Pathway to Victory

Speaker 1

Hey podcast listeners, thanks for streaming today's podcast from Pathway to Victory. Pathway to Victory is a nonprofit ministry featuring the Bible teaching of Dr. Robert Jeffress.

And right now your generous gift will have twice the impact, thanks to the Now Is the Time Matching Challenge, active now through December 31st. To give a special year-end gift, go to ptv.org/donate or follow the link in our show notes.

Now here's today's podcast from Pathway to Victory.

Speaker 2

Hi, this is Robert Jeffress and I'm glad to study Word with you every day on this Bible teaching program.

Speaker 3

On today's edition of Pathway to Victory, the story begins.

Speaker 2

You know it well.

Now it came about in those days that a decree went out from Caesar Augustus that a census be taken of all the inhabited earth. The head of each household would go back to the place of his birth in order to register for the census.

And this is where we see Joseph and Mary.

Speaker 1

Welcome to the Pathway to Victory with author and pastor, Dr. Robert Jeffress. Every year at Christmas, the world pauses to celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ. But often the busyness of the holiday season distracts us from its true meaning.

Today on Pathway to Victory, Dr. Robert Jeffress takes this opportunity to reflect on the remarkable story of the birth of Jesus and the beauty of God's plan to redeem mankind.

But first, let's take a minute to hear some important ministry updates.

Speaker 3

Thanks, David, and welcome again to Pathway to Victory. This month we're giving our complete focus to the centerpiece of our faith, the Lord Jesus Christ. He is always the perfect topic, and especially so as we prepare for Thanksgiving and the Christmas celebration coming just a few weeks from now.

Before we get started with our study, I'm excited to let you know that the brand new Pathway to Victory daily devotional for 2020 is in house and ready to send to your home. This devotional has become a wonderful tradition at Pathway to Victory, and I have to say this edition is the most elegant one we have published. It's more than 500 pages in length, leather bound, and includes a devotional for every weekday in the new year.

Now here's the best part. The daily devotional is yours when you give a generous gift toward the active matching challenge of 1.6 million. It's the largest matching challenge in our history and now's the time to double our resources for the sake of the Gospel. I'm sure you've noticed that God is working in our country right now. There are signs of revival and an obvious hunger for the truth, especially among our young people. Our job at Pathway to Victory is to present the truth with boldness. We're in a perfect position to seize these God-given opportunities. Now's the time, my friend. Let's do this.

I'll share more details later in the program, but right now it's time to turn our attention to the word of God. We're looking at Luke chapter two, where we find the familiar story of our Lord's birth. I've titled my message, which was delivered in April, "Back to Bethlehem."

Speaker 2

I have some breaking news for you. Only 258 shopping days left until Christmas. Now, just saying that in jest, I can tell, sends panic throughout the congregation. I mean, you can't help but fast forward to December and trying to navigate through the crowded malls and the unending Christmas parties and being together with those family members with whom there's a strained relationship. I mean, no wonder by the time December 25th finally rolls around, we're all fatigued and tired of Christmas.

I think about the story of the little girl who was learning to pray what we call the Lord's Prayer. One night her dad walked past the bedroom, the door was opened, he saw his little girl kneeling by the bed and praying the Lord's Prayer. And he heard her say, "And Lord, forgive us of our Christmases as we forgive those who Christmas against us." Maybe you feel like you've been Christmas against by the time Christmas finally arrives. You know, it's trite, but it's nevertheless true. So many times the distractions of the holiday season cause us to lose sight of what Christmas is really about: the entrance of the Savior of the world into the world.

And that thought gave me a little bit of comfort when I was preparing this week's message. You know, in our study of Luke, we've come to Luke Chapter two. And I have to admit to you, I wasn't that excited about this week's message. Not because of the content, but because of the timing. I mean, how do you preach the Christmas story when it's 78 degrees outside? I mean, don't you kind of need to have a little chill in the air, need to have the lights, the decorations, the holiday music to get in the Christmas mood, to really appreciate Luke Chapter two?

And yet I want to suggest to you today that perhaps the best time to look at the story of Christ's birth is not around the holiday season when it gets lost with everything else. But perhaps the best time to examine what this story really is about is a day like today. And so today I'm gonna invite you to take your Bibles and turn back to Luke chapter two as we take a journey back to Bethlehem to talk about the most important birth in human history.

Now I want you to think of Luke's account of this birth as a play in three different acts. This is a three-act play and it begins act one, not in Bethlehem, but it occurs hundreds of miles away from Bethlehem in the seat of world power. Then it wasn't New York City or Washington D.C.; the seat of world power was Rome. The story begins. You know it well. Now it came about in those days that a decree went out from Caesar Augustus that a census be taken of all the inhabited earth. This was the first census taken while Quirinius was governor of Syria.

