A Special Announcement - Part 2
Notes
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Introduction - Last night in our Christmas Eve service, we began looking at a very special announcement. It was the first time the announcement of the birth of Christ came to a group of people.
Now we take for granted the shepherds are just an embedded part of the Christmas story. They’ve always been there. But we learned and maybe it surprised you to know that shepherds were unclean and pretty much the lowest members of Jewish society. As a matter of fact, the only group of people lower than shepherds were leperds, I mean lepers! Just checking to see if you’re awake!
Transition - Announcements are often considered dull, but not this announcement from the Angel to the shepherds in Luke chapter 2. Now we’ve all heard the Christmas story for years and years so we think we know it well. But for a few moments today, I want us to think about this special announcement as though we’ve never heard it before. With fresh eyes and ears and think deeply about the incarnation of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Read - 2:8-20
There are a couple of aspects of this special announcement I want us to consider and a few surprises for us to see. (Review)
1. It Was Personal—“to you.”
A. The shepherds - So the shepherds would have been as surprised as anyone at what they saw and heard. As a matter of fact, not only were they surprised, they were terrified at the news! “Megas Phobeo” - Greatly afraid!
The angel of the Lord deals with their fear with an authoritative command: Do not be afraid! Why? Because I bring you good tidings of great joy. The phrase is “Mega Chara” - great joy. What’s interesting about that word Chara, is it is part of the same root word for “Charis” - grace. Grace is God’s unmerited favor upon sinful man. Grace is God’s action, joy is the result of God’s grace to us. So truly there was no reason to be mega afraid, rather mega joyful in response to the grace of God. It is still personal!
2. It Was Universal—“for all people.”
A. The fact that it was universal does not contradict the fact that it was personal. It was personal in impact, but universal in scope. The fact this special announcement came to the lowest members of society reveals the universal nature of this news - it truly was good tidings of great joy that shall be for all people!
3. It Was Timely—“Born to you this day” Vs. 11
A. The fact that we woke up today and were able to come to worship Jesus Christ is a wonderful gift. Every day is Christmas day for believers if you think about it. The curse of sin carried the ominous promise that we would die. Yet God in His grace & mercy has provided for us this day, a means to be alive in Him because of Jesus Christ. That Babe born over 2000 years ago and laid in a manger - Immanuel, God with us; came to save His people from their sins. His people are those who believe in Him by faith. Just this past Wednesday in our SOAP reading through the Gospel of John, I read John 5:24 “Most assuredly I say to you, he who hears my Word and believes in Him who sent Me, has everlasting life, and shall not come into judgment, but has passed from death unto life.”
So from a spiritual perspective it seems that every Christmas we are celebrating the birth of Christ for the first time. But in reality every day we wake up, we have the gift of the Holy Spirit living inside us “this day.” We’ve been born again, “this day.” God wants to do a new, fresh work in your heart “this day!”
As a matter of fact, the writer of Hebrews expressly tells us God wants to do a fresh work in our hearts daily in Hebrews 3:12-15 “12 Beware, brethren, lest there be in any of you an evil heart of unbelief in departing from the living God; 13 but exhort one another daily, while it is called “Today,” lest any of you be hardened through the deceitfulness of sin. 14 For we have become partakers of Christ if we hold the beginning of our confidence steadfast to the end, 15 while it is said: “Today, if you will hear His voice, Do not harden your hearts as in the rebellion.””
Illustrate - How do we exhort one another daily & hear God’s voice? By the daily study & discussion of God’s Word. While Cheryl & I are having our morning coffee, we’ll often discuss our SOAP readings and what stands out to us. We exhort & encourage one another daily.
B. Nationally and internationally we seem to need Christmas especially at this time. The United States in particular, and the world in general; is in a a very deep dark hole. It is in a blacker spot than those shepherds found themselves in 2000 years ago when an angel turned on a light in pitch black night and shared the good news of glad tidings. This Christ candle here on our advent display reminds us His light is still shining in a dark place.
C. Perhaps in your life Christmas has special meaning this year.
D. We must never be content with simply recalling a past event.
E. The 5th verse of the famous Christmas carol “O, Little Town of Bethlehem”says “O holy Child of Bethlehem, descend to us we pray, cast out our sin and enter in, be born in us today.
We hear the Christmas angels, the great glad tidings tell, O come to us abide with us, our Lord Emmanuel.” We have the wonderful abiding presence of the Lord’s own Holy Spirit. The Gospel message is a timely message that impacts us daily, not just at Christmas.
4. It Was Also Timeless—“a Savior.” (We talked about Christ & Lord last night).
That’s what people needed then a Savior. These shepherds were rough & rowdy. I said last night these men were considered unclean by nature of their jobs and viewed as thieves. They were sinners who needed a Savior. But guess what? As wonderful as Joseph was, as sweet, precious and kind Jesus’ earthly mother Mary was, they too were sinners who needed a Savior!
