A Sermon
Preached on Lord’s Day Morning, December 7, 2008, by
The Rev. Dr. S. Randall Toms
At St. Paul’s Reformed Episcopal Church, Baton Rouge, Louisiana
Census at Bethlehem—by Pieter Brueghel the Elder
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. (Micah 5:2)
This prophecy in Micah, written some 700 years before Christ was to be born, foretells that the birth of our Lord would take place in Bethlehem. In previous studies, we have seen how appropriate it was that Christ should be born in this place. Bethlehem, a place of sorrow and joy is the proper place for the birth of one who would be a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief; yet, the one who would be the source of eternal joy for his people. Bethlehem, the birthplace of King David, is the perfect place for the one to be born who would succeed his father David on the throne of Israel and become King of kings and Lord of lords. Bethlehem, the very word meaning “house of bread” is the appropriate place for the one to be born who would be the bread of life who would give his people this bread which would preserve them body and soul unto everlasting life. Bethlehem was the fitting place for the Christ to be born because it shows that God uses the small and insignificant to accomplish his holy purposes.
At this time of year as we look back at the events that brought Mary and Joseph to Bethlehem, we should be comforted by the knowledge that God orchestrated all of human history in order that his Son would be born there, and that this prophecy would be fulfilled. All the roads of human history led to Bethlehem. We must never forget that God is in absolute control of human history. As we look at the moral and spiritual condition of our world at the present time, with the constant threat of terrorism, the rise of ungodly men to power, the weakening influence of the Church and the word of God on culture and the dominant institutions of our times, we need to be reminded that God is always at work bringing about his holy purposes. Perhaps this is nowhere better illustrated than in this prophecy that Christ would be born in Bethlehem, and the ensuing history of mankind that brought this prophecy to fulfillment. Bethlehem was a perfect place for our Lord to be born in order that we might see how God controls the affairs of men to bring about his will and purpose. I am not exaggerating in the least when I say that God worked all of human history from the beginning of time to make the arrangements just right so that Christ would be born in Bethlehem and die on a Roman cross just outside of Jerusalem.
We see the hand of God at work in the affairs of history when remember that Christ had to be born in Bethlehem, but Mary and Joseph didn’t live in Bethlehem. They lived in Nazareth, and if everything had gone according to the normal course of events, Christ would probably have been born in Nazareth. The time drew near for the child to be born, and all of a sudden, they had to leave and go to Bethlehem, which was about 70 miles from Nazareth. Can you imagine what your wife would have said if you had informed her that even though she was in the last stages of her pregnancy, you had to take her on an unexpected trip to New Orleans, and that you would have to travel by foot, caravan, camel, donkey or some other primitive means of transportation? Something major would have to happen in the life of Mary and Joseph to get them to go to Bethlehem at such an inopportune time. Incredibly, something major did happen. Joseph and Mary had to go to Bethlehem because of an imperial census.
To understand God’s sovereignty and providence in this matter we need to look at the events surrounding this census. In Luke 2:1-5, we read:
And it came to pass in those days, that there went out a decree from Caesar Augustus, that all the world should be taxed. And this taxing was first made when Cyrenius was governor of Syria.) And all went to be taxed, every one into his own city. 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) To be taxed with Mary his espoused wife, being great with child.
What possessed Caesar Augustus to order a census at this very moment in history? We also know this man, Caesar Augustus, by the name of Octavian who was the grandnephew of Julius Caesar. We are familiar with the story of Antony and Cleopatra, and how Octavian defeated Antony at the battle of Actium in the year 31 B. C. Octavian was made emperor, and in the year 27 B. C., Octavian was given the title “Augustus.” Thus, Luke refers to him here as Caesar Augustus. If you read the history of Octavian, Caesar Augustus, you find that he could be a very cruel and ruthless man, as most of the emperors were. But surprisingly, when Octavian became emperor, he seems to have settled down somewhat, and he became a very astute politician and administrator. Being the ruler of such a large empire, Caesar Augustus felt it necessary that there should be a census taken. Although scholars debate the exact dates of this census, it is a well established fact in other historical documents that there was a regular census initiated around this time. Furthermore, it was required that the person had to return to the place of his birth in order to be registered. Luke also says that Mary was required to make the journey. Some scholars have disputed that there was a requirement for the wife to go, but archeologists have now discovered documents in Egypt which say that the wife was required to register with her husband in that part of the empire. At any rate, we see the providence of God, that just at this time, Caesar Augustus decides there should be a census. God laid it on the heart of Caesar, though Caesar of course didn’t know it was God, that every man should return to his home city just so that Jesus Christ would be born in this place and fulfill all prophecy. We read in Proverbs 21:1, “The king’s heart is in the hand of the LORD, as the rivers of water: he turneth it whithersoever he will.” Though Caesar Augustus was a pagan king, an idolater who knew nothing of the one true God, God used him as his instrument to get Mary and Joseph to the proper location for his Son to be born. Though Caesar Augustus required this census to gain greater control of his empire, we know the real reason he made such a decree, don’t we? God was working in history in order to get his Son to Bethlehem to be born there. Matthew Henry put it like this:
That which Augustus designed was either to gratify his pride in knowing the numbers of his people, and proclaiming it to the world, or he did it in policy, to strengthen his interest, and make his government appear the more formidable; but Providence had another reach in it. All the world shall be at the trouble of being enrolled, only that Joseph and Mary may.
