Key Truth: Jesus is born according to God’s sovereign timing and revealed to the lowly and poor in spirit who will share, worship, and contemplate Him deep in their hearts.

Introduction:

Q: What have you anticipated with great joy? What do you anticipate with great joy?

Caeser Augustus’ Decree in the Service of God’s Sovereign Timing:

Luke 2:1-7

“Let us ever rest our souls on the thought, that times are in God’s hand. (Psalm xxxi.15) He knows the best season for sending help to His church, and new light to the world. Let us beware of giving way to over anxiety about the course of events around us, as if we knew better than the King of kings what time relief should come..”

J.C. Ryle, Ryle’s Expository Thoughts on the Gospels, Vol. 2: Luke

Q: What are some ways in which God’s timing has been different than your own? How did it turn out according to His timing?

Good News of Great Joy Pronounced to the Lowly and Poor:

Luke 2:8-15

“Shepherds were despised. With the exception of lepers, they were the lowest class of men in Israel. Yet these were the men God wanted to hear the gospel: working-class sinners. Like everything else about the birth of Christ, this upsets our expectations. We tend to think that God is for the good people, when in fact he is for needy sinners who are desperate for grace.”

Philip Graham Ryken, Luke, Volume 1: Chapters 1-12

Q: What are some ways in which the coming of Christ has brought you great joy and peace?

The Shepherds Share and Worship While Mary Treasures Up in Her Heart:

Luke 2:15-21

“…in the incarnation of our Lord, there was a meanness, which seemed unsuitable to such an occasion; and at the same time a majesty, that was worthy the person and character of the new-born infant: he was born, not in a palace, but a stable, and had only a manger for his reception: yet did an angel come from heaven to announce his birth; and a multitude of the heavenly host attended to proclaim his praise.”

Charles Simeon, Horae Homileticae, Vol. 12: Mark-Luke

Q: What causes you to praise and worship? What sparks you to treasure up and ponder things in your heart?

Luke 2:1-21 teaches us that:

-the decrees of man are in submission to God’s sovereign timing

-the Good News is intended for the lowly and poor in spirit

-Jesus Christ should be shared, worshiped, and contemplated deep in our hearts.

“No child born into the world that day seemed to have lower prospects. The Son of God was born into the world not as a prince but as a pauper. We must never forget that this is where Christianity began, and where it always begins—with a sense of need, a graced sense of one’s insufficiency. Christ, himself setting the example, comes to the needy. He is born only in those who are “poor in spirit.” ”

R. Kent Hughes, Luke, Volume 1: That You May Know the Truth