Be faithful
Luke 2:1-20
The faithfulness of those who played a part in the birth of Jesus is inspirational.
1. Be faithful to God’s calling
In this understated account, we read how Joseph went to Bethlehem, ‘to register with Mary, who was pledged to be married to him and was expecting a child’ (v.5).
It can’t have looked good. Joseph knew that Mary had not been unfaithful. However, he must have known that to everyone else around, it looked as if she had. The temptation must have been to dissociate himself from her (the account found in Matthew 1:19 even says he considered divorcing her quietly until an angel of the Lord spoke to him).
However, he was utterly faithful to God’s calling and to Mary, no matter how it looked from the outside.
2. Be faithful to God’s promises
Mary must have been bewildered by what was going on. Yet, she believed what she had been told – she was faithful to the promises she had received. She ‘treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart’ (Luke 2:19).
This is a wonderful example of what to do with prophecy and other words that you sense may be from God. Sometimes, you need to keep them to yourself. Like Mary, keep your mouth closed and, at the same time, keep your heart open. Treasure up God’s promises to you and ponder them in your heart.
3. Be faithful to God’s message
The shepherds’ message was very different however. It was ‘good news… for all the people’ (v.10). Once they had found the baby in the manger as the angel had described, ‘they spread the word concerning what had been told them’ (v.17). You too have been entrusted with this amazing message about Jesus and are called to faithfully ‘spread the word’.
4. Trust that God is faithful
Above all, this is an account of God’s faithfulness. Everything that God had promised to Mary, Joseph and the shepherds, took place ‘just as they had been told’ (v.20). Yet God’s faithfulness to them was part of something even greater.
We begin to see how Jesus is the fulfilment of all God’s promises in the Old Testament. He is born in ‘the town of David’ (v.11), and his earthly father is ‘of the house and line of David’ (v.4). He is the promised king to whom the whole Old Testament points, ‘he is the Messiah’ (v.11).
This is ‘good news… for all the people’ (v.10). We see here a glimpse of what that means for us. Jesus is your ‘saviour’ (v.11), through whom you can know the peace and favour of God (v.14). You no longer need to carry a burden of fear (‘Do not be afraid’, v.10a). In knowing Christ, you know God. He himself is God; he is ‘the Lord’ (v.11). God’s faithfulness and love are the bedrock on which everything else is built.
