Setting and Substance of the Message

Introduction: The Centrality of the Angel's Message

0:01 This sermon was preached on Sunday morning, December 20th, 1981, at the Trinity Baptist Church in Montville, New Jersey.

0:10 Turning your Bibles with me, please, to the second chapter of Luke's Gospel. This portion of the Word of God will be the basis of our meditations this morning, and again, God willing, this evening, the second chapter of Luke's Gospel. And may I urge you to make an effort to do something which we cannot do to perfection, but which can be very helpful when hearing the reading of a familiar passage of the Word of God, where you'll make a conscious effort to listen and follow in your Bibles as though you were hearing and reading the facts contained in this portion of the Word of God for the very first time. Don't let the familiarity of the Word of God be the first time. Let the words block out the freshness of the truth which they convey. Luke's Gospel, chapter 2, and I shall read the first 20 verses.

1:11 Now it came to pass in those days there went out a decree from Caesar Augustus that all the world should be enrolled. In other words, they were taking a census. This was the first enrollment or census made when Quirinius was governor of Syria, and all the world should be enrolled. And all went to enroll themselves, every one to his own city.

1:38 And Joseph also went up from Galilee out of the city of Nazareth into Judea to the city of David, which is called Bethlehem, because he was of the house and family of David, to enroll himself with Mary, who was betrothed to him, being great with child. And it came to pass, while they were there, the days were fulfilled that she should be delivered. And she brought forth her firstborn son, and she wrapped him in swaddling clothes and laid him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn. And there were shepherds in the same country, abiding in the field and keeping watch by night over their flock.

2:24 And an angel of the Lord stood by them, and the glory of the Lord shone round about them, and they were sore afraid. And the angel said unto them, Be not afraid, for behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all the people. For there is born to you this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. And this is the sign unto you, you shall find a babe wrapped in swaddling clothes and lying in a manger.

3:02 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 men in whom he is pleased. And it came to pass, when the angels went away from them into heaven, the shepherds said one to another, Let us now go even to Bethlehem, and see this thing which is come to pass, which the Lord has made known to us. And they came with haste. And they found David and Mary, and Joseph, and the baj joy, and the Shep everybody of all the people lying in the manor.

3:43 And when they saw with the works of the word said unto them, And when they heard the voice of this episode was spoken unto them about the child, they made known concerning the saying which was spoken to them about this child. And all that heard it wondered that the things which were spoken unto them by the shepherds. But Mary kept all these sayings, pondering them in her heart. all the things that they had heard and seen, even as it was spoken unto them.

4:13 Now it may come as a shock to some of you to be informed that there is not a shred of evidence in the Bible to establish December 25th as the day on which the Son of God made his entrance into the world. There is not a shred of evidence in the Bible to establish that there is any relationship between December 25th and the birth of our Lord Jesus Christ. Furthermore, the issue of precisely when our Lord was born has been debated by scholars throughout the centuries with no real resolution of the problem. One author said, "...cites no fewer than 136 different opinions as to the precise day on which Jesus Christ was born."

5:16 Well, in the light of these things, it is obviously purely a matter of Christian liberty as to whether or not a child of God who is subject to the word of God places any peculiar significance to the day called Christmas and whether or not he will, in a manner consistent, with Christian standards, celebrate that day. However, in spite of these things, one thing is clear and undebatable. In the providence of God, there now exists in the minds of men an inseparable relationship between the birth of the Son of God and the date December 25th. No matter how much it is buried in the rubble, of rowdyism and carnal reverie, no matter how much it is obscured by pencil and glitter and commercialism, still, there exists in the mind of the average person some kind of connection between the day called Christmas and the event established in Scripture as the birth of Jesus Christ. Now, because of that indisputable fact, this season of 430,

