Luke
2:8-12
Introduction: As I
was growing up, we had a lot of different kinds of Christmas trees over the
years. Some were quite memorable. For a couple of years it was aluminum, with a
little color-wheel that turned changing the colors of the tree. We thought that
was the greatest thing we had ever seen. Somewhere along the way my parents
decided maybe the tree should be made of wood. Buying one was out of the question.
Why would you? We lived in the country and could go out in the woods and find
one. I remember cutting down a tree and bringing it home. At one point we had an
entrance room in our house with a sixteen-foot-high ceiling. For several of
those years we had trees that used most of that, 12-15 feet tall! Decorating
those was fun. We had a staircase that went up to a second story balcony. My
brothers and I would hang off of railing like a bunch of monkeys trying to hang
lights and ornaments and tinsel (of course!).
Those memories mean something, but for most of
those years I had little understanding of what Christmas was really about. Decorations
and presents were more important than the Good News at the heart of the season,
the birth of the One who came to hang on a tree so that we could be forgiven.
We want to remember that God so loved the world that He gave His only
begotten Son… In Him, we can have
the joy of the Lord that springs from a heart that has been reconciled with God! The
Son entered this broken world, taking a human nature in order to give his
life so that we could have peace with God. When we remember that, Christmas
is reason for joy! Not the trees or lights or presents or get-togethers. Those
things are fine (and fun!). But the news that brings joy is that “Unto you a
Savior is born…”
Last
week I quoted Billy Graham. Part of what he said was that, “Christmas
is not a myth, not a tradition... It is a glorious reality. It is a
time of joy. Bethlehem’s manger crib became the link that bound a lost
world to a loving God... God loves us so much that He was willing to give His
Son.”
That is reason for joy! It is not
just a story, it is HISTORY! Does that message still fill your heart with wonder? If we are not careful, the pressures of life,
and even the busyness of the season, can rob our joy. Remember why He came!
From the Old Testament times the messianic hope anticipated a time of rejoicing
would be associated with the Coming One. In Isaiah 9:2,3 we read,
“The
people who walked in darkness have seen a great light; those who dwelt in a
land of deep darkness, on them has light shined. 3 You
have multiplied the nation; you have increased its joy; they rejoice before
you as with joy at the harvest, as they are glad when they divide the spoil.”
The
magi in Matthew’s gospel certainly felt joy when the star they saw in the east
led them to the Son. We read in Matthew 2:9-10, “And
behold, the star that they had seen when it rose went before them until it came
to rest over the place where the child was. 10 When
they saw the star, they rejoiced exceedingly with great joy.” The
God who is, had led them to the Promised One, the Messiah of the Jews and
Savior of the World. They had reason to rejoice!
In Luke, when the pregnant Mary came for the first time into the
presence of her cousin Elizabeth who was also expecting, the yet unborn John
the Baptist responded with joy, Luke 1:44 says “For behold,
when the sound of your greeting came to my ears, the baby in my womb leaped
for joy.” Mary, Elizabeth, and even John knew the Hope of the ages was
here! His coming was cause for rejoicing!
As we focus on the Joy of Advent, I want to look closely at another, very familiar
passage in Luke’s Gospel, focusing on just four verses of the angel’s
announcement to the shepherds in Luke 2:9-12,
“And
an angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around
them, and they were filled with fear. 10 And the
angel said to them, "Fear not, for behold, I bring you good news of a
great joy that will be for all the people. 11 For
unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the
Lord. 12 And this will be a sign for you: you will
find a baby wrapped in swaddling cloths and lying in a manger."
The BIG* Idea: Christmas
is cause for joy because God sent his Son as He had promised, revealing His
glory and providing salvation to those who believe.
I. Christmas is cause for joy
because it is a revelation of God! The writer to the Hebrews said that, “…God spoke in times past
through the prophets, in these last days He has spoken through the Son!” The
God who is has spoken. We have seen His glory in Jesus! Here
we read in Luke 2:9, “And an angel of the Lord appeared to
them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they
were filled with fear.”
Their reaction is stated emphatically, “They
feared a great fear!” Put yourself in their sandals… this message came
to them, to a group of shepherds watching over their flocks on a
Bethlehem hillside. The messenger was an angel of the Lord. Who were they? Common
shepherds, out in the fields, watching over their sheep. Sheep were a
necessary part of the worship of Israel. The sacrifices were required by
the Law. Here they He, out in the field, doing their job, and God met them
where they were. He revealed himself to them. That seems to happen a lot in
the Bible, people going about their everday life, and in some way God speaks. It
is still true, right? It is not only
when we come to church, but He meets us in the course of life. It’s good, yes,
essential, that we gather together for worship and celebrate Jesus. We also need
quiet times when we can be alone with the Lord. But it is true that there is no
secular / sacred dichotomy for a Christ follower. God is with us always.
