Who Is The Lord, The Saviour, The Son of God?

Son of God!  The Lord!  Saviour!  Who do you think of when I say those words?  I’m guessing that most if not all of you will be thinking about Jesus, or at least I hope you are.

To the average citizen of the Roman Empire in the early years of the first century AD hearing those words the name Jesus would not come to mind; they would immediately think of Caesar Augustus.  To the Romans the Emperor Augustus was the son of god, specifically the son of Apollos.  He was seen by them as divine and was worshipped along with the other Roman gods and goddesses like Jupiter and Mars.  Augustus was seen as the Lord.  Through the might of the Roman Empire he ruled much of the world that was known at the time.  There was nobody with more military might and political authority than Caesar Augustus.  He was also seen as the Saviour because he had united a Roman Empire nearly torn apart by civil war.  Through force and military might he had brought peace to the empire!

Son of God!  The Lord!  Saviour!  These were all titles given by angels to the baby Jesus at the time of his birth.  In placing these titles of Jesus in the mouths of angels the author of Luke’s gospel was saying something very, very profound about Jesus and his relationship to the Emperor whose decree had forced Mary and Joseph to travel to Bethlehem.

If Jesus is the Son of God then Caesar Augustus was not!  If Jesus is the Lord then Caesar Augustus was not!  If Jesus is Saviour then Caesar Augustus was not.  Right at the moment of his birth, with the titles given to him by God’s angels; Jesus was a counter-cultural figure standing in opposition to the beliefs and values of the world around him, embodied in the Roman Empire.

The contrast could not be greater.  Augustus was the first born son of a Roman noble woman, Atia, a relative of Julius Caesar.  Adopted as Julius Caesar’s heir, Augustus was born in the finest of surroundings and enjoyed wealth, privilege and power his whole life.  He achieved that power by military might and through fear!  He brought peace to most of the known world, but did it through violence.

Jesus was the first born son of a Jewish peasant woman, an impoverished nobody from a tiny village in the north that was looked down upon by many.  He was born in a stable and his first bed was an animal food trough.  He spent his early years as a refugee in a foreign land.  Jesus never had wealth and he gave up his power when he was born in Bethlehem.  Jesus achieved his influence by simply loving people and turning away from the violence that brought Caesar his power.  Jesus’ message was that justice for all will bring peace to our world.  Indeed when threatened with violence Jesus did not respond in kind, but instead submitted to death on a Roman cross.

There are really only two paths we can follow in this life.  We can follow the path of the world, represented by Caesar Augustus, the path of might is right, of seeking wealth, privilege and power.  We can be seduced by all the temptations the world has to offer, the pretty, shiny trinkets and baubles that are, ultimately, worth nothing!  We can follow the way of the world, putting ourselves, our needs and longings and desires first and perhaps paying only lip service to the needs of others.  We have the choice; we can choose the easy path.

There is another path we can follow, the path of Jesus Christ.  We can choose to make worshipping and serving God and each other the most important thing in our lives.  We can choose the path of peace, a peace that comes not from violence and intimidation, but through justice for all.  We can choose to live lives filled with love, lives that mirror the life of our Saviour.  Living and loving like Jesus will not always be easy, but it will bring us such rewards in heaven that the finest earthly gold will be like ashes to us.

“Glory to God in the highest heaven, and on earth peace among those whom he favours.”  Those he favours are those who seek to be disciples of Jesus, who seek to become subjects of the Kingdom of Heaven by living lives of love and peace. 

 
I hope that all who read this Christmas Day sermon will reject the false promises of the world and instead embrace Jesus Christ, the Son of God, our Lord and Saviour, whose birth we celebrate.