“Good News”
[Luke 2:1-14]
December 24, 2017 Second Reformed
Church
The angel, Gabriel, came to Mary
and announced that she would give birth to the Promised Savior – that God
Himself would cause her to become pregnant – as a virgin – and bear the
Incarnate Son of God. And they lived in
Nazareth in Galilee.
The problem was that the prophet,
Micah, said that the Savior would be born in Bethlehem in Judah: “But you, O Bethlehem Ephrathah, who are too
little to be among the clans of Judah, from you shall come forth for me one who
is to be ruler in Israel, whose coming forth is from of old, from ancient days”
(Micah 5:2, ESV).
If the birth of Jesus was a
conspiracy, Mary and Joseph would have to have found a reason to move that
wouldn’t be questioned, so the Baby would be born in Bethlehem. But it was not a conspiracy, and, as Daniel
says, God moves men and nations to suit His purposes: “Blessed be the name of God forever and ever,
to whom belong wisdom and might. He
changes times and seasons; he removes kings and sets up kings; he gives wisdom
to the wise and knowledge to those who have understanding; he reveals deep and
hidden things; he knows what is in the darkness, and the light dwells with him”
(Daniel 2:20b-22, ESV).
And so we read:
“In those days a decree went out
from Caesar Augustus that all the world should be registered. This was the
first registration when Quirinius was governor of Syria. And all went to be
registered, each to his own town. And Joseph also went up from Galilee, from
the town of Nazareth, to Judea, to the city of David, which is called
Bethlehem, because he was of the house and lineage of David, to be registered
with Mary, his betrothed, who was with child. And while they were there, the
time came for her to give birth. And she gave birth to her firstborn son and
wrapped him in swaddling cloths and laid him in a manger, because there was no
place for them in the inn.”
This is the Hand of God – the Hand
of Divine Providence – that moves all of history to accomplish God’s
purposes. God has not left us to our own
devices, but is intimately involved in everything that happens – even in
seemingly small things – like guiding a pagan nation to conduct a census which
would make Mary and Joseph go to Bethlehem – where the Christ-Child was
prophesied to be born.
As we read through the Bible, we
see God moving all things to bring His plan to the end for which He
intends. God moved you and me to be here
this evening – God is moving in our lives right now to accomplish His
purposes. Have you ever looked back at
your life and thought, “If I hadn’t done this, I would have gone here, and this
wouldn’t have happened, and I wouldn’t have the result I do now”?
Paul tells us, “And we know that
for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are
called according to his purpose” (Romans 8:28, ESV). If we love God, if we are called according to
His purposes – all things are working together for our ultimate good.
The nation of Israel was conquered
by the Roman Empire, and they decided to take a census, which sent Mary and
Joseph to Bethlehem, so the prophecy of the birthplace of the Savior would come
to pass – for our ultimate good.
That is not to say that everything
that ever happens to us, we would consider “good,” or that we will enjoy every
step along the way – we know that’s not true.
There is pain and suffering in the world and in our lives – for sin, as
the result of sin, and for our discipline.
But – ultimately – all things are working together for the good of we
who believe in the Savior – who love God – who are called according to His
purposes.
And, so, for the good of all those
who love God and are called according to
His purposes, God sent the Roman Empire to conquer Israel and to have Quirinius
call for a census which would send Mary and Joseph to Bethlehem to fulfill the
prophecy of the birth of the Savior.
At the time that Mary was giving
birth to Jesus, we read:
“And in the same region there were
shepherds out in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night. 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.”
Shepherds – those filthy, smelly
people, whose word was almost as unreliable as women’s – so the culture said –
were out in the fields with their sheep – they were out doing their job. And suddenly, an angel of the Lord appeared
and the sky filled with the Glory of the Lord, and they were terrified.
Rightly so, don’t you think?
Not just because seeing an angel
appear is a frightening event – not just because he appeared suddenly – not
just because they wouldn’t have known if the angel came to kill them or bring
them news or something else – but because the Glory of the Lord filled the sky
– that Glory which caused the prophet Isaiah to cry out, “Woe is me! For I am
lost; for I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of
unclean lips; for my eyes have seen the King, the LORD of hosts!” (Isaiah 6:5,
ESV).
Isaiah’s response is telling – the
Glory of the Lord – the Holiness of God – causes the Creation to shake – and it
causes those who have committed rebellion against God to shake in fear. As Daniel said just a minute ago – God dwells
in light, and He knows what is in the darkness.
The darkness runs and hides from the light, and humans with darkness –
with sin – in them – cry out in fear.
But the angel quickly comforts
them:
“And the angel said to them, ‘Fear not,
for behold, I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people.”
What is “good news of great joy?”
If you were a millionaire and you won a
thousand dollars, it would be good news, but it wouldn’t necessarily be of
great joy, because you already have so much.
On the other hand, if you were unemployed
and you won a thousand dollars, it would be good news, and a great joy.
