“Good News”
[Luke
2:1-20]
December 24, 2011 Second Reformed Church
Before God created anything, He knew
that to create humanity would mean that we would need a Savior. God would have to come down and become one of
us – to live under His Own Law, and then be crucified, dead, physically rise,
and ascend back to His Throne. That is
the Good News – the Savior has come – and there are historical facts about the
Savior that we must believe in order to be saved.
When the time was right, God arranged
the familiar events of the Christmas story that they would occur as He had prophesied
through the prophets over four thousand years of human history.
The Romans, led by Cesar Augustus,
controlled the known world, including Israel.
And a time came when Rome desired a census to be taken – this was when
Quirinius was governor of Syria. And
everyone was to return to their ancestral home to be counted by family.
There was a man by the name of Joseph,
who lived in Nazareth, whose ancestral father was David – the king. David had been from Bethlehem, so that was
where Joseph needed to be counted. But Joseph
was engaged, and engagement was a legal document, so his fiancé would need to
come along. Her name was Mary, and she
was pregnant – almost ready to deliver.
But the law was the law.
They went to Bethlehem, and shortly
after they arrived, it was time for Mary to give birth. But the town was overcrowded with everyone
returning for the census – there was no room left to be rented anywhere in Bethlehem. But they found someone who allowed them to
stay in the place where he kept and fed his animals. When the Baby was born, they wrapped Him in
rags that were about the place, and they lay Him in the feeding trough – the
manger – so He could sleep. And so Mary
and Joseph could relax, as well.
“And in the same region there were
shepherds out in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night.”
We tend to have a rather glorified
vision of what it was to be a shepherd.
We picture them as movie stars who take the sheep out to eat and then go
home to their McMansions. Such was not
the case: shepherds were generally seen
as the bottom of the heap.
“Jeremias
describes a shepherd's life: ‘The dryness of the ground made it necessary for
the flocks of sheep and cattle to move about during the rainless summer and to
stay for months at a time in isolated areas, far from the owner's home. Hence,
herding sheep was an independent and responsible job; indeed, in view of the
threat of wild beasts and robbers, it could even be dangerous. Sometimes the
owner himself (Luke 15:6; John 10:12) or his sons did the job. But usually it
was done by hired shepherds, who only too often did not justify the confidence
reposed in them (John 10:12-13).’”
He
continues citing “… Rabbinic sources to the effect that ‘most of the time they
were dishonest and thieving; they led their herds onto other people's land and
pilfered the produce of the land.’ Because they were often months at a time
without supervision, they were often accused of stealing some of the increase
of the flock. Consequently, the pious were warned not to buy wool, milk, or
kids from shepherds on the assumption that it was stolen property. Shepherds
were not allowed to fulfill a judicial office or be admitted in court as
witnesses. A midrash on Psalm 23:2 reads, ‘There is no more disreputable
occupation than that of a shepherd.’"
[Quoted at http://www.jesuswalk.com/lessons/2_8-20.htm].
Shepherds. Dirty.
Untrustworthy.
Mary and Joseph were back with the
cattle and their Baby, and the shepherds were out in the fields – in the dark –
protecting the flock.
“And
an angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around
them, and they were filled with great fear.”
All
of a sudden the darkness was broken, and there, immediately in front of them, radiating
with the Glory of God, lighting up the field, was an angel, and the shepherds
were severely terrified.
“Why
has an angel come into our midst?
Especially with such power? Nobody
comes to the shepherds, unless it is to accuse us of something or to tell us to
bring the animals in. Angels come with a
Word from God. Has he come to destroy
us? Is the message that God is going to
destroy us?”
“And
the angel said to them, ‘Fear not, for behold, I bring you good news’”
“Don’t
be afraid, I have a message, but it is not a message to cause you terror – it
is a message of good news. This is a
message from God. God sent me to tell
you, shepherds, particularly. God has
good news for the invisible people of society, for the lowest caste of society,
for the economically oppressed, for the poor, for a people who are under
political oppression. God has good news
for you.”
It
is “good news of great joy.”
“The
news I have for you is not small – it is great.
It is enormous. It is beyond
anything you could ever imagine. And it
is of great joy. This is not news that
will pass away. It will not affect you
for merely a short time – but forever.
