Small Town Savior - Week 1 - 12/01/24

Luke 2:1-7
1 In those days a decree went out from Caesar Augustus that all the world should be registered. 2 This was the first registration when Quirinius was governor of Syria. 3 And all went to be registered, each to his own town. 4 And Joseph also went up from Galilee, from the town of Nazareth, to Judea, to the city of David, which is called Bethlehem, because he was of the house and lineage of David, 5 to be registered with Mary, his betrothed, who was with child. 6 And while they were there, the time came for her to give birth. 7 And she gave birth to her firstborn son and wrapped him in swaddling cloths and laid him in a manger, because there was no place for them in the inn.

Isaiah 53

Who has believed what he has heard from us?
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And to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed?
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2 For he grew up before him like a young plant,
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and like a root out of dry ground;
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he had no form or majesty that we should look at him,
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and no beauty that we should desire him.
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3 He was despised and rejected by men,
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a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief;
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and as one from whom men hide their faces
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he was despised, and we esteemed him not.
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4 Surely he has borne our griefs
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and carried our sorrows;
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yet we esteemed him stricken,
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smitten by God, and afflicted.
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5 But he was pierced for our transgressions;
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he was crushed for our iniquities;
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upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace,
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and with his wounds we are healed.
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6 All we like sheep have gone astray;
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we have turned—every one—to his own way;
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and the Lord has laid on him
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the iniquity of us all.
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7 He was oppressed, and he was afflicted,
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yet he opened not his mouth;
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like a lamb that is led to the slaughter,
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and like a sheep that before its shearers is silent,
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so he opened not his mouth.
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8 By oppression and judgment he was taken away;
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and as for his generation, who considered
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that he was cut off out of the land of the living,
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stricken for the transgression of my people?
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9 And they made his grave with the wicked
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and with a rich man in his death,
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although he had done no violence,
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and there was no deceit in his mouth.
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10 Yet it was the will of the Lord to crush him;
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he has put him to grief;
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when his soul makes an offering for guilt,
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he shall see his offspring; he shall prolong his days;
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the will of the Lord shall prosper in his hand.
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11 Out of the anguish of his soul he shall see and be satisfied;
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by his knowledge shall the righteous one, my servant,
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make many to be accounted righteous,
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and he shall bear their iniquities.
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12 Therefore I will divide him a portion with the many,
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and he shall divide the spoil with the strong,
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because he poured out his soul to death
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and was numbered with the transgressors;
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yet he bore the sin of many,
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and makes intercession for the transgressors.

Everything about Jesus and his work here on earth was on purpose. He was born to common people in a common town. Raised in a town that did not have a great reputation, and there is no indication in all of the New Testament of what he looked like. We know from Isaiah that he had no form or majesty to cause people to look at him and no beauty that people would desire him. 

Common Start
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"All went to be registered"
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The census was God’s common plan to direct Joseph and Mary to Bethlehem.  Joseph was going back to his hometown from Nazareth, where there would likely be extended family. There is a good possibility they stayed with extended family, but the guest room was already occupied. This would not have been uncommon.
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According to law, Mary was not required to travel with Joseph for the census but made the 85 mile journey anyway. This trip fulfilled the prophecy of Micah 5:2
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Micah 5:2 “2 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.”
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Never underestimate the common everyday decisions that God is using to direct our steps.  He may use an angel to announce, but he uses a census and a difficult journey to direct.  We want the same angel that announced to give us turn-by-turn directions.
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Common Look
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Isaiah 53:2 “2 For he grew up before him like a young plant, and like a root out of dry ground; he had no form or majesty that we should look at him, and no beauty that we should desire him.”
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The only distinguishable trait Luke makes of the baby Jesus was what he was wrapped in and where he was laid. There were no extraordinary physical traits of the baby.
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Jesus looked common on purpose. The Bible is explicit that the first king of Israel was extremely handsome. This is a quality that has been exalted throughout history, and yet Jesus came with a regular appearance that would not distinguish him from common people.
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1 Samuel 9:1–2 “1 There was a man of Benjamin whose name was Kish, the son of Abiel, son of Zeror, son of Becorath, son of Aphiah, a Benjaminite, a man of wealth. 2 And he had a son whose name was Saul, a handsome young man. There was not a man among the people of Israel more handsome than he. From his shoulders upward he was taller than any of the people.”
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1 Samuel 16:7 “7 But the Lord said to Samuel, “Do not look on his appearance or on the height of his stature, because I have rejected him. For the Lord sees not as man sees: man looks on the outward appearance, but the Lord looks on the heart.””
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Common people were not intimidated by his looks or physical appeal. Jesus did not wear expensive clothes or exclusively associate with the upper class.
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We are prone to worship images we can see, but God refused to give us one in Christ. Now we must imitate who he was and what he did instead of how he looked.
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Jesus was not trying to give people an image of success but of the Father.  If you have seen me you have seen the father. His ultimate success would look like failure to the ruling class.
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Common People
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Jesus’ miraculous birth was to common people, in a common place, at a common time. When his ministry started, he did not remove himself from the common people.
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Mark 2:16–17 “16 And the scribes of the Pharisees, when they saw that he was eating with sinners and tax collectors, said to his disciples, “Why does he eat with tax collectors and sinners?” 17 And when Jesus heard it, he said to them, “Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick. I came not to call the righteous, but sinners.””
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Is the church ok with ministering to the common man?
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Jesus was fulfilling his purpose, not attempting to reach some arbitrary earthy level of success. Success in itself is not bad unless it keeps us from fulfilling our purpose. It is not the end goal, it is a means to an end. The goal should be success in the calling we have been given.
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Philippians 3:13–15 “13 Brothers, I do not consider that I have made it my own. But one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, 14 I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus. 15 Let those of us who are mature think this way, and if in anything you think otherwise, God will reveal that also to you.”
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God has called us to reach our communities, friends, and neighbors. Are we willing to be as common as Jesus in order to make that happen?
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Jesus was the most uncommon human being to ever walk the earth and chose to be common to save us.
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Let the uncommon things about you be grace, truth, power of the Holy Spirit, prayer, forgiveness.