The First Christmas Greeting

Chuck Swindoll tells the story of a nine-year-old boy who came bursting out of Sunday school like a wild stallion. Finally, after a quick search, he grabbed his daddy by the leg and yelled,"Man, that story of Moses and all those people crossing the Red Sea was great!" His father looked down, smiled, and asked the boy to tell him about it.

"Well, the Israelites got out of Egypt, but Pharaoh and his army chased after them. So the Jews ran as fast as they could until they got to the Red Sea. The Egyptian army was getting closer and closer. So Moses got on his walkie-talkie and told the Israeli Air Force to bomb the Egyptians. While that was happening, the Israeli Navy built a pontoon bridge so that people could cross over. They made it!"

By now, dad was definitely shocked. “Is that the way they told you the story?"

"Well, no, not exactly," the boy admitted. "But if I told it to you the way they told it to us, you’d never believe it, Dad."

It seems like the world has never put much belief in the miraculous. Society has trusted itself in its own sophistication and skepticism since the beginning of time. To the informed, intelligent individuals of that era, as well as today, the miracle of a little baby having the potential to be the Savior of all mankind, probably seemed and still seems quite ridiculous.

But to some shepherds, faithfully doing what they had been called to do, the greeting they would receive would forever change their lives.

Luke 2:8–12 NASB95

In the same region there were some shepherds staying out in the fields and keeping watch over their flock by night. And an angel of the Lord suddenly stood before them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them; and they were terribly frightened. But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid; for behold, I bring you good news of great joy which will be for all the people; for today in the city of David there has been born for you a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. “This will be a sign for you: you will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.”

We must be faithful to do what God has called us to do.

The Recipients of the Greeting - 2:8

Francis Schaeffer, paint a vivid picture of that sacred night, in his book entitled, No Little People. "While Jesus was being born in the stable and laid in the manger, shepherds were gathered together around their little fires, talking as they would on any other night. On these hills, away from the city, all would be quiet.”

Society considered shepherds untrustworthy. I find that information quite ironic; especially in light of the fact that these very shepherds were entrusted with the sheep used for sacrifices that were used to provide forgiveness of sins. The most intimate part of a person, their spirituality, for many people, was intertwined with how the shepherds managed their sheep. However, the shepherds were still seen as untrustworthy servants.

This was entrenched so much so, that even though their work permitted other people to go to the temple, they themselves, because of their work, were not able to go into the temple. The reason is that they were considered ceremonially unclean.

In both the Old Testament and the New Testament, shepherds are used to symbolize individuals who care for God’s people. There appears to be a particular fondness God has for shepherds. Much is said about them in the Old and New Testaments. Though, in both Testaments, they're not always appreciated by the sheep or the people, they're still called upon to be faithful.

Even Peter, in a letter written by him, admonishes those in pastoral leadership to be a "shepherd to the flock which is under your care."

Even though society may look down its collective nose at the shepherds of the area and even the shepherds of today, God did not.

In fact, the gospel message, that first greeting, first came to the social outcasts of that time. God intentionally did not choose those who might be socially acceptable to first reveal his message. God did not choose those who fits in with the Jewish religious culture. God, in his sovereignty and in his good pleasure, chose stinking, unkempt, unschooled shepherds.

I wonder if we could possibly look at this as a model for us today?

The Messengers of the Greeting - 2:9

One might expect that any message from God, especially at that particular time, would come from the religious leaders. It might have been possible that when someone was taking in some sheep which were to be used for sacrifice, a religious leader might have gone out into the village to share that the prophecy from Isaiah, Micah, and others was indeed going to come true.

But once again, when God has a message of such an incredible importance, He sends someone who will get everyone's attention. Here we find that it is an angel of the Lord. We do not know exactly which angel this was, though some have suggested that it was Gabriel. The Bible merely tells us that it was one of the Lord’s angels. Still, by the angel’s very appearance, the shepherds were struck with intense fear. These shepherds were actually seeing a visible manifestation of the glory of God. It is no small wonder that they were struck with fear. Yet, as with all appearances of angels in men's presence, when there is a good message, the angels spoke reassuringly.

There seems to be a bit of a parallel we can draw to our lives today. Those shepherds were doing exactly what they were supposed to be doing. We have no indication that they were looking for the Messiah. There is no evidence they were anticipating the day when the Savior would come to take away sin. In fact, Paul reminds us in the book of Romans, "there is no one who seeks after God; not even one." Does that sound very much like many today?

And when that special messenger in our lives arrived, there was a sense of fear and panic in our own hearts, for we knew exactly what our status was in the presence of a holy God. We knew there was nothing within us that would dare stand in His presence, much less expect to be spared.

Then that special messenger from God, whom He placed in our lives, shared with us the fact that there was good news. Basically that person told us that we needed not get bent out of shape. They shared with us that there hope for the dreadful condition in which we found ourselves.

