Can you believe it’s already the week of Christmas? Even though we celebrate Christmas on the same date every year, this year it seems to have come exceptionally fast. So much so I haven’t been able to enjoy some of my favorite Christmas traditions like watching my Christmas movies. Watching Christmas movies is almost as much a highlight of Christmas as the music is to me. I usually start a little later with the movies though. I normally start in November and watch the greats like “A Charlie Brown Christmas”, “Miracle on 34th Street” (Black and White Version), “A Muppet Christmas Carol”, and “Emmett Otter’s Jug Band Christmas”, but it’s not just these. I try to watch all the popular Christmas movies in that two month span. Even though I have tried to watch all the popular Christmas movies over the past 40 and some odd years, there was a popular Christmas Movie I had never seen until a few years ago and that was “White Christmas.” My wife had grown up watching it and finally talked me into watching it. I thought that since the movie was based off a Christmas song I liked, it was going to have to be good. However, as I started watching the movie, I was confused. What did a White Christmas have to do with World War 2? It’s not that I don’t like a good war movie, but this was supposed to be Christmas and snow and stuff. I begrudgingly kept watching and soon heard a song about snow, so I thought ok maybe I understand what’s going on now. Then came the choreography song and they almost lost me, but because of my wife, I held on. Then came the finale and they sang White Christmas. It was snowing. The story all came together perfectly and it all made sense. It’s since become another one of my favorites. In our Christmas series “Melodies of the Messiah”, we sort of started off the same way. We started off with a character who seems out of place in the Christmas story - Simeon. It might have been confusing at first, but it was his song that laid the groundwork for the entire Christmas story. We looked at Mary and next listened to her song. The Christmas story started to make sense. It became more familiar. Today we will finish the series by looking at a song that is the grand finale, a song that wraps up the Christmas story perfectly - the Angels’ song. If you have your Bibles let’s turn to Luke 2 and start in verse 8 where we will look at this song. Before the finale song is proclaimed there is a prelude to set the stage one last time.
Prelude: The Angel Proclaims the Good News. - Luke 2:8-12
8That night there were shepherds staying in the fields nearby, guarding their flocks of sheep 9 Suddenly, an angel of the Lord appeared among them, and the radiance of the Lord’s glory surrounded them. They were terrified, 10 but the angel reassured them. “Don’t be afraid!” he said. “I bring you good news that will bring great joy to all people. 11 The Savior—yes, the Messiah, the Lord—has been born today in Bethlehem, the city of David! 12 And you will recognize him by this sign: You will find a baby wrapped snugly in strips of cloth, lying in a manger.”
Thanks to Linus of Peanuts fame, these verses in Luke are probably the most well known passage of Scripture concerning the true meaning of Christmas. This is also probably the most preached on passage at Christmas time as well and rightfully so. This passage has so much symbolism in it that points us to many truths in Scripture. Many of those we have talked about already in this sermon series. We see the birth announcement of Jesus was given to shepherds. They were the lowest class of citizens in the area, so much so that they were not allowed to testify in court. The fact that God chose to tell the greatest news ever to these men shows us that Jesus was coming to upset the status quo just like we saw as we looked at Mary’s song last week. The fact that the baby was going to be found in a manger showed the
same thing. The king was here, but not the way the world or even the Israelites expected. We see a theme - 5 different times in the Christmas story the words “Don’t be afraid” are used. We could talk about how following God in faith and walking in obedience can be a scary thing because it looks nothing like what this world expects us to act like. Just as the angel said, we don’t need to be afraid because God is still God and we know that God causes everything to work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to His purpose for them (Romans 8:28). We could talk about how the swaddling clothes that Jesus was wrapped in are very reminiscent of grave clothes at the time. As we have seen over the last few weeks, Jesus' mission was to come and to die for the sins of the world - He was born to die. However, in this prelude I want to focus on the words of the angel after his call for “no fear”. He starts with the phrase “I bring you good news” and the news was no doubt the greatest news the world has ever heard or will ever hear. I want to call your attention to the words “good news”. The Greek word here is where we get the word “evangelism” from, and evangelism is just sharing the Gospel or Good News of Jesus with others. This was the first Gospel conversation after the birth of Jesus, given by a messenger of God. This Good News was to bring joy to all people. We have already talked about how Simeon told those in the temple that Jesus had come to save the entire world, but what is this joy that Jesus brings and we sing about with songs such as “Joy to the World”? It’s hard to be in the presence of a baby without a smile on your face and a bit of happiness in your heart, but that’s not what the angel is declaring. Those babies that bring a smile can sometimes bring a frown, especially when they wake up every night and keep their parents awake. The angel is telling them that this baby is bringing them something much greater than just a smile and some happiness. This child is bringing something that is a fruit of the Holy Spirit when He is abiding in someone, something that is only experienced in the presence of God. It’s an intense satisfaction and contentment that goes beyond our circumstances and abides even in the midst of the storms of life. How could this baby do this? How can this child bring joy to the entire world? The answer is found in the three titles that the angel refers to Jesus as. He calls Him Savior, Messiah, and Lord. Let’s look at the first title, Savior.
