SERMON: IN THOSE DAYS

Preached by Gregory W. Lee
2 December 2007

I. Introduction
-- turn in Bibles to Luke 2

1. In those days Caesar Augustus issued a decree that a census should be taken of the entire Roman world.
2. (This was the first census that took place while Quirinius was governor of Syria.)
3. And everyone went to his own town to register.
4. So Joseph also went up from the town of Nazareth in Galilee to Judea, to Bethlehem the town of David, because he belonged to the house and line of David.
5. He went there to register with Mary, who was pledged to be married to him and was expecting a child.
6. While they were there, the time came for the baby to be born,
7. and she gave birth to her firstborn, a son. She wrapped him in cloths and placed him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn.

-- several years ago, Kim and I invited a friend over for supper -- now this friend of ours was extremely busy, so we got with her way ahead of time and picked out a date and time that she was free so she would have time to sit and visit for a while after the meal
-- well on that day, we fixed a special meal -- we had everything ready by 5:00 pm -- we had the table set -- we had the food ready to serve -- the place settings ready -- we were looking forward to a wonderful evening -- all we needed was our guest
-- and so we sat there in the living room and waited for her -- and waited -- and waited -- and waited -- as the clock slowly moved from 5:00 to 5:30 and then from 5:30 to 6:00, we started to wonder if she had forgotten
-- by that time, we had already put the food in the oven to keep it warm -- and since Brooke was pretty small and was getting hungry, we made the decision to go ahead and start eating so we could put her to bed on time
-- which begs the question, what do you do when you are waiting for someone and it seems like they have forgotten to come?
-- as you know, today we are entering into the season of advent -- Advent marks the beginning of the church calendar -- the start of the Christian year
-- advent means "coming" or "arrival" -- and the advent season is a time of celebration of the first coming of Christ and a time of looking forward in eager anticipation for the return of Christ the King -- so, for the next four weeks, we will be preparing our hearts to celebrate the first coming of the Messiah, when God came to earth as a man, when Jesus was born in a manger on that first Christmas morning

-- now I know that we opened this morning with the traditional story of Jesus' birth from Luke Chapter 2, but I don't want us to follow the way of the world and rush into Christmas like they are doing -- I want us to slow down and savor the season -- to wait in anticipation once again for the coming of Christ, just like we used to wait in anticipation as kids for Christmas morning
-- in order to do so, we are going to have to return in our hearts and our spirits to the place the world was before Christ came the first time -- and we are going to have to remember in our hearts and spirits the place where we were before Christ came to us for the first time

II. In Those Days
-- so, if you would look back at Luke 2 with me, and let's begin our Advent season together
-- verse 1

1. In those days Caesar Augustus issued a decree that a census should be taken of the entire Roman world.
2. (This was the first census that took place while Quirinius was governor of Syria.)

-- when I was a kid, I used to enjoy reading fairy tales -- and it seemed like they all started the same way -- "a long, long time ago, in a land far, far away" -- and then the story would begin in earnest and a time of adventure and wonder would follow
-- Luke kind of starts his narration of the birth of Christ in a similar way, doesn't he? -- "in those days" -- but Luke doesn't mean this in the same sense as the old fairy tales did -- by using the phrase, "a long, long time ago, in a land far, far away," the writers of the fairy tales were trying to get you to believe -- at least for a moment -- that the story just might be true
-- but Luke goes on after his phrase, "in those days" to tell us that this was the time when Caesar Augustus issued a decree that a census should be taken of the whole Roman world and when Quirinius was the governor of Syria
-- in other words, Luke is telling us that this is no fable or myth -- it did happen "in those days" -- but it was a real time -- it wasn't a make-believe time -- the dates of these events can be dated with certainty -- they happened when Augustus was Caesar in Rome and Quirinius was governor in Syria -- so that's how we know that Jesus was actually born around 6 B.C.
-- by giving us this amount of information, Luke was telling Theophilus, "This is when this story happened -- it is true and it happened just as I wrote -- if you have any questions about whether it's true or not, ask someone who was alive then and remembers these events" -- I'm not going to tell you who Theophilus is -- I'm going to let you find that out for yourself