Now let's talk about Caesar Augustus for just a moment. Did you know this is the only time he's mentioned in the Bible? But he's a well-known figure in secular history. He did a number of notable things. He's probably best known for establishing the Pax Romana, the Roman peace throughout the world. And at this particular time in history, the government in Rome faced a very familiar problem. They were spending more money than they were taking in. Sound familiar? Have you ever noticed how government, when that happens, they never think about cutting expenses? The knee-jerk reaction is what Caesar Augustus' reaction was: let's raise taxes.

And so in order to tax the world, to tax the empire, there were no IRS computers back then to track people down like dogs and make them pay. No, instead if you were going to get tax money from people, you had to know who the people were. So he had to have them registered in order to be able to tax them. Now the Roman government was very methodical in how they were going to conduct this census. The head of each household would go back to the place of his birth where the family records were kept in order to register for the census.

So if you were a head of household and you lived in Nazareth but were born in Jerusalem, you'd go to Jerusalem. If you lived in Jerusalem but were born in Nazareth, you'd go the opposite direction. And this is where we see Joseph and Mary, this couple we met last time. Joseph was the head of the household and so he was commanded to go to the place of his birth. He lived in Nazareth, but he was commanded to go to his birthplace, which was Bethlehem. Look at verses 4 and 5.

"And Joseph also went up from Galilee, from the city of Nazareth, that's up in the north, down to the south to Judea, to the city of David, which is called Bethlehem because he was of the house and family of David in order to register along with Mary who was engaged to him and was with child." Remember last time the angel had just come, Gabriel to Mary and said, "You're going to give birth to the Savior." Now we've skipped about eight or nine months and now at this point Mary is pregnant, very pregnant, and they're on their way to Bethlehem.

Now the question is, why does Luke refer to Mary as the one who was engaged to Joseph? Remember the angel told Joseph what had happened and told him to go ahead and marry Mary. The fact was they had been betrothed, engaged. But once Joseph got the word, he took Mary as his wife. Why does Luke now, nine months later, say they were simply engaged? I think the reason is found in Matthew 1:25. Remember, the Bible says that Joseph kept Mary a virgin until she gave birth to a son. Even though by this time they had gone through the marriage ceremony, they were still living like an engaged couple. They had not had a sexual relationship and would not until Jesus was born. That's why he refers to Mary as Joseph's fiancée rather than wife.

Now the question comes up, why did Mary go with Joseph to Bethlehem? The law only required Joseph to be the one to go to Bethlehem. Why would Mary, about to deliver a child, ride on the back of a donkey for 85 miles down to Bethlehem? Well, I think there are three reasons. The first reason is the obvious reason. Because she was so close to birth, Joseph didn't want to leave her by herself. The second reason is Mary had been the subject of some very vicious rumors about her pregnancy. Remember, the story was going around that Mary's pregnancy was not divine; it was the result of a one-night stand with a Roman soldier named Panthera. And Joseph wanted to spare her all of this small-town gossip, so he took her with him.

But the third reason that Mary went is perhaps the most important reason. Seven hundred years earlier, God had prophesied through a prophet named Micah these words found in Micah 5:2. "But as for you, Bethlehem, Ephrathah, too little to be among the clans of Judah. From you one will go forth from me to be ruler in Israel. His goings forth are from long ago, from the days of eternity." God had predicted the exact place of the Messiah's birth. It would be in this little town of Bethlehem. So for that to be fulfilled, Mary had to go to Bethlehem.

Now what I want you to think about for a moment is how God used natural events to bring about his supernatural plan. Think about this: with one stroke of the pen, Caesar Augustus, hundreds of miles away, the most powerful man in the world, signed an edict that would have ramifications he could have never imagined. Little did Caesar know that when he signed that order, it would cause a man named Joseph, whom he had never met, to travel to a little village called Bethlehem Augustus had never heard of, in order that Joseph's wife might give birth to the King of the universe, a king whose followers, within just a few hundred years, would topple the entire Roman Empire.

Isn't that an amazing thought? You asked people on the street at that time, who is the most powerful man in the world? There wouldn't have been any argument. Everyone would have said, "Octavian Caesar Augustus." Why, of course. He is the most important person in all of the world. The truth is, he was nothing but a pawn on God's chessboard. God used him to do something he had no idea would result in the birth of the King of Kings and Lord of Lords. What I want you to see is God uses natural events to bring about his supernatural plan.

