The Christmas Message
Text: Luke 2:8-20
Core Idea: The Christmas message tells us that Jesus came to bring peace to our world – and this will turn our fear into great joy. May we ponder and declare this message as we fix our eyes on the Savior of the world, the Prince of peace.
INTRODUCTION
Good afternoon, Lighthouse. We’re so delighted to have you with us. If you’re joining us for the first time, thank you for choosing to spend your time with us. We pray that you’ll be blessed because you came. And my prayer for all of us is that we would taste and see that the Lord is good and that His mercies are new every morning. No matter where you are, no matter how your week was, no matter how far you think you are from God, I want you to know that God hasn’t stopped loving you; He hasn’t stopped pursuing you. How can I be so sure of this? Because that’s the message of Christmas: The Savior King has come to be placed in a manger for you and me. I pray that you would be reminded of His unending love for you during this Christmas season.
This past week, I stumbled upon an article that Kevin DeYoung wrote – urging the pastors to preach the gospel this Christmas. I wanted to share something that caught my attention. This is what he said, “Christmas comes around every year. The same songs. The same texts. The same story. Most of the time I love the familiar rhythm of Advent and the comforting routine of tradition. But as a pastor, I also know that sense of desperation: ‘How many more Christmas sermons can I possibly come up with?’ And I rarely do a full four-week Advent series. The poor brother who does an Advent series every year for 40 years is going to preach at least 160 sermons on Christmas.” I chuckled to myself as I read this but something about this communicates a sobering warning to us all – namely, the danger of familiarity. You see, the more we’re familiar with something, the more that it’s in our lives, the less it tends to grip us, the less it tends to amaze us, the less it tends to stop us to ponder. And this could be true for many of us when it comes to Christmas. We think we know the story – so, we stop listening, we stop thinking, questioning, and considering more than what we already know. But the truth is that the Christmas message is breathtaking, mind-boggling, hope-filled, and life-transforming in every way as it always has been. Then what changed that left us indifferent, apathetic, and even bored when it comes to the Christmas message? It’s not the message – the message remains the same; then what changed must be you and me. Something has changed within us – and this story that once drew us to wonder, worship, humility, and gratitude now comes to us lifeless.
If this is you, I want to invite you to pray this with me – Psalm 119:18, “Open my eyes that I may see wonderful things in Your law.” There are wonderful things in the Word – and the psalmist knows that he doesn’t often feel or see those things as wonderful. So, he asks for it. And that’s what we should do as well. Let me invite you to do that right now. Let me pray this verse for us.
Father, open our eyes right now that we may see wonderful things in Your Word. Let nothing hinder or blind us from seeing the beauty of Your Son. May the Spirit move us, refresh us, and transform us through the message of Christmas. In Jesus’ precious name we pray, amen.
If you were with us last week, we learned that the first Christmas was historical, providential, and surprising. Then what is Christmas really about? What’s the true message, true meaning of Christmas? What is it trying to tell us? That’s what we want to explore in the passage we have today. So, if you have your Bibles, please turn to Luke 2:8-20. Before I read, I want to address the children first. Children, thank you again for joining us today. You don’t know how much it means for me and for all of us to have you here. I know that you may not understand everything I say today but I’ve been praying for you – that God will speak to you through His Word. So, here’s something you could do to understand this passage better: use your imagination. Picture the scene in your mind. Think about the characters mentioned here – their expressions, the tone of their voice, their thoughts – and put yourself in the story. Ask questions and be curious. Well, let me read this for us.
8 And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night. 9 An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. 10 But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid. I bring you good news that will cause great joy for all the people. 11 Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; He is the Messiah, the Lord. 12 This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.” 13 Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God and saying, 14 “Glory to God in the highest heaven, and on earth peace to those on whom His favor rests.” 15 When the angels had left them and gone into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, “Let’s go to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has told us about.” 16 So they hurried off and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby, who was lying in the manger. 17 When they had seen Him, they spread the word concerning what had been told them about this child, 18 and all who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds said to them. 19 But Mary treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart. 20 The shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things they had heard and seen, which were just as they had been told.
Amen. This is the Word of God for you today.