Similarly, if you were a millionaire and
lost a thousand dollars, it would be bad news, but it wouldn’t necessarily be a
great disaster.
But, if you were unemployed, and you
got a bill for a thousand dollars, that would be bad news, and a great
disaster.
So, the goodness of the news and the
greatness of the joy relates to the badness of what bad news would be, and the
greatness of what a disaster would be.
Right?
So, the further you were in debt, the
more the thousand dollars would be worth – the greater a joy it would be. (We’re talking in general terms.)
What would be such good news that it
would be a great joy to every type of person in the world?
“For unto you is born this day in the city
of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord.”
For unto you is born this day in the city
of David a Savior, who is Messiah God.
The shepherds surely knew from attending
worship in the Temple that they needed a Savior – they were at odds with God
due to their sin – and they understood that the Day of Atonement – Yom Kippur –
was not going to be enough in the long run.
And if we take our sin seriously, we understand that nothing we do or
try to be will ever be enough to make us right with God.
So, the announcement that the Savior God
had been born – that the Way to be right with God had been born – would be good
news of great joy to everyone who recognized that he was not right with God and
couldn’t become right with God on his own.
God judges all mere humans in these
words: “For we have already charged that
all, both Jews and Greeks, are under sin, as it is written: ‘None is righteous, no, not one; no one
understands; no one seeks for God. All
have turned aside; together they have become worthless; no one does good, not
even one. Their throat is an open grave;
they use their tongues to deceive. The
venom of asps is under their lips. Their
mouth is full of curses and bitterness.
Their feet are swift to shed blood; in their paths are ruin and misery,
and the way of peace they have not known.
There is no fear of God before their eyes” (Romans 3:9b-18, ESV).
That’s pretty bad news – isn’t it?
Jesus said, “Whoever believes in him is
not condemned, but whoever does not believe is condemned already, because he
has not believed in the name of the only Son of God. And this is the judgment:
the light has come into the world, and people loved the darkness rather than
the light because their works were evil. For everyone who does wicked things
hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his works should be
exposed. But whoever does what is true comes to the light, so that it may be
clearly seen that his works have been carried out in God” (John 3:18-21, ESV).
Anyone who is not right with God will be
condemned. And Jesus – with the rest of
Scripture – says the Only Way to be right with God is through faith alone in
Jesus Alone as Savior – the Messiah God – the Christ.
The bad news is that all mere human begins
are against God – which is the worst of all bad news, because God is against
those who are not right with Him – and the end of those who do not get right
with God is condemnation fitting the crime of rebellion against God.
But the angel told the shepherds that
there is good news – the best news there could ever be – for every type of
person on earth – shepherds and kings – men and women – Jews and non-Jews –
which is a great joy – what greater joy could there be than to be saved from
the Wrath of God and be made right with Him?
The Savior has been born!
The problem with many people is that they
don’t understand the bad news – God requires us to be holy as He is Holy – and
if we are not, we will be justly condemned.
But the news is even worse – as we just heard – we can’t make ourselves
right and we don’t even want to be right – we are happily in rebellion – in
sin.
The problem with many people is that they
have heard that God is love, and they believe that they are pretty good people,
so God will be grateful for being the best they could be on their own.
The problem with many people is that
they not only don’t believe they’re that bad – they don’t believe that God is
that Holy. They haven’t been confronted
with the Glory of God that makes them cry out, “Woe is me! A sinner!”
I hope you have received Jesus Alone by
faith alone – the One Savior. If you
have not – know that you are in desperate need of being saved from the Wrath of
God for your sin. God is Holy, and being
good enough is not good enough for God.
The only hope for any person is to receive and believe the historical
work of the Savior for all those who will ever believe.
If you have received the Savior – if
you can feel the great joy that would have welled up in those shepherds as they
heard the good news announced to them – that caused them to run to the manger
and then run to tell everyone they could find, then you are now one who has the
Gospel and the Glory of God in you – in your earth vessel – in your jar of clay
– for others to see. Don’t hide the Light! Go beyond, “Jesus is the Reason for the
Season,” and explain why this good news is of great joy – explain what Jesus
did on earth and why that is good news of great joy – why He is the Only Hope
of anyone who will believe.
The angel told the shepherds where to find
Him:
“’And this will be a sign for you: you
will find a baby wrapped in swaddling cloths and lying in a manger.’ 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!’”
As we remember God’s birth – His
Incarnation – in the person of Jesus – as we consider what God did to save us –
as we think about this good news and find ourselves filled with great joy – let
us take every opportunity to tell others the good news that they may be filled
with great joy.
Let us pray:
Almighty God, we thank You for loving the
world and sending Your Son to become a real human being to live among us, die,
and rise again that we would be forgiven and made righteous – that we would be
right with You eternally with You in Your Kingdom. Forgive us for our sin, and let God the Holy
Spirit embolden us and give us the words to speak so all the world would know
this good news of great joy. For it is
in Jesus’ Name we pray, Amen.
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