Good News of Great Joy!

Luke 2:1-20
Key Verse 2:10

“But the angel said to them, ‘Do not be afraid. I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people.’”

Today I would like for each of us to prepare our hearts for another upcoming holiday: Christmas. When I was a kid, Christmas to me was all about gifts, Christmas decorations, Christmas carols, and family gathering. But when I met my Lord and Savior Jesus, I received a deeper meaning of Christmas. This passage is the Christmas message to the shepherds living out in the field, keeping watch over their flocks at night. The angel said to them, “Do not be afraid. I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people.” Bible narratives are written mostly in understatement. The Bible never exaggerates. But it says good news plus great joy. Let’s welcome baby Jesus newly into our hearts this Christmas.

First, “Good news!” Verse 8 says, “And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night.” Bethlehem was the ancient birthplace of David. These shepherds took pride in the fact that they were living the same lifestyle as King David when he was a boy. But in that society, they got no respect. Shepherding was considered the dirtiest of the dirty jobs. To the world, the nameless shepherds outside Bethlehem were humble and unimportant people. But to God, they were important—so important that he chose to break to them the greatest news story of all time. Verse 9 says, “An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified.” Why were they terrified? Maybe when they saw the angel, they thought that their time was up.

Look at verse 10: “But the angel said to them, ‘Do not be afraid; I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people.’” Several years ago, Time magazine ran a cover story about Jesus. The article begins by saying, “…the single most powerful figure not merely in these two millenniums but in all human history has been Jesus of Nazareth.” That night that Jesus was born was the pivotal moment in world history. But what were the major news outlets reporting?

When we look at verses 1-7, we see the headlines of that day. The Roman Emperor, Caesar Augustus, was taking a census of the entire Roman world. Caesar wanted to update his records to improve his tax collection. He also wanted a list of able bodied young men for the next military draft. This census caused an uproar in the Roman provinces and colonies. All people had to immediately stop what they were doing and travel to their birthplace to register. Verses 1-7 also reveal the plight of the less fortunate. A blue-collar worker named Joseph and his fiancé Mary had to make the difficult journey from Nazareth up to Bethlehem even though Mary was in the ninth month of her pregnancy. When they arrived in Bethlehem, they had to fend for themselves. The inn was full. No one invited them into their homes. Mary had to give birth on the side of the road and lay her baby into an animal’s feed box. Heartbreaking stories like these were being repeated in the lives of countless poor and suffering people.

The world had become insensitive, cruel and utterly selfish. The big stories in the news were Roman imperialism, poverty and selfishness. No one was telling the real story of that day. So God himself issued a press release. Look again at verse 10. The angel said, “Do not be afraid. I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people.” When we look at today’s headlines, we see a similar pattern: violence in the Middle East; terrorism; financial crisis; people shooting at each other because of black Friday. All of the major news stories of today are bad news. But what is really going on? Could we be so accustomed to bad news that we overlook the most important happenings of our time?

In the mid 18th century, Europe and North America went through a huge cultural shift that continues to affect us today. It was called the Age of Enlightenment. Armed with new discoveries in math and physics, people began to truly believe that science and human reason were the keys that would unlock the mysteries of the world and the universe. In the last 200 years, an explosion of science has reshaped our lives in ways that no one could imagine. Instant global communication. Air and space travel. Organ transplants and wonder drugs. Technology has lengthened our lifespan and greatly improved our standard of living. But it has also influenced how we think and transformed our view of reality. We now try to explain human nature in terms of chemistry, biology and psychology. We now tend to ignore the spiritual aspects of life.

God gave us Thanksgiving Day to give thanks to him and think of many thanksgiving topics. We feel good and healthy when we are thankful. But now days, the mind and heart of many are more focused on the after Thanksgiving store events. So much so that they are willing to do ANYTHING! The so-called Enlightenment gave us HD televisions and iPhones. But it has also closed our eyes to spiritual reality and prevents us from understanding how much God is working all around us. But there is a place where we can find the events of the day being reported correctly. That place is the Bible. For the last two hundred years, critics have ruthlessly attacked the Bible, trying to disprove them by pointing out alleged discrepancies. But again and again, careful scholarship and archeological discoveries have confirmed the authenticity and factual consistency of the Scriptures. When we take off our Enlightenment goggles and read the Bible on its own terms, we learn that God has been working throughout history to restore this fallen world. We learn that God is alive and personally reaching out to people to bring them back to his kingdom. When we approach the Bible with a humble and learning mind, the Holy Spirit opens our hearts to hear the good news.