Three things we learn about the message of Christmas from this passage:
THE RECIPIENTS
THE MESSAGE
THE RESPONSE
1) THE RECIPIENTS (A MESSAGE FOR THOSE WHO FEAR)
Let’s begin with verse 8. We read here that in the same region where Jesus was born, there were some shepherds who were out in the fields watching over their flocks at night. Now, it’s important to know that shepherds were not people of social standing in those days. They were not educated, and because of their constant interaction with animals, they were considered ceremonially unclean, which meant that people avoided them – no one wanted to associate with them unless they had to. According to Jewish law, they were legally disqualified from serving as witnesses in a court because they were notoriously known as liars. They were rejected, despised, and forgotten by the rest of the community. No one cared for them. And yet, God chooses to announce the coming of His Son, the Savior King, to these lowly, forsaken shepherds first – not the Roman emperor or the religious leaders or even the devoted worshipers of God. Verse 17 tells us that these shepherds excitedly spread the word about what they had seen and heard – they wanted the world to know. But who would believe them? Why would anyone listen to them? People will easily dismiss the message because of the messenger. Then why did God choose these despised shepherds as the first witnesses and the messengers of this important truth? Because He wanted to display His mercy and grace through them.
Let me explain. It’s true that they were hopeless people – despised, unclean, and sinful. These shepherds were rejected by others – they were unwanted. But that’s precisely the reason why God reached out to them first. I love what Dane Ortlund said, “When we sin, the very heart of Christ is drawn out to us.” He then reinforces this truth with an image of a father whose son is deathly ill. He says that the presence of the disease draws out the father’s heart to his child all the more. In other words, the father cares for the child because the child is sick and is in need. In the same way, when we sin, God’s heart goes out to sinners in compassion. He writes, “His heart is inflamed with pity and compassion for His people. He simply cannot give them up. Nothing could cause Him to abandon them. They are His… It is not our loveliness that wins His love. It is our unloveliness.” In choosing to announce this good news first to the shepherds shows the heart of the Father – His mercy, compassion, and grace.
It’s unfortunate that this is not how we think and operate. We feel that we’re not able to approach God because we’re dirty, unworthy, sinful. That’s what was happening here in verse 9. “An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified.” At first glance, this doesn’t feel unusual – anyone would be startled or frightened to see an angel in front of them. But there’s much more going on here – and what Luke writes here helps us understand this better: “the glory of the Lord shone around them.” In other words, they were absolutely terrified to be in the presence of God. Pastor Ligon Duncan said, “When sinners encounter God, their natural response is to tremble.” Why? An image of the sun can be helpful here. Even though the sun is beautiful and good as it gives light for us to see everything, it would damage our eyes if we were to look directly at the sun. Even more, we would literally dissolve by the heat that it gives off if we were to get close to the sun. In a similar way, sinners would feel radically threatened by the holy presence of God because He’s perfect and we’re not. When God’s glory appears, it always intensifies our fear because of our sin. And Luke tells us that this was what was happening to these shepherds on this day – fear on Christmas.
I wonder if some of you feel like the shepherds today – despised, unclean, unredeemable, undeserving of anything good because of where you were or where you are right now. You feel dirty, unlovable, rejected, and alone; so, you hide behind your career, education, achievements, reputation, relationships, social media in order to protect yourself from being exposed. You’re constantly thinking, “What if people find out the real me – how inadequate I am at what I’m doing, how I’m not that smart, kind, or gentle as I present myself to be, how I’m not that spiritual as people assume to be?” And you conclude that you’re just not lovable – even God couldn’t love you. You feel the crushing weight of guilt and shame that becomes unbearable yet you’re just not sure what to do – you feel dejected, helpless, and hopeless.
If this is you, God is reaching out to you. He’s telling you, “You are the reason why I sent my Son to this broken world – to save you, rescue you; to set you free from the shackles of sin.” Jesus says in Luke 5:31-32, “It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance.” Then I invite you to look to Christ today. Come to Him. He is waiting for you. Hear His voice. Know that His work on the cross will liberate you, make you whole, and bring you joy. How do I know this? Because that’s exactly what it says in verse 10. “But the angel said to them, ‘Do not be afraid. I bring you good news that will cause great joy for all the people.’” The angel comes to announce the end of all fear. The angel draws near and says, “Fear not. I’m not here to destroy you. I’m not here to bring down God’s judgment against you. I bring you great news that something has happened. Something so decisive, something so final, something so pivotal that it’s going to bring an end to all your fear.” Brothers and sisters, the Christmas message is for those who are terrified, fearful, for our fear will turn into joy in the person of Jesus Christ. His mercy and grace are reaching down to us.