Act one of this play began in Rome. Act two we go to a small inn in Bethlehem. Look at verses six and seven. "And it came about that while they were there, the days were completed for Mary to give birth. And she gave birth to her firstborn son, and she wrapped him in cloths and laid him in a manger because there was no room for them in the inn." Isn't it interesting? Only two verses record the most important birth in history.

Ken Guyer, a gifted author in his book *Intimate Moments with the Savior*, uses his sanctified imagination to paint a picture for us of what that experience must have been like. Listen to this: "By the time Mary and Joseph arrive, the small hamlet of Bethlehem is swollen from an influx of travelers. The inn is packed and there is no room. But fortunately, the innkeeper is not all about shekels and mites. True, his stable is crowded with his guests' animals, but if they could squeeze out a little privacy there, Mary and Joseph were welcome to it.

Joseph looks over at Mary, whose attention is concentrated on fighting a contraction. 'We'll take it,' he tells the innkeeper without hesitation. The night is still when Joseph creaks open the stable door. As he does, a chorus of barn animals make and respond with a note of the intrusion. The stench is pungent and humid, as there have not been enough hours in the day for the innkeeper to tend the guest, let alone the livestock. A disquieting place for a woman in the throes of childbirth, far from home, far from family, far from what she had expected for her firstborn. But Mary makes no complaint. It is a relief just to finally get off the donkey. She leans back against the wall, her feet swollen, back aching, contractions growing stronger and closer together.

Joseph's eyes dart around the stable. Not a minute to lose quickly. A feeding trough would have to make for a crib. Hay would serve as a mattress. Blankets, blankets. Oh, his robe would do. And those rags hung out to dry would help. A gripping contraction doubles Mary over and sends him racing for a bucket of water. A scream from Mary knifes through the calm of that silent night. Joseph returns breathless, water sloshing from the wooden bucket. Sweat pours from Mary's contorted face as Joseph, the most unlikely midwife in Judea, rushes to her side. The involuntary contractions are not enough, and Mary has to push with all of her strength. Joseph places a garment beneath her, and with a final push and a long sigh, her labor is over. The Messiah has arrived."

Hmm. You know, I think C.S. Lewis had it right when he said the greatest miracle of all time is not the atonement or even the resurrection. The greatest miracle is the Incarnation. God becoming flesh. Max Lucado says it this way: "Stepping from the throne, God removed his robe of light and wrapped himself in skin. Pigmented human skin. The light of the world entered a dark, wet womb. He whom angels worship nestled himself in the placenta of a peasant, was birthed into a cold night, and then slept on cow's hay."

An interviewer once asked the famed designer Versace if he believed in God. Versace responded, "Yes, I believe in God. But I'm not the kind of religious person who goes to church who believes in the fairy tale of Jesus born in the stable with a donkey. I'm not stupid. I can't believe that God, with all the power that he has, would have to have himself born in a stable. It wouldn't have been comfortable." But that's the whole point, isn't it? That God was willing to give up the comfort of heaven. He, in the person of his Son Jesus, was willing to come to earth to be born in the most humble circumstances. And he came not to be worshiped. Not at the beginning anyway. He came to be sacrificed for our sins.

Paul said it this way in Philippians 2 in talking about Jesus Christ: "Although he existed in the form of God, he did not regard his equality with God a thing to be grasped, but he emptied himself, taking the form of a bondservant and being made in the likeness of men. And being found in the appearance as a man, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross."

The final act of this play occurs on a hill outside of Bethlehem. Look at verse eight. "And in the same region, there were some shepherds staying out in the fields and keeping watch over their flock by night." Now you have to know something about shepherds to appreciate what is going on here. Shepherds represented the lowest rung in the Jewish culture. Shepherds took care of dirty and smelly sheep. And because they did so, they were dirty and smelly themselves. There was no sure deodorant back then to take the stench away. So if you were gonna have a party, guess who you would never invite to your party? They never made it to any A-list parties. The shepherds, they were the outcasts of Jewish society.

Isn't it interesting that God chose to make his announcement of the Savior's birthday not to the political leaders in Rome, not to the Jewish leaders in Jerusalem? He chose to make this announcement to these smelly, dirty shepherds. Look at how it came about. Verse 9: "And the angel of the Lord suddenly stood before them. And the glory of the Lord shone around them. And they were terribly frightened." I would think so. Imagine out there in the darkness when suddenly Gabriel appears. And Gabriel said to them, "Do not be afraid." Notice how that's his entering line every time he runs into somebody. Don't be afraid. They had every right to be afraid.

