Luke 2:8-14

Luke chapter 2 and verses 8 through 14 for our text and study this morning. And there were in the same country shepherds abiding in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night. And lo, the angel of the Lord came upon them, and the glory of the Lord shone round about them. and they were sore afraid. And the angel said unto them, Fear not. For behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David, a Savior, which is Christ the Lord. And this shall be a sign unto you. He shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger. And suddenly, there was with the angel a multitude of heavenly host, praising God and saying, glory to God in the highest, and on earth, peace and goodwill toward men. May God bless to us His sacred and holy word this morning. Charles Spurgeon once related a story about travels that he had in Europe. He said he was at the town of Gosler in the Hart’s Mountains. He said there was in the town square there, this huge fountain, and he thought that it had been built in medieval times. He said the strange thing about this fountain was that no one could reach the water to fill. a bucket or the quenches thirst because the jets and the basin were high above anyone’s reach. And so you couldn’t get to the water. He said, here was a fountain intended to benefit the public, but it was built in such a huge fashion and so high that the people couldn’t get to the water. So people would come with long troughs and put it up there and get the water and get it to flow down toward one of their vessels down below in order to get capture the water from it. Imagine if the gospel was out of reach of people. The people therefore couldn’t benefit from it. But the righteousness, which is of faith, speaketh on this wise, Paul says in Romans, say not in thine heart, who shall ascend into heaven, that is to bring Christ down from. above or who shall descend into the deep that is to bring up Christ again from the debt the word is nigh thee even in thy mouth and in thy heart that is the word of faith which we preach the message concerning Christ needs to be brought nigh to people what if Christ the Savior was born in the world and no one knew it well God is not going to let that happen And so we find he sends an angel to announce the birth of Jesus Christ in this text of Scripture. And the message is proclaimed to shepherds out in the fields near Bethlehem. The Word of God has brought nigh to them. What a message it was. that was granted to these simple shepherds. I want to speak on the announcement here of Christ’s birth. And the first thing I want to talk about here is the appearance of God’s angel in verses 8 and 9. And there were in the same country shepherds abiding in the field-keeping watch over their flock by night. And lo, the angel of the Lord came upon them and the glory of the Lord shone round about them, and they were sore afraid. Here is a surprising angelic visit. Bethlehem area was full of pasture land. We realized that David, remember, was a shepherd, and that was his hometown. And he was keeping the sheep of his father. So it’s not surprising to hear that there are shepherds born in the area where Christ was born, or excuse me, in the area where Christ was born. was born. Christ was born at night. These shepherds were at this time keeping watch over their flock, which meant that some of them would take turns and sleep while others would keep an eye out for predators, wolves, and so forth, that might come and destroy the flock. Suddenly, the darkness of the night is shattered here by the appearance, the bright appearance. appearance of an angel. And the Bible says that this heavenly visitor stood over them, up above them, evidently, where he could be seen by all the shepherds at one time. And so we have this surprising visit. And with this surprising visit, we see the shining of the glory of the Lord. To further augment the splendor of the occasion, and to convince the shepherds of the occasion, of the truthfulness of the message that the angel is going to bring, we read here of the glory of the Lord shown round about them. This glory seems to have been that exceedingly bright and dazzling light that’s associated with the Lord God, whenever his presence is seen. Such a glory was seen by Israel in the wilderness, the Shikina glory. and the glory cloud and so forth. Such a brilliant glory was seen by the disciples on the Mount of Transfiguration when Christ was transfigured before them, and we read that his face did shine as the sun, his raiment was white as the light, and a bright cloud overshadowed them. Such a glorious light from heaven, brighter than the brightness of the noonday sun, shine down on Paul on the Damascus road and left him blinded for a period of time. Christ here, the indication here is that when Christ’s birth occurred, God here wanted it to be well known, and so he visits here. Not only with an angel, but with his glory as well. There’s some kind of brightness of his glory. is seen. Then the third thing we see here is the fear of the angel, or excuse me, the fear of the shepherds at seeing this angel and the glory of the Lord. Generally, when a holy angel appears before human beings, there is fear. Being mortals and being conscious of our own, I think, sinfulness, and fear of perhaps divine wrath, man is afraid. This fear was increased, no doubt, by the light of God’s glorious presence. They were sore afraid. Even godly men have been known to be shaken and frightened by the appearance of angels. We read about Gideon and Daniel and Zacharii and so forth. It’s almost two. much for frail, sinful man to be exposed to the holy presence of an angel or the thrice holy presence of God himself. Now let me make a couple of observations on these two verses. The first is