God’s Tidings of Great Joy
Take your Bibles tonight and turn
to the second chapter of the gospel of Luke.
The second chapter of the Gospel of Luke and of course during this very
special holiday season, our family plus the members of the staff of our
ministry, not only here at the headquarters of the Way International, but
around the country. Extends
to all of you people here in the auditorium as well as all of the Way people
around the nations of the world and the people who listen to our broadcast on
Sunday night. God’s wonderful
best. And made this
Christ really live within people’s hearts. This is the desire of our life. This is the ministry where unto God has
called us. And to this work, we have
dedicated our life.
In the second chapter of the gospel
of Luke, we read:
And it came to pass
in those days, that there went out a decree from Caesar Augustus [the Roman Emperor] that all
the world [Empire] should be taxed.
– Luke 2: 1
This word world is the word
Empire. That the
entire Empire under the control of the Roman legions should be taxed.
(And
this taxing was first
made when Cyrenius was governor of
And all went to be taxed, every one into his own city. -- Luke 2: 3
And Joseph also went
up from
And I taught you people, especially
during this season again, that the word espoused can only mean, the lady, the
woman who was committed as a wife to Joseph. And if the word espoused would
have meant engaged, you’d have a very difficult time with this particular verse
because here Mary is just about ready to be delivered of the Christ child and
the Bible, the Word of God still talks about her as being espoused to
Joseph. The word espoused as far as we
have been able to trace it from God’s Word applies all through the first year
of the married life of this young couple.
Well anyways, he was to be taxed
Joseph with Mary his espoused wife being great with child. And so it was, verse 6:
And so it was, that,
while they were there [at
And she brought forth her [what]
firstborn son. Had Jesus Christ been Mary’s only son, it
could not have said firstborn. The word
firstborn implies at least a second born.
The Word of God says that Jesus Christ was God’s only begotten son. Because God had only one
son, Jesus Christ. Remember John
3: 16.
For God so loved the
world, that he gave his only begotten son, that whosoever believeth in him
should not perish, but have everlasting life. -- John 3: 16
For God so loved the world, that he
gave what? His only begotten Son, not
his firstborn but His only begotten Son. Of Mary, of Mary, Jesus Christ was her
firstborn.
And she brought forth
her firstborn son, and wrapped him in swaddling clothes, and laid him in a manger;
because the was no room for them in the inn. -- Luke 2: 7
And Mary wrapped him, Jesus Christ
in swaddling clothes and laid him in a manger or in a stable because there was
no room for them in the inn. She brought
forth her firstborn son and wrapped him in swaddling clothes. Not because she did not have clothing to
dress the baby, but because of what the angel Gabriel had reported to her.
In the original presentation when
the angel Gabriel visited Mary and told her that she would become the mother of
Jesus, the Christ of God. Now she was
prepared for the coming of this child because this child was to sit upon the throne
of his father David. And of his kingdom,
there would be no end. And if a King is
born, if a Prince is born who would be King, that Prince has to be handled a
certain way. These are the laws of the
society at that time. These laws, by the
way, are written and methods and techniques and principles are all written in
the Old Testament. The first thing that
Mary did after Jesus Christ was born.
She bathe him.
She washed him off with some water.
But in that water, she had placed some salt because every Prince right
after he was born had to be washed with water that had salt in it. Because the Prince had to
be salted.
That’s why in the book of Leviticus
and a number of other places in the Old Testament, it talks about the people in
the king’s palace or men in the king’s palace or children in the king’s palace
being salted. At other places it talks
about people in the palace who should have been salted, they weren’t
salted. The idea was this, that if the
King was a righteous man, the Prince born of him who would become the King had
to be righteous. He had to be
salted. The words salted means that he
would say what he would mean and he would mean say what he would say. In other words, his mouth wouldn’t doubletalk
and triple talk. What his mouth would
say is what he would act.
This is why the child Jesus when he
was born, they salted him. Secondly, she
wrapped him in swaddling clothes.
Swaddling clothes were strips of cloth 3 or 4 inches wide which the
mother wrapped around this child Jesus all the way from the soles of his feet
to the crown of his head. With the
exception of his little nose and has little mouth so he can breathe. And this swaddling with that cloth was done
immediately after the child had been cleaned up, after he had been bathe with the water that had the salt in it. Then the mother would wrap this child in
those swaddling clothes. For a child to
be swaddled, was again, a necessity on the part of
someone who was to be a ruler.
Not only was it enough for he be
salted, but he had to be swaddled.
Because the swaddling indicated that from the time of his birth all the
way up, he would be trained to be upright and straight. That as a ruler of the
people, he wouldn’t be a crooked man.
He would be a straight man. He
would do that which would be straight and right in the sight of God because his
words he would speak would be salted and his walk as the Prince who was to be
the King would be upright and straight.
That’s why Mary wrapped him in swaddling clothes and laid him in the manger.
Those last words of that seventh
verse are real heart touching. In one
sense of the word, in another it can be understood. Because of all of God’s men, of all of God’s
times, God’s men, seldom if ever have been given the positions or the places of
respect which should have been due them.