-- so, if Luke doesn't mean for us to take his phrase, "in those days" as just a generic opening line for a tale that follows, then what does he mean? -- what are "those days" that Luke is referring to?
-- well, in order to find that out, we are going to have to go back to the start of time
-- everyone in here is familiar with the story of Adam and Eve -- God made Adam and placed him in the Garden of Eden -- and then God made Eve from Adam's rib to be Adam's help-meet -- his mate -- flesh of his flesh and bone of his bone
-- they lived happily for a time, until the serpent came into the Garden and tempted Eve and caused her and Adam to sin against God -- when God came to the Garden some time later and discovered that sin had entered His Garden, God cast Adam and Eve from the Garden and cursed the ground and the serpent
-- but, He did more than that -- in cursing the serpent, God promised a time when the curse of sin and the curse on the earth would be lifted by a Messiah -- by One who would come and who would crush the head of the serpent and defeat him once and for all
-- this was the first promise of the Messiah -- and this promise burned itself into the hearts of Adam and Eve and all creation -- from that moment on, everyone and everything looked forward in anticipation for the coming of the Savior who would redeem them from the curse
-- eventually, God would call Abram to raise up a people -- the Israelites -- who would be the keepers of the promise -- the keepers of the covenant that He made with them to provide them with a Savior and to be their God
-- so the people got ready for Messiah -- in essence, they prepared a meal -- they set the table -- they had everything ready -- and then they waited -- and waited -- and waited some more
-- when they started to get too tired of waiting, God would speak to them through His prophets and remind them of His promise -- the Messiah was coming -- it just wasn't time yet
-- and so the people waited and waited and waited

-- what do you do when you are waiting for someone and it seems like they have forgotten to come?
-- there's an easy answer to that -- you go on with your life -- you quit waiting and believing and just start living -- just like Kim and I did when our friend didn't show up -- we went ahead and ate supper and put Brooke to bed and continued life as normal
-- that's exactly what the people of God did when it appeared like the Messiah wasn't going to show up -- I mean, you can't hardly blame them, can you? -- it was about 2000 years after God made the promise of a Messiah to Adam and Eve that He called Abram to become Abraham and become the father of the people of God
-- and, from that time until the start of the New Testament, another 2000 years had gone by -- 4,000 years of waiting, and the Messiah still hadn't shown up
-- so the people began to give up -- they had been waiting for a long, long time -- some people began to say that the Messiah would never come -- some were trying to explain it away -- "perhaps God meant the Messiah in a spiritual sense and not in a physical sense" -- some just plain gave up
-- for a long time, God would come in and speak to the people through His prophets and remind them of the Promise and let them know that He hadn't forgotten -- but once the prophet Malachi died, no more prophets were called -- and God was silent -- He hadn't spoken to the world or the people of God in over 400 years -- and so they got tired of waiting and tired of believing and just got on with their lives
-- this is the time that Luke calls, "in those days"

-- what was going on "in those days?"
-- in those days, the nation of Israel had ceased to be a sovereign nation -- Jerusalem and the holy land were under subjection to Rome -- the people were oppressed and lived under Rome's commands
-- in those days, people just made their way through life -- they grew up -- they got married -- they had kids -- and they made a living as best as they could
-- in those days, they lived under two laws -- the law of Rome and the law of religion -- they went to church -- they worshiped in the temple -- they followed the requirements to sacrifice and observed the holy feasts -- but not much else happened
-- in those days, life just went on -- most of the people still believed in the promise of the Messiah -- they longed for the coming of a Savior who would redeem them from the oppression and injustice of the Romans -- but the promise had become more like a myth than something that would actually happen -- if it happened, they would rejoice -- but, they really didn't expect it to occur -- they had been waiting for a long, long time and had just about given up hope
-- so, in those days, it was kind of like they slept-walked through life -- they went through the motions, but didn't really live in the hope and expectation of the Promise

-- in the song, "While You Were Sleeping," the group Casting Crowns has captured the essence of life lived by most people in those days
-- let me read to you part of this song:

