Several people have asked for a copy of my Christmas Eve sermon.  We didn’t record it, since we met in the gym.  This is an abridged, after Christmas, version of those remarks. 

The night that Jesus was born was a holy and special night like no other in the history of the world, a night in which heaven and earth intersected in a very real and physical way.

But it’s possible that you may have the wrong impression of life in Jesus’ day.  Oftentimes, the songs, artwork, cards, and sermons may lead you to believe that life in the first century was peaceful, serene, and uncomplicated.  I have always pictured Joseph and Mary in a peaceful farming village, with distinguished looking people in beautiful robes walking quietly and reverently.  The truth is that the century in which Jesus came was a hard one.  Life was difficult.  Pressures were real.  Grief was ever-present.  Evil was rampant.  Wars were common.  Taxes were high.  Government officials were corrupt.

Our technology has changed, but life was much like life today—only worse.

Let me give you some examples, because I don’t want you to think of the days of Jesus as the good old days.  If you lived in the first century, here’s what you could expect:

About 25% of your babies would die in their first year.  If they lived through childhood to age 15, they could expect to live into their early 50’s before they died.

If you were a Jewish girl, your parents would often make a bargain with a potential husband when you were still a child.  They could legally marry you off when you were 12 years and 1 day old, though many waited six months or more.  Because you married young to older men, you could plan on living half your adult years as widows.

Cities were relatively large. Rome had nearly a million people in Jesus’ day.  But there were limited plans for waste and garbage disposal, and only the largest cities had secured water systems and baths.  I leave it to your imagination as to what those cities smelled like.

Famine was a constant threat, because crops were totally dependent upon local weather.  Drought or storms in one area might bring widespread death and disease, while only a few hundred miles away, there might be plenty.  A lack of good communication and reliable transportation made it hard to get food to where it was needed.

Public entertainment in Rome and new cities started by King Herod in Israel featured armed gladiators fighting each other.  Most cities of any size had organized chariot races in which the death of animals and drivers was applauded.

Throughout theRoman Empire, crime and terrorism were real and constant threats.  Small daggers were used that could be easily hidden and used in crowds by assassins.  Politicians, tax collectors, personal enemies, and anyone with money were targets.  Zealots opposed to the Romans were very violent, and the Romans retaliated mercilessly.  The Romans grew so tired of fighting the Jews that Jews were often slaughtered by frustrated generals. Jerusalemwas completely destroyed about 40 years after Jesus and thousands of Jews were killed.

Taxes were high and unfair.  Unscrupulous tax collectors had the backing of the military to collect whatever they thought was fair.

Rape and prostitution were constant.  Roman soldiers were notorious for taking whatever women they wanted.  First century homes which were recently excavated in Nazareth had underground hiding places—places where you could hide your food and your women when soldiers came through.

Shocking and violent events were common.  Not long after the birth of Jesus, a number of young children in Bethlehem were massacred.  Those who study demographics and population estimate that about 20 children were killed, the same as in the recent Sandy Hook massacre.

I write this because I want you to understand that life wasn’t that much different than today.  The years of the first century certainly weren’t the good old days.  Jesus left the glory of heaven to come to a tough and evil world much like our own.  He came to an often evil, violent, overtaxed, unfair, grieving, hurting, and dying world.

He offered peace to a world in which there was no peace.  He offered joy to a world in which there was grief and pain and misery and heartache.  He offered hope to a world that offered not much more than hard work and an early grave.  He offered righteousness to people who were surrounded by evil and violence.  He offered forgiveness to people who were hardened by their own sin and the sin around them.  He offered eternal life to people who were surrounded by the death of their parents, their spouses, and their children.  He offered justice to people who had been unfairly treated all of their lives.  He offered good will toward men in an age of hatred.  And He offered a relationship with God to people who were considered no more important than the dust of the earth by their superiors.

That’s why Jesus is so relevant to today; because we need the same kind of things that Jesus came to offer in the first century.  I’m not worried about the future of Christianity.  We live in an age of evil, disbelief, violence, and hatred—the same kind of world to which Jesus came.  What Jesus has to offer is attractive and necessary, and I look forward to the day in which we will share the excitement of the shepherds, “Let’s go and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has told us about.”

God’s invitation today is much the same as what the angels offered the shepherds, “Today in the town of Davida Savior has born to you; he is Christ the Lord.”

Let’s not forget Him now that Christmas is over, and let’s not let the ungodliness of the world discourage us.  It was to a time like this one that Jesus came!