6:36 the Lord's a wonderful and natural opportunity to consider that which is unmistakably biblical, namely, the fact that Jesus Christ was born and, more than that, the true significance of his birth. And I have read in your hearing what is perhaps the most familiar account of the birth of our Lord and perhaps second to it, we have the account in Matthew 2 of the visit, of the Magi, and as I've already intimated, this account by Luke, given to us by the inspiration of the Spirit, will form the basis of our meditations this morning and again, God willing, this evening. And as I attempt to open up the passage in your hearing, I shall do so regarding everything in the passage as flowing into the announcement of the angel in verses 10, and everything flowing out of that announcement in the subsequent verses from 14 or 13 to 20. And so, as we examine the passage this morning, we shall do so with respect not to that which is generally prominent in the minds of men,

8:01 but that which is prominent in the passage itself. Now, it's interesting, as people draw up their traditional associations of the Christmas story, that which predominates is usually the events described with respect to the trip from Nazareth up to Bethlehem, and usually there's a picture of Mary sitting side-saddle on a donkey and Joseph walking along with her, or there is the scene of that which transpired later when the shepherds came and visited the Lord Jesus in the manger, wherever and whatever that was. But you see, the central point of the passage is not the events surrounding the trip from Nazareth to Bethlehem, nor the events surrounding the visit of the shepherds to the stable. But according to the passage itself, the greatest significance is found in the word of the angels. Or the angel. For until the angel speaks his interpretive word, there is nothing in the events themselves to give any suggestion as to the magnitude of that which was transpiring.

9:23 The events were not self-interpreting. It took the word of revelation by the angel to interpret the events, and then once they are interpreted, that which is central is the word, the word spoken by the angel. You'll notice this in verse 15. They say, Let us go to Bethlehem and see this thing, literally this word that is come to pass, which the Lord has made known to us.

9:53 So they are going to Bethlehem to verify the word of the angel. Verse 17, And when they saw it, they made known concerning notice the saying which was spoken to them. Apparently they bypassed even the magnitude of that strange visitation of the multitude of the heavenly host, and the thing they concentrate upon is the word that was spoken unto them. Verse 18, And all that heard it wondered at the things which were spoken unto them by the shepherds.

10:28 Mary kept all these sayings, literally these words, pondering them in her heart. And the end of verse 20, Even as it was spoken unto them. So you see the text itself draws our attention again and again to the message of the angel as central to this account of the birth of Christ. And yet, it is that very part of the account that is least known.

10:59 Almost all of the Christmas cards may have a partial quote of the chorus, if they sang, of the angelic, host, peace on earth. But you see it wasn't the statement peace on earth, goodwill to men, or peace on earth, and I'm sorry, glory to God and upon earth, peace to men of God's good pleasure. That was not central. That was not the interpretive word.

The Setting of the Good News: People, Place, and Circumstances

11:26 The central and significant word is the word of verses 10 and 11, Be not afraid, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all the people, for there is born to you this day in the city of David a Savior who is Christ the Lord. And so in attempting to open up the passage, the organizing principle is taken from the emphasis of the passage itself. And we shall consider this morning, first of all, the setting of this good news of the angels. The setting of the, the good news of the angels.

12:10 That's verses 1 to 9. And then we'll begin to consider the substance of the good news of the angel. That's verses 10 to 12, or possibly 13. And then finally, the sequel to the good news of the angel, verses 14 to 20.

12:30 First of all then, consider with me the setting of the good news of the angel. The biblical, the biblical record draws attention in describing the setting to a certain group of people, to a certain place, and to certain circumstances. So the setting is made up of some people, a place, and some circumstances. First of all then, who were the people who received this marvelous message of good news from the angel?

13:06 Well, verse 8 tells us, and there were shepherds. And later on, we read that the shepherds said one to another. Verse 15 and verse 20, and the shepherds returned. Now, how many shepherds were there?

13:29 Will you say three? Someone says, no, there were three wise men. No, you can't establish that either. They were just magi.

13:36 There was more than one. Now, there may have been two shepherds, may have been three, may have been four, may have been 17. I don't have a clue how many shepherds there were because the Bible doesn't tell us. It simply says there were shepherds.

13:51 And the people to whom this message came were shepherds. Those judged by the society of that day as being of the lower class. Those who in some respects were despised by the rank and file of people, certain things connected with their tasks as shepherds would often render them ceremonially unclean. And so they would not be considered the kind of important people to whom important news would be brought.

