righteous-they saw themselves as perfect keepers of the law. In their minds
they were all God could ever ask of them.
You could say they were filled with proud indifference because indifference
is always a result of pride. There was no room for the Son of God in their
system. When the grown child arrived on the scene, they hated and
despised Him. So, they plotted His murder and screamed for His blood.
Many people today miss Christmas because they don't realise they are
sinners. So, they ignore Christ. They don't show any interest in the Saviour
because they don't understand their need to be saved. They don't
understand that the wages of sin is death (Romans 6:23) that sin plummets
people into an eternal hell. Consequently, they ignore the remedy because
they don't even know they have the disease.
Luke 2 indicates another group of people who missed Christmas: "in the
same region there were some shepherds staying out in the fields and
keeping watch over their flock by night. And an angel of the Lord suddenly
stood before them" (vv. 8-9). The angel proclaimed the birth of Christ, and
the shepherds went to Bethlehem to see Him. Verse 20 says, "The
shepherds went back, glorifying and praising God for all that they had heard
and seen, just as had been told them." Out of all the people in Jerusalem,
God singled out shepherds to receive the great news about the birth of
Christ.
Shepherds were a despised group of people. They couldn't maintain all the
ceremonial washings and activities because they were busy tending to the
sheep. Yet no one else from the city came to see the Christ child except
these "unclean" shepherds. However, two special people did take note of
Him when He was brought into the city. Luke 2:25-26 mentions Simeon, a
man who "was righteous and devout, looking for the consolation of Israel;
and the Holy Spirit was upon him. And it had been revealed to him by the
Holy Spirit that he would not see death before he had seen the Lord's
Christ." Luke 2:36-38 tells us about Anna, a widow who saw the Messiah in
the Temple, and who "continued to speak of Him to all those who were
looking for the redemption of Jerusalem" (v. 28).
However, the mass of people in Jerusalem missed Christmas. The birth of
Christ took place only a few miles away. It was the fulfilment of all their
dreams and hopes; the event that would change the destiny of the world; but
they missed it. Why did they miss it? Religion. They were so busy with the
rituals of their religion that they missed the reality of His birth.
When Jesus asked His disciples, "Who do people say that the Son of Man
is?" (Matthew 16:13), their answer was: "Some say John the Baptist; and
others, Elijah; but still others, Jeremiah, or one of the prophets" (v. 14). All
the speculations were wrong. Jesus didn't fit into the religious system of His
day. And the people knew He didn't after He gave the Sermon on the Mount.
Religion will damn a soul faster than anything if it is anything less than true
worship of the true God. A false religious system gives us a place to hide; a
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