this. You see that God hides things from the wise and the prudent and reveals them unto bays. The people who receive this heavenly message this divine visitation were humble shepherds. Now pause and think about that a moment. It is somewhat surprising, isn’t it? Here, the king of kings, is coming into the world, and who gets the message? It’s not the priest. It’s not the religious leaders of Israel who received this visitation. It’s not the scribes and the fair. He’s of the high priest himself. They’re left in the dark about Christ’s birth. These were self-righteous men. They saw no need in a Savior. So why does God need to reveal him unto them? They’re content with their own righteousness, that that’s good enough to gain them heaven. They thought themselves to be spiritually wise and prudent. Masters of divine truth. And so God bypasses them and he reveals the glorious truth of the Messiah’s coming to these simple shepherds out in the field. As we think about this, we should be reminded of Jesus’ words. If you look with me at Matthew 11, verses 25 and 26, where Jesus said this, Matthew 11, verses 25 and 26, that time Jesus answered and said, I thank thee, O Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because thou hast hid these things from the wise and prudent, and has revealed them on the babes, even so, Father, for so it seemed good in thy sight. The mystery of the gospel is at God’s sovereign disposal. He gives it to whom he desires. He hides it. from some, he reveals it to others. The worldly wise and the prudent are not usually those to whom the gospel is revealed. It is usually hidden from them. Common people of lesser understanding, we might call them, babes compared to others, are found to be the Lord’s common choice when it comes to an elect people, and they are granted saving light. Christ will never lack any followers. He may be despised by many, but Christ will have a people to whom he reveals the truth, and they will highly esteem Christ. Notice how God’s good pleasure in this matter of salvation is praised by the Lord. He thanked. the Father that this is so. I may we have the same attitude and spirit ourselves. So you find that God hides from the wise and the prudent and reveals unto babes here. Truth concerning Christ. Notice something else. You see the natural fear people have of God in this passage. No sooner does the angel appear in the glory of the Lord shine around these shepherds, then they’re so afraid. Because of the fall, man is afraid of God. Remember, right after Adam and Eve ate off the tree of the knowledge of good and evil that they were forbidden to eat off of, what was the first thing that they did after they tried to clothe themselves with figlies? They hid among the trees of the garden. They tried to hide from God. They were afraid of God. And when they heard the voice of the Lord walking among the trees of the garden, they were afraid. This is typical of all mankind in his fallen condition. There’s a dreaded fear of God, a dreaded fear of his messengers. Here the angel brings tidings of great joy. but the shepherds are frightened as if he were the angel of death. You remember when the angel of the Lord appeared before Samuel’s parents, excuse me, Samson’s parents, to tell them how to follow the Nazarite regulations and how to raise their son, Samson. Manoa concluded, we shall surely die because we’ve seen the Lord. We’re doomed. Now, Minoah’s, wife reasoned a little bit differently. If the Lord meant to destroy us, he would not have told us such things as these. Why does he tell us how to raise our children, our son, if it’s going to kill us? It doesn’t make any sense. For most people, you see a manifestation of God is dreaded. And what was true in the Old Testament, is certainly true in the new. It’s true in our own day. You look at Israel, When God appeared on Mount Sinai, the people stood off at a distance as he came with a sound of the trumpet and thunder and blazing lightning and fire and smoke and darkness and tempest and so forth on that mountaintop. And the people were terrified. Moses said, I exceedingly fear in quake himself. Base, fallen, depraved as people are, they dread any contact with the Lord. God. Satan has deceived man by presenting to his mind a hateful picture of God. It would be good for you to realize that God does not always come in judgment. Sometimes he visits in mercy and he reveals to you the Savior. And here, the Lord is not coming with the purpose, glory, and the message here is not coming from God as a negative wrath will message but one of mercy about the birth of the Savior. So we have the appearance here of God’s angel. That’s the first thing we see. The second thing is the message of God’s angel in verses 10 to 12. And the angel said unto them, fear not, for behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy which shall be to all people. For unto you is born this day and the city of David, a Savior which is Christ the Lord, and this shall be a sign unto you, you shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes lying in a manger. Now the message is, fear not, but rejoice for the Savior has come. The angel declares that he is God’s messenger of good tidings. Not bad things. Behold, this is page. This is Pay attention to this. Let me capture your interest here. I have something that’s wonderful and amazing to tell you. Good tidings. The good news of the Savior’s arrival. An indication of the good will and love of God toward sinners. Great joy is associated with this. the tidings that are mentioned. Not carnal joy that would be associated with the things, maybe the material possessions of this earth, the passing things of this world, but a spiritual joy, a real, satisfying joy. Not a small joy, but a great joy. Even joy unspeakable in