A SAVIOR HAS BEEN BORN TO YOU
Luke 2:1-14
Key Verses: 2:10,11
"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 in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is Christ the Lord.'"
Welcome to 2005 Christmas service. We are here to celebrate the birth of our Savior Jesus Christ. According to the angel’s announcement, the birth of Jesus is good news of great joy for all the people. Jesus’ birth is good news because he is the Savior King, Christ the Lord. Grasshoppers do not need a Savior but man needs a Savior because he is created in the image of God and he is a spiritual being. Jesus is our Savior and he delivers us from the power of sin and death. He gives us eternal life. Let’s hear God’s message of hope for all mankind through the birth of Jesus. I pray that God may give us great joy through this Christmas message.
PART I. THE WORLD AT JESUS’ BIRTH (1-7)
According to verses 1-3, Luke paints the historical setting of the birth of Jesus. Caesar Augustus issued a decree that a census should be taken of the entire Roman world. Each one traveled to his own city to register. Joseph too headed to the city of Bethlehem. Caesar seemed to rule the world with his mighty military forces. But Luke portrays Caesar Augustus as the unwilling agent of God, whose decree leads to fulfillment of the prophesy concerning the birth of the promised Messiah from Bethlehem in Micah 5:2, “But you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, though you are small among the clans of Judah, out of you will come for me one who will be ruler over Israel, whose origins are from of old, from ancient times.” There was no way for Joseph to travel to Bethlehem. So God used Caesar’s decree to bring Joseph and Mary to Bethlehem. God was behind Caesar’s actions. Here we learn that God is sovereign in every major human event. The prophet Isaiah lived in dark and gloomy days in Israel’s history. But he declared, “Our God reigns.” Today, we live in the post modern generation. People deny God’s sovereignty in their lives and live like the people in the times of the Judges. Judges 21:25 says, “In those days Israel had no king; everyone did as he saw fit.” These days people do as they see fit. There are no absolutes because they do not have God in their life. Everything is relative to each person. People try to remove God from the public places and schools and even from our national motto, “In God we trust.” The Puritans came to this land to worship God 300 years ago and now their children try to remove God from this land. As a result, there are broken families, broken relationships between teachers and students, parents and children and husbands and wives and violent crimes. What should we do as God-loving Christians? We should not follow the pattern of the world. We should accept God’s sovereignty over our life and expect great things from our God. Behind all events, God has his sovereign plan. We have to look at the world events from the balcony of heaven and declare, “God reigns.”
Look at verses 6-7. “While they were there, the time came for the baby to be born, and she gave birth to her firstborn, a son. She wrapped him in cloths and placed him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn.” When the Son of God was born, the world was not ready to accept him. So, Jesus was born in a manger and he was wrapped in swaddling clothes. Jesus’ humble birth presents a very humble beginning for the future Messianic king. Jesus’ humble surroundings cover all the fatalistic elements of our life. Jesus covers our sorrowful element of life by being born in a poor animal house. Isaiah 53:4a says, “Surely he took up our infirmities and carried our sorrows..” Jesus experienced the sorrowful human condition to carry our sorrows and heal our wounds. I was a man of sorrow and wound due to my human condition. But Jesus carried my sorrow and gave me a new life. There are two kinds of people in this world-selfish people and humble people. Selfish people do not see Jesus due to their pride but humble people see Jesus as their Savior because they are willing to give up their pride and welcome the baby Jesus in their heart. Levi the tax collector was not happy when he was selfish. But when he followed Jesus and served others, he was happy. When we know Jesus, we can give up something we love and follow Jesus. I pray that God may bless us to follow the humility of Jesus so that we can have a happy mission life.
PART II A SAVIOR HAS BEEN BORN TO YOU (8-12)
Now the passage shifts attention to shepherds who hears a heavenly announcement of Messiah’s coming. The first Christmas message was delivered to the common people like the shepherds living out in the fields nearby. This was appropriate because they were in the field at night watching over their flocks. God rewarded their faithfulness to hear the proclamation of the birth of Jesus. Not only they heard the message but also they went and saw the baby Jesus lying in the manger with their own eyes and spread the good news. They were not thinkers but actors of faith and moved their feet to confirm the angel’s announcement. Look at verses 10-11. “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 in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is Christ the Lord.” Here the announcement is good news and the birth causes great joy. Then the joy is for all the people. There are three reasons that the birth of Jesus is good news of great joy. First one is that a Messianic Savior is born. Second one is that God fulfills his promise to send the Savior in the line of David. Third one is that Jesus is Christ, the Lord. All people including shepherds benefit from the Savior’s birth. Three titles, Savior, Christ and Lord are combined in this verse. This means that Jesus is the Savior and the anointed Messiah King and the Lord God. We can say that Jesus is our Savior King. Jesus brings God’s salvation for his people. Jesus is God’s deliverer for all the people.
