Two Kings
Read Luke 2:1-21.
It may be the most famous story in the world. Most of us hear it read every Christmas season, probably more than once. Many of us aren't able to truly celebrate Christmas until we hear Linus recite it from the King James Version. I've preached a lot of sermons on this passage (at least every Christmas Eve!) and heard even more preached on it. And still it remains a story that inspires and blesses me.
It's really a story of two kings. King Caesar orders a census which causes King Jesus to be born in Bethlehem—just as had been predicted centuries before. And while much has been made of the role of the ordered census in getting Joseph and Mary (and Jesus) to Bethlehem, I'm struck by the fact that the one who thinks he is in charge is not. The king who counts believes he has authority to do so, while the one who knows the true state of the world lies in a manger in a backwater town. Caesar, the counting king, rules from afar. Jesus, the true king, comes near. History is dated, not from Caesar's birthday, but from Jesus' *.
Honestly, Caesar couldn't care less about the people in Judea. He had little interest in the population other than getting taxes from them so he could run his Empire. Judea was considered one of the least desirable parts of the Roman Empire. Rome didn't understand the people and didn't want to. Rome only wanted them controlled. The fact that a baby was nearly born on the road to fulfilling the census would interest Caesar little (not at all, actually). He would only want to know if the baby had been counted in the census and if his parents were paying the taxes they owed.
King Jesus, however, risks everything to come near to his subjects. He gives up his power and his position. He trades his privilege for poverty and sleeps in a feeding trough. His grand and glorious welcoming committee consisted of a few shepherds and some wide-eyed animals, surprised to find him in their food bowl. His interest in the population was as large as his heart. He loved them to the very end. He still does.
One king stays distant. The other king is known as Emmanuel—"God With Us." Caesar is gone, though his political descendants still exist. Jesus is alive. Two kings: which one do you want to follow?
+++++++
*Yes, the calendar is not quite dated from Jesus' birth. When the years were calculated in the Middle Ages, they were off by about 3 years, but the point is still this: the calendar intends to point us to Jesus not Caesar.
It may be the most famous story in the world. Most of us hear it read every Christmas season, probably more than once. Many of us aren't able to truly celebrate Christmas until we hear Linus recite it from the King James Version. I've preached a lot of sermons on this passage (at least every Christmas Eve!) and heard even more preached on it. And still it remains a story that inspires and blesses me.
It's really a story of two kings. King Caesar orders a census which causes King Jesus to be born in Bethlehem—just as had been predicted centuries before. And while much has been made of the role of the ordered census in getting Joseph and Mary (and Jesus) to Bethlehem, I'm struck by the fact that the one who thinks he is in charge is not. The king who counts believes he has authority to do so, while the one who knows the true state of the world lies in a manger in a backwater town. Caesar, the counting king, rules from afar. Jesus, the true king, comes near. History is dated, not from Caesar's birthday, but from Jesus' *.
Honestly, Caesar couldn't care less about the people in Judea. He had little interest in the population other than getting taxes from them so he could run his Empire. Judea was considered one of the least desirable parts of the Roman Empire. Rome didn't understand the people and didn't want to. Rome only wanted them controlled. The fact that a baby was nearly born on the road to fulfilling the census would interest Caesar little (not at all, actually). He would only want to know if the baby had been counted in the census and if his parents were paying the taxes they owed.
King Jesus, however, risks everything to come near to his subjects. He gives up his power and his position. He trades his privilege for poverty and sleeps in a feeding trough. His grand and glorious welcoming committee consisted of a few shepherds and some wide-eyed animals, surprised to find him in their food bowl. His interest in the population was as large as his heart. He loved them to the very end. He still does.
One king stays distant. The other king is known as Emmanuel—"God With Us." Caesar is gone, though his political descendants still exist. Jesus is alive. Two kings: which one do you want to follow?
+++++++
*Yes, the calendar is not quite dated from Jesus' birth. When the years were calculated in the Middle Ages, they were off by about 3 years, but the point is still this: the calendar intends to point us to Jesus not Caesar.
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