The whole world had to go through the expense and inconvenience of being registered for one primary reason: to get Jesus to Bethlehem to be born.
If we look at history through the lens of God’s providence, we can see how God worked all of human history to bring this pass. Throughout history, God overthrew kingdom after kingdom until the Romans came to power. Then, God, put Caesar Augustus on the throne, and laid it on his heart at this time to cause everyone to go back to their home city to register. Christ was born in Bethlehem, an unlikely place, to demonstrate God’s power in bringing to pass his purpose even during those times when it looks as if there is no way this could work out.
We must always keep this great truth in mind when we look at the events in history. In the events surrounding the life of our Lord, we see the names of Augustus, Quirinius, Herod, Tiberias, Pilate, and we see how God used each of these men, though they didn’t realize it, to bring about his holy purposes. For us, the names have changed from these ancient leaders to Bush, Obama, Putin, Chavez, Medvedev, Achmadinejad, and Castro. All these men have very different purposes and agendas, but they all have one thing in common. God will use them, whether they do good or bad, to bring about his purposes in the earth.
In the book of Joshua we read of all the wars that Joshua fought as he took possession of the Promised Land. None of those nations negotiated for peace with Israel except the Hivites. Why didn’t the other nations make peace with Israel? We find the explanation in Joshua 11:18-20:
Joshua made war a long time with all those kings. There was not a city that made peace with the children of Israel, save the Hivites the inhabitants of Gibeon: all other they took in battle. For it was of the LORD to harden their hearts, that they should come against Israel in battle, that he might destroy them utterly, and that they might have no favour, but that he might destroy them, as the LORD commanded Moses.
God had determined that he would destroy these nations, and he hardened their hearts so that they would go to war with Israel, and thereby, be defeated. God uses what leaders do, good or bad, to accomplish his salvation, his purposes in the world.
Perhaps this is nowhere better illustrated than in the sufferings and death of our Lord Jesus Christ. The Romans put our Lord to death in order to preserve the peace. The Jews wanted our Lord to be put to death out of jealousy. But God used Roman fear and Jewish jealousy to bring about our redemption. The Apostle Peter put it this way on the day of Pentecost:
Ye men of Israel, hear these words; Jesus of Nazareth, a man approved of God among you by miracles and wonders and signs, which God did by him in the midst of you, as ye yourselves also know: Him, being delivered by the determinate counsel and foreknowledge of God, ye have taken, and by wicked hands have crucified and slain: Whom God hath raised up, having loosed the pains of death: because it was not possible that he should be holden of it. (Acts 2:22-24)
Peter tells the people that it was predestined, predetermined that Jesus Christ would be crucified on that cross, and God used their wicked hands to accomplish his purpose. This is not to say that God forces people against their will to perform these wicked things. He merely makes use of the evil that is already in their hearts to bring about his holy will.
As we gaze at the future, there is the temptation to look at it with trepidation and fear. Who knows what is just around the corner? Are we headed for an economic crisis greater than the Great Depression? Are we going to see the continual rise of terrorism? Will our freedoms be taken away from us? Are Christians going to be persecuted to the death as they were in times past? We do not know, but even if every single one of these things does come to pass, God will use all of these events to bring human history to it appropriate conclusion.
At this time of year we celebrate Advent, the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. We need to remember that God used all the historical events in the world up until that time to prepare the world for the coming of his Son at the appropriate time. At this time of year, we also look forward to the Second Advent, the Second Coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, and just as God orchestrated all the historical events in the world as preparation for his first coming, he will orchestrate all the events in world history to prepare the world for his second coming at the appropriate time.