We live Coram Deo, before the face of God. God meets us where we are,
living as broken people in a broken world. Even in our struggles He is there.
He walks with us through life, changing and growing us on the way.
God
sent this angel to announce a glorious message that the Jewish people had been
anticipating for centuries. It was an awesome revelation of the glory of God.
God has spoken in many ways through the prophets in times past. At this moment,
incredibly, He spoke through a heavenly messenger, an angel, to these shepherds.
How many humans have had the experience of seeing an angel (at least
knowingly!)? At this point in history, as the fullness of time approached, an
angel had spoken to Zachariah, to Mary, and to Joseph, announcing that the time
was at hand, the fullness of time had come. And now, a group of Shepherds, out
in the fields, watching their flocks, hear news that a Savior had been born!
What joy!
“The Glory of the Lord shone around
them…” As if heaven itself cracked the door open for a moment, a glimpse of
heaven, God’s glory, flooded all around them. The brilliance of the Shekinah glory
of God is something the Jews understood from times past. Moses got a
glimpse of it, first in the burning bush, and then later as God hid him in the
cleft of a rock and passed by in his radiant glory. The Jews in the wilderness
had a hint of it as they saw the Pillar of Fire in the wilderness leading them
on the way and awesome presence of God shaking Mount Sinai and shining from the
Holy Place in the Tabernacle. It spoke to His transcendence and His holiness. Isaiah
had a glimpse of the Lord, “high and lifted up, the train of His robe
filling the Temple.” That same glory shone down on these shepherds on a
hillside outside Bethlehem. John said, “We have seen His glory, glory as the
only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth.
Notice
the response of the shepherds to this revelation from heaven: they were filled with fear, literally they feared a great fear! This was probably not only the
godly reverence of knowing they were in the presence of holiness, a visitor
from heaven. They were likely confused and troubled by what was happening. Why
was he here? What did this mean? But, their fear and confusion would soon be
transformed into joy. After all, this was a message from God! *Christmas means
joy to all who believe the good news that God sent his Son as He had promised,
revealing His glory and providing salvation for all who believe.
II. Christmas is cause for joy
since the good news is for all people (v. 10). “And
the angel said to them, ‘Fear not, for behold, I bring you good news of a great
joy that will be for all the people.’”
The
shepherds were terrified, and then: “Fear not…” It seems that is often
the first word of the Lord to his people when he is revealing Himself to them.
We respond with “fear” because we recognize our weakness, and our sinfulness is
exposed in the light of his holiness. But the admonition “fear not” in
itself is good news. It reminds us, as Billy Graham said, that God is
interested in us, that He cares, that He loves us so much that He did not send
His Son to bear a sword, but to bear a cross.
Then the angel goes on
to say, “…I bring you good news of a great joy that will be for all
the people.” That offer of salvation in Christ is extended to all
people: a universal call to turn from sin and rebellion and turn to Jesus for
life. Jesus came to provide the one and only way for sinners to be
reconciled to God. That might sound like an exclusive message,
after all we read in John 14:6 “I am the way, the truth and the life, no one
comes to the Father but by me…” and Acts 4:12, “There is no
other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved…” Exclusive?
Yes. But in another sense it’s very inclusive in its
context. The barriers were gone: rich or poor, male or female, Jew or Gentile,
the Lamb came to take away the sins and to offer life to all who believe. That
is cause for rejoicing! Advent is cause for joy because God sent his Son
as He had promised, revealing His glory and providing salvation to those who believe.
III. Christmas is cause for joy
since it celebrates the coming of the promised One, our Messiah, Savior, and
Lord (v.11). “For unto you is
born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord.”
Isaiah
had said 700 years earlier, “Unto us a child is born,
unto us a Son is given…” Now the angel speaks and
says unto you is born a Savior. The prophetic word was
not only for the leaders and the powerful and the influential, it was for “the
people,” including these shepherds. It is also God’s word for you and me. He
came for us, in our “lostness,” to rescue us!
He was born “…in the city of David…” just as the prophet had said (see Micah
5:2). He was born according to promise, in fulfillment of Scripture. In perfect
detail, God providentially guided “His story” to compel Joseph and Mary to
travel to Bethlehem. The prophet said,
“But you, O Bethlehem
Ephrathah, little to be among the clans of Judah, from you shall come forth for
me one who is to be ruler in Israel, whose origin is from of old, from ancient
days…” (Micah 5:2).