But it’s like it says in Hebrews,
that they were cast in dungeons, they were slaves, they
set the torch to the people to burn God’s people. Here when our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ
was born, this wonderful motel had no room in it. No room in it for him. Somebody must have been sound asleep at the
switch. There was nobody in that town who had the spirit of God.
There was nobody who ruled that particular inn who was the caretaker or
the manager or the owner of that inn who had any connection at all with
God. For surely, if there had been any
revelation there, you know what God would have said? Get the biggest suite in the place
ready. Because you’re
going to have a birth. But nobody
knew anything about it. Joseph came down with Mary to Bethlehem, was the time of the year
which according to the governor had been ordered as a time for registration,
for taxation purposes, Internal Revenue Service in operation. And Joseph and Mary came down to
It’s sort of a commentary on life
today, isn’t it? All of our nation, you
want to come with the greatness of God’s wonderful matchless Word, His
accuracy. People have no room for
Christ. They got time for everything
else, but do we have time for Jesus? Time for the greatness of the power of Christ. Generally not. But specifically in cases like yours and
other people across our nation and thank God for that. There are still those who are hungering and
thirsting after righteousness and who do make room for him. And to take the time to tap into those
resources that make known the greatness of the power of God unto them. It says in verse 8, that in the same country,
the same territory. The word country is
the word province, same area. Shepherds were abiding in the field, keeping watch over their flocks by
night.
And there were in the
same country shepherds abiding in the field, keeping watch over their flock by
night. -- Luke 2: 8
It was not winter, it was not
subzero weather. There was no snow on
the ground when Jesus Christ was born.
Shepherds did not abide in the fields when the ground was frozen, when
the snow was piled up 6 inches deep.
When the Northwest winds were blowing 40 miles an hour. No.
The shepherds only abode in the fields in the warm seasons, the warm
weather. And they never did abide in the
fields at night because they needed to watch over their sheep. To watch over the sheep, they brought the
sheep into the sheepfold and then a shepherd would place himself across the
entrance way, so that nobody could get in or get out without jumping over the
shepherd.
That’s why Jesus said, I am the
good shepherd. I watch over my
sheep. Nobody gets into my sheepfold
unless they go over me, Jesus said. And
yet it says these shepherds were abiding in the field keeping watch over their
flocks. If I was a shepherd and you were
a person living in that area, and I was having my sheep in that particular area
or province or territory where you live.
Then you would negotiate with me, the shepherd, that after the feeding of
the sheep at 5 or 6 o’clock in the afternoon when they’d finish eating and
they’d been watered, then I would bring them to your area, so that the sheep
would manure your territory. Then, after
that period of time about towards dark, just before dark, then I would take my
sheep back and we’d put them in the sheepfold overnight.
That’s what that verse is talking
about. That’s what it’s
saying. The shepherds were abiding in
the fields. They had their sheep out
there to manure the fields. Just before it became totally dark. By the time it got dark, they would be back
with their sheep in the sheepfold for the night. They were keeping watch over their flock out
there by night, by the coming of the night.
This is what they were doing out there, watching over their flock, not
all night. While they
were there, while they were there.
It really gets to be interesting because the time I see in here. I think I can document here in this Scripture
tonight the time of the birth of Christ as far as the clock is concerned. Within oh, half hour, hour. If you watch it develop. First of all, we learned a while ago that
they went into the stable because there was no room where? In the inn. Now they didn’t turn in at
And lo, the angel of
the Lord came upon them [the shepherds], and the glory of the
Lord shone round about them; and they
[the shepherds were sort of shook] were sore afraid.
-- Luke 2: 9
And the angel said unto them. Do you see that? Verse 10. Please mark it in your mind if you don’t want
to mark it in your Bible. It’s better to
mark it in your mind anyway. And the Angels
said, Angels never sing in the Bible.
They only sing in the corrected hymnals.
That’s all. That’s the only place
they sing. In the Word of God, Angels
never sing. This is why in heaven it
never talks about angels singing. In
heaven, in the future it talks about the Saints singing around the throne and
all these things, but never Angels.
Angels never sing. Only you do so
you better get practiced up. The Angels
said,
And the angel said unto them. Don’t be afraid. Fear not.
For behold, I bring you good tidings of what? Great joy. Not good tidings of joy, but good tidings of
joy, joy, joy, joy, great joy. New, improved joy which shall be to all people.
And the angel said
unto them, Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which
shall be to all people. -- Luke 2: 10
Isn’t that tremendous? For unto you, unto you is born this day in
the city of David a Saviour which is Christ
what? The Lord.
For unto you is born this day in the city of
For unto you, unto you is born this
day in the city of
And this shall be a
sign unto you; Ye shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes lying in a
manger [in a stable]. -- Luke 2: 12
A tremendous thing. Well, I’ll read a few
more. I’ll pick up 12 again because it’s
just alive.
