Luke 2 "The One"

1. Looking for "The One"

a. Trilogies
There are many Hollywood movies which talk about 'looking for the One'. A couple of interest include Star Wars and The Matrix. The Matrix describes the search for 'The One' who can bend the rules in the matrix (a make-belief world created by machines to keep humans enslaved. The story is set in the future when machines become smart enough and overpower their human creators). The One is the person who would rescue the humans from slavery to the machines. In Star Wars, 'The One' is the person who will 'bring balance back to the Force', which can be either good or evil.

b. Oracle... birth... childhood
During the time of Jesus as recorded in the book of Luke, there was also an anticipation of 'The One'. There were many oracles made about 'the One who is to come' in the Old Testament, the Jewish holy Scriptures. The Jews were looking forward to a person who would deliver their nation from foreign rule. (See previous talks on Luke).

2. Oracles
What are some oracles made of 'the One' in the Old Testament Scriptures?

a. Righteousness & wisdom
'For when Pharaoh stubbornly refused to let us go, the LORD killed all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, both the firstborn of man and the firstborn of animals. Therefore I sacrifice to the LORD all the males that first open the womb, but all the firstborn of my sons I redeem.' (Exodus 13:15)

As God rescues His firstborn Israel from Egypt, so should righteous Jews sacrifice their firstborn to God. They would use an animal in place of the firstborn male.

'This is the law for her who bears a child, either male or female. And if she cannot afford a lamb, then she shall take two turtledoves or two pigeons, one for a burnt offering and the other for a sin offering. And the priest shall make atonement for her, and she shall be clean.' (Leviticus 12:7-8)

Jews faithful to God would carry out this law.

'Let not steadfast love and faithfulness forsake you; bind them around your neck; write them on the tablet of your heart. So you will find favor and good success in the sight of God and man.' (Prov 3:3-4)

As faithful, righteous Jews, they would be wise living out God's word, such that people will look up to them as well.

The One has to be a righteous person in God's sight. Thus, oracles about the One in the Old Testament aren't necessarily predictions. Many of the oracles paint a visual aid of what God's righteous person looks like. The above are snippets of oracles about what righteous Jews would do.

b. Peace & light
"But there will be no gloom for her who was in anguish. In the former time he brought into contempt the land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali, but in the latter time he has made glorious the way of the sea, the land beyond the Jordan, Galilee of the nations. The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light; those who dwelt in a land of deep darkness, on them has light shined."  (Isaiah 9:1-2)

This is a prophecy made about the future when Israel was in exile, under foreign rule.

'For to us a child is born, to us a son is given; and the government shall be upon his shoulder, and his name shall be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. Of the increase of his government and of peace there will be no end, on the throne of David and over his kingdom, to establish it and to uphold it with justice and with righteousness from this time forth and forevermore. The zeal of the LORD of hosts will do this.' (Isaiah 9:6-7)

The way God will being light to them is via One Person.

"It is too light a thing that you should be my servant to raise up the tribes of Jacob and to bring back the preserved of Israel; I will make you as a light for the nations, that my salvation may reach to the end of the earth." (Isaiah 49:6)

The prophecy is not just for Israel, but for the rest of the world as well!

"But the LORD of hosts, him you shall honor as holy. Let him be your fear, and let him be your dread. And he will become a sanctuary and a stone of offense and a rock of stumbling to both houses of Israel, a trap and a snare to the inhabitants of Jerusalem." (Isaiah 8:13)

Yet, not everyone will accept the Chosen One.

c. Jerusalem, Galilee & Bethlehem
"Break forth together into singing, you waste places of Jerusalem, for the LORD has comforted his people; he has redeemed Jerusalem." (Isaiah 52:9)

Jerusalem is the capital of Israel. The prophecy involves Jerusalem.

"But there will be no gloom for her who was in anguish. In the former time he brought into contempt the land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali, but in the latter time he has made glorious the way of the sea, the land beyond the Jordan, Galilee of the nations. The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light; those who dwelt in a land of deep darkness, on them has light shined."  (Isaiah 9:1-2)

Galilee is a remote region - a forsaken place. Yet, God's prophecy regarding the restoration of Israel would involve this very unknown place.

"But you, O Bethlehem Ephrathah, who are too little to be among the clans of Judah, from you shall come forth for me one who is to be ruler in Israel, whose coming forth is from of old, from ancient days." (Micah 5:2)

Bethlehem is even more remote! And yet from this small town would come 'the One'.

3. Birth of the One... or is He?

Looking at the events surrounding Jesus' birth, can we tell that He is the One?

a. Nobodies in the Empire
Back in Luke 2, we see the powerful Roman Empire of the day. Caesar issues a decree - just a few words and millions of people are uprooted (v1). Everyone has to comply.

v4-6 Poor Joseph has to take his pregnant wife to his hometown Bethlehem.
v7 They are nobodies in the empire - they can't even find a place to stay at the inn, even though Mary is about to give birth!

b. Angels, shepherds & the sign
v8 The angels appear to lowly shepherds, one of the lowest 'classes' of people in society at that time.

The birth of Jesus is very different from that depicted in most Christmas plays:
1. The angels in the Bible are male, not female
2. The angels are not cute tiny things (v13); they have a whole host of people with them. The host does not just mean a great multitude - 'host' means great army!

Yahweh in the Old Testament was known as Lord of Hosts, or Lord of Armies! In the Exodus account, an Angel of the Lord is described killing all the firstborn sons in Egypt.

v11 Jesus is Savior. He is Christ the Lord. Christ as we saw in previous weeks is the word for the anointed King who would come to win the battle.