I’ve often heard people compare Jesus to a lifeguard - someone who saves you when you’re drowning. However, that picture doesn’t sit right with me. A lifeguard is only needed in an emergency. In all my years of swimming I’ve never once needed to be rescued by one and Jesus is not like that at all. He isn’t just waiting on the sidelines in case we get into trouble. The truth is, every single one of us is already in trouble and are in need of saving, whether we realize it or not. Unlike a lifeguard who might or might not be called upon, Jesus is the Savior we need and all must depend on if we are to be saved. We see from Scripture and from our own testimonies that we are all sinners just like we are told in 1 John 1:8, "If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us". This sin separates us from God now and will separate us from God for all eternity, so we must do something about it. The problem is when we stack up all the good we have ever done, it does not match the standard of perfection that God requires for us to be in His presence. This is why Jesus came. He came to save us from our sins and their consequences, just like the angel told Joseph in Matthew 1:21, “And she will have a son, and you are to name him Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins.” This is how Jesus brings joy. We can be forgiven and set free from sin and its consequences when we trust in Him as our Lord and Savior. The next title the angel uses is “Messiah”. If you are looking for a deep Bible study during your Christmas break, I highly suggest doing a word study on the word Messiah. I do not have the time to even scratch the surface on what this angel was declaring when he proclaimed that Jesus was the Messiah. I will briefly mention one meaning for Messiah. The Hebrew word Messiah means "anointed one”, in the Greek we see Messiah communicated with the word “Christ”. When we look to the Old Testament we see three offices that were anointed to serve. Those were prophet, priest, and king and the New Testament
shows us how Jesus Christ was the ultimate fulfillment of all three. As a prophet He not only brought the Word of God (John 7:16, John 8:28, John 17:8), but He was the Word of God (John 1:1-14). As priest, He was the fulfilment of both the Aaronic and Melchizedek priesthood according to the book of Hebrews. He performed the task of a priest by bringing a sacrifice to satisfy the law. Jesus brought the perfect sacrifice that was an everlasting sacrifice when He came and died for our sins. As King, Jesus is the King of kings and Lord of lords just as the Bible declares. We will all see at His return as recorded in Revelation 19:26. When the angels proclaimed Jesus as the Messiah, they were declaring much more than just a few titles for Jesus. They were revealing the entire life and mission of Jesus summed up in a single marvelous word. The final title the angel calls Jesus is Lord and as we just saw, Jesus is the Lord of all lords. When we say Lord we mean He is the one in charge. When we say Jesus is Lord, we are saying it is Jesus that rules in our lives. He is the one that we follow and this is required to make Him your Savior. Romans 10:9 tells us that “if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved.” Jesus is the one who is Ruler and King of everything. This is the good news of Christmas that joy has come because Jesus the Savior, the Messiah, the Lord has come. However, for you to experience the joy that only Jesus brings He must be your Savior, your Messiah, and your Lord.