full of glory, as the Bible revealed, because it is a divinely given gift. This joy that’s going to be given to us relates to all people, not every individual of mankind, but to all kinds, and all sorts of people. In particular, all the chosen people of God, whether they’re Jews, whether they’re Gentiles, whether their social status is rich or poor, whether their nationality is, African or Israeli or Syrian, it doesn’t matter. Their sex, whether they’re male or female, doesn’t matter in God’s salvation. The Redeemer of Man long prophesied about about is born this day in the city of David, is born in Bethlehem, according, of course, as we saw last week, but Micah 5, too, the promise of God. This Christ is the Savior. The one who will provide a great salvation for sinners. For Jesus Christ came into the world to save sinners. That’s the message of the gospel. This Christ, the Anointed One of God, the Messiah, occupies the offices of prophet and priest and king and he, and is indeed the Lord. He is the mighty God. He is the ruler of heaven and earth, to whom every knee shall bow, and every tongue shall confess. Now a sign was given them, and you would think maybe there would be some magical sign. Here’s something great and important, but it’s a very simple but perhaps strange sign. This Savior, the Messiah, is a wrapped in swaddling clothes. That doesn’t seem to be anything stranger, but he’ll be lying in a manger. How many babies are going to be lying in a manger? This is how you’re going to know. Unusual. Unusual place. They’re going to find him in some barn somewhere lying in a manger. In Bethlehem. That’s the sign. Fear not, but rejoice. a Savior has come. Now let me make a couple of practical observations. The one first is this. You’re given a cure for your dreaded fear of God. Man naturally has a fear of God. There’s a great gulf certainly fixed between God and man. Sinful man doesn’t know how to and dares not draw near to God. He is a Holy God. But here you’re told that God, came down, took upon himself a human nature. He who made the heavens slumbers in a manger. He is Emmanuel. God with us. Your maker has become like yourself, subject to all your infirmities, all your problems as a human being, except, of course, for sin. And he came that he might be the same. of men. He came in the place of sinners to bear the awful wrath of God as the representatives of his people. They might perfectly keep God’s law and provide for the sinner a perfect righteousness so that they would be acceptable in God’s sight. You recall that when Christ died, the veil, the temple was rent in two, indicating to us now that the way to God is open to us. Through Christ, let us draw near the writer of Hebrews says, with a true heart in full assurance of faith. We can now draw near to the Lord. Friends, are you reconciled to God, or are you still dreading God? The way to be reconciled to God, the way to find peace with God, is through the Savior. Jesus Christ. Look to Christ as Lord and Savior that you might draw near to the Lord. In the 1800s, there was a story printed in the newspaper that gained a lot of attention. It was about a man who was condemned in the Spanish court. He was going to have to face a firing squad and be shot to death. But the man happened to be a U.S. citizen. He was also born in England. And so both of these countries tried to intervene on his behalf. their military action, or their diplomatic actions, I should say, did not secure his release. So how did they save the man’s life? Well, they wrapped them up in their flags. They wrapped them up in the Stars and Stripes and the Union Jack. And they defied the executioners. If you fire a shot at him, you’re going to have to shoot at our flags, and that’s going to be a declaration of war, and we’ll come against you militarily. And so the man escaped the death sentence in this manner. I tell you, wrap yourself in the blood-red flag of Jesus Christ and his atoning sacrifice, and you are perfectly protected. You will be accepted in the beloved and have peace with God and no longer dread his presence. So you’re given a cure for a dreaded fear of God. You have great joy if you know the Savior. Earth’s joy is small, it’s trivial. Heaven’s joy is immeasurable and it’s found in Christ. Holy joy is a joy only God can give. And you can be sure it is the cream. of all joys. Sometimes people imagine that salvation in Christ is all dull and dreary and seriousness and solemnness and that’s it. To them, they only see the weariness, the gloom, the discontentment of being someone who worships. But that’s not the real Christian faith. The Bible says, as we read in Psalm 4-7, Th, Thou hast put gladness in my heart more than the time that their corn and their wine increased. Now, most people, when they have an abundance of harvest, they rejoice. David’s saying, that’s all material things. That’s things that are this life. They’re passing. Food. You gave me a greater joy than the farmer gets when he has a bumper crop. Your joy exceeds that. And that’s the joy we’re talking about. Great joy. our text indicates. Your reconciliation with God through Christ provides a greater joy than any earthly happiness imaginable. God puts joy in your heart. We don’t get joy naturally. Joy is the product of the fruit, if you would, of the spirit of God. You have a Savior. All your sins are forgiven. You’re right with God. Your promised eternal life. Rejoice in those things. Those things should bring joy to your heart. I read a story about a British officer many years ago who once related how he met in Belgium a converted Brahman from India, a member of the priestly Hindu cast. His confession of Christ as Lord had caused him to lose all his family and cost him everything that he had. His possessions were taken from him. His family and friends, as I mentioned, deserted him. So the British officer asked him, are you able to bear all these troubles? And the converted Brahmin said this. He said, many asked me that, but they never asked me if I can bear all the joys. He said, I enjoy a happiness in my heart since I know that Christ has forgiven me and no one has been able to take that from me. Joy, unspeakable, full of glory, as Peter puts it, and Peter, 1. Peter 1.8 is the portion of God’s people alone. Do you know the Savior? Do you know anything about this great joy that comes with the glad tidings of the gospel? So the message of God’s angel here. The third thing we see in our text is the praise of God’s angels. Versus 13 and 14. 