If you want to get in the mood for Christmas, Texas Monthly says you have a lot of choices in Texas. Six hours from here over in Amarillo, there’s the Christmas in the Gardens featuring 300,000 lights strung throughout their Botanical Gardens. Down in College Station, you see Santa, go for a horse-drawn carriage ride, and experience real “Texas snow!” And there’s nearby Grapeview, the self-proclaimed Christmas Capital of Texas, where you can explore the world of Whoville and see the largest lighted Christmas parade in North Texas. But of all the Christmas celebrations, the one that caught my attention in recent days is this special celebration from British Columbia where you can get your picture taken this Christmas with Satan, not Santa (show picture on screen). No thanks!
Christmas is by far the biggest holiday in American culture. The average American is expected to spend more than $900 on gifts and decorations in 2019 alone. Literally, millions of passengers will fill airports and cram themselves into tiny seats on planes in order to be with loved ones. Beyond our country’s borders, the holiday’s popularity is so widespread that even largely Muslim countries that spend most of the year ignoring the Son of God will pause to celebrate his birth. Imagine Islamic women wearing the hijab decorating Christmas trees, and you get an idea of just how popular this holiday is around the globe. Around the globe, people everywhere cannot get enough of Christmas, even for those who don’t cherish the birth of Jesus. We long for the joy and rest Christmas offers and at the center of all these good feelings is the birth of the promised Child.
I invite you to rediscover the story of Christmas with me this morning by looking at The Characters of Christmas. Throughout the story of Christmas, we are identifying the major and minor characters that play a significant role in making the story of Christmas such great theatre. If you remember, we looked at Herod and the Wise Men week ago. And today, we take our focus upward by looking at the angels’ role in the story of Christmas. Christmas is such a special time of year and part of the reason the time is so special is the message from the angels. We sing about angels this time of year when we sing “Angels We Have Heard on High” or “Hark the Herald Angels Sing.” Angels literally hover over the Christmas story.
Stop and picture an angel for me. Ok, what do you see when you picture an angel? I overheard one man say earlier, “My wife. My wife’s an angel. She’s always up in the air and harping about something.” Some of you picture Tinker bell. Others of you think Willow Tree Angels as some of you collect these. Angels are thought by many to be bite-size, cute pets you can place in a woman’s purse. It’s thought they offer us nice feelings of warmth like when you receive a delivery of flowers. Angels play a key role in moving the Christmas story forward, and they will surprise you.
1. Angels in the Bible
Now, Gabriel is only one of two angels mentioned in the Bible (the other is Michael, the archangel). And Gabriel shows up in your Bible only two other times, so you catch him when you can. In fact, Gabriel earlier introduced himself to a priest when he says, “I am Gabriel. I stand in the presence of God…” (Luke 1:19a). When God wanted to send out a birth announcement for His Son’s birth, He chose an angel to do so. Who are angels, you might ask?
It’s important you know a little about angels because you’ll spend more time with angels (of one kind or another) than you will with your parents, your siblings, or your children. In your second life, you’ll be surrounded by angels or fallen angels, depending on where you spend eternity.
1.1 Angels
Angels are supernatural agents that have great power and are entrusted with important assignments. The name angel means, “messenger” and throughout the Bible, you’ll see angels carrying God’s message to people. Angels protect, comfort, and guide people. Angels make war, make announcements, and teach. But the main job of the angels is to worship God Almighty. Angels have a rich history in your Bible. An angel shows up the night before Jesus is crucified to strengthen him in the Garden of Gethsemane (Luke 22:43). And it was an angel that met the women at the empty tomb to explain to them that Jesus had risen (Matthew 28:5). And it will be an angel’s voice to alert all the earth for Christ's Second Coming one day soon (1 Thessalonians 4:16).
There are two classes of angels in your Bible: the cherubim and the seraphim.
1.1.1 Cherubim
The first angels we encounter inside the pages of the Bible are the cherubim as they guard the Garden of Eden. And there were two golden angels of Cherubim facing one another over what is known as the Mercy Seat, which sat on top of the Ark of the Covenant. “There I will meet with you, and from above the mercy seat, from between the two cherubim that are on the ark of the testimony…” (Exodus 25:22a). Of all the creatures God chooses to place as “the antenna” for His presence on earth, God choose the cherubim.
1.1.2 Seraphim
A second group of angels is called the seraphim – we know very little about them because they make only one “for sure” appearance in your Bibles. The prophet Isaiah sees the seraphim as a six-winged creature standing above the throne of God Himself (Isaiah 6:2-7).
You’ll never find these beings playing “Candy Crush” on their phones; angels are called to do really important tasks.
