AT A GLANCE

When you think about Jesus at Christmas time, do you think of Him as a baby or as Savior? Make no mistakes, Jesus was born in order to suffer for your sake, die for your sin, and rise again to give you eternal life. Do you see that the baby in the manger is your Savior?!  

INTRODUCTION

For the last four weeks our pastors have preached our favorite bible passages on Jesus’ birth. Our task is to tell afresh the greatest story ever told and it’s not hard to do. To imagine that God put on flesh and came to us in the form of a baby and spent his first night in a feed trough by the livestock, that is nearly too much to comprehend. 

But in His condescension, the Lord did not stop there. No, he made the angelic birth announcement to a motley crew of men called shepherds. Beside the Word becoming flesh as John records it, this is my favorite Christmas story. Let’s take a look! 

LUKE 2:8-12  

ill-advisedly 8  how do i purchase Clomiphene And in the same region there were shepherds out in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night.  9 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. 10 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. 11 For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. 12 And this will be a sign for you: you will find a baby wrapped in swaddling cloths and lying in a manger.” 

SIMPLE MEN ON A ROUTINE NIGHT

8 And in the same region there were shepherds out in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night. These were simple men working the night shift caring for livestock. They were minding their own business. It was a routine evening, nothing special about it or about them. 

9 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. 

The glory of God appears with the angel of the Lord. Perhaps this is Gabriel, the angel who also visited Zechariah and Mary. (1:19, 1:26) “I am Gabriel. I stand in the presence of God.” Luke 1:19  But we do not know. Regardless, what we do know is that angels are sent from the presence of God with a message from Him. 

Luke records, they were filled with great fear. Every time an angel appears to men, men respond in fear and awe. That’s what you would expect and certainly how you would react. 

10 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. 

Fear not – Everything is more terrifying at night. But the time of darkness is over! Light has come into the world. John records Jesus’ entry into the world this way, “The true light, which gives light to everyone, was coming into the world.” John 1:9 

Which evokes Psalm 27:1, “The Lord is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear?…” Seems like great reason to no longer be afraid! Salvation has come!  

GOOD NEWS OF GREAT JOY

I bring you good news of great joy – Good news is literally evangelion, the Gospel. The angel was an evangelist. He was sent to take the gospel to the shepherds, specifically, because this is a message that will be for all the people. Shepherds were the least in society, abandoned to the livestock at night. They were far from social influencers. 

Here is the good news of great joy! Verses 11-12 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.” 

You have come here tonight, perhaps for the first time. You have come here to sing songs and light a candle. You’ve come to be blessed by the singing of children. You’ve come to feel the Christmas vibe. You’ve come because mom or grandma says you have to or she’s not giving you your gift. 

But let this truth sink in tonight in a new and fresh way: we come to worship a baby in a manger because the baby in the manger is the Savior of the world. 

Four weeks ago I spoke about the baby in the manger being the creator of the world. He is God in the flesh, divine incarnate; the Word become flesh. And now I’m telling you that He is the Savior. He came to save us. But from what? 

TO SAVE US FROM OUR SIN

If you could ask the disciples or the people of Jerusalem on Palm Sunday, you’d hear that He came to save us from political oppression. That’s what the people of Israel thought Messiah was going to do, liberate them from Rome. 

But that is not the kind of salvation this baby in the manger was sent to bring. Afterall, that would hardly be good news for all the people. It might have been good news for the Jews of Jesus’ day, but what about everyone else? At best, it would be irrelevant. 

But the angel declared that he was sent to bring good news of great joy that would be for all the people, all people without distinction. People from every age, ethnicity, tongue, and background. This would be good news for you and me. 

And it is good news precisely because Jesus’ salvation was not political, but soteriological. Meaning, Jesus came to save us from the penalty of our sin; just as the angel told Joseph, “She will bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins.” Matthew 1:21 Its what His name means – God saves. He came to give us new life; to die in our place and rise from the dead so that sinners like us could be welcomed into the family of God and into His kingdom as sons and daughters. 

My question for you tonight is as you go about with all the yuletide cheer and as you cherish the memories of family get-togethers and as you wait with eager longing for gift exchanges tonight and tomorrow morning, do you see what I see? The baby in the manger is your savior! 

THEN WHAT?

Once you have seen this for yourself and once you have heard the good news of great joy, what is the proper response? 

15 When the angels went away from them into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, “Let us go over to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has made known to us.” 16 And they went with haste and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby lying in a manger. 17 And when they saw it, they made known the saying that had been told them concerning this child. 18 And all who heard it wondered at what the shepherds told them. 19 But Mary treasured up all these things, pondering them in her heart. 20 And the shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all they had heard and seen, as it had been told them.

Two things we can all learn from the shepherds:  

1. Go tell somebody! The shepherds went and told people. Afterall, it is a message of good news of great joy…for all the people. There will be people for whom this message of good news of great joy will appear to be foolish. We are not responsible for being fruitful. We are only responsible for being faithful. 

And we’re entrusted with a message that is for all the people and to all the people it must go! Our task is to hear the good news and see it for the reality that it is and to go tell other people about it.

This is why the people of Wildwood are committed to the vision Every Member A Missionary, taking the Gospel across the street and around the world! Are you with us? 

1. Give the Lord some praise! When you ponder, as Mary did, the birth of Christ and when you reflect upon His life, His death on the cross, His resurrection from the dead, and your great salvation, what response does that elicit from you? How do you adequately respond to the giving of the only Son of God? With joyful worship of course! Are you rejoicing with great joy? 

Luke says the shepherds were out in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night. 

But the light was coming into the world. John describes Jesus’ entry to the world this way, “In Him was life and the life was the light of men. The light shines in the darkness and the darkness has not overcome it.” John 1:4-5 

Jesus said, “I am the light of the world” and then He said, “You are the light of the world.” Will you join me in shining the light of Christ this Christmas and every day until He returns?