Day 4, Luke 2:1-40
Luke’s account gives us many factual details that the other evangelists do not highlight. This locates the birth of Jesus accurately in history, but also incorporates many supernatural events and encounters.
Luke is recording Jesus’ humanity and showing us that humanity is created for divine encounters.
Another vital aspect of Luke’s historical account is that the hardship and deprivation is portrayed clearly and accurately. Forced from their home by a godless occupying force, Joseph and Mary are forced to embark on a long and perilous journey, where there is no place for them at the destination. They are refugees of political machinations. God is coming into the toughest, darkest situations. And when this arrival is noticed, it is the despised outsiders who hear the news. The shepherds were the minimum wage outcasts of the Jerusalem religious system; forced to miss most of the religious activity by their responsibility to produce sacrificial lambs for the Temple. As a consequence, they were looked down on by “more holy” people. But God wanted to be sure that those who were outsiders would be the first “insiders” to know what God is doing!
Later in the chapter, we read how those who had been waiting for God to act finally saw Him at work in this unique baby.
Lessons for us:
Humanity is created for divine encounters.
Hardship and deprivation is often where God is at work.
Outsiders are insiders in God’s plans.
Waiting is rewarded.
What else do you see?
Have a great day!
Mark.