And suddenly there
was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God, and saying, [singing - nope praising God and saying] -- Luke 2: 13
Glory to God in the
highest, and on earth peace, goodwill toward men. -- Luke 2: 14
And it came to pass,
as the angels were gone away from them into heaven, the shepherds said one to
another, Let us now go even unto Bethlehem, and see this thing which is come to
pass, which the Lord hath made known unto us. -- Luke 2: 15
That something. On the night Jesus Christ was
born, there was no great do for him in
On the night Jesus Christ was born,
he who is our Lord and Saviour. He who knew
no sin but became sin so that you and I can become the righteousness of God in
him. He who did everything the
Word says he did. On the night he was
born, he who is King of Kings and Lord of Lords, nobody knew about it except a
little handful of humble shepherds.
That’s all. Herod was stupid. Caesar Augustus didn’t know anything about
it. The local mayor in the city of
But out on the Judean hills, a
little group of shepherds, farmers, humble people, just shepherds were the only
ones to whom God spoke. Isn’t that something?
You know why he didn’t speak to the rest? Because they had their ear balls
clogged. Their eyes were blind; their
minds were clouded, but the shepherds on the Judean Hills to those he could
send the Angel Gabriel plus the mighty host of Angels who declared glory to God
in the highest and on earth, peace goodwill.
And he had said that you shall
find, and this shall be a sign unto you.
You shall find, you absolutely will find the
babe wrapped in what? Swaddling
clothes. Now when these shepherds
from that Judean hill outside of the city of Bethlehem, come in to Bethlehem
and see this child, what’s the one thing that’s going to guarantee to them that
this is the child that the Angels spoke about?
He’s going to be wrapped in
swaddling clothes. He’s going to be
wrapped in swaddling clothes. Now you
don’t swaddle a baby and keep him in there for 24 hours. He might not like it. They simply bathe him then and immediately
afterwards when he was dried off a little bit, they
wrapped him in swaddling clothes. The
swaddling clothes was simply to indicate that he was
royalty. He was stood upright. He was the Prince who would be the King. He had been salted so his words would be
true. He was swaddled and after he was
swaddled, it was just a matter of 2 or 3 minutes or 5 at the most. Just a few minutes. That’s all that they would need to have him
swaddled. You talk about those shepherds
having their Benrus’ synchronized. That was something. That timetable of God was right up to snuff
because when the shepherds come from the Judean Hills into the city of
Bethlehem and they go in to find the Christ child, he still going to be
what? Swaddled. They could have 50 kids in that stable,
children, babies, born that same minute. But of all of those children that would have
born in that stable at that time, how many would have been swaddled? Only one. That was why, that one that was swaddled was
the one he was talking about. Look at
it.
They said well fellows we got to go
to
And they came with
haste, and found Mary, and Joseph, and the babe lying in a manger. -- Luke 2: 16
In the stable, that’s where Mary and
Joseph and the babe were residing.
That’s all. They found it. And when they had seen it, they went out of
that place and they made known abroad the saying which was told them concerning
this child and here’s the normal reaction you get to the Word of God today as
they did then to the Christ child who was the Word of God incarnate. Jesus Christ God’s only begotten son. And all they that heard it wondered. They wondered. Do you know what they wondered? What’s the matter with those crazy shepherds? That’s what they wondered. And then they said oh their shepherds anyway.
There way out in left field. They were
wise men, but it doesn’t say there were three.
Could’ve been a dozen. They never came to see Jesus until a year and
a half after this. Approximately. But on the night Jesus Christ was born, these
humble little shepherds came in. What
they said the Word doesn’t tell us so all you can do is guess and guessing
isn’t good enough. All I know is that
when they left, they were really turned on.
And they went everywhere down Main Street, up 5th Avenue,
down to every place where they moved through and they spoke about what they had
heard and what they had seen. And the
people that heard them speak wondered about them.
And when they had
seen it, they
made known abroad the saying which was told them concerning this child. -- Luke 2: 17
And all they that heard it wondered
at those things which were told them by the shepherds. -- Luke 2: 18
But Mary, she just quietly kept all
of these things in her heart.
But Mary, kept all
these things, and pondered them in her heart. -- Luke 2: 19
But the shepherds, version 20,
returned, they returned back to their sheep and the sheepfold that night and
they were glorifying and praising God for all the things that they had heard
and seen as it was told unto them.
And the shepherds
returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things that they had heard
and seen, as it was told unto them. -- Luke 2: 20
I am sure that we here in the
auditorium at The Biblical Research Center tonight also glorify God and praise
God for all the things that we have heard and seen. From His Word, the greatness of the power of
His Holy Spirit, the change in our lives, what God has wrought within the
hearts of people.
Even as the shepherds that night went back to their sheepfold glorifying
and praising God for what they had seen in
When our Lord and Savior Jesus
Christ was born, hardly anybody knew about it.
But those who did know still went around glorifying and praising God for
what they had heard and what they had seen.
Ladies and gentlemen, at this time
of the year, I know within my heart. And
I think I speak for many of you people and I trust for all of you. That you’re just as grateful to God as I am
tonight for what God has taught us and the things that we have heard and that
we have seen from the great accuracy of God’s Word. That is my prayer and desire in my life to
make known the greatness of His Word to God’s people in our day and in our
time.
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