Finale: The Choir Sings. - Luke 2:13-14
13Suddenly, the angel was joined by a vast host of others—the armies of heaven—praising God and saying, 14 “Glory to God in highest heaven, and peace on earth to those with whom God is pleased.”
There is only one proper response to news this good no matter if you are a human or a created angelic being. You must respond by praising God for what He was doing through Jesus Christ. This is exactly what happened. The armies of Heaven joined this angel and began to sing a very simple but extremely profound song. Glory to God who sits enthroned in the highest heavens, on the highest throne in and for all eternity. Paul tells us in the first chapter of Ephesians that the Glory of God is the reason that Jesus came and saved lost sinners. As the angels continue, we see that the main theme of this song is both the glory of God and the peace He brings. It’s ironic that an army would bring such a message of peace on earth, but this peace is not just from war. This is a peace that only comes from God and starts with having peace with God. This can only happen when you put your faith in Jesus Christ as Lord and are saved by His grace. When you are saved, you are then indwelt with the Holy Spirit and have a peace that passes all understanding guarding your heart and your mind, both of which cause the majority of the grief and anxiety that we experience in our lives. This is the type of peace that people have been looking for since the dawn of creation. There is a famous quote from a Greek Philosopher in the first century that says, “While the emperor may give peace from war on land and sea, he is unable to give peace from passion, grief, and envy. He cannot give peace of heart for which man yearns more than even for outward peace.” He’s right. That’s exactly what man yearns for and that’s exactly what Jesus was bringing for those who trust in Him. What a wonderful finale and climax to the Christmas story, for countless angels to praise and bring glory to God for the peace that could now be experienced through Jesus, but the story isn’t over, the shepherds still had to respond.
Postlude: The Shepherds Go. - Luke 2:15-20
15When the angels had returned to heaven, the shepherds said to each other, “Let’s go to Bethlehem! Let’s see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has told us about.” 16 They hurried to the village and found Mary and Joseph. And there was the baby, lying in the manger. 17 After seeing him, the shepherds told everyone what had happened and what the angel had said to them about this child. 18 All who heard the shepherds’ story were astonished, 19 but Mary kept all these things in her heart and thought about them often. 20 The shepherds went back to their flocks, glorifying and praising God for all they had heard and seen. It was just as the angel had told them.
When the song was over, the shepherds didn’t just clap and go about their work. Instead they gave us a wonderful example of how we should live our lives in light of the truth of Christmas all year long. They heard God’s Word and they responded immediately in obedience. Many times when God speaks to us through the preaching, teaching, or reading of His Word, our first response might be “Well I’ll think about it” or maybe even the more spiritual response “Let me pray about it”. When God calls us to obedience it’s immediate obedience. Delayed obedience is disobedience. We do not need to think about or pray about what God has clearly told us to do in His Word. Not only did they follow God’s Word in immediate obedience they also encouraged each other to follow through in obedience as well. This is something we all are commanded to do in 1 Thessalonians 5:11. Through their obedience they had a deeper experience with Jesus- they met Him face to face. They saw that all they had been told by God through the angel was true. They grew in intimacy with God because of their obedience to His Word. However this wasn’t all. Their obedience was important and their growth in their relationship with God was important. But there is still one more important thing they did. They went and told everyone about it. They took over the role that the angels took in their story. They were now the evangelists. This is exactly what we are called to do. We are called to tell others of the Savior, of the Messiah, and of the Lord that was born that day in Bethlehem. This Good News was just as important then as it is today and is what we are all called to share if we call Jesus our Lord.
So to coin a phrase, “That’s what Christmas is all about Charlie Brown Church” - that God came in flesh to do what we could never do ourselves. He came to be our Savior, our Messiah, and our Lord by giving His life on the cross to give us a way to be made right with God by making Jesus the Lord of our lives. Once we are forgiven and set free from our sin through faith in Jesus Christ, we have to do just as the shepherds did. We have to go and share with others. Merry Christmas church. Now go share the Good News!