14:28 We know nothing of their names. We know nothing of their number. We know nothing of their ages. But this we do know about them as we read the records, they were obviously shepherds deeply acquainted with the Old Testament Scriptures.

14:45 In all likelihood, they were like others described in the early chapters of Luke's Gospel who were devout, believing Jews whose hearts were set upon the coming of their promised Messiah. Shepherds who spent their time not in sinful fantasies as they watched their sheep and their sheep and their sheep sheep upon Judean hillsides, but shepherds whose minds and hearts were looking forward expectantly, longingly for the appearance of Messiah. And so the people in this setting are shepherds. But now notice something is said about the place at which the good news was given. Verse 8 says, there were shepherds in the same country, or more literally, in the same region. And what region is Luke talking about? Well, the region described in verse 4 of the chapter, Joseph went up to the city or to the town of Bethlehem.

15:54 And so there in the general vicinity of Bethlehem, the city of David, the city where David was born and which was his true home and where he lived as a lad, that town, was the nearest town to the place where the shepherds were abiding with their flocks. And then the circumstances, well, we are told something about the remote circumstances and the immediate circumstances into which this message from the angel came. The remote circumstances are given in verses 1 to 7. And the facts are quite well established, I'm sure, in the minds of many of you. Let me just review them quickly. The world is under Roman rule. A particular Roman leader is concerned to establish a more orderly rule and to do so, he must have a fresh census.

16:56 And historians tell us that at this time, or at least from here on forward, and there is some indication that prior to this time, every 14 years, a census was taken. And of course, this is done for purposes of organizing an empire, of extracting taxes, all the reasons for which we make a census every 10 years in our own country. Well, when they make a decree that everyone should be enrolled in this census, it is the responsibility of the head of a household to go to the place of his origins, to his roots, and there to enroll himself and his family. And so the scripture tells us that Joseph, because he was originally from Bethlehem, of the house of David, the lineage of David, goes up with Mary to this place called Bethlehem. Now, Nazareth was about 70 miles from Bethlehem as the crow flies and about 90 miles in terms of the particular path or crude road that he was on. And he was cut between Nazareth in the north and Bethlehem, five miles south of Jerusalem. And the scripture tells us that Joseph left with a wife

18:21 that was very, very much pregnant. She was great with child, probably into her nine month, if not very near to the nine months. And now there's absolutely no record of a donkey in the passage. Now, I'm sorry to destroy all your beautiful images.

18:41 There is not a donkey in Luke chapter 2, 1 to 20. You can't find a donkey there.

18:48 And Joseph, being a poor man, and we know how poor he was when he came to offer the offering required by the law, he brought the offering that was marked out for the poorest of the poor in Israel. He couldn't bring a lamb. He brought two turtledoves. And livestock was to people in that day what stocks and bonds and gold are to people in our own day.

19:14 And it could well have been that that entire journey had to be made on foot by a woman in the ninth month of her pregnancy. We do not know. But we cannot assume there was a donkey when the Bible is silent about the donkey. And furthermore, we cannot assume that the moment she comes to Jerusalem they knock on the door and Joseph says, here's my wife about to have her baby.

19:37 She's in her labor pains. Let us in. And they shut the door. No room in the inn.

19:41 And send them out to a cow barn. That is not what the text says. Now again, I'm sorry, but that is not what the text says. If you look at it, you will notice that it says, verse 6, and it came to pass while they were there.

19:56 Not immediately upon arriving, but while they were there. They had arrived in Bethlehem. We don't know how long they were there. But while they were there, the days were fulfilled.

20:09 That she should be delivered. She came to full term. And she began to go into her labor pains. And she brought forth her firstborn son, wrapped him in swaddling clothes, and laid him in a manger because there was no room, literally no place for them in the inn.

20:30 Now it could be that they had been staying in the inn. And when her birth pangs came upon her, the place was so crowded, there was not, not ample room for the peculiar necessities of privacy necessary for the delivery of a child. Or whether they originally came to the inn and had to dwell somewhere else and then were sent most likely out to a cave adjacent to the inn where those who were the inn dwellers or the dwellers in the inn would keep their animals. The details are not clear to us.

