The True King of the World (Luke 2:1-21)
Read Luke 2:1-21
At last the story begins. The overture is over: the opera has begun. The curtain opens and we are given the setting to the story: “A decree went out from Caesar Augustus that all the world should be registered.”
For us this is ancient history, but Luke’s original readers recognized it as yesterday’s headline. They knew of Caesar Augustus as well as we know about Abraham Lincoln – and probably better, for Augustus’ reign had ended only a few decades earlier (14 A.D.)
What they knew was this: Caesar Augustus was the adopted son of Julius Caesar. Following a bloody civil war, he seized power and turned the great Roman republic into an empire with himself at its helm.
Claiming that his adopted father became a god after he died, Augustus called himself the “son of god.” Rome’s rise to greatness had brought peace to the world (Pax Romana), climaxing with the reign of Augustus himself. Before long, especially in the east, people would worship Augustus himself as a god, calling him a savior. The claim, “Caesar is Lord,” was on the lips of all good citizens of Rome.
Consider the phrases just mentioned: "Son of God … Peace on earth … Savior ... Caesar is Lord." Ring a bell? Of course it does. These are terms we use refer to Jesus, not Caesar.
Now we beginning to see the subversive nature of Jesus’ kingdom. The emperor takes a census in order to build his kingly coffers, but in so doing he unwittingly sets in motion events for the world’s true King to be born in King David’s city.
In truth, the Son of God was not the emperor in Rome; it was the Baby in a manger (12). The promised peace did not come through Rome; it came through Jesus (14). Augustus was not the world's savior; that title belongs to Jesus (10-11). Caesar is an impostor: Jesus is the world’s true Lord (11).
Caesar Augustus never heard of Jesus of Nazareth. But within a century, as the movement grew, Caesar's successors persecuted Jesus' followers for treason. Within three centuries of Caesar’s death, the Emperor himself became a Christian. And today, while Caesar is merely a footnote to history, Jesus is the one whose life literally divides the calendar in two.
No, it didn’t look like it at the time, but the true King of the world was not the king in the palace; it was the Baby in the manger. The story of Jesus is just beginning in Luke’s gospel; but with this opening salvo, we can’t help but wonder: what kind of kingdom will this be? Stay tuned.
“Lord, following you as my king is as subversive today as it was back then. Show me how to reject the parodies of power, and how to live the Jesus way.”
What they knew was this: Caesar Augustus was the adopted son of Julius Caesar. Following a bloody civil war, he seized power and turned the great Roman republic into an empire with himself at its helm.
Claiming that his adopted father became a god after he died, Augustus called himself the “son of god.” Rome’s rise to greatness had brought peace to the world (Pax Romana), climaxing with the reign of Augustus himself. Before long, especially in the east, people would worship Augustus himself as a god, calling him a savior. The claim, “Caesar is Lord,” was on the lips of all good citizens of Rome.
Consider the phrases just mentioned: "Son of God … Peace on earth … Savior ... Caesar is Lord." Ring a bell? Of course it does. These are terms we use refer to Jesus, not Caesar.
Now we beginning to see the subversive nature of Jesus’ kingdom. The emperor takes a census in order to build his kingly coffers, but in so doing he unwittingly sets in motion events for the world’s true King to be born in King David’s city.
In truth, the Son of God was not the emperor in Rome; it was the Baby in a manger (12). The promised peace did not come through Rome; it came through Jesus (14). Augustus was not the world's savior; that title belongs to Jesus (10-11). Caesar is an impostor: Jesus is the world’s true Lord (11).
Caesar Augustus never heard of Jesus of Nazareth. But within a century, as the movement grew, Caesar's successors persecuted Jesus' followers for treason. Within three centuries of Caesar’s death, the Emperor himself became a Christian. And today, while Caesar is merely a footnote to history, Jesus is the one whose life literally divides the calendar in two.
No, it didn’t look like it at the time, but the true King of the world was not the king in the palace; it was the Baby in the manger. The story of Jesus is just beginning in Luke’s gospel; but with this opening salvo, we can’t help but wonder: what kind of kingdom will this be? Stay tuned.
“Lord, following you as my king is as subversive today as it was back then. Show me how to reject the parodies of power, and how to live the Jesus way.”