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The Christmas story is filled with conspicuous contrasts: Between the lowly shepherds and the kingly magi; between the insignificance of Bethlehem and the magnitude of Rome; between the baby King and the maniacal King Herod. But perhaps the greatest contrast is between Augustus Caesar and the baby Jesus: the power, fame and glory of Augustus and the weakness, obscurity and humility of the Bethlehem babe.
Augustus Caesar is introduced in Luke’s gospel as the one whose decree caused Joseph and Mary to make the 80-mile trip from Nazareth to Bethlehem. As the adopted son of Julius Caesar, Augustus (then known as Octavius) avenged Caesar’s assassination and brought stability and peace to a republic that had known twenty years of turmoil and civil war. He therefore laid the foundation for the Roman empire and inaugurated the great Pax Romana—two hundred years of relative peace. Wealth and unprecedented power were centered in the Rome of Augustus. For all these deeds, the Roman senate honored this adopted son of the deified Julius Caesar as “Divine Augustus Caesar, Son of God, Savior of all the world.” Protected by his Praetorian guard, Augustus enjoyed regal luxury and comfort as the first emperor of that Mediterranean colossus called Rome.
In contrast, the baby Jesus was born in a backwater town. Wrapped in swaddling clothes, He slept in an animal’s feed trough, while animals served as His attendants. Mary and Joseph hurried Him off to Egypt to protect Him from the megalomaniacal paranoia of King Herod. He grew up in the home of Joseph, the community carpenter, in another backwater town called Nazareth. At age 30, He began a three-year ministry as an itinerant Rabbi announcing the coming of God’s kingdom. The New Testament declares that His death, burial and resurrection fulfilled ancient prophecies and were both redemptive and substitutionary in scope. It also affirms that He is infinitely above Augustus Caesar both in majesty and in dignity.
Because 2008 has been filled with so much fear, despair and a seeming loss of hope, this Christmas it is instructive for us to reflect on this contrast between Augustus Caesar and Jesus. The opulence, power and immensity of Rome are gone. Augustus Caesar is but a prominent personage for the history books. But today the name of Jesus is known on every continent and He is worshipped by hundreds of millions as the King of Kings. His message brings encouragement, comfort and hope because by faith the truths of His life are personalized: Because of His manger there will be a mansion in His kingdom (John 14:1-3); because of His servanthood there is liberating freedom (John 8:34-36); because of His humility there is glory (Philippians 2:6-11). Because He is the Prince of Peace, the Son of God and the Savior, He remains the irresistibly attractive message of Christmas. |