They had been in Nazareth, that was where
the angel found Mary and Joseph and revealed God’s plan. God used circumstance
rather than a direct revelation to get them where they needed to be for His
plan to unfold on schedule, according to promise. It seems that God still guides
His people providentially… through the circumstances of life that He
sovereignly orchestrates, along with the more subjective “nudging” of the
Spirit. And, of course, He has given us His Word, the Bible, as our infallible
guide.
The angel gives some
information about this coming one, He is “…a Savior, Christ,
the Lord.” He is Savior, Messiah (Christ), and Lord. Only the
unfolding of His life, his teaching, and his death and resurrection would
reveal the full meaning that God intended for each of those terms. Could this
be the first time those titles had come together? He was the promised one, the
Messiah, He came as Savior, to rescue us from our sins, and He is Lord, God
incarnate. This would prove to be the greatest news that humans had ever
received. So, Christmas means joy for those who believe: God sent his Son as He
had promised, revealing His glory and providing salvation for us.
IV. Christmas means joy since it
reveals how far He was willing to go for us (v.12). “And
this will be a sign for you: you will find a baby wrapped in swaddling cloths
and lying in a manger."
His humble birth was itself a sign. First of all, He
came as a human baby. Think about how humbling that was! He existed
eternally as God! Couldn’t God have created a human body out of the dust of the
earth as He had done with Adam? Of course he could have! But He didn’t.
Mary was with child of the Holy Spirit. Jesus was born of a woman. And as a
tiny helpless baby He depended on her care and feeding and the protection and
provision of Joseph. This was the creator of the Universe! The Word was made
flesh and dwelt among us. Fully God, fully human.
And remember the circumstances that surrounded His human birth: Not to the
castle of a king, not in wealth or even with the recognition of the religious
leadership, but with this sign: in humility, humbly wrapped in rags and laying
in the feeding bin of an animal. Paul said to the Philippians that,
“…he was in the form of God, did
not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, 7 but made
himself nothing, taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of
men. And being found in human form, 8 he humbled himself by becoming
obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross…” (Phil
2:6-8).
Isaiah
spoke of the coming of a suffering servant. His willing “humiliation” began in
his incarnation as a servant. This “stable” was likely a small cave out
behind the inn used to shelter animals. As He entered life as a human baby, he
was wrapped in rags, and laid in a manger, in that cave. Thirty-three years
later or so, He would be once again wrapped in rags, and laid in a cave, but
this time it would be a tomb. That was God’s plan! He came to do for us what we couldn’t do for
ourselves: He came to rescue us, to save us, by laying down His life for us.
Notice that it was a sign given to these
shepherds, men who were looked down upon for their failure to “keep kosher,”
since they couldn’t regularly get into the city for worship, but who also did
the essential work of caring for the animals that were destined for sacrifice
in the temple. “You’ve been watching over these sacrificial lambs who were
destined for sacrifices [that couldn’t take away sin] that were shadows and
types, pointing forward to a perfect sacrifice that could finally take away
sin. The time has come: get down to Bethlehem and see the Lamb of God who takes
away the sin of the world.” That is Good News. They believed, they went to
Him, and they rejoiced!
What
is God saying to me in this passage? Christmas
means joy to all who believe the good news that God sent his Son as He had promised,
revealing His glory and providing salvation by humbly giving himself for us.
What
would God have me to do in response to this passage? Yes,
in my family we had some interesting Christmas trees through the years, maybe
yours did too. Certainly, we were always excited about what was under the tree
Christmas morning. We would be up early, ready to tear into what was there. Seven
kids, no one ever said, “No thanks, we really aren’t interested” Rejecting a
gift? Who would do that, right? It was purchased for us, the price was paid,
but the gift was rejected? Have you received the Gift of Christmas?
God didn’t give us a tree, or a
neatly wrapped present. He gave the Son, who was hung on a tree, accursed so that
we could be forgiven! He laid down
His life so that we could have life! For God so loved the world that He gave
His only Son… The only way to know real joy, is to receive the Gift of Christmas!
Believe the good news, that God loves us so much that He sent His Son into the
world, to give his so that we could have life. “This is how God showed His love among us: He sent His One and only Son
into the world that we might live through Him!” (I John 4:9). That is cause for joy! Rejoice in
the Lord always! Again, I will say it, rejoice! AMEN.
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