In chapter 1 Jesus is described as the horn of salvation and the rising Sun. The major point of these titles is Jesus’ role as deliverer. Jesus came into this world to deliver us from Satan’s rule and lead us into God’s rule. Jesus came to save us from the power of sin and death. Jesus rescued us from darkness and brought us to the kingdom of God. Since the fall of Adam, sin came into this world and death ruled all men because the wages of sin is death. No one was able to deliver us from Satan who caused man to sin. People think that money can save them but they still die no matter how much they have. Many young people think that Xbox 386 is their savior but they will be tired soon. Ipod or video games cannot save us. As a result, man lived in Satan’s rule. Now Jesus the Son of God came to stop the rule of Satan and restore our relationship with God through his forgiveness of our sins. But it was costly because sin demanded only blood as the payment. But we could not pay the price of sin because we were already guilty. Therefore, God sacrificed his One and Only Son to pay the price of our sins. Jesus was the mighty King but he did not rule the people with his power but served us and gave his life as a ransom sacrifice for all sinners. Jesus gave his life to save us from the power of sin and death as his expression of love. We are moved by the love of Jesus. He shed his own blood to rescue us from our dark life of sin. Now we know the reason why the birth of Jesus is good news of great joy for all the people. Also the word “Today” is very significant. What took place in Bethlehem is of timeless significant. God invites you today for his salvation work through Jesus our Savior King. Today is the beginning of the new life if you accept Jesus as your Savior King. God is addressing his personal message of hope for all sinners. Today is your new day if you accept this good news of the Savior’s birth. Christmas is not a secular holiday or a winter break. It is the birthday of our Savior King. Let nothing steal your joy of celebrating Jesus’ birthday. Do not shopping take away the joy of Christmas.
The author Luke now presents a sign of the birth. Look at verse 12. “This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.” What is amazing is not that the child is wrapped up in cloths, but who the child is and where he is. One hardly expects to find Messiah in an animal room. One would expect to find him in a palace. If Jesus were born in a palace, there would be no access for us to see him. But Jesus was born in a humble place like a manger so that all people might have a free access to him. The Messiah’s humble and common origins fit nicely with the task that he shall bear for his people, including the humble, hungry, and poor. Messiah’s life will contain an unusual suffering for a King, since he was born in an animal room and will die on the cross with robbers.
The baby Jesus in the manger is a sign of God. Only God can save the world through the baby Jesus born in a manger. Also it explains the way of God’s working. God’s work is small and insignificant in the beginning but it grows because it is a life-giving work through Jesus our Savior King. Jesus compared the kingdom of God to a mustard seed in Matthew 13:31-32. It is a smallest seed but once planted and grows, it is the largest of garden plants. Yes, it is true. Today, the kingdom of God expanded to the six continents and five oceans. Though the disciples of Jesus were humble people, they became the great leaders in God’s history.
PART III GLORY TO GOD AND PEACE TO MEN (13-14)
This passage shows creation praising the birth of the King. Heaven respond with praise and declares glory to God and peace to men. Look at verse 14. “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace to men on whom his favor rests.” If we examine the angelic chorus very carefully, we find several coupled words-glory-peace, heaven-earth, and God-men. Jesus would reveal the glory of God through his obedience unto death and bring peace to all men who would respond to his message. Jesus would reconcile haven and earth and restore men’s relationship with God. We live in a troubled world. But Jesus gives peace to all men who accept his forgiveness of sin. When we welcome the baby Jesus in our heart, we experience the peace of God that comes from Jesus. Since we become children of God through Jesus’ reconciliation, we live in harmony with God. Jesus restores our life purpose so that we can live for the glory of God not for our selfish cursed desire.
In conclusion, the birth of Jesus is good news of great joy for all the people. Jesus is our Savior King who guides us to the path of peace and the kingdom of God. Praise God for sending us Jesus our wonderful Savior in a humble manger so that we can welcome him in our heart daily. May God bless us to have a great joy because a Savior King is born to save us from the power of sin and death. May the kingdom of God come to you this Christmas. Merry Christmas and happy new year. Let’s read the key verse 10-11.