December 14, 2025 // Luke 2:1-20
APPLICATION: Read & watch/listen to Luke 2:1-20
Sermon Title: Hark: The Angels and the Shepherds
Sermon Notes:
Divine Preparation vs. 1-7
Caesar/Census vs. 1-3
Joseph/Mary vs. 4-5
Nazareth/Bethlehem vs. 4-5
Baby/Manger vs. 6-7
Angelic Proclamation vs. 8-14
Fear Not vs. 10
Good News/Great Joy vs. 10
A Savior is born! vs. 11
A sign for you vs. 12
Praise to God vs. 13-14
Shepherds Reaction vs. 15-20
What they did – vs. 15-16
What they found – vs 16
What they told – vs. 17-19
Who they praised! – vs. 20
Life Application:
Believing Is Not Easy
Believing Jesus is God’s Savior and Messiah is not easy. God seems to do his best to make it difficult. God works with people we would never choose. He makes claims for Jesus that defy human reason. He expects us to endure loneliness, long waiting periods, pain, grief, rejection, and lack of understanding when we do choose to follow Jesus. He looks to us to follow the Holy Spirit rather than rely on our own intelligence. Yet he commands us to mature physically, intellectually, and spiritually.
How can I possibly believe when God acts like this? You can believe the same way my friend believes in his son. The father knows his son’s life story—a story of being uprooted from one home to another, even from one culture to another. A story of rejection by friends, denial by people he thought loved him, even the death of a parent. A story of delving into the ways of the world to see if it offered fun or at least escape from the unrealized hopes of family, friends, and church.
How can a father stand to watch a son act out this story? How can a father show patience waiting on God to bring change in the son rather than bursting into action himself and trying to force the son to act “normal”? Reason offers no answer, for the son’s story is unreasonable and the son does not respond to reason. Emotional appeals offer no answer, for the son is rebelling against the emotional atmosphere of home, school, friends, and church. Rejection and denial offer no hope, for the son has grown to expect this as the way life treats him.
But the true story does become one of return to home, friends, a moral way of life, church, God, and hope. How? Because the father prays, hopes, and waits patiently for God to fulfill his promises in his time. The father trusts that what God has said, God will do. This is your response to Jesus. God has promised that Jesus will save, that Jesus is the Messiah bringing hope to the people of Israel and bringing new revelation and salvation to all those outside the people of Israel. God has pointed to Jesus as the only source of good news in life.
You may not be able to see just now in the circumstances of your life just how God can make this true. You may not see any hope for deliverance from the situation you face. God calls on you to trust him and wait to see how he brings your story to a close. Stay on the job faithfully like the shepherds. Watch and trust faithfully like Simeon. Worship and pray faithfully like Anna, even until you are 105. Store up all you know as God’s treasures in your mind, waiting for the time when he will give you the key to understanding them. Endure the pains and rejections of life until he causes you to rise up rather than fall down.
The father does not find it easy to wait on God to bring his son back. Mary and Joseph did not find it easy to endure the criticism and judgment that friends put on the pregnant, unmarried couple. Simeon did not find it easy to wait for Israel’s comfort and consolation. Anna did not find it easy to pray, fast, and worship when each day could easily be her last. Mary and Joseph did not find it easy to give their son up to the things of the Father. But God came through for them. God eventually showed them their faith in him was well placed. Yours will be, too. Christ is the Savior. He proved it in the virgin birth. He proved it on the cross. He proved it by the empty tomb. He proved it to the father of the wayward son. He will prove it to you. Give him a chance. Trust him. Believe him. Wait on him. He will be your Savior, too.
Digging Deeper:
A. Census (2:1)
Taking a census was a custom of the Roman government. They used the census to establish official lists that were used for taxing the population. They conformed to the practice of the country where the census was held. Following the customs of the Jews, they sent everyone back to their ancestral homes. Although Joseph and Mary lived to the north in Nazareth, they still had to travel south to Bethlehem because they traced their lineage to King David, whose home was Bethlehem. Luke thus tied Jesus’ birth to a normal historical happening, showing that God works through the decrees of government to bring about his perfect will.
The problem lies in relating biblical records to historical records. A study of the development of the modern calendar shows that its beginning with the birth of Jesus was a great idea, but the original calculation was a few years off. We know from the work of Josephus, matched with calculations of eclipses, that Herod the Great, the governor of Judah when Jesus was born, died in 4 b.c. Jesus was born between 6 b.c. and 4 b.c., rather than in year 1. Roman records show several facts about Sulpicius Quirinius. He became a Roman consul in 12 b.c. and fought wars in southern Galatia. He was legate over Syria in a.d. 6–9. This would be when Jesus was already 12 to 15 years old. Elsewhere Luke reports a census in a.d. 6 which caused trouble for the Romans (Acts 5:37).