The Contents of the Greeting - 2:10-11

This simple gospel message has been sprinkled throughout the Gospel of Luke more than any other of the synoptic Gospels. Nearly 2 years ago when I decided to do a series from the Gospel of Luke, this was the reason why. It is a constant reminder of the message that we need to be sharing with everyone whom God places in our lives. Even here, we see that whenever a writer shares something several times, it is done in order to show the importance of the message.

Another amazing facet to this greeting is that the angel did not go into great depth and theological detail as to how it would be possible for this baby to be our Savior. What the angel did share was that this baby was going to be the Savior for all mankind. Even at the birth of Jesus, the gospel was being presented.

Now you and I need to understand that this greeting was not just any ordinary birth announcement. It contained an incredible theology. In fact, the entirety of this short section of scripture is loaded. For instance, look at the phrase,"bring you good news." It is actually only one word and is used in what we would call a verbal form; taking a noun and making it work in the form of a verb. The word in the Greek language is “euangelezomai.” It literally means "Good news (message) I am bringing to you." This is also where we get our word in the English language for evangelism.

The sharing we do with others about the life of Jesus Christ should always be good news. It should contain within it such powerful hope that others cannot wait for us to help them to understand and experience the joy of salvation for themselves.

We might ask ourselves if the contents of this message is like a "Mission Impossible" secret message? You see, on Mission Impossible, the message is intended only for a select individual or group. After the message is deciphered, it will either automatically be destroyed or it must be destroyed by the recipient. Thus, it cannot be shared with anybody else.

Thankfully, the angel’s message was not limited, but was for "all the people." In fact, if you want to get an idea of the inclusiveness of the message Luke wants to share, then take note of this. Luke uses the word for "people" more than two times that of Matthew or any other gospel writer. In other words, it is good news for all.

Another question that would probably come to mind is how can this baby truly be the Savior? What makes this child so unique and special?

Incredibly, Doctor Luke does not share that the angel gave a physical report as to the condition of the baby. He didn’t even give Jesus a cute rating. Luke does something far more incredible. Luke records what the angel actually calls the baby; “Christ the Lord." In other words, this baby is not only the Messiah or the anointed one, He is Lord.

The word for Lord used here is "kurios" which can be used to refer to deity or to a master. The shepherds may have been unschooled, but it was even obvious to them that this baby could not, at that point in time, be their master. The only possible explanation that could be was that he was God. Luke uses this phrase quite liberally throughout his gospel.

You and I must also recognize that this greeting is to all mankind. The baby, whose birth we celebrate, is none other than the Son of God Who chose to be born in order to die so that we can live forever by believing on His Name. If Jesus is not truly Lord, then there is no way in which anyone can be saved.

Proofs for the Greeting - 2:12

Verse 12 can be seen as proofs, but I also see this verse as an invitation for the shepherds to respond to the greeting. There seems to be an underlying assumption that because of the greeting and the contents of it that the shepherds were naturally going to see for themselves this wonderful news.

The angel then gave them the necessary information about the baby. Thus, when they arrived, they would know beyond a shadow of a doubt that this miracle is truly from God.

Ponderings

Just imagine that an angelic voice was going to communicate with you. Consider for a moment that you were going through the daily routine without much hope or even thought for the future. Suddenly, an angel greets you with that incredible message of hope. Would you not consider that to be the most glorious greeting you have ever received?

We actually have this very thing in God's Word, the Bible. It is all written down for us to read and understand and obey. Sadly, there are many individuals who look at the first Christmas greeting as only sentimental fluff. They see it as saccharine sweet, religious fable. They are unwilling and unable to grasp that the God of creation would be the Savior of mankind, coming in the form of a little baby in a manger within a stable.

I am reminded of a short dialogue found in the book, The Last Battle, from the series, Chronicles of Narnia, by CS Lewis.

"It seems, then," said Tirian, smiling himself, “that the stable seen from within and the stable seen from without are two different places."

“Yes," said the Lord Digory."Its inside is bigger than its outside."

"Yes," said the queen Lucy. "In our world too, a stable once had something inside it that was bigger than our whole world."

The baby which had been announced by the angel to the shepherds was indeed more than most men have assumed Him to be. Today, I want to challenge you to recognize that Jesus Christ is more than able to deal with any problems you may have. He is able to and willing to forgive whatever sin may be in your past or your present.

How would you have responded to that first Christmas greeting? Would your fear have stayed with you? Would you have been a skeptic, thinking you had spent too many nights on the hills with sheep? Or would you have rejoiced that One had come as prophecy had foretold who would forgive your sins?

How will you respond to Him today? Will you wallow in your desperation and doubt? Will you continue on in defeat and despair? Or will you rejoice in that wonderful news that you can be forgiven and given hope and a future? The Good News of Jesus Christ brings gladness and joy into our lives!

All of us who have experienced this salvation need to keep doing what God has called us to do and also share the Christmas greeting with all whom we meet.

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