1.2 Angels at Christmas
As we turn to the Christmas story, angels play more than a cameo appearance. Almost everywhere you turn in the Christmas story, you see an angel! Now, I don’t know what Gabriel was doing before the first Christmas, but I know this: he is super busy prepping for the first Christmas.
Because God dispatched an angel to speak to Mary, the angel Gabriel visited a priest named Zechariah to tell him that he was also going to have a child, John the Baptist (Luke 1:11-19). We meet still another angel who visits Joseph on two different occasions to explain things to him as well (Matthew 1:20-23; 2:19-21). Note: it took only one visit for the woman but two visits for the man. We witness angels protecting the baby Jesus by telling the Magi to go home a different way to avoid Herod. And angels will share the message of Christ’s birth with the shepherds as well. But of all the great assignments that angels have done throughout time, none were as important as the assignment given to Gabriel at this moment.
1. Angels in the Bible
2. Gabriel’s Message: You’re Expecting!
Again, you cannot tell the Christmas story without talking about angels.
In the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent from God to a city of Galilee named Nazareth, 27 to a virgin betrothed to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David. And the virgin’s name was Mary. 28 And he came to her and said, “Greetings, O favored one, the Lord is with you!” 29 But she was greatly troubled at the saying, and tried to discern what sort of greeting this might be. 30 And the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. 31 And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus. 32 He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. And the Lord God will give to him the throne of his father David, 33 and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of his kingdom there will be no end.”
34 And Mary said to the angel, “How will this be, since I am a virgin?”
35 And the angel answered her, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; therefore the child to be born will be called holy—the Son of God. 36 And behold, your relative Elizabeth in her old age has also conceived a son, and this is the sixth month with her who was called barren. 37 For nothing will be impossible with God.” 38 And Mary said, “Behold, I am the servant of the Lord; let it be to me according to your word.” And the angel departed from her” (Luke 1:26-38).
Today, couples show their sonogram pictures over social media and to colleagues and friends to announce they are expecting. Baby brothers and baby sisters hold up signs to signal a sibling is coming. Programming Note: creative pregnancy announcements to be shown here: One couple announced they were expecting at Christmas with the words, “Our Silent Nights End.” I liked this one where they announce her pregnancy as you would a blockbuster movie. Then there’s the “Crib Eviction” notice.
Yes, few announcements generate the excitement of announcing a baby is coming. But Gabriel “takes the cake” with his “you’re expecting” announcement.. Note the setting, Gabriel announces the birth of Jesus to the mother of Jesus not publically but privately. All this is explained to Mary in a town that very few people had heard of, the little town of Nazareth.
Nazareth was a small village in Jesus’ day, having only one spring to supply fresh water to its inhabitants. Today, you can still visit that spring is referred to as simply as “Mary’s well.”
2.1 Nazareth Today
The modern city of Nazareth is largely Muslim today, and it is much bigger than it was in Mary’s day. In fact, not too far from this well, Muslims have a sign for Christians posted there today contradicting the Bible’s story of Gabriel’s message given to Mary in this city some 2,000 years ago.
The message reads in part: “O people of the Scripture (Christians)! Do not exceed the limits in your religion. Say nothing but the truth about Allah (The One True God). The Christ Jesus, Son of Mary was only a Messenger of God, and His word conveyed to Mary and a spirit created by Him So believe in God and His Messengers and do not say: “Three gods (trinity)’ Cease!...”
Should we believe such a message?
Remember, Muslims believe it was the angel Gabriel that gave Muhammad the content of the Qur’an. And Ladder Day Saints believe an angel named Moroni gave Joseph Smith the Book of Mormon. Let’s keep reading in verse 28 where the Bible says Gabriel speaks to Mary.
2.2 Gabriel Speaks
Gabriel doesn’t simply blurt out the eventual news. Instead, he warms things up by saying, ““Greetings, O favored one, the Lord is with you” (Luke 1:28b)! Eventually, he will tell Mary plainly what’s to happen in verse 31: “And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus” (Luke 1:31).
While some young ladies would leap for joy at the news they are pregnant, Mary is greatly troubled (verse 29). She allows the words of her heavenly visitor to wash over her. The first emotion she feels is curiosity and perplexity. If a reporter had been waiting on Mary just outside her house to ask her how she felt now that Gabriel visited her, she might have said, “You could pick me up off the floor. I’m in shock right now.”
Gabriel sees Mary is apprehensive by the suddenness of all of this, so his next words are: “Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God” (Luke 1:30). Twice, Gabriel reassures Mary, “Everything is fine. The Lord is with you, Mary, in a way you really cannot fathom right now. And this because God wants to give a great gift that you are not deserving of, Mary.”