The census Luke records in 2:1 stands outside our records of Roman censuses, but this does not mean that Luke wrote fiction or mistaken history. As Bock well documents (pp. 904 to 909), Augustus periodically called for a census in different parts of the Roman Empire and established a cycle for censuses to be held in some parts of the empire. Extensive chronological, literary, and lexical studies have sought to solve the problem. Quirinius may have served in an administrative position in Palestine in relationship to the census and may have assisted more than one Syrian legate or Judean governor in establishing and carrying out the census. It may even be possible to read the Greek text in such a way as to conclude that the census occurred before Quirinius became governor in a.d. 6.
We must conclude that no clear solution is possible to the chronological problem, but that it is not outside the realm of Roman custom to posit a census in Palestine about 6 b.c. led by Herod and the Roman government. The major problem is not whether such a census occurred but how Quirinius related to it. That question is at the moment beyond solution.
B. Pledged to Be Married (2:5)
A Jewish girl generally was pledged in marriage to a man when she was about thirteen years old. They were considered to belong to one another, although they did not live together, nor did they have sexual relationships during the betrothal period. About a year later the actual marriage occurred. Luke used this language in an unusual way to emphasize the virginal conception of Jesus. Joseph and Mary were “pledged” to each other. They were obviously traveling together as only a husband and wife would normally do. They were expecting a child, another situation normally experienced only by husband and wife. But they had not consummated the marriage with sexual relationships and so were not fully married.[1]
Questions to Consider:
Prayer Time:
[1] Trent C. Butler, Luke, vol. 3, Holman New Testament Commentary (Nashville, TN: Broadman & Holman Publishers, 2000), 38–39.
[2] Trent C. Butler, Luke, vol. 3, Holman New Testament Commentary (Nashville, TN: Broadman & Holman Publishers, 2000), 41.
Sermon Title: Hark: The Angels and the Shepherds
Sermon Notes:
Divine Preparation vs. 1-7
Caesar/Census vs. 1-3
Joseph/Mary vs. 4-5
Nazareth/Bethlehem vs. 4-5
Baby/Manger vs. 6-7
Angelic Proclamation vs. 8-14
Fear Not vs. 10
Good News/Great Joy vs. 10
A Savior is born! vs. 11
A sign for you vs. 12
Praise to God vs. 13-14
Shepherds Reaction vs. 15-20
What they did – vs. 15-16
What they found – vs 16
What they told – vs. 17-19
Who they praised! – vs. 20
Life Application:
Believing Is Not Easy
Believing Jesus is God’s Savior and Messiah is not easy. God seems to do his best to make it difficult. God works with people we would never choose. He makes claims for Jesus that defy human reason. He expects us to endure loneliness, long waiting periods, pain, grief, rejection, and lack of understanding when we do choose to follow Jesus. He looks to us to follow the Holy Spirit rather than rely on our own intelligence. Yet he commands us to mature physically, intellectually, and spiritually.
How can I possibly believe when God acts like this? You can believe the same way my friend believes in his son. The father knows his son’s life story—a story of being uprooted from one home to another, even from one culture to another. A story of rejection by friends, denial by people he thought loved him, even the death of a parent. A story of delving into the ways of the world to see if it offered fun or at least escape from the unrealized hopes of family, friends, and church.
How can a father stand to watch a son act out this story? How can a father show patience waiting on God to bring change in the son rather than bursting into action himself and trying to force the son to act “normal”? Reason offers no answer, for the son’s story is unreasonable and the son does not respond to reason. Emotional appeals offer no answer, for the son is rebelling against the emotional atmosphere of home, school, friends, and church. Rejection and denial offer no hope, for the son has grown to expect this as the way life treats him.
But the true story does become one of return to home, friends, a moral way of life, church, God, and hope. How? Because the father prays, hopes, and waits patiently for God to fulfill his promises in his time. The father trusts that what God has said, God will do. This is your response to Jesus. God has promised that Jesus will save, that Jesus is the Messiah bringing hope to the people of Israel and bringing new revelation and salvation to all those outside the people of Israel. God has pointed to Jesus as the only source of good news in life.