3. The nativity scene is actually very ugly.
v16 Jesus is born in an animal shed! In fact, 'manger' means the feeding trough of the animals! It is not very nice indeed.

v12 Yet the announcement to the Shepherds was exactly that: The Christ Savior is born and he is lying in an animal feeding trough.

c. Oracles fulfilled
So, are there any oracles of the One which have been fulfilled?

v4 He is born in Bethlehem (fulfills Micah 5:2)
v4 He is from the line of David (fulfills Isaiah 9:6)
v10 There is great news and joy at his coming (fulfills Isaiah 52:9)
v11 He will be a ruler born in the city of David (fulfills Micah 5:2)
v14 He will bring peace on earth (fulfills Isaiah 9:6)

As the Jews read through Luke's account, they would no doubt have been able to pick out these oracles!

4. Childhood

What about Jesus' childhood? Are we able to tell from his childhood whether he is the One?

a. Custom of the Law
v22-24, 39, 41-42 Again and again the customs of the Jewish law are fulfilled by Joseph and Mary. They are faithful, righteous Jews. Jesus as a baby had thus fulfilled all the Jewish laws (it was done unto him by his parents!)

b. Simeon & Anna
v26-32 Simeon and Anna were also faithful and righteous Jews waiting for God to come and restore their country. God had promised Simeon that he would not die till he saw the Consolation of Israel, the One who would bring comfort to the nation by restoring the nation. God keeps his word to Simeon. As Simeon takes up the child and blesses him, he notes that Jesus would be a light of revelation not just to Israel, but to the Gentiles (non-Jews) as well.

c. Smarter than a 5th Grader?
v40, 52 Jesus was wise. He was very smart.
v44-47 Little Jesus was smart! He knew the word of God. He understood deep things, not just trivial things.
v49 Here we see that at 12 years old he already had some consciousness that he was the Christ, the Son of God.

d. Oracles fulfilled
So, which oracles of the One are fulfilled in Jesus' childhood?

v22-24 He would undergo a sacrifice of redemption of the firstborn and turtledoves for purification (fulfills Exodus 13, Leviticus 12)
v25 He is pronounced to be the Consolation of Israel by Simeon (fulfills Isaiah 52:9)
v29-30 He will bring salvation (fulfills Isaiah 9:6)
v32 He is a light for the Gentiles (fulfills Isaiah 49:6)
v34 He is the fall and rising of many (fulfills Isaiah 8:13)
v38 He is the redemption of Jerusalem (fulfills Isaiah 52:9)
v39 Galilee is his hometown (fulfills Isaiah 9:1)

5. The One?

a. God's sovereignty
All the Old Testament prophecies are coming true. For God to promise them hundreds of years ago and then fulfill them is a great show of his sovereignty and his control over history. God is in control even over the mightiest of men (Caesar). By passing the census, that forced Joseph to move from Galilee to Bethlehem, where the One was to be born in.

God is sovereign, in control over the whole army of heaven. He is the One who will bring salvation to men. God is involved in history.

b. Confusion
For us readers of Luke's account, it may be so obvious. Yet to the characters in the story, it is not so. In fact, they are confused on many occasions!

v18 All who heard the shepherds wondered at what the shepherds had told them
v33 Even Jesus' parents marvelled at what was said about him, having heard the angel's message that he was to be the Christ (Luke 1:30-33)
v50 Jesus' parents didn't understand Jesus even though they knew that he was the Son of the Most High (Luke 1:31-32)

For many of us in the 21st century, we like to say we will believe if we had been born 2000 years earlier during Jesus' time and seen Jesus with our very eyes. It wouldn't be so hard to believe in Jesus.

Yet, in this account we see that experience didn't lead to belief. In fact, experience = 'marvelled', 'confused', 'confused'! E=mc2!

c. Myopia
They didn't understand the significance of Jesus' birth and work.

Later, we even see John the Baptist asking "are you the coming One, or should we look for another?" (John 7:20) despite proclaiming previously that Jesus would be the One who would bring salvation to people. He had expected Jesus to be the new political leader, a political King who would drive away the Roman empire and re-establish Israel's sovereignty!

They were short-sighted about what Jesus had come to do. Jesus later died on the cross - He was not the King people were looking for.

v34 Simeon said he was appointed for the fall and rising of many in Israel, i.e. that some would accept and some would reject him. Even his own people would reject him. Many would have great heartache, even Mary's (v35). She would have to see her own son being crucified years later.

We must not be as short-sighted too. What has the One come to do? In The Matrix, Neo the 'One' tries to free the humans from the grip of the Machines, only to realise that he is really a program installed by the Machines, used to regularly reboot the matrix software. At the end, the thing he achieves is not freedom from machines, but only a ceasefire between the 2 sides. He is a disappointing chosen 'One'. In Star Wars, Darth Vader, the 'One', throws the evil Emperor down the chute, 'vindicating' himself and turning back to the good side, bringing balance back to the Force. That was his purpose from the very beginning, to bring balance back to the Force. Yet, it is very unjust. For all the people he killed in the past, destroying the one evil Emperor should not be enough to clear his guilt.

We are all condemned, all deserving of death for sinning against God. The only way to be vindicated is if we believe in Jesus so that our penalty of sin is laid on Him instead. Through Jesus, God forgives us and so that we can be right with Him again. That is what Jesus has come to do (Luke 24:44-47). And unlike Neo in the Matrix, he fulfills his role completely and does not disappoint. Unlike Darth Vader, there is complete justice to be found in Jesus' death on the Cross. Jesus is truly 'the One'.