The very first piece of information you have on Mary from Luke is she is a virgin. She’s never been with anyone (verse 27). In fact, the Bible twice tells us Mary is a virgin before we are even told her name. I imagine if Mary were here today, she would be embarrassed by all this talk about the romance in her life.
2.3 Betrothal
So let’s drill down on this for a moment because you need to have a little back on Mary at this point and what is known as betrothal. Mary is betrothed to a man named Joseph, but they’ve not come together in the act of marriage. Betrothal is like our engagement, only much stronger. Marriage proposals and weddings in Mary’s day would have two parts: the betrothal and the actual wedding itself. If Joseph and Mary were to break off their relationship at the betrothal stage, it would be our divorce. Although the public ceremony of the wedding had not taken place, Mary and Joseph would have publically communicated their desire to be married. This act would have been recorded as we would record a legal transaction at the courthouse because it was legally binding for both Mary and Joseph. Usually, one year after you were betrothed to someone, you would marry. Keep this in mind: they are not living together as husband and wife as of yet because this would wait for the wedding ceremony. This was an entirely different age. To break off the marriage at the stage of betrothal would have been considered a divorce. And the usual age of betrothal was around the age of 12.
And still, the angel Gabriel says, “Mary, you’re going to have a baby.”
2.4 Mary Asks, “How?”
All this news about a child makes Mary wonder even more. And Mary responds in verse 34, “How will this be, since I am a virgin?” — literally, “since I know no man.” Mary says in effect, “I have never had sexual relations with a man. I am betrothed, but I am not married. Joseph and I have not slept together. So how can I be pregnant?”
Gabriel gives two responses. First, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; therefore the child to be born will be called holy—the Son of God” (Luke 1:35). “Your pregnancy,” Gabriel says, “is supernatural and unlike anything or anyone before or after you.” Mary is left wondering and pondering Gabriel’s words when her thoughts are interrupted; Gabriel says, “For nothing will be impossible with God” (Luke 1:37).
With a little pause to catch her breath, Gabriel begins to describe the future life of Mary’s son in verse 32: “He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. And the Lord God will give to him the throne of his father David, 33 and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of his kingdom there will be no end” (Luke 1:32-33).
Gabriel has the high privilege of being the first person to describe six great features about the future son of Mary:
• He will be great (verse 32);
• He will be the Son of God (verse 32);
• He’ll be a king because He has a throne (verse 32);
• He’ll occupy the throne of his ancestor, David (verse 32);
• He’ll reign over Mary’s people, the house of Jacob (or Israel) forever (verse 33);
• And His kingdom will know no end (verse 33);
Don’t you imagine that Mary would have replayed those six features over and over again in her mind? When the angels left Mary, she knew two things immediately: 1) God is at work right now in her life and in her world; 2) God empowers the powerless. I’m no angel, but I’m here today to tell, God is at work in your life and in your world, and He loves to empower the powerless.
2.5 Think About It
Pause and let your imagination wander in the next few moments. When she and Joseph finally had things settled in their mind, the two would have talked endlessly about the angel’s words. Because Joseph had his own angel visit him, the two would have compared notes all the way along their journey to Bethlehem some six months later. He might have asked, “How tall was your angel? Did he have a birthmark on the right side of his face ?? What did he sound like when he spoke?” “Tell me again,” she might have asked, “what exactly did the angel say to you?”
Mary's response to Gabriel’s message is amazing when you stop to consider the shame she was to experience. She simply says, “Behold, I am the servant of the Lord; let it be to me according to your word.” And the angel departed from her” (Luke 1:38b).
Gabriel has come to tell everyone there’s a miracle baby coming.
1. Angels in the Bible
2. Gabriel’s Message: You’re Expecting!
3. An Angel Band Sings: He’s Here
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.” 13 And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying,
14 “Glory to God in the highest,
and on earth peace among those with whom he is pleased!”
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” (Luke 2:8-15).
It was around six months later, and Jesus had been born. The scene moves from northern Israel and the Galilee region to Bethlehem, approximately six miles outside of Jerusalem. Mary and Joseph have made their way as a result of a governmental decree by none other than Caesar himself. Locals believe this whole thing happened in what is known as Shepherd’s Field, about two miles from the town of Bethlehem. Some of us were just there earlier this year, where we gathered around to sing Christmas carols in that very field. The Messiah is finally here, and Heaven cannot wait another minute to get the word out. Where Mary knew the name of her angel, this time, the angel was not named.
3.1 One Angel Appears
The shepherds see the angel first before hearing the angel. In the days before electricity, nothing would cause this kind of light this late at night. Even in the days after electricity, nothing would cause this kind of light this late at night. The brilliant bright light shined so brightly, the shepherds were afraid - greatly afraid (verse 9). Then from the midst of the overpowering light, a voice says, “Fear not, for behold, I bring you of great joy that will be for all the people” (Luke 2:10).