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, goodwill toward men. Now this salvation brought by the Savior gives glory to God. A single angel is sufficient to announce Christ’s birth but to praise God we need a multitude of heavenly host. The holy angels here have been present on many occasions. We read and praise the Lord. We read about them at creation. The morning stars sang together and all the sons of God shouted for joy. Job 387 when God created the earth. Glory accrues to God from all his works. However, the greatest work is the work of redemption in Jesus Christ. We might call it recreation. And here we have to have a heavenly host to sing his praise. Salvation is God’s highest glory. Nothing exceeds it. Now, the angels here are looking beyond, it seems, just the birth of Christ to what Christ is going to accomplish the salvation redemption that he’s going to provide for his people. Christ, by his life and death on the cross, will glorify God’s attributes, his justice, his holiness, his mercy, his grace, his love, his wisdom, as they were never glorified before. Creation glorified God, but not so much as redemption does. Redemption is even greater. So this salvation gave glory to God. Notice this salvation pronounced peace and God’s will toward men. By this salvation, sinful human beings have peace with God. For the scripture says, having made peace through the blood of his cross, Colossians 120. Being justified by faith in Christ, in Christ, we have peace. with God, is what the scripture says. So God’s wrath has been appeased, and you enjoy fellowship with God. You know, sometimes people talk about celebrating Christ, and they sing this idea of peace on earth and so forth, but they fail to connect it with what Christ is going to do. This piece is not just some peace that God’s pronouncing. It’s a pronouncement through Christ to His, the prince of peace. That’s the only way that we have true peace. And this is what we should realize. There’s a salvation connected with Christ. God’s goodwill or free favor is revealed in this salvation as he provides a Savior for sinners. Behold what manner of love God hath bestowed upon us that we should be called the sons of God, 1 John 3.1. Now not our old man kind enjoys this goodwill of God, but people from all nations, all walks of life, all races do. It is God’s goodwill to his elect. People throughout all nations, throughout the whole world, this is what is revealed in the salvation that is in Jesus Christ. Let me make a couple of practical observations on this last section. And the first is this. You need to glorify God in salvation. Salvation glorifies God in the highest degree. And he shares this glory with no one. He alone deserves the praise and the glory. Any teaching that would exalt and glorify man in salvation cannot be the biblical gospel. It’s a counterfeit. Have you ever noticed there are no Armenian angels? They give God all the glory. There’s nothing. here about man’s cooperation, nothing here about man’s free will. God gets all the glory. My friends, when it comes to salvation, when it comes about singing of salvation, we sing about our God and his sovereignty, we don’t sing about man’s accomplishments and abilities. Salvation is of the Lord, as we saw from Psalm 4 this morning. The second thing is this. You need to be more like the holy angels. I’ll think about this a minute. These holy angels never sinned, so they don’t need a Savior. They don’t need any atoning blood. They don’t need to be reconciled with God. But I want you to notice that all that God does interest them. They take great interest in it, and they sing his praises. They’re looking on and they’re rejoicing in the prospect of God, saving sinful men. through his son, the Lord Jesus Christ, and it is fascinating to them. What delights them is this is the knowledge of what God is doing here and how he’s doing it. Shouldn’t we strive to be more like the angels who don’t even need a Savior and look how much interest they show in this. And here we are as the recipients of the benefit of this salvation. Do we have that much enthusiasm? We do have this kind of interest in the salvation that God has provided us. Why is there so much spiritual lethargy and ignorance that doesn’t allow you to rejoice in what God is doing in the way we should? Let us not be reluctant then. But to sing wholehearted praise about God and the salvation He brings us through Christ and let us take a deeper interest in the work of Christ by which this salvation is wrought. Well, let me close by saying that Gossler fountain that Spurgeon talked about was very strangely built and the water didn’t even reach the people. No one could benefit from it. In God’s salvation, the word is brought nigh to you. The Savior. The message about Christ is brought near to you. We see an example of this in the announcement of Christ’s birth here to the shepherds. Let us learn the spiritual lessons found in the text as well as the basic teaching of the text. And may it be of benefit to your soul. Let’s close with a word prayer.