21:02 Archeology gives us some hints. But all the text tells us is that when the time came for her, to deliver her child, she was found in a situation which was the normal dwelling place of animals and not people. And the strong suggestion of the passage is that Mary brought forth that child and unattended by a midwife or other help, that she herself wrapped it in the swaddling clothes and laid it in the manger. Well, those are the more remote circumstances that have transpired prior to this good news brought by the angel.

21:47 Now then, what are the immediate circumstances? Well, look at the passage, verses 8 and 9. There were shepherds in the same country abiding in the field and keeping watch by night over their flock. The shepherds were what we might call bivouacking in the fields.

22:09 This was the time when they did not go out to the field in the day and return with the sheep to another place at night, but they were actually out dwelling in booths or little lean-tos, as we would call it, or possibly in towers that were often built in the places where sheep grazed. But they were actually abiding in their fields. They were away from their homes. They were away from the general interplay of society.

22:40 They were in that peculiar isolation at that time of the year when shepherds abide in the fields with their sheep. And the text literally says that they were keeping the night watches with respect to their flock, one large flock in the singular. And they had to do this because when the sheep were left out in the fields, there was the danger of predators, the wolves and other animals that would stalk at night, and always the danger of thieves. You remember our Lord makes allusion to this in John chapter 10.

23:18 And so they are probably at this stage taking turn through the night watches, some of them sleeping, some of them wide awake with their eyes piercing out into the darkness, pupils fully dilated, seeking to see anything that would intimate the presence of a beast, that would seek to ravage the flock, or a thief who would seek to come and take some of the sheep or the lambs of the flock. Well, in that particular immediate circumstance, verse 9 says, And an angel of the Lord, and the force of the original word is that with suddenness, an angel of the Lord with suddenness stood by them, and the glory of the Lord shone round about them, and they were sore afraid. First of all, without any warning whatsoever, while some or all of them are engaged in watching the sheep in the dark, dismal, cold or chill of that night, suddenly there appears in the presence of these people an angelic being. Now here again, I hate to destroy myths and common imagery. There's nothing about angels.

24:36 There's nothing about angels having wings. All the recorded appearances of angels in Scripture indicate that they have the form of a natural male species of the human race. They are described in certain places in the Old Testament as men. Certain men came down to Sodom.

24:58 There were three angels. And so the whole idea of something with fluttery wings, all the artists have intruded that stuff into our heads. Get it all out of your mind. There appeared an angel in the normal form of an angel.

25:14 But that which characterized angelic appearance was this. Though there was the form of an ordinary man, there was always both a bearing and a glory about that personage that indicated it was no mere man. And so the shepherds recognized immediately that there is an angel that has come to visit them. This messenger sent from the throne of Jehovah to these shepherds and attendant upon that visit of the angel, the Scripture says, that the glory of the Lord shone round about them.

25:52 That is, it totally enveloped them. It wasn't as though there was a shining light out in front of them. And upon seeing it, they could turn to this side or that side. But wherever they turned, they were enveloped.

26:05 It shone round about them. And that glory of the Lord is nothing other than the Shekinah glory, the very outshining of the brilliance of God that was with His people in the Old Testament. And the very word used here is the word used in the Apostle Paul's testimony of his own conversion in Acts 26, where he says that there was a light that shone round about him and those with him, brighter than the noonday sun. Imagine a brilliance brighter than the brightness of the sun when it's at its zenith.

26:42 And here these shepherds are in the darkness of night, pupils fully dilated, and suddenly there is like a flash of lightning but sustained in its brilliance. There's an angel and surrounded by this glorious blinding light. No wonder the Scripture says, And they were sore afraid. Literally, they were afraid with mega-fear.

27:14 That's right. That's exactly what it is. We hear about megavitamins. They just take the Greek word for great and put it in front of vitamins, transliterate it.

