This week we celebrate that the Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. The world Jesus enters is broken and messy.
Jesus’ earthly ancestry is messy. He comes from a long line of outsiders, outlaws, scoundrels and sinners. In Matthew 1, we read about his ancestors.
- Abraham, who had a complicated family because he took matters into his own hands rather than trust God;
- Jacob, the deceiver;
- Judah, who goes to a prostitute that is really his daughter-in-law resulting in the birth of Tamar and Perez;
- Salmon, whose wife was Rahab, the prostitute;
- Boaz, whose wife was Ruth, not an Israelite but a Moabite;
- David, who committed adultery and murder;
- Solomon, who had 700 wives;
- Zerubbabel, who has a Babylonian name meaning “offspring of Babylon”;
- and finally, Joseph, the husband of Mary.
Jesus’ birth is scandalous and common. The messiness continues when Mary becomes pregnant before she marries Joseph. We know that both Joseph and Mary are humble servants who obey God. But for nine months, their lives are challenging and messy. Some want to stone them. The community does not at all believe that this baby is from the Holy Spirit. Many think, “Are you kidding me?”
Not only is Mary pregnant, but she spends time in the hill country with Elizabeth and Zachariah. Imagine how Joseph feels. His dream girl, soon to be his wife, is pregnant, and he is not the father. And then, she leaves for three months.
Imagine what it is like for Mary, likely a teenager. There is nothing glamorous about being a poor young Jewish girl who is pregnant. In his book, God Came Near, Max Lucado writes, “The Omnipotent, in one instant, made himself breakable. He who had been spirit became pierceable. He who was larger than the universe became an embryo. God as a fetus. Holiness sleeping in a womb. The creator of life being created. God was given eyebrows, elbows, two kidneys and a spleen. He stretched against the walls and floated in the amniotic fluids of his mother. God had entered the world as a baby.”
Then there is the long trip from Nazareth to Bethlehem because of the mandatory call for a census. It was about 90 miles, perhaps a four-to-six-day journey. And when they arrive, there is no place for them to stay. There is no room for the King of Kings, the Lord, the Savior, the Creator.
Birth is messy, bloody and painful. He could come to earth in a hundred different ways, but Jesus is born just like the rest of us.
When Jesus is born, his is a regular birth process. Birth is messy, bloody and painful. He could come to earth in a hundred different ways, but Jesus is born just like the rest of us.
Jesus is wrapped in cloths and placed in a manger. This baby, who has overlooked the universe, abandons his golden throne room in favor of a dirty sheep pen. The stable stinks like all stables do. The stench of urine, dung and sheep reeks pungently in the air. The ground is hard, the hay scarce. Cobwebs cling to the ceiling, and a mouse scurries across the dirt floor. A lowlier place of birth could not exist.
Here is majesty amid the mundane. Holiness in the filth of sheep manure and sweat. Divinity entering the world on the floor of a stable, through the womb of a teenager and in the presence of a carpenter, to borrow the words of Lucado.
Jesus is given a common name. The name “Jesus” is the name that is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee will bow. In Hebrew, the name is “Yeshua,” and means “the Lord is Salvation.”
The name “Jesus” is also quite popular in first-century Judea. For this reason, our Lord is often called “Jesus of Nazareth,” distinguishing him by his childhood home, the town of Nazareth in Galilee.
The name Jesus is still a popular name. According to My Name Stats, in the United States there are currently 261,000 people with the name “Jesus.”
Jesus is given a common, humble name that many others have. Yet, he is the King of Kings and Lord of Lords.
Jesus is born in a humble town, and his arrival is announced to humble shepherds. Today, Bethlehem is a large city of about 100,000 under the Palestinian Authority in the West Bank. But when Jesus was born, Bethlehem was insignificant in size and influence. Micah 5:2 says, “Though you are small among the clans of Judah, out of you will come the ruler over Israel.”
When children are born today, parents excitedly share the news with family and friends. When Jesus was born, it was the shepherds who heard the good news. Shepherds are one of the lowest classes of people, and their work makes them ceremonially unclean. God’s good news comes first to the social outcasts of the day. It is the lowly and despised shepherds, mentioned 19 times in Luke 2, who first come to see and worship Jesus.
Jesus is in danger when King Herod wants to kill him. Herod the Great is an ambitious and ruthless ruler who sets himself in opposition to the newborn Christ Child King.
