The Real Savior

“In those days Caesar Augustus issued a decree that a census should be taken of the entire Roman world.”
Luke 2:1 (NIV) 

In Luke chapter two, an angel appeared to a lowly group of shepherds announcing good news of great joy for all people. A Savior had been born in Bethlehem! But the news of a “savior” would have meant something very unique to these shepherds. They would have imagined a new kind of Caesar.

In today’s verse, Caesar Augustus, the ruler of the Roman Empire, had given an order that his kingdom be counted. He wanted to know just how enormous his empire had become. So every man and his family had to return to the town he was from to be counted. 

God used a pagan emperor to set off the chain of events that would fulfill the prophecies of the Messiah. This order sent Mary–with Christ in her womb–and Joseph on the road to Bethlehem to obey Caesar’s decree.

Do you know what people called Caesar Augustus? “The Savior of the World.” He was an official object of worship. As the head of the Roman Empire, he was the most powerful man in the world. Caesar wasn’t just to be obeyed and honored…he was to be worshiped. 

The gospel writer was well aware of both the political and the religious overtones of this title. Luke is the only Gospel author to use the term, “Savior,” for Jesus. What he was saying was, “The real Savior of the world doesn’t sit on a throne in Rome. He is a little baby lying in a manger in Bethlehem.” 

Today, the world worships everything but the only One worthy of our worship. As you go about your business, buying gifts or attending events, listen for a still small voice of Emanuel, “God with us”. Let His voice break through and whisper: “I have come into your world to be with you.”

2,000 years ago, that voice broke through as the cry of a newborn in a stall. Today, it is the voice of a risen Savior seated on His throne. That voice bids you to come and lose your life so that you might truly find it in Him. 

Respond to your invitation to worship like the shepherds and wise men did all those years ago. The invitation is for you and it is for right now. Come to the Savior.

Prayer: Father, I answer the invitation to come to the Savior. You are the only One worthy of my worship. Help me hear Your voice today through all the noise and lay everything down before You. I praise You for moving the pieces of history for Your purpose. I trust that You are doing that in my life today. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.