"Oh little town of Bethlehem
Looks like another silent night
Above your deep and dreamless sleep
A giant star lights up the sky.
And while you're lying in the dark
There shines an everlasting light.
For the King has left His throne
And is sleeping in a manger tonight.
Oh Bethlehem, what you have missed while you were sleeping.
For God became a man,
And stepped into your world today.
Oh Bethlehem, you will go down in history,
As a city with no room for its King,
While you were sleeping
While you were sleeping"

-- this is what Luke means by the phrase, "in those days" -- he is calling to mind the state of the world -- the state of the people of God -- the place where their hearts and their spirits and their beliefs were prior to the first coming of Christ
-- they were asleep -- not expecting anything to happen -- just going through the motions of life -- it seemed like just another normal day -- as Casting Crowns sang, "another silent night" -- another command from Caesar -- another census of the Roman world -- another opportunity to tax the already over-burdened people -- just another day in the life of a Jew in the first century of Palestine
-- but, it wasn't just a normal day -- Luke tells us that, "in those days," something did happen -- the Promise was fulfilled -- the Messiah came -- and nothing has ever been the same again

III. Closing
-- if you would, turn over to Matthew 24 and we'll close there
-- one day, when Jesus was on the Mount of Olives, His disciples came to Him and asked Him when the last days would come and what would be the sign of His coming and the end of the age
-- look down at verse 36 and let's read Jesus' reply in what is called the Olivet Discourse -- verse 36

36. "No one knows about that day or hour, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father.
37. As it was in the days of Noah, so it will be at the coming of the Son of Man.
38. For in the days before the flood, people were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, up to the day Noah entered the ark;
39. and they knew nothing about what would happen until the flood came and took them all away. That is how it will be at the coming of the Son of Man.
40. Two men will be in the field; one will be taken and the other left.
41. Two women will be grinding with a hand mill; one will be taken and the other left.
42. "Therefore keep watch, because you do not know on what day your Lord will come.
43. But understand this: If the owner of the house had known at what time of night the thief was coming, he would have kept watch and would not have let his house be broken into.
44. So you also must be ready, because the Son of Man will come at an hour when you do not expect him.

-- just like Luke, Jesus tells us what it is going to be like "in those days" before His second coming
-- people will be eating and drinking -- marrying and giving in marriage -- going about their lives like normal
-- they'll be coming to church and worshiping the Lord and celebrating the special feast days -- they'll be having Thanksgiving dinner together with their friends and family -- they'll go out shopping after Thanksgiving to start getting ready for Christmas
-- they'll decorate their homes -- they'll have parades -- they'll go about life as normal
-- but few will look for the second coming of the Messiah -- few will look for Jesus to return -- and why should they? -- they'd been waiting a long, long time -- almost 2000 years have passed since Jesus died on the cross and rose from the dead -- Jesus hasn't come yet -- so, why should they expect Him to come now?
-- just like the Israelites in those days that Luke wrote about, the people of our day are going through life as if they are sleep-walking -- most have quit believing -- most have quit hoping -- most have quit looking
-- but, that's not what Jesus tells us to do -- He tells us in verse 42 to "keep watch, because we do not know on what day our Lord will come" -- He tells us in verse 44 to "be ready, for the Son of man will come at an hour when we do not expect Him"
-- as I mentioned at the start of this message, today is the beginning of the Season of Advent -- this is the heart and essence of what the Advent Season is all about -- celebrating the first coming of Christ 2000 years ago when He was born in a manger on Christmas Day -- and waiting and hoping and longing and watching for Him to come again
-- Luke wrote about how things were "in those days" when Christ came the first time
-- let me ask you now -- how are you living "in these days" -- in this time before Christ comes again? Are you living with one eye on heaven -- eagerly anticipating the return of Jesus -- or are you just sleep-walking through life without expecting much to happen?
-- Bethlehem and Jerusalem slept through the coming of Jesus 2000 years ago -- will we sleep through His coming this time?
-- as I close in prayer, let me encourage you to try to capture the spirit of this Advent Season -- to approach it with prayer and with eager anticipation for the coming of the Messiah -- let's not just focus all our time and energy on what was -- but let's look forward to what will be as we celebrate together the birth of Christ this year
-- let us pray