Take note that God didn’t first announce His Son’s birth to preachers, politicians, or the rich and the powerful. Instead, the angel came to ordinary, lunch-pail carrying shepherds. There’s white-collar, blue-collar, and no-collar. The angels choose to tell ordinary people – people who worked for a living.
Circle the word “good news” in verse because it’s the word we get our word “evangelism.” The angel was communicating the good news of Christmas, a Savior has been born (verse 11).
“Oh,” the angel says, “Did I tell you WHEN this is happening? Today. It’s happening right now.” Not even the angels can contain their excitement and joy!
3.1.1 Officer John Daily
Last Christmas, Officer John Daily was severely injured when a suspected drunk driver slammed into his vehicle. His car burst into flames, and before his partner could save him, Officer Daily suffered burns to 90% of his body. One year later and now walking without the assistance of a walker, Officer Daily was told to appear at a police function recently where he was told he accepted an award on behalf of the city of Houston. Only the reward was for him as Geico presented him with a new car, and it was filled with gifts that included toys for his therapy dog. Doesn’t it bring you joy to know people still care for those who serve the uniform? Wouldn’t you have loved to have been there to see the smile on this officer’s face? But even more, wouldn’t you have loved to have been there to experience the joy of just one angel’s announcement? The angel says, “For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord” (Luke 2:11). The angel describes the baby born in the manager with three titles that never appear together anywhere else in all your Bible.
3.1.2 “… a Savior …”
If you have ever sinned against God, you need a Savior. Possibly still, another angel would tell Joseph, “You shall call his name Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins” (Matthew 1:21).
It has well been said if our greatest need had been information, God would have sent a teacher. If our greatest need had been technology, God would have sent a scientist. If our greatest need had been money, God would have sent an economist. But, our greatest need was salvation and forgiveness, and so God sent a Savior!
3.1.3 “… who is Christ …”
The word “Christ” isn’t Jesus’ last name, but it is a title. This is the one long-predicted, long-awaited, the one anointed above all others (Psalm 45:7). He is the final anointed King. He is the final anointed Prophet. And He is the final anointed Priest. My Muslim friends tell me that THIS angel’s message in Bethlehem is real, but I don’t believe it for a minute, for I have chosen to believe the angel who told the Shepherds long before. Which angel do you believe today? The choice is yours, and categorically every single one of us must decide.
3.1.3 “… the Lord.”
Lastly, the angel told the shepherds in the field that Jesus was not only Savior and Christ but also the Lord. Just nearby them was the ruler, the sovereign, the Mighty God, the Everlasting Father. He is the Lord of the universe.
3.2 A Choir Appears
No sooner is the announcement made by one angel than all of a sudden, and out of nowhere, a heavenly choir appears. Luke records their song for us: ““Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace among those with whom he is pleased” (Luke 2:14)!
We really have no idea if this was a praise team of six angels or if God flooded that field that night was angels as far as the eye could see. Do you remember the story where some thirty-plus years later, Jesus is all grown up now? And Peter is seeking to defend Jesus with a sword on the night He was betrayed. Do you remember this statement from Jesus’ lips? He says, “Do you think that I cannot appeal to my Father, and he will at once send me more than twelve legions of angels” (Matthew 26:53)? One legion is 12,000 soldiers, so twelve legions would be 144,000 angels. Can you see in your mind’s eye if it were 144,000 angels appearing in the darkfield outside of Bethlehem over you? If one angel’s light overpowered the shepherds, what would the light from a heavenly choir due to the nighttime sky? Can you hear their voices come together with the strength of Niagara Falls? They had never heard anything so beautiful before. It was a sight to behold, and one of these men would tell their grandchildren years from now.
3.3 The Shepherds Visit Jesus
The choir is gone as soon as they arrive, and the shepherds are off to visit the baby Jesus. We are not told if one or two stuck around to guard the sheep, if they took turns going, or if everybody went at once (who cares about the sheep!). I know what I would be talking about on the two miles journey to Bethlehem: “Can you believe that? Where did that group come from? What exactly did they say? Did you catch all of it?” Those shepherds floated all the way into Bethlehem!
Conclusion
Angels, angels, angels. You know you sing about them in the mall and as you drive. Why you can even hum the words known to “Hark the Herald Angels Sing.” The most frightening thing about singing these Christmas carols every year is that Jesus says, if on the last day you don’t believe the things you sang every year, they will rise up and judge you. The very words of the carol, the small amount of truth even in a carol, will be the standard He judges you by one day? By a Christmas carol! Can you imagine such a thing!
Have you trusted Jesus Christ to be your Savior?