2) THE MESSAGE (A MESSAGE OF PEACE)
What’s this good news really about? Let’s turn to verse 11. “Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; He is the Messiah, the Lord.” The angel tells the shepherds to rejoice because of a baby lying in a manger – that this child is a Savior of the world, the promised Messiah (the King), and the Lord. Now, if you were a first-century Jewish listener, you would’ve been shocked and possibly even offended by the fact that this baby was the Lord, because this would have meant only one thing: that the child born in Bethlehem in a manger was God Himself – that the Lord, the Maker of heaven and earth, has been born to us. This must have been absolutely scandalous and completely inconceivable to them and even to us – how can God become a human? It’s true that this still is a mystery – we will never understand how this is possible. But we know what this means for us: it means that He will drive away our fear and turn it into joy.
You see, the angel didn’t come to them with better advice or a clearer instruction on how they can overcome their fears. The angel didn’t come to them announcing a new set of rules or doctrines. The angel came to proclaim news – that the Savior King, the Lord Himself has been born to them. The heart of the Christmas message, the heart of Christian faith, is not that there are a set of things that we must do but that something happened that will change everything. When you think about Christianity, if the first thing that comes to your mind is a set of rules or a collection of doctrines, things that would burden your life, that would enslave you, then I want to let you know that you really don’t know what Christianity is all about, because if you speak to anybody whose life has been transformed by the gospel, they will describe their encounter with Jesus as a liberation, as an unburdening, as freedom. Charles Wesley wrote a beautiful hymn called, And Can It Be – and in it, he says this: “My chains fell off, my heart was free; I rose, went forth and followed Thee.” Have you experienced the gospel in this way? If you haven’t, you don’t know what the heart of the Christian faith is all about. But if you have, not just your life but the life of those around you will no longer be the same.
Then how does this child born to us turn our fear into joy? Verse 14. “Glory to God in the highest heaven, and on earth peace to those on whom His favor rests.” This child will turn our fear into joy by bringing peace on earth. How does this work? In order to make sense of this, we must remember that our fear ultimately originated from our sin. Sin causes us to fear; sin causes us to hide; and sin leads to hostility with God. We are at war with God. You see, you and I were created for peace with God. We were created so that the most important thing in our lives would be our relationship with God – the most meaningful reality of our lives. And amazingly, this peace with God would allow us to have peace within. There’s harmony, quietness, and contentment in our hearts not because we’re strong or wise, not because we have this or that, not because we can predict the future, but simply because we have this relationship with the One who is sovereign and all-knowing. In Genesis 3, there’s this moment in the garden where God comes down to commune with Adam and Eve; it’s a beautiful picture – the Almighty God wanting to fellowship with His people. He wants to walk with them, do life with them. Yet, Adam and Eve weren’t running to meet Him. They weren’t excited to see Him. No, they were hiding in guilt and fear because they have been disobedient. Peace with God was shattered, and their hearts exploded with fear, anxiety, anger, depression, and hopelessness. Their hearts were no longer at rest because their peace with God was broken by their sin. And this really is our story as well. Our peace with God has been shattered. And our efforts were never enough to restore that peace again – never enough to pay the penalty of our sin.
The Christmas message tells us that even though we don’t deserve it, the Savior King, the promised Messiah, the Lord Himself came to pay for the penalty of our sin on behalf of us. He left His throne, left His power, left the place of privilege; He laid down His glory and made Himself completely vulnerable, coming as a baby – and He did all that for you and me. And what’s amazing is that He knew the cost of this penalty – He knew that in order to save us, He wouldn’t just have to risk His life, He would have to lose it. And that’s exactly what He did – on the cross, He died in our place to end all fear for us, to pay the full price of our forgiveness, to restore this peace with the Father all because of His love for us.
Then how do we receive this peace? It starts by first admitting that you’re actually at war with God. Many people cry out for help, wisdom, and strength from God but not reconciliation because they don’t know that they’re at war with God. But the reality is that we are. We are His enemies. But Christmas reminds us that peace and reconciliation are available for us in the person of Jesus Christ. Then rest in what Christ has done for you as you turn away from your old ways of living. This is how we receive peace with God. Now, I understand how difficult this is. Starting a relationship with Jesus means that we must surrender our lives to Him. Everything that once gave us identity, security, peace, and life – we must give them to God. I know how hard that is. It’s scary. But don’t be afraid. Jesus will never let us down. He literally gave up His life for you. Enter into that relationship with Him today. And be satisfied in His love for you. He really is all that you need, and He will satisfy your soul in a way that this world cannot. So, come to Him today.