27:24 Megavitamins, megabucks, megatons. Well, it says literally, they were afraid with mega-fear. They were afraid with great fear. And one can imagine the goose flesh crawling up their arms and down their spines.

27:40 One can imagine the cold sweat beginning to break out. They were held in a paralysis of fear. Now, I've read nothing into the text. I've simply tried to open up what the Scripture gives us of the setting of this good news of the angel.

The Substance of the Good News: A Unique Person

27:58 Now, having done that, let's address ourselves in the second place, begin to address ourselves to the substance of the good news of the angel. In that particular setting, to those specific men, shepherds, in that place just outside of Bethlehem, in those circumstances, the events of verses 1 to 7, having just transpired that very day or that very night, now then, the message, the good news of the angel comes. And the angel of the Lord, stood by them, and the glory of the Lord shone round about them, and they were sore afraid. And the angel said unto them, Be not afraid, more literally, stop being afraid. For behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all the people, for there is born to you this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. Here we have the substance of the good news of the angel. And it is good news, the angel says, that is characterized by great joy, a message which can dispel sorrow and grief,

29:24 and to cause the human heart bowed down with guilt and shame and tasting of gall and bitterness to leap for joy and to know the sweetness of God's grace. Now what is the substance of that good news of the angel? As Spurgeon said, we have here the first evangelist of the new era is an angel. And the very word for evangelism and evangelize is the word here where he says, I bring you good tidings.

29:57 I gospelize you. I evangelize you. I bring you good tidings of great joy. Well, I want to direct your attention to just one part of the substance this morning.

30:11 That's all time will permit. And it's the center of the entire message in verse 11. It is good news announcing the fact that a unique person has been born in a specific place to accomplish a glorious task. And that's the heart of the good news of the angel.

30:33 Good news announcing the fact that a unique person has been born in a specific place to accomplish a glorious task. And that's all in verse 11. For there is born to you this day in the city of David a Savior who is Christ the Lord. The first element of this good news is that it announces the fact of the appearance of a unique person.

31:05 Notice how the angel describes him. He is Christ the Lord. And the uniqueness of his person is seen in the fact that he is designated as Lord. Now, what was the significance of the use of that word to the shepherds and to Luke when he wrote it?

31:29 Well, if you will look carefully at the passage, you will see that he did not go any further than the immediate passage for the answer. Look at verse 9. It was an angel of the Lord that stood by them. That is, an angel from the presence of Jehovah.

31:50 The angels are sent to do the bidding of Jehovah. And so he is called the angel of the Lord. And furthermore, it is said, the glory of the Lord. Well, who is that Lord?

32:03 Well, that is Jehovah God himself. It is an angel of the Lord. And it is the glory of the Lord that shines round about them. And later on, when they look back upon what happened in verse 15, they said, let us go to Bethlehem and see this thing which has come to pass, which the Lord, which Jehovah, which God has made known unto us.

32:28 And then further on in this very passage, in verse 26, we read, And it had been revealed unto him by the Holy Spirit that he should not see death before he had seen the Lord's Jehovah's Christ. So when the angel says, unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior who is Christ the Lord, that word Lord used in this context means nothing less than the fact that the child born is the enfleshed Jehovah. As surely as the glory seen was the glory of Jehovah, the angel who appears is the angel of Jehovah. The child born is Jehovah incarnate. Unto you is born a Savior Christ Lord. And it had to be this way, for only in this identity would the ancient prophecies of Isaiah have been fulfilled.

33:35 For you'll remember hundreds of years previous to this, God had announced through the prophet Isaiah chapter 7 and verse 14, Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign. Behold, a virgin shall conceive, one who has never known intercourse with a man. The normal means of conception will be bypassed in this unusual child. Behold, a virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and shall call his name Emmanuel, which means God with us.

34:16 Well, in what sense will this child be God with us? Will he simply be an unusual human being born by an unusual conception to accomplish an unusual task? Or does it mean God with us? In the very person of that child?