Second, great joy! The angel said, “I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people.” Joy is to be very happy. Great joy is to be extremely happy. Most people say that they don’t really want to be rich, they just want to be happy. But in our consumer-driven culture, they find themselves slaving away year after year, trying to make more money to support a bigger and bigger lifestyle. The average single-family home built in America this year is 150% larger than it was in 1950. But people are not 150% happier. Over that same period, the rates of divorce and depression and mental illness have gone through the roof. Individual men and women spend their lives pursuing happiness in their own way.

After years of searching, they find themselves unhappy and bitter and alone, victims of circumstance and of bad life choices. How terrible it is to reach the later years of life and find out that you are not happy. The Bible warns us to stop working for what will not make us happy. “Why spend money on what is not bread, and your labor on what does not satisfy?” (Isa 55:2). Great joy is deep and lasting joy. It is an inner peace that does not change with the circumstances of the moment. Where can you get this kind of joy? Great joy is not for sale at Circuit city or Best Buy. Great joy is a gift of God that God gives to those who asks him. Jesus referred to this gift as “living water.” In John 4:14, Jesus said, “…whoever drinks the water I give him will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life.”

Happiness comes from love. There are many songs written about the word “love” and one thing that is true about they have written is that you can’t buy love. Happiness comes from love. Joy comes from love. Great joy comes from being in love with our Heavenly Father. In John 15:10-11, Jesus said, “If you obey my commands, you will remain in my love, just as I have obeyed my Father’s commands and remain in his love. I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete.” The good news of great joy is that God wants to restore us to a love relationship with him. Who is this message for? The end of verse 10 says, “…for all the people.” This is a universal message for all people of all cultures. It is for people of all times and at every stage of life. In this room, there are maybe some people who are deeply unhappy. They have many reasons to complain. Perhaps they blame others. Perhaps they blame themselves. But it does not have to be that way. The angel’s message in verse 10 makes it possible for any person to receive great joy that does not depend on others or the situation. Practically speaking, how does this happen?

Third, “A Savior has been born to you.” Look at verse 11: “Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is Christ the Lord.” The key word in this verse is Savior. Over many centuries, God had promised to send his people a Savior who would rescue them from their predicament. In Hebrew, he was called “Messiah”; the Greek word is “Christ.” But their concept of the Messiah was political. They were looking for a Savior who would defeat the Roman oppressors and give them back their dignity and rights. God’s plan was not to send a political or military leader. God was planning to send a spiritual king who would solve their deepest problems. The angel said, “Today in the town of David, a Savior has been born TO YOU…” He is the Savior of all people. He is also the personal Savior who saves each person from dire circumstances. These days, many people are worried about their job security because of the financial crisis. They worry about money and wonder who will save them from this problem. Jesus doesn’t tell them to buy a lottery ticket. He gives them a guaranteed promise: “But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well” (Mt 6:33).

Over the last two thousand years, every follower of Jesus who has believed this word and put it into practice has found that the promise is true. Other people suffer from broken family relationships. They quarrel and blame each other like Adam and Eve in Genesis chapter 3. They wonder who can possibly restore their broken relationships. Jesus is the one who can make peace between them. Ephesians 2:14 says, “For he himself is our peace, who has made the two one and has destroyed the barrier, the dividing wall of hostility.” Many parents are deeply worried about what will happen to their children. One man named Jairus was in a terrible situation. His twelve year old daughter was dying, and there was nothing he could do. In that hopeless time, he went to Jesus and begged him to come and heal his daughter. Along the way, Jairus received a message that the girl had already died. But Jesus told him, “Don’t be afraid, just believe.” Jesus went to the man’s house, took the girl by the hand, and raised her from the dead (Mk 5:21-43). Jesus the Savior has saved countless people from desperate situations when they called on him.

