now, what else can you say?
KLAUS: People would say, “Prove it” and expect God to do a miracle. Maybe governments would try to recruit Him as a secret weapon for their side. People would ask Him all sorts of questions–but they wouldn’t be able to understand God’s answers. They can’t understand God’s answers when He’s given it to them in His Holy Word. God would have to keep explaining Himself, and showing Himself, and proving Himself over and over again and every time He was finished, people would have their new set of doubts. He would not be able to convince them today anymore than Jesus convinced them back then. It would always be the same. People don’t believe.
ANNOUNCER: Thank you, Pastor Klaus. This has been a presentation of Lutheran Hour Ministries.
Music Selections for this program:
“A Mighty Fortress” arranged by Chris Bergmann. Used by permission.
“Once in Royal David’s City” arr. Henry Gerike. Used by permission.
“Once in Royal David’s City” arr. Jeffrey Burkart. Used by permission.
“Hark! The Herald Angels Sing” arr. Timothy Moke. From Magnificent Christmas Hymns, vol. 1 by Timothy Moke & Georg Masanz (© 2007 T. Moke Recordings)