3) THE RESPONSE (A MESSAGE TO BE PONDERED AND SPREAD)
How should Christians respond to this message? Let’s turn to verse 19. “But Mary treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart.” Luke tells us that she was pondering the good news. The Greek word for “ponder” also means to consider, compare, connect, or think something out. This is what we’re called to do with this good news. We must meditate on it. We must wrestle through it. We must invest our time and effort in it to dig and explore deeper and deeper. We must continually ask: “What does this mean? How does this speak to my life today?” When I started my ministry, I came across a story of how Pastor Tim Keller learned to study the Bible. This is how he describes that experience: “At a conference I attended, the speaker said to us, ‘Sit for thirty minutes and write down at least thirty things you learn from Mark 1:17.’ (Come, follow me, and I will send you out to fish for people.) Then she instructed us, ‘Don’t think after ten minutes you’ve figured everything out. Take the whole thirty minutes and try to get to thirty things observed.’ So, we sat silently and did as told. And indeed, after about ten minutes I was pretty sure that I’d seen everything there was to see in this short invitation. I put my pen down and wanted to spend the rest of the time daydreaming, but everybody else looked like they were still working, so, I picked up the pen and started pondering some more. Then I began to notice new things. If I imagined what the sentence would mean without one of its words, it was easier to assess what unique meaning it brought to the sentence. That gave me the ability to get another two or three insights around each term. Then I tried to paraphrase the whole verse, putting it into my own words. That showed me more levels of meaning and implications that I had missed. At the end of the thirty minutes, the teacher asked us to circle on our papers the best insight or more life-changing thing we had gotten out of the text. Then she said, ‘Okay, how many of you found this most incredible, life-changing thing in the first five minutes?’ Nobody raised their hand. ‘Ten minutes?’ Nobody raised their hand. ‘Fifteen minutes?’ A few hands. ‘Twenty minutes?’ A few more. ‘Twenty-five minutes?’ Even more. That session changed my attitude toward the Bible and, indeed, my life.” Psalm 119:130 says, “The unfolding of Your words gives light.” The psalmist says that what looks like a simple statement, when pondered (as you “unfold”), it will give us light – we’ll discover multiple dimensions of meaning and endless personal applications in the Word if we spend time with it. Brothers and sisters, I invite you to unfold the meaning of the Christmas message for yourself today so that it will give you light. It should saturate our thoughts. We should sing about this more. It should be a part of our conversation with the people around us – family and friends. It’s good to talk about all sorts of things that we love about life – but how can we grow deeper in our friendship if we never talk about the most important thing in our lives with one another – the gospel?
But one more thing. Verse 17. “When they had seen Him, they spread the word concerning what had been told them about this child.” Have you ever wondered why the shepherds did this? If you remember how the shepherds were treated (despised and rejected), why would they go out of their way to tell others about this news? Why not just let people live in fear and hostility against God? But that’s exactly what the gospel does to us – when we experience this joy and peace with God, it becomes impossible to contain this to ourselves. We want to share it. We want others to experience this joy. We want others to have this peace with God. Pastor Paul Tripp said, “Upward peace that would create inward peace that would give us the ability to have outward peace; that was the plan.” Brothers and sisters, have you experienced this joy of being liberated from the shackles of sin? Have you experienced this peace and rest that comes from your relationship with God? Then I invite you to join me in proclaiming this Christmas story to the world simply because we have been saved and because we have been called. I understand that this has become harder with another COVID restriction put in place as of today; but it’s not impossible. Let us not make any more excuses. The world needs to hear this news. Because we have seen and heard of this rich and deep love He has for us, let us spread this news. This is how we respond to the Christmas message.
CONCLUSION
Lighthouse family, the message of Christmas tells us that Jesus came to bring peace to our world – and this will turn our fear into great joy. Then may we ponder it. May we treasure it. May we declare it. And may it lead us to worship Christ – the Savior of the world, the Prince of peace.