34:37 Well, over in chapter 9, Isaiah answers the question, verse 6, For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given, and the government shall be upon his shoulder, and his name shall be called Wonderful Counselor, El Gabor, Mighty God. And in Isaiah 10, 20, and 21, that name, El Gabor, Mighty God, is a synonym. It's used in conjunction with a reference to Jehovah. And so the child given and the son born is to be Emmanuel, God with us.

35:21 Not in the sense that God sends a uniquely conceived person, that God helps this unique person to accomplish a unique task. No, no. There is something never heard of before. And it is the great mystery of the Gospel, the foundation mystery, that He is Jehovah incarnate.

35:45 He is Emmanuel, God with us, as the second person of the Godhead becomes incarnate in the womb of the Virgin and is born on that occasion described in the passage before us. No wonder the angel was able to say to these shepherds shivering in their boots, stop being afraid. I've not come with a message of judgment. I've not come to terrify you and to drive you out of your skin with fear, to summon you to stand before God in the nakedness of your own Adamic sinnerhood.

36:24 I've not come to summon you to come off to judgment unclothed and undressed in a righteousness other than your own. No, no. I've come with good news of great joy. No wonder it was a message of great joy.

36:40 God is saying to sinners as He speaks to the shepherds, I'm concerned enough about your plight, about the tragedy of human sin, about the bondage of human sin. I'm concerned enough about the guilt and the problem of that guilt that I will do something more than send someone to do a task for me. I will come and become one of you. I will take a true humanity to myself.

37:13 I will forever join myself to humanity in what the theologians call the hypostatic union, that great mystery that the second person of the Godhead, the eternal Word, takes to Himself a true humanity, a true soul, and a true body, so that we have in this person that great mystery, God with us, in the language of the hymn that we often sing, veiled in flesh the Godhead see. Hail the incarnate deity, pleased as man with men to dwell, Jesus our Emmanuel. And that's the good news. As the angel announced by the angel that a unique person has been born. And you see there is no hope for lost mankind apart from that person.

38:15 To us who have come to know him, the doctrine of the true deity of Christ is not a logical notion to be protected in order to prove our orthodoxy. Some discovery of how is our bondage to sin. but an arm of omnipotent grace to meet us in that need. We need a Savior who has a power never known to the saviors of Israel in the days of her great glory.

38:51 We need someone mightier than David, mightier than Joshua, mightier than Moses. We need one who is holy, harmless, undefiled, separate from sinners, higher than the heavens, and yet who can come from that pinnacle of glory and sinlessness to our wretched state in order to bring us out, not of Egypt, but out of the bondage of our sin, out of the guilt and pollution of our uncleanness. And so it's good news that such a person has been born. It's not good news to come to sinners and say, Hey, there's a fellow human being. Oh, he's a few notches higher than you are.

39:34 He was a bit more intelligent. He had a few more insights, was a bit more holy. And if you look to him, he'll sort of be a good guru for you, and you'll have an elevated, uplifted...

39:45 My friend, don't you come to me with a fellow mortal.

39:51 Don't come to any man, woman, boy, or girl who has begun to take seriously what sin is. Sin is infinite offense because it is committed against an infinite God.

The Substance of the Good News: A Specific Place

40:05 Sin demands punishment. And which you and I are not fit or not able to bear without it crushing us, we need one who is mighty to save. Well, not only is it an announcement about a unique person, but it announces the fact that this unique person was born in a specific place. Look at the text.

40:28 Unto you is born this day in the city of David. Now, why so significant? Why the big deal? Born in the city of David.

40:42 Isn't it enough to know it is the Lord who is born? No, but the angel says the good news of great joy involves this significant fact. Born this day in the city of David. The city or the town of Bethlehem.

41:01 As I've already intimated, some six miles south of Jerusalem, David's birthplace and dwelling in his early years. Well, why was this possible? Well, the angel was speaking to shepherds who knew their Old Testament. And it's clear from the parallel passage in Matthew 5 that those acquainted with the Old Testament who were looking for Messiah knew that he was to come out of Bethlehem, Judah.

