BibleProject | Upside-Down Kingdom / Part 1 - LukeSampel

When Mary is near the end of her pregnancy, she and her fiance, Joseph, need to travel to Bethlehem to register for the census Caesar Augustus decreed. They arrive, and Mary goes into labor. They can’t find a guest room, and the only spot they can find is a place where animals sleep. Mary gives birth and lays Israel’s future king in an animal feeding trough. Not too far away a group of shepherds are tending their flocks when suddenly a brilliant angel appears in front of them. This, of course, completely freaks them out. But the angel tells them to celebrate because a Savior has been born. They are told that they’ll find the baby wrapped up and resting in a feeding trough. A huge choir of angels appears to kick off the celebration with a song praising God who brought his peace to earth. The shepherds don’t waste a minute and begin searching for the baby. They find the newborn Jesus in the manger just as the angel said. Their minds are blown. They can’t stop sharing what they experienced, and everyone who hears their report is mystified. This is not how anyone would expect God to arrive––born in an animal shelter to a teenage girl and celebrated by no-name shepherds. Everything is backwards in Luke’s story, and that’s the point. He is showing how God’s Kingdom arrives in these dirty places––among the waiting, the widowed, and the poor––because Jesus is here to bring salvation by turning our world order upside-down. Read, Reflect, and Respond: * How do the shepherds respond to the angel’s shocking news? How would you feel in their shoes? What is your response to the announcement of God’s peace coming to earth as a baby resting in a feeding trough? * How do Simeon and Anna respond to baby Jesus’ arrival at the temple? How do they recognize him as Israel’s king? * How might you expect a royal king to arrive? What do the circumstances of Jesus’ arrival reveal about the nature of God’s Kingdom? * Let your reading and reflection prompt a prayer. Thank God for his arrival in Jesus. Talk to him about how you agree with his message, where you struggle to believe, and what you need today.