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Text: Luke 2:1-7
There is here the contrast of two kingdoms: the Roman Empire versus Heaven’s kingdom come to earth. The earthly Roman kingdom will die like other nations, but the heavenly kingdom is alive and well. Two thousand years after the birth of the LORD Jesus Christ during the time of an international taxation by Caesar Augustus, one of many, there is more information regarding the birth of Jesus Christ than there are records about Caesar’s taxation. There were about 4.2 million Roman citizens from what can be known. But this taxation has no meaning today while the birth of the Lord Jesus Christ continues to grow in meaning.
At the time of Christ’s birth, the powerful Roman Empire was being used by God’s kingdom to do God’s business. Heavenly honor would have nothing to do with Caesar’s throne in Rome but would have all eyes focused on Mary, Joseph, and Bethlehem.
The most important person in history was not Caesar but a little-known baby born in Bethlehem. The mortal Roman empire would be concerned with the wealth of the people, but the heavenly kingdom would be concerned with the faith of the people. One king said all the world should be taxed, but another king said all the world should be saved.
On one hand, we see Rome who only plays a supportive role to the city of Bethlehem that is great in God’s eyes.
Bethlehem was a royal place
- Also called the city of David because it is where David was from. Therefore it would be connected to God’s choice for king. David would be from Bethlehem because his family dating back to his great grandparents, Ruth and Boaz, lived there on their land.
- The man after God’s own heart who would be king of Israel was from this little town. Therefore the true man after God’s own heart, the Lord Jesus Christ, would also be from this little town. Therefore the prophet Micah would criticize the leadership in Jerusalem and tell the nation that God’s true leadership would come from Bethlehem.
- 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.
Bethlehem was a providential place
- On March 15, on the Ides of March, 44 BC, Julius Caesar was stabbed 23 times and assassinated in Rome, Italy, in the Senate. The conspirators miscalculated the assassination. Instead of it exciting the people, it enraged many Romans. Fortunately, Julius Caesar had named his financial and political heir Octavius, the nephew he’d adopted. Octavius was a great soldier in his youth and proved to be a very adept politician when he was handed the fiercely divided Roman state at 19 years old. He inherited some power, but not all power in Rome. Obviously, with the assassination, Rome was a very divided country. The battle of Actium was the turning point in Octavius’s rule. After 10 years of civil war, Octavius defeated Cleopatra and Marc Antony and became the undisputed ruler of the Roman state. Upon his return to Rome from Actium, the senate bestowed on him the title Augustus. Caesar Augustus was 36 years old and thus began the Roman Empire in 27 BC. Augustus would turn a 500-year-old, sickly Roman nation into an empire: ushering in 200 years of prosperity called the Pax Romana. By the time of Christ’s birth, Caesar Augustus was over 60 years old. He made major progress in transportation. He conquered and annexed northern Africa, some of Asia, and the Middle East including Judea. At the time of Jesus Christ’s birth, Caesar Augustus organized another census to account for all the people incorporated into the Roman state as citizens of the rapidly expanding Roman Empire. Thus Luke noted in Luke 2:1-3 an event that historians called a lie. They said Quirinius never existed. That was until coins minted with Quirinius’ image were found. And documents and a grave marking the man who governed Syria at the time of Christ’s birth were all found.
- But the most important event at this time was not Caesar’s taxation. The most important event was the birth of the savior of the world.
- How does God the Father get Mary and Joseph who are from Nazareth to an insignificant city like Bethlehem while Mary is very pregnant? He uses a global taxation to get this family to Bethlehem.
Bethlehem was a crowded place
- And in a statement of the physical reality as much as the spiritual reality Luke says there was no room for Jesus.
- No room because of the inconvenience
- Look, as an innkeeper who is completely booked you’d have to ask guests to leave. You just don’t want to get into that. Now, it’s going to be hard to get those guests out to make room for him.
- Nonreligious people have a better understanding of this than religious baptists, Catholics, Presbyterians, etc. Because the nonreligious will say If I let Jesus in that means I’m going to have to stop sleeping around. There is a real understanding that sin and Jesus Christ don’t go together.
- No room, but you want to believe he’s here
- On this night of Christ’s birth, there’s no room in the inn, but the innkeeper has a stable on his property. Mary, Joseph, and baby Jesus end up in the stable because there’s no room in the inn. But if you’re the innkeeper who finds out Jesus is the Son of God, you might let people know the Son of God stayed at your place. Except the truth is, he wasn’t allowed to stay in your place. Jesus Christ was only in the vicinity.
- This is religion. I want to be able to say Jesus is in my life, without him actually being in my life. I want to say my kids have trusted Jesus Christ even though they’ve never actually trusted Jesus Christ for anything.
- I’ve heard this phrase, I invited Jesus into my life. If you’ve said that or you’ve said that about your kids, the question then is, what part of your life did you invite him into?