41:31 For we read in the prophecy of Micah, some 650 years at least before the coming of the Lord Jesus Christ, these very days. These very significant words. Verse 2 of Micah, chapter 5. But thou, Bethlehem, Ephrathah, which art little to be among the thousands of Judah, out of thee shall one come forth unto me that is to be ruler in Israel, now notice, whose goings forth are from of old, even from everlasting, or from ancient, from ancient days.

42:13 One shall come forth to rule, but before he comes forth to rule, he was and ever has been. He is from ancient of days. The ruler who comes out of Bethlehem, Judah, has first of all come out of the very womb of eternity. He is everlasting deity who comes to accomplish his mission of salvation and deliverance.

42:39 Can you imagine what this must have, what this must have meant to the shepherds? There is born a savior, Christ the Lord. Ah, yes, they say, but if he's the real thing, real thing, he must be associated with Bethlehem. And so the angel assures them that he is no imposter.

43:02 He is the true, long-promised messiah and deliverer of his people. He is to be born, or has been born, He is to be born, or has been born, in a specific place, but that place was not his beginning. His goings forth have been from everlasting. Further validation, that in calling him the Lord, he deserves that title.

43:27 And here again, what good news this is, the fact that a unique person has been born in a precise place of God's destination. You see, unlike every religious leader who appoints himself or is appointed by others after he comes to age as one who is worthy to be followed, someone gets the notion that he has super insights to the mind and will of God, that he has special contact with God and calls himself a guru or a religious leader or a prophet, but none can bring forth the credentials our Lord has. His credentials go back for hundreds of years, embedded in the prophecies of the Old Testament, and though God had to move the heart of a heathen king and the wheels of the entire Roman government to bring Mary, great with child, to that town, He brought her there. What good news that a sovereign God who turns the wheels of history brought the promised Savior to the right place at the right time. But then, it was not only good news that a unique person would be born in a specific place, but look at the text. He was born to accomplish a glorious task.

The Substance of the Good News: A Glorious Task (Savior from Sin)

44:48 Here it is. Unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior. And in the original, a more literal rendering would be like this. I have good news for you, the angel says.

45:06 And this would be the good news, more literally rendered. There is born to you this day a Savior who is Christ the Lord in the city of David. So that the emphasis falls upon this glorious task which He will accomplish. There is born to you shepherds this very day a Savior.

45:39 That's good news. It's not good news to come to sinners and tell them you do this and do that. And do the other. And hope that somehow you can become your own Savior.

45:51 But it's good news to come to sinners who cannot extricate themselves from the morass of their sin. And tell them that a Deliverer who is God incarnate has come to rescue sinners. What does this word Savior mean? Well, it basically means one who delivers.

46:11 One who rescues from danger and brings into a state and position of safety and of blessing. But you say, Pastor Martin, did those shepherds know with that limited light that He was to be a Savior from sin? Would they not have immediately thought of a Savior from the Roman Empire? Don't you downplay how much God revealed to those godly Jews waiting for the coming of Messiah.

46:37 Look back into chapter 1. Don't take my word for it. Listen to Zacharias filled with the Spirit He speaks forth of God's goodness. Verse 68 Blessed be the Lord, the God of Israel.

46:53 Luke 1.68 He hath visited in wrought redemption for His people, has raised up a horn of salvation for us, where? In the house of David His servant. Now what is that salvation?

47:09 Well, drop down to verse 74. To grant unto us that we being delivered out of the hands of our enemies should serve Him without fear in holiness and righteousness before Him all our days. Yea, and thou, child, shall be called prophet of the Most High, referring to John, for thou shalt go before the face of the Lord to make ready His ways, now notice, to give knowledge of salvation unto His people in the deliverance from Roman rule. No, no.

47:46 To give salvation unto His people. What kind of salvation? In the remission of...

47:55 There was a spiritual salvation from spiritual enemies. The enemies of a broken law. The enemies of death and Satan and hell and wrath and guilt and bondage. And so every true pious Israelite longed for that kind of Savior.

48:19 And the angel says to these shepherds, I have good news for you. Today there is born in the city of David a Savior. I announce to you the birth of a unique person in a specific place who has been born to accomplish a glorious task. That task being nothing less than the great deliverer from sin.

