... Laid Him in a Manger
A Sermon on Luke 2:7
Originally preached Dec. 25, 1959
Scripture
7And she brought forth her firstborn son, and wrapped him in swaddling clothes, and laid him in a manger; because there was no room for them in the inn.
Sermon Description
There is a vast difference between the good news of the eternal Son of God taking on flesh to rescue sinners and the vague commercialized cultural Christmas message of good cheer. The authoritative word of God does not present a Christmas message about the brotherhood of humanity and vague encouragement to have the Christmas spirit. In contrast are the facts about the Son of God and the significance of those facts. In this Christmas sermon on Luke 2:7 titled “…Laid Him in a Manger,” Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones calls the church to hold firmly to the historicity of the babe, born of a virgin, in Bethlehem, in a stable, and in the manger. Christians must rid themselves of false sentimentality about what Christmas is truly about and tell the truth about the world . The world, says Dr. Lloyd-Jones, is blinded to their real need. The world is cold and full of selfishness. The Son of God is humble and was born in the lowliest of situations. Even with the facts, says Dr. Lloyd-Jones, all should be amazed that God the Son would come at all for such a dark world. Moreover, when one has the facts, they see the love of God which led to the Son of God coming so that sinners might be reconciled to God. Listeners are encouraged to leave behind the philosophy of Christmas spirit and embrace the historical facts of God taking on human flesh.
Sermon Breakdown
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The sermon begins by emphasizing that the passage describes historical events, not just teachings or philosophy. The details about Caesar Augustus and Cyrenius anchor the events to a specific time and place.
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God is in control of history. He orchestrated the events surrounding Jesus's birth, including putting the idea of the census into Caesar's mind and ensuring the genealogical records were kept to prove Jesus's lineage.
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The world was unaware and unconcerned with the significance of Jesus's birth. People were preoccupied with things like politics, money, and taxes. The really important spiritual matters were ignored.
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The world was selfish, cruel, and unconcerned with a pregnant woman and newborn. There was "no room for them in the inn." People only cared about themselves.
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It's amazing that God sent Jesus into such a world. We should ask not why God allows evil but why he allows the world to exist at all.
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Jesus came in humility, born in a stable and laid in a manger. This shows the depths of his love in coming to save humanity.
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Jesus had to become human to save humans. He experienced life as a human, including poverty, temptation, and work. He came to die for our sins and rise again.
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God's love, grace, mercy, and compassion led him to send Jesus to save us, forgive us, and make us his children.
Other Sermons
Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones
Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones (1899-1981) was a Welsh evangelical minister who preached and taught in the Reformed tradition. His principal ministry was at Westminster Chapel, in central London, from 1939-1968, where he delivered multi-year expositions on books of the bible such as Romans, Ephesians and the Gospel of John. In addition to the MLJ Trust’s collection of 1,600 of these sermons in audio format, most of these great sermon series are available in book form (including a 14 volume collection of the Romans sermons), as are other series such as "Spiritual Depression", "Studies in the Sermon on the Mount" and "Great Biblical Doctrines". He is considered by many evangelical leaders today to be an authority on biblical truth and the sufficiency of Scripture.