You may not be able to see just now in the circumstances of your life just how God can make this true. You may not see any hope for deliverance from the situation you face. God calls on you to trust him and wait to see how he brings your story to a close. Stay on the job faithfully like the shepherds. Watch and trust faithfully like Simeon. Worship and pray faithfully like Anna, even until you are 105. Store up all you know as God’s treasures in your mind, waiting for the time when he will give you the key to understanding them. Endure the pains and rejections of life until he causes you to rise up rather than fall down.
The father does not find it easy to wait on God to bring his son back. Mary and Joseph did not find it easy to endure the criticism and judgment that friends put on the pregnant, unmarried couple. Simeon did not find it easy to wait for Israel’s comfort and consolation. Anna did not find it easy to pray, fast, and worship when each day could easily be her last. Mary and Joseph did not find it easy to give their son up to the things of the Father. But God came through for them. God eventually showed them their faith in him was well placed. Yours will be, too. Christ is the Savior. He proved it in the virgin birth. He proved it on the cross. He proved it by the empty tomb. He proved it to the father of the wayward son. He will prove it to you. Give him a chance. Trust him. Believe him. Wait on him. He will be your Savior, too.
Digging Deeper:
A. Census (2:1)
Taking a census was a custom of the Roman government. They used the census to establish official lists that were used for taxing the population. They conformed to the practice of the country where the census was held. Following the customs of the Jews, they sent everyone back to their ancestral homes. Although Joseph and Mary lived to the north in Nazareth, they still had to travel south to Bethlehem because they traced their lineage to King David, whose home was Bethlehem. Luke thus tied Jesus’ birth to a normal historical happening, showing that God works through the decrees of government to bring about his perfect will.
The problem lies in relating biblical records to historical records. A study of the development of the modern calendar shows that its beginning with the birth of Jesus was a great idea, but the original calculation was a few years off. We know from the work of Josephus, matched with calculations of eclipses, that Herod the Great, the governor of Judah when Jesus was born, died in 4 b.c. Jesus was born between 6 b.c. and 4 b.c., rather than in year 1. Roman records show several facts about Sulpicius Quirinius. He became a Roman consul in 12 b.c. and fought wars in southern Galatia. He was legate over Syria in a.d. 6–9. This would be when Jesus was already 12 to 15 years old. Elsewhere Luke reports a census in a.d. 6 which caused trouble for the Romans (Acts 5:37).
The census Luke records in 2:1 stands outside our records of Roman censuses, but this does not mean that Luke wrote fiction or mistaken history. As Bock well documents (pp. 904 to 909), Augustus periodically called for a census in different parts of the Roman Empire and established a cycle for censuses to be held in some parts of the empire. Extensive chronological, literary, and lexical studies have sought to solve the problem. Quirinius may have served in an administrative position in Palestine in relationship to the census and may have assisted more than one Syrian legate or Judean governor in establishing and carrying out the census. It may even be possible to read the Greek text in such a way as to conclude that the census occurred before Quirinius became governor in a.d. 6.
We must conclude that no clear solution is possible to the chronological problem, but that it is not outside the realm of Roman custom to posit a census in Palestine about 6 b.c. led by Herod and the Roman government. The major problem is not whether such a census occurred but how Quirinius related to it. That question is at the moment beyond solution.
B. Pledged to Be Married (2:5)
A Jewish girl generally was pledged in marriage to a man when she was about thirteen years old. They were considered to belong to one another, although they did not live together, nor did they have sexual relationships during the betrothal period. About a year later the actual marriage occurred. Luke used this language in an unusual way to emphasize the virginal conception of Jesus. Joseph and Mary were “pledged” to each other. They were obviously traveling together as only a husband and wife would normally do. They were expecting a child, another situation normally experienced only by husband and wife. But they had not consummated the marriage with sexual relationships and so were not fully married.[1]
Questions to Consider:
- How important is the doctrine of the virgin birth in biblical theology? What does it mean to you and your faith in Jesus?
- Does your church bring joy and good news to all people or just to a privileged class?
- In what ways will you give glory and praise to God for the birth of Jesus?
- Why did Mary and Joseph go through all the Jewish rituals if Jesus was coming with a way of salvation for all people that freed them from following Jewish ritual?[2]
Prayer Time:
[1] Trent C. Butler, Luke, vol. 3, Holman New Testament Commentary (Nashville, TN: Broadman & Holman Publishers, 2000), 38–39.
[2] Trent C. Butler, Luke, vol. 3, Holman New Testament Commentary (Nashville, TN: Broadman & Holman Publishers, 2000), 41.