48:46 And then to buttress their faith and to strengthen it. He says this Savior is the anointed Lord. And the word Christ means the anointed one and would have immediately drawn from their minds all of those associations with regard to what Messiah would do. The Spirit of the Lord God is upon me.

49:07 Isaiah 61. He hath anointed me to proclaim liberty to the captives, the opening of the prison house to those that are bound. And all that Messiah would do as God's anointed prophet to dispel ignorance and to teach truth. All He would do as God's anointed priest to die and to intercede for sinners.

49:30 All He would do as God's anointed King to rule in the subjugation of all His and His people's enemies. He would do as the Savior of His people. My friends, that's the good news the world is not too concerned to hear about this Christmas season. Because you see it would destroy most of their Christmas fun.

49:54 Wouldn't it? I mean what's Christmas without booze at the office parties? What's Christmas without risque remarks and gestures and words and deeds? What's Christmas without hilarity?

50:09 What's Christmas without abandonment to the flesh? Now you see the world uses any occasion whatsoever and it's not very fussy to give some justification to abandon itself to sin. But the true message of Christmas is the message, the good news of this angel who says there has come one to deliver from sin. Who can so transform our appetites and desires and perspectives that a life of holiness and righteousness and godly fear will be considered life indeed.

Conclusion: The Cross Across the Manger

50:48 Verse 74 of chapter 1 He has come that we being delivered out of the hand of our enemies should serve him without fear that is without carnal crippling fear in what context serve him in holiness and righteousness before him all our days. That's the good news of the gospel. And if I'm speaking to someone this morning boy, girl, man or woman and you in those moments when you can't help but be honest with your conscience you know that there are sins that you cannot rid yourself of. There is guilt that gnaws like a cancer at the innards of your soul and try as you may you've made vows, resolutions you've gone to church you've done everything your religion tells you to do but man, woman, boy or girl be honest there is no real certainty that your sins are forgiven, is there? There is no real confidence that you could die in the next 30 seconds and stand before this holy God who made you accepted before him. Well this is the good news of the angel. The good news is that to us to us men and women, boys and girls a savior has been born the very savior who lived a sinless life who died upon the cross

52:16 who was raised from the dead the third day and now offers pardon and peace to all who will come to him. I don't have too much appreciation for most Christmas art not because I don't appreciate art but because it distorts the Bible record and anything that distorts what the Bible says I don't like it. But I'll never forget one painting that I saw that could well have been the situation if our Lord was not born in a cave stable but in one constructed of wood then that would have been a rude construction with exposed beams and this particular artist drew the manger scene and as I recall it he didn't have it with the wise men there who came a long time after he was out of the stable and he didn't try to number the shepherds it just showed Mary leaning over this babe in a rude feeding trough but the soft light that entered that stable so struck some of the beams of the structure that they cast a shadow of a cross there upon the feeding trough where our Lord lay and the artist was seeking to capture the great truth of scripture that he was born to die that across the manger

53:40 is cast the shadow of the cross and that's the gospel he was not born to give us an occasion of reverie and self-indulgence and grasping after things he was born to die to liberate us from the passion for things and to bring us into fellowship with God so that the living God himself would be our portion that's the good news that the angel brought oh may it be good news to your heart today may we reflect much this day upon this passage and may God be pleased to bless us as we gather again this evening further to study the record God has given of the birth of his own beloved son let us pray our Father what thanks can we render to you this morning that you so loved the world as to give your only begotten son that whosoever believes in him should not perish but have everlasting life we thank you for this great gospel word spoken by the angel that unto men is born this day a Savior Christ the Lord and oh how we pray

55:08 that he may be welcomed into many hearts today to be the Savior he delights to be to sinners we pray for those of us who do know him as Savior and Lord that he may become more precious to us as we contemplate the great mystery of his incarnation Lord we sense our minds and spirits staggering before the magnitude of such great realities strengthen our faith to grasp hold of these things and to find them to be meat and drink to our souls be with us now as we leave this place may the word that we have heard continue to work in our minds and hearts and to your name be praise honor and glory now and forever more Amen