"For behold, I bring you good news of a great joy which shall be for all the people. For today in the city of David, there has been born for you a savior who is Christ the Lord." Well, there were many babies probably born that night in Jerusalem, in all of Israel. So to be more specific, he gave the sign, verse 12: "And this will be a sign for you. You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger."

And suddenly the single voice of Gabriel gave way to a multitude, thousands, perhaps tens of thousands of angels in the heavens, saying, verse 14: "Glory to God in the highest and on earth. Peace." Now, if you have the King James version, it says, "Peace, good will toward men." That's a very unfortunate translation, even though it's the translation we're used to and we see plastered on Christmas cards everywhere. "Peace, goodwill toward men." That makes it sound like God has simply given a generic blessing to everybody. Peace, you all goodwill to everybody. That's not what the text says.

What the text really says is what the New American Standard translates it: "Peace among men with whom God is pleased." Ladies and gentlemen, the only people who are at peace with God and peace with themselves are those who have accepted the forgiveness that Christ comes to offer. Romans 5:1 says, "Therefore having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ." The only one who enjoys peace with himself, and more importantly, peace with God, are those whose sins have been forgiven by Christ Jesus.

Verse 15 says, "And it came about when the angels had gone away from them into heaven, that the shepherds began saying to one another, 'Let us go straight to Bethlehem then and see this thing which had happened, which the Lord has made known to us.'" Isn't it ironic to you that when the religious leaders in Jerusalem heard the news, how did they respond? Tell me something exciting. They stayed right where they were. But when the shepherds, the lowest rung of society, heard it, they went with haste. This is the first instance of a Christmas rush in history. They went quickly to see this thing.

Verse 16: "They came in haste and they found their way to Mary and Joseph and the baby as he lay in the manger." Look at verse 17. "And when they had seen this, they made known the statement which had been told to them about the child." Verse 20: "And the shepherds went back, glorifying and praising God for all that they had seen and heard, just as had been told them."

Speaker 3

We're just getting started in this important study of Luke chapter two, and please stay with us because David will explain how to receive the entire collection of unedited CDs and DVDs for this teaching series. It's called Celebrate the Savior. So many in our culture cannot celebrate the Savior because they've never heard about Jesus. The world is hurting and we hold the answer to their pain, the hope and love of Christ.

Now's the time to raise his name to the top of the flagpole. Now's the time to proclaim the glorious gospel and fight for the soul of our great nation. For this reason, Pathway to Victory has established a matching challenge so that together we can leverage our collective resources. The match amount is a record-breaking $1.7 million. This means that every dollar you give to support the ministry of Pathway to Victory will be automatically moved, multiplied by two, until the deadline on Dec. 31. That's twice the impact when you give right now.

But that's not all. When you invest in the matching challenge, I'm pleased to send you the brand new Pathway to Victory daily devotional for 2026. This tan leather-bound volume was written so that I could come alongside you every day in the new year as we walk together in faith. And it's more than 500 pages in length, so you might gauge the size of your contribution.

With this in mind, please stand with us to end 2025 in strength and to move full steam ahead into a new year of soul-winning ministry. Here's David to tell you more.

Speaker 1

When you give a generous year-end gift to support the ministry of Pathway to Victory, we'll say thanks by sending you the brand new 2026 Pathway to Victory Daily Devotional. If you'd like to request this exclusive resource, call 866-999-2965 or go to ptv.org. When your gift is $100 or more, we'll also send you "Celebrate the Savior," a DVD, video, and MP3 format audio disc set featuring the best Christmas teaching messages by Dr. Robert Jeffress.

Remember, because of our Now is the Time Matching Challenge, your gift will be doubled in size and impact. So be sure to get in touch right away. One more time, call 866-999-2965 or visit ptv.org. You could also send your donation by mail. Write to P.O. Box 223609, Dallas, Texas 75222. That's P.O. Box 223609, Dallas, TX 75222.

I'm David J. Mullins, wishing you a great weekend. Then join us again Monday when Dr. Jeffress concludes this important message titled "Back to Bethlehem," right here on Pathway to Victory.

Pathway to Victory with Dr. Robert Jeffress comes from the pulpit of the First Baptist Church of Dallas, Texas. You made it to the end of today's podcast from Pathway to Victory, and we're so glad you're here. Pathway to Victory relies on the generosity of loyal listeners like you to make this podcast possible.

Right now, your special year-end gift will be matched and therefore doubled in impact, thanks to the Now Is the Time Matching Challenge. Take advantage of this opportunity to double your impact before the deadline on December 31st. To give toward the matching challenge, go to ptv.org/donate or follow the link in our show notes. We hope you've been blessed by today's podcast from Pathway to Victory.