“The Message” -- Luke 2:14

We have had an eventful few months beginning just before Thanksgiving. Our son, Stephen, introduced us to a young woman he has been seeing, and she is a pleasure to be around. Our younger daughter, Melissa, was able to come home from the mission field. And our older daughter, Laura, has married her long-time beau, Zach. Even though he’s been a part of our family for many years, it’s been really nice to make it official. In short, this will be a Christmas to remember for a long time to come.

There have been other meaningful Christmases in my life, as I am sure there have been many in your life, as well. Still, all of those Christmases could combine into one glorious Christmas, and it would still fall short of the very first Christmas.

I’ve read in one of my commentaries that there is no real way we can ascertain the exact date when Jesus was born. The commentator goes on to write that there have been as many theories as there are days of the year. The bottom line is, no one really knows exactly when Jesus was born. One thing we all agree on is that Jesus was born, and when He was born, it was the greatest event in the history of mankind. The birth of Jesus was the coming of God to be with us, and it ended not at Calvary, but at the empty tomb and the ascension of Christ to heaven. In truth, what began at Christmas really won’t be completed until the trumpet sounds and the King returns in all His glory.

When the angel, probably Gabriel, appeared to the shepherds that night, in the company of God’s glory, he brought a message to the most unlikely of all witnesses. Shepherds had a less than stellar reputation. In fact, it was common belief that no one should ever trust a shepherd. Yet, God chose shepherds to receive the news.

The angel described for the shepherds an event that occurred that night—it was the birth of a baby. But it was no ordinary baby. No, this child was Christ, Lord. He was born significantly in the city of David, because this child would be a king in the order of David, and would establish God’s kingdom on earth. The angel told the shepherds how they could distinguish this baby from any other baby that may have been born in the city—this baby would be lying in a manger. A most ordinary and unusual place, and a most extraordinary and unusual person. Emmanuel—God with us.

All of this leads up to the real purpose of the angel’s message, which is stated not only by the angel, but by an army of angels.

Central Truth: The event described by the angel to the shepherds is here to bring us into relationship with God.

The message of Christmas is:

God is worthy of praise

Verse 9 said, “and the glory of the Lord shone around them.” The glory of the Lord is the presence of God in our world from the moment He first created us. When God appeared to the people of Israel in the Exodus, He appeared to them in a pillar of fire. When Moses asked to see God, God showed Moses God’s glory. When Jesus appeared to Saul on the road to Damascus, it was the glory of the Lord that shone down on him.

The point being is that God was including Himself in the announcement of the birth of His Son. It is God who has initiated the coming of Christ for the redemption of all people, all sinners, from before the beginning of time. It is God who has worked in our world to bring us to a point where the time would be right for the birth of His Son. It is God who allowed the Roman Empire to conquer its enemies to bring peace into the world, to construct roadways for relatively easy travel, to spread a common language of koine Greek so people from one end of the empire could speak to someone on the other side of the empire with understanding. It is God who sent Gabriel first to Zechariah, then to Mary, to Joseph and finally to the shepherds. Through it all, God had a plan and the plan was that He would intervene in our world in a very real and powerful way, and that through this intervention, He would bring salvation to His world.

It is for this that the angels say, “Glory to God in the highest.” God is worthy of glory and of praise. The angels, in their proclamation, extol God’s majesty and power. The God who created the universe, the God who far exceeds His creation, the God of His people—this God is worthy of our praise and is worthy of glory. To think that God not only created us, but that He is intimately involved in our lives must lead us to an awareness of God’s goodness and power.

And the fact that God is the one who initiated the events that were brought to fruition at the birth of Jesus is cause for us to give Him praise and recognize His glory.

Because God reaches into our world in a very real and present way, He is worthy of praise.

God gives us peace

The second element of the message is that God gives us peace.

I mentioned the Pax Romana, a period of absence of conflict within the Roman Empire. To be sure, there were conflicts along the edges of the empire, but when Jesus was born, the land knew peace.

Peace is something we all yearn for, hope for, pray for. Not counting the Indian Wars, when our nation was at war with the various tribes and peoples native to our land, the United States has been at war for almost one quarter of our existence. We are a people who struggle with the desire for peace while living in a world filled with conflict.

The peace we seek is not only between nations, but in our personal relationships as well. Most of us don’t like conflict, and we try to avoid it as much as possible. Some of us long for peace within ourselves, as well.

When God sent Jesus into our world, He ushered in a peace that far outweighs peace between nations, between people, and offers us peace within ourselves. Paul writes to the Romans, “Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have gained access in which we now stand” (Romans 5:1-2). Paul describes this peace as a peace that passes understanding (cf. Philippians 4:7). In the upper room, Jesus promised us His peace, a peace not like what the world gives, but His peace (cf. John 14:27). He tells us not to let our hearts be troubled and not to be afraid.

The peace that God gives us is the peace that settles upon us in our relationship with Him. God’s intervention in our world through Jesus opened the door to transform us from His enemies to His children, and He seals that peace with the presence of His Holy Spirit within us.

Because of God’s intervention into our world, He gives us not only peace, but He gives us instruction and an example of how to live in peace with Him, with one another, and with ourselves. The peace of God is a peace that transcends the world and transforms our lives.

God’s peace is for those with whom He finds favor

We make a mistake if we omit this last part of the angels’ declaration on that night of Jesus’ birth. The odd thing about the gospel is that it is a contradiction. The gospel is both universal and exclusive. How can something be both?

The gospel is universal in that it is available to anyone and everyone. No one is unworthy to receive the gospel. No one is unworthy or incapable of receiving salvation. So, in this sense, the gospel is universal.

But it is exclusive in that it is only given to those who seek it, who pray for it, who accept it. Paul, again writing to the Romans, tells us that if we believe with our hearts and confess with our mouths that Jesus Christ is Lord, we shall be saved (cf. Romans 10:9-10). Jesus extends the invitation, “Come to Me, all who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest” (Matthew 11:28). The universality of the invitation is that it is open to everyone—the weary and burdened—but the rest is promised only to those who come to Him.

In the angels’ declaration, God’s peace is extended only to those with whom God finds favor. And who are the ones with whom God finds favor? It is to those who believe in the One God has sent (cf. John 6:29). It is to those who believe in their hearts and confess with their lips that we are sinners, that Jesus died to redeem us from our sins, and profess His Lordship over us. It is those who love the Lord our God with all our heart and soul and strength and being, who love our neighbors as ourselves. It is those who love Christ and demonstrate our love by obeying His commands, not in order to earn God’s salvation, but as a result of His salvation.

God’s favor rests upon those who recognize that there is a void in our lives, a void created by sin. It is upon those who recognize that the only way to fill the void is to seek God’s forgiveness through Jesus Christ, and to have that void filled instead with His Spirit.

Conclusion

This is shaping up to be one of the most memorable Christmases of my life, and it’s not even Christmas yet. There’s so much to be grateful for—family, Mosheim family, close friends, health and the meeting of our daily needs. Yet it all pales in comparison to what was given to us that first Christmas day. It was on that day that we received the promise of God’s peace and His favor.

For this, we give glory to Him.