In fact, all of history will be affected forever because of the news I
have for you.”
It
is “good news of great joy that will be for all the people.”
“And
the news I have for you and the joy it will bring it not just for the Jews –
it’s for the Gentiles, as well. It is
for men and women, slave and free, educated and uneducated, rich and poor, Arab,
Israeli, African, European, Islander, Asian – all people of every kind.”
Can
we imagine the shepherds, crouched down; covering themselves for fear and the
brightness of the Glory of God which came with the angel, testifying that the
message was, indeed, from God?
Good
news? They were used to bad news. They were used to status quo. And good news that brought great joy? Something that would rock their world? Had Rome been conquered? Had they somehow risen in the eyes of
society? What more might they hope for?
“For
unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the
Lord. And this will be a sign for you: you will find a baby wrapped in
swaddling cloths and lying in a manger.”
The
Good News is the Savior has come. The
Savior God repeatedly promised for four thousand years has arrived. Salvation has come. Everything has changed. The Lord God, Himself, is the Savior. God came down to earth to save His people.
Have
you received the Good News which is of great joy?
I
distinguish between “happiness” and “joy.”
If you were to ask me if I was happy, more often than not, I would say,
“no.” I consider happiness a
short-lived, fleeting, recurring period of life – like you feel after eating a meal
that you really enjoy, but before you step on the scale. We are not always happy, and there are times
when we do well not to be happy – times when we are right to be sad or
mad. I would not say I am “happy,” when
I am sad.
But
I would say I am “joyful.” I always have
joy. Joy, I consider to be, an eternal
state of solid – secure – hopefulness.
Joy is the belief that God is working all things together for the good
of those who love Him (cf. Romans 8:28). Joy is knowing that the glory that is
coming is greater than anything I may endure now (cf. Romans 8:18). Joy is the belief deep down in the very
depths of who I am that Jesus is God the Savior – of all those who believe in
Him.
When
the angel came with good news of great joy, he was not guaranteeing the
shepherds a better life than the one they had – in this sense – they remained
shepherds. They returned to the same
life, the same status, the same job they had after the received the Good News
(cf. Luke 2:20). The promise of good
news of great joy had to do with hope – with their eternal future – with the
way they lived now in the light of what would surely be.
The
same is true today: receiving the Good
News may change nothing about our job or our debt and so forth. But theh Good News gives us hope – hope about
our eternal future – hope about the way we live now in the light of what will
surely be.
The
shepherds returned to the same job, under the same conditions, working for the
same people – but everything had changed.
They had received the Good News – the announcement of the Good News had
been made to them – shepherds. They had
run to the place where God the Savior had been born, and they believed – they
were filled with hope and eternal joy, knowing that they were saved through
this Little Baby. They had faith and
hope that He would save them and bring them into His Glory one day.
Have
you received the Good News? Do you
believe that Jesus is God the Only Savior, Who came to earth, lived, died,
physically rose, and ascended back to His Throne? If you do, do you have joy? Do you know in this Good News – in the very
depths of your being – that Jesus has made you right with God – a son or
daughter of God – and you will be received into God’s Glory – with the
shepherds – and all those who ever believe?
“And suddenly there was with the angel a
multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying, ‘Glory to God in the
highest, and on earth peace among those with whom he is pleased!’”
The angels returned to heaven, the
shepherds went to Bethlehem and saw the Good News, which the Lord has made
known to them. They ran found Mary and
Joseph, and the Baby lying in a manger. And when they saw Him, they told Mary
and Joseph that angels had come in the Glory of God and told them that Jesus is
the Christ – God the Savior – Who will save anyone and everyone who believes in
Him – even shepherds. And everyone who
heard what the shepherds said wondered what it might mean. “But Mary treasured up all these things,
pondering them in her heart. And the shepherds returned, glorifying and
praising God for all they had heard and seen, as it had been told them.”
Let us pray:
Almighty God, we rejoice and have
everlasting hope, because You came to earth in the Person of Jesus with the
Good News that we can be right with You through Him. Help us to think about what You did. Help us to open our mouths and let others
know. Help us to be amazed at Your
coming to earth – the Incarnation. And
that You have come to us. In Jesus’ Name,
Amen.
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