Herod put to death 46 members of the Sanhedrin. He killed his mother-in-law. He even killed his wife and two of their sons, as he considered them potential rivals with legitimate claims to the throne. Augustus Caesar is reported to have said, “It is better to be Herod’s dog than one of his children.” When placed in this context, the incident in Matthew 2 does not seem out of Herod’s character in wanting to end the life of any potential rival, including Jesus.
So, at midnight, Joseph takes his family to Egypt to save their lives. We don’t know how far into Egypt they go, as the border is only about 70 miles away. According to some church traditions, they could have traveled as much as 350 miles. Imagine making this trip on foot with no place to call home when you arrive at your destination.
How many babies died? It seems likely that Bethlehem’s population was around 2,000 to 3,000 so a range of 20 to 30 babies is an estimated guess. But even the death of one child is awful.
Yes, Jesus enters a broken and messy world, but let’s not forget who Jesus is.
Luke writes that when Simeon blesses the child Jesus, Simeon says to Mary, “This child is destined to cause the falling and rising of many in Israel, and to be a sign that will be spoken against, so that the thoughts of many hearts will be revealed. And a sword will pierce your own soul too” (Luke 2:34-35).
While many will believe in Jesus, most will not. Many will fall away from God’s plan of salvation. Many will speak out against Jesus, calling out, “Crucify him.” Mary will grieve to see her son die on the cross.
Yes, Jesus enters a broken and messy world, but let’s not forget who Jesus is. In him, all things are created. He is before all things and in him all things hold together. He is the heir of all things, the radiance of God’s glory and the exact representation of his being. Jesus sits at the right hand of the Majesty in heaven (Gen. 1:26; Heb. 1:2-3; Col. 1:16-17).
Why does Jesus come to our broken and messy world? The answer is in Scripture.
“The saying is trustworthy and deserving of full acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners” (1 Tim. 1:15).
“For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost” (Luke 19:10).
“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life ( John 3:16).
“We have seen his glory, the glory of the one and only Son, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth” (John 1:14).
Because Jesus came, God is now approachable, accessible and available to everyone. Jesus came so that broken sinners, sinners like us, may have true forgiveness, righteousness and life. Jesus came because of his amazing love for us, that we might be forgiven, know him and know true life.
The question remains: Are we willing to follow Jesus’ example and enter the broken and messy world of others? Consider entering the life of someone who is broken and messy.
- Visit someone in the hospital
- Work with unruly and naughty children
- Knock on your neighbors’ door, even if you often hear them yelling
- Pay someone’s bill
- Visit with someone in their home, even if it is dirty and smelly
- Take someone grocery shopping
- Stand up for someone in court
- Visit someone in jail
- Go to that party you were invited to attend but don’t want to go to
- Give a dirty person a ride in your car
- Let someone in need use your car for awhile
- Adopt an abused child who is alone and without parents
- Go on a mission trip overseas
- Instead of paying at the pump, go inside the gas station and interact with the staff
- Don’t use the self-check-out, so you can speak to a real person
- Be out in your yard so hopefully you can speak to a neighbor
- Give a needy person your phone number, even if they may call a lot
- Invite others into your home
- Let someone help you even if it could slow you down
- Leave early so you can give someone a ride to church
- Spend time preparing and teaching a Bible study
- Learn some words in another language so you can better communicate
- Learn how to make a meaningful connection with a Muslim
- Be friendly to those of a different race
- Give a nice Christmas gift to someone not in your family
- Simply be there for someone who is broken and messy
Why do we not want to do most of these? Sometimes the action is outside our comfort box of ministry. Other times we may be willing to help but only within certain parameters. There are times when we need wisdom to decide how best to be involved.
What were the boundaries of Jesus’ ministry? Jesus came to us in our broken, messy world. He even died for us.
What does the Bible say about entering the broken and chaotic world of others?
- We are to willingly associate with people of low position (Rom. 12:16).
- God comforts us in all our troubles so that we can comfort those experiencing trouble (2 Cor. 1:3).
- We are to bear one another’s burdens (Gal. 6:2).
- Because Jesus loves us, we are to love others (John 15:12).
- We should express our love for others in actions and truth, not just with words (1 John 3:17-18).
- We show our faith by our deeds (James 2:18).
Philippians 2:3-5 says we are to value others above ourselves and have the same mindset as Christ Jesus. Jesus’s attitude was to enter our broken and messy world. Will we be willing to enter the broken and messy world of others?
Stephen Stout is pastor of Faith Bible Church in Omaha, Nebraska.