Then, just as God orchestrated history to bring the Redeemer into the world at the appropriate time and place, he orchestrates history and the events in our lives to make this Redeemer known to us. If we are Christians, it is because God has worked all the events in our lives, even long before we were born, so that we could be saved from our sins. Was it just an accident that some of us were born to Christian parents and brought up in the Church? No, many of us can look back in our genealogies and see grandparents, great grandparents, great, great grandparents, great, great, great grandparents, back as far as we can trace it, and we can see that they were members of the Church of Jesus Christ. Somewhere back in your past there was an old heathen idolater, bowing before a rock or a tree, and God worked in human history so that that ancient ancestor of yours heard the gospel, believed it, and the gospel has been handed down from generation to generation so that you were born into the gospel privileges of the sacraments and brought up to hear the word of God. It wasn’t by accident.
Even among those who were not born into gospel privileges, God worked in the history of their lives so that they would be in the proper place at the right time to hear the Gospel of Christ and be saved. Think of how God brought the Ethiopian eunuch to salvation in the book of Acts:
And they, when they had testified and preached the word of the Lord, returned to Jerusalem, and preached the gospel in many villages of the Samaritans. And the angel of the Lord spake unto Philip, saying, Arise, and go toward the south unto the way that goeth down from Jerusalem unto Gaza, which is desert. And he arose and went: and, behold, a man of Ethiopia, an eunuch of great authority under Candace queen of the Ethiopians, who had the charge of all her treasure, and had come to Jerusalem for to worship, Was returning, and sitting in his chariot read Esaias the prophet. Then the Spirit said unto Philip, Go near, and join thyself to this chariot. And Philip ran thither to him, and heard him read the prophet Esaias, and said, Understandest thou what thou readest? And he said, How can I, except some man should guide me? And he desired Philip that he would come up and sit with him. The place of the scripture which he read was this, He was led as a sheep to the slaughter; and like a lamb dumb before his shearer, so opened he not his mouth: In his humiliation his judgment was taken away: and who shall declare his generation? for his life is taken from the earth. And the eunuch answered Philip, and said, I pray thee, of whom speaketh the prophet this? of himself, or of some other man? Then Philip opened his mouth, and began at the same scripture, and preached unto him Jesus. (Acts 8:25-35)
The Ethiopian just happened to be reading Isaiah 53. He just happened to be anxious about the meaning of this passage. Philip just happened to be out there in that desert at the same time as the Ethiopian was thinking about these things. Was all this by chance? What are the odds that this Ethiopian eunuch would take a trip to Israel, read Isaiah 53, be troubled about it, and an evangelist show up out there in the desert to explain it to him. Oh no, God had ordained all the events in the life of this Ethiopian and all the events in the life of Philip in order that they might meet in the desert so that Philip could preach Jesus to this man. So it has been with many a person who has come to know Christ as Savior. Was it just an accident that a friend spoke to you about the Lord one day? Was it just an accident that you went to church on a particular Sunday where the gospel was being preached with power? Oh no. God worked all the event in history so that you were born where you were born, raised where you were raised, and to come in contact with certain people. All of it was arranged so that you would hear the gospel and believe.
In the city of Baton Rouge, and across our country, where there are such a tiny few who have entered the strait gate and the narrow way and worship God in spirit and in truth, it is very easy to get discouraged. We ask ourselves, “How are we going to reach them. What new techniques can we use to get the people to come to a church where they can hear the gospel and be taught the way of truth?” Let us remember, that God works all of human history to bring his purposes to pass. If God wants certain people to attend our church, he will work in their lives and in your lives so that you are thrown together.
God will use various means to lay it on their hearts to come. God will cause them to have an empty and dissatisfied feeling in their hearts because of the shallow doctrine and superficial godliness to which they have grown accustomed, and they will hunger for the word of God. If God can orchestrate all of human history to ensure that his Son will be born in Bethlehem, he will certainly work in the history of the lives of people to bring them to the place where they are hungry for the truth of God.
In the final stanza of Phillips Brooks’ hymn, ‘O Little Town of Bethlehem,” we sing:
O holy Child of Bethlehem!
Descend to us, we pray;
Cast out our sin and enter in,
Be born in us today.
We hear the Christmas angels
The great glad tidings tell;
O come to us, abide with us,
Our Lord Emmanuel!
As we look back over our lives, we can see that just as God worked throughout history so that his Son might be born in Bethlehem, in his great grace and mercy, he planned history, and planned our lives so that Christ would be born in us. Our prayer for ourselves, and for others, is that Christ would be born in us.
And if God moved empires and the hearts of kings to ensure that Christ would be born in Bethlehem, then surely he has the power to put people on the road to their own Bethlehem, the place where Christ is born in the hearts of his people.
Amen.
For an audio version of the sermon being preached, as well as a text html version, go to our web site’s address at:
St. Paul’s Reformed Episcopal Church
