Thank you. In Luke chapter 2, an angel's announcement of the long-awaited Messiah's arrival was a pivotal moment, and the shepherds who heard the announcement didn't just huddle up to ponder the meaning of what they'd just heard.

They were compelled to action.

Today, on Truth for Life,

Alistair Begg investigates the remarkable sign and song

that spurred the shepherd's immediate journey to Bethlehem.

The words to which I would like to draw your attention are those which begin at the 12th verse,

and this will be a sign for you.

You will find a baby wrapped in swaddling cloths and lying in a manger.

Now, we've been considering these events as

recorded for us by Luke, and we've tried to say to one another to remind one another that the

events that are here for us in Luke's Gospel, belong to a time that can be precisely defined, and

belong to a geographical area that can be equally defined. And that's why when we began

at the beginning of Luke chapter 2, we tried to pay attention to the

way in which Luke decides to tie things in to the position and the role of Caesar Augustus.

It was, from a human perspective, on account of the fact that Caesar Augustus had ordered a

census for the entire Roman

Empire that Mary and Joseph found themselves arriving in Bethlehem. And it is against the

background of the powerful authority of this Roman emperor that the humility and the humiliation

of the coming of Jesus is displayed.

Now, Augustus was regarded highly. He was responsible politically for establishing the Pax Romana,

the peace, which lasted for a fair amount of time, and his rule and his ability to secure his boundaries and to

provide for his people afforded him all kinds of accolades. So he's a big man. He's a big man

...