That’s what people have needed in all the years between then and now.
That’s what people need now. We live in a world that seems to be spinning out of control. But the Lord Jesus Christ is the Savior. He’s the only one who can rescue people from sin!
That’s what people will need until the end of time.
I love the name the angel told Joseph he was to name this miraculous Son in Matt. 1:21 - “You shall call His Name Jesus, for He shall save His people from their sins.
His salvation is intended for all, but it’s only appropriated by faith.
Now for a surprise in our text - How do you picture this scene in your mind? Maybe you’re like I am, I’ve always imagined the shepherds asleep in the field with one eye open “keeping watch” over their sheep. In the wee hours of the night, the sky lights up and there’s an angel flying over head or suspended in space, but definitely above them in the sky. Then the sky is filled with angels of the heavenly hosts. Right? That’s what I picture in my head.
(Slide) Big curveball - Look again at Vs. 9 - “An angel of the Lord stood before them…” I did a deep dive using every tool in my theological library and my Greek lexicons available to me. You know what “stood before” means?
These words stood and before, literally means standing before them, just like I’m standing on the ground before you right now!
Do you see it right there in the text! Not above them, before them!
(Slide) Vs. 13 “And suddenly there was with the angel…” - with the angel.
Where’s the angel? Standing before them. So now there is a multitude of the heavenly host, standing with the angel before them praising God and saying.
Heavenly hosts - the Lord’s army. Sent there to protect the Son of God, lying in a manger! I always assumed because it said “heavenly” they were above them in the sky! But now it’s a different picture. This angel makes his special announcement and then all the shepherds are surrounded by an angel army choir praising God. The first surround sound experience!
Now why is that so important to understand? There are a couple of things this understanding did for me that blessed my heart and maybe will bless you too.
Applications
1. The fact these angels were on the ground standing before these shepherds testifies to the reality & depth of the incarnation of Jesus Christ.
If the Son of God humbled Himself to lie in feed trough, it’s not hard to imagine the Lord’s army of the heavenly host joined His “boots on the ground” rescue mission. Later after Jesus’ temptation, Angels ministered to Him.
2. God’s Word is timeless & yet timely.
There is always more to see and learn and apply to our lives today. It’s never out of date, it will never expire, and is more relevant today than tomorrow’s headlines. Must be read & studied daily & you’ll be amazed at how it impacts what’s happening in your life that day, today.
3. Three attitudes present in our text:
A. The shepherds responded in faith - Let’s go and see…and then they had to go a tell! vs. 15, vs. 17. Is our message any less glad or great as the news the shepherds shared? No! It’s the greatest, the best news ever! Who can you tell about Jesus Christ? Resolve to be a witness in 2023. They worshiped Vs. 20! Don’t miss this, they had been banned from temple worship, but their encounter w/ Jesus transformed their worship. They praised God constantly. Worship wasn’t a place to go to, the temple, it became a lifestyle for them!
B. Some marveled - vs. 18 - Cool story. Boy those shepherds and their story was something huh? They didn’t respond, didn’t go check it out, didn’t believe. They heard there was a big splash over there in Bethlehem, but the ripple died in their hearts. Their attitude was “I’ll believe it when I see it.”
C. Mary treasured “all these things & pondered them in her heart” - Vs. 19
Knowledge is of no value unless it makes it from our head to our heart.
The great English preacher from the 1800’s, Alexander Macleran said of Mary’s pondering: “A non-thinking religion is a shallow religion. But if we hide His Word in our hearts & often in secret, draw out our treasure to count & weigh it, we shall be able to speak out of a full heart, and like these shepherds, rejoice that we have seen it, even as it was spoken to us.” Share the ABC’s.
Close - When we think of the reality of the miraculous birth of Christ, the Incarnation, when the Son of God descended to become the Son of Man, it’s hard to comprehend the depth of His descent. Famous Pastor of Bellview Baptist Church in Memphis, (before Adrian Rogers) makes this amazing statement about the birth of Christ:
“Christ who in eternity rested motherless upon the Father’s breast and in time rested fatherless upon a woman’s breast, clasping the Ancient of Days who had become the Infant of Days. What deep descent.
From the heights of glory, to the depths of shame;
From the wonders of heaven, to the wickedness of earth;
From exaltation to humiliation;
From the throne to the tree;
From dignity to debasement;
From worship to wrath;
From halls of heaven to the nails of earth;
From the coronation to the curse;
From the glory place to the gory place!
In Bethlehem, humility and glory in their extremes were joined.
Born in stable! Cradled in a cattle trough!
Wrapped in swaddling clothes of poverty!
No room for Him who made all rooms!
No place for Him who made all places!
Oh, deep humiliation of the Creator, born of the creature, a woman!
But in His descent was the dawn of mercy.
Because we cannot ascend to Him, He descends to us.”
Pray