The name “Jesus” means “the Lord saves.” But the deepest meaning of this Savior is explained in Matthew 1:21. Before Jesus was born, an angel appeared to Joseph and said, “…you are to give him the name Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins” (Mt 1:21). Sin is the one subject that is too painful to talk about. We all carry sins that we are too embarrassed to admit. Sin is the disease that every person has and that no medicine can cure. It makes us miserable and separates us from God. But Jesus came to save us from this. He paid the price for every human sin. He opened the way for every person to come back to God.

All people desperately need to be saved. Many of them don’t know that a Savior has come. Others have heard of this Savior but are looking for some other way. But there is no other way. Acts 4:12 says: “Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to men by which we must be saved.” Let’s listen once again to the angel’s words: “Today in the town of David, a Savior has been born to you; he is Christ the Lord.”

Fourth, the sign. The angel’s message sounds good. But before people can believe, they need more evidence. People want a sign. Look verse 12: “This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.” What? A baby in a manger? This must be a mistake. The Savior of the world should look impressive so that people can believe in him! No, there is no mistake. The baby in the manger is the sign of the Savior. In the eighth century BC, the city of Jerusalem came under attack by the armies of Aram and Northern Israel. King Ahaz and the people of Jerusalem were shaken like trees swaying in the wind. They desperately needed a sign that God was still with them. God spoke to them through the prophet Isaiah: “The Lord himself will give you a sign: The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and will call him Immanuel” (Isa 7:14). 730 years later, this prophecy was fulfilled by the birth of Jesus. Each of us needs assurance that God loves us and is with us today. The baby in a manger is the greatest sign of God’s love. The baby in a manger shows that God gave up his power and heavenly glory to live among people and suffer with them. He took up our infirmities and carried our sorrows (Isa 53:4). He is the true friend and shepherd of suffering people. The night that Jesus was born, God gave another sign. In verses 13-14, God briefly opened the doors of heaven. Thousands upon thousands of angels were praising God and saying, “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace to men on whom his favor rests.”

The heavens proclaimed the glory of Jesus’ birth. How did the humble shepherds of Bethlehem react to this heavenly message? They did not immediately reject it just because it sounded strange. They made a small decision of faith to go into town and see for themselves if what the angel said was true. They went and found Mary and Joseph and the baby in the manger just as the angel said (16). Then they spread the word concerning what had been told them about this child, and all who heard it were amazed (17-18). The mainstream media wouldn’t report the story. The alternative media didn’t report it either. The shepherds who accepted the message reported the news. Then they returned to their fields, glorifying and praising God for all the things they had heard and seen (20). Mary’s reaction is also significant. Verse 19 says: “But Mary treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart.” When I was asked to deliver a Christmas message, I thought about what Christmas means to me. Then I thought about how Jesus saved me from the power of death. I was once under the power of death and it made me very sorrowful and fatalistic. But one day, a friend from high school invited me to church and there I met the Savior of my soul Jesus.

Through bible study, God made known to me that death is not the end of life and heaven is real. Through bible study, God made known to me his unconditionally love through his Son Jesus. When I accepted Jesus as my Lord and Savior, God began to work in my life. I praise God for Jesus, the savior of the world. This Christmas, let’s give fix our eyes on the baby in the manger and believe the good news. Luke 2:1-20Key Verse 2:10 “But the angel said to them, ‘Do not be afraid. I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people.’” Today I would like for each of us to prepare our hearts for another upcoming holiday: Christmas. When I was a kid, Christmas to me was all about gifts, Christmas decorations, Christmas carols, and family gathering. But when I met my Lord and Savior Jesus, I received a deeper meaning of Christmas.

This passage is the Christmas message to the shepherds living out in the field, keeping watch over their flocks at night. The angel said to them, “Do not be afraid. I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people.” Bible narratives are written mostly in understatement. The Bible never exaggerates. But it says good news plus great joy. Let’s welcome baby Jesus newly into our hearts this Christmas.