Good News For All Creation
Jeffery Anselmi / General
The Characters of Christmas / Christmas / Luke 2:8–20
Big Idea: The birth of Jesus shows the cosmic scope of God’s salvation plan; even
heaven was excited about Jesus’s birth
INTRODUCTION
• Christmas is upon us!
• It seems like we just celebrated Christmas.
• Today, as we wrap up our series on the characters of Christmas, we’re going to go in a completely different direction, looking at the role of some of the characters who are rarely discussed yet are present in the story.
• Not only are these characters present, in fact, but they play a pivotal role, a role so important that numerous Christmas carols celebrate their presence. For example, carols such as “Angels from the Realms of Glory,” “Angels We Have Heard on High,” and “It Came Upon the Midnight Clear” all celebrate the same thing: the angelic choir announcing the birth of Jesus.
• So the direction we’re going today is up as we look at the angels and their role in the Christmas story.
• If you have not noticed, the one constant character in the birth of Jesus (or Christmas) narrative is an angel or angels.
• In a text we did not look at, an angel appeared to Zechariah to tell him that his prayers had been heard (Luke 1:13); an angel told Mary she was going to give birth to God’s Son (Luke 1:30), and an angel told Joseph to stick with Mary when he was considering leaving her (Matthew 1:20).
• Finally, it was angels who appeared to the shepherds to announce that the Messiah had been born (Luke 2:9, 13).
• We see the angels in such a prominent role in our narrative because angels are the messengers of God in the heavenly court.
• The Greek word for angel, aggelos, means “a messenger.”
• (Strong’s Greek Lexicon [KJV], s.v. “G32, aggelos,” https://www.blueletterbible.org/lang/lexicon/lexicon.cfm?Strongs=G32&t=KJV).
• So it makes sense that at such a momentous time in history, God would be sending his messengers all over to proclaim the good news of Jesus’s birth.
• Today, we will see that the birth of Jesus was good news for people and all creation!
› Big Idea: The birth of Jesus shows the cosmic scope of God’s salvation plan; even heaven was excited about Jesus’s birth.
• Let’s turn to Luke 2, verses 8-12.
Luke 2:8–12 (CSB)
8 In the same region, shepherds were staying out in the fields and keeping watch at night over their flock. 9 Then an angel of the Lord stood before them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. 10 But the angel said to them, “Don’t be afraid, for look, I proclaim to you good news of great joy that will be for all the people: 11 Today in the city of David a Savior was born for you, who is the Messiah, the Lord. 12 This will be the sign for you: You will find a baby wrapped tightly in cloth and lying in a manger.”
SERMON
I. The presence of the angels shows the totality of God’s salvation plan.
• The presence of the angels is a significant part of the Christmas story.
• The presence of the angels throughout the Christmas story shows us the totality of God’s salvation plan—that is, it affects the poor, the powerful, the elderly, the young, and the marginalized, while using everyday moments, like daily prayer in the temple, to convey something big.
• The Christmas story is firmly rooted in this world.
• As we think about it, we can imagine a young couple, unexpectedly pregnant, wondering what life will be like for them; or a king worrying about his grip on power from a new, unseen threat.
• They are the heralds of God’s heavenly kingdom breaking into this world.
• They appear everywhere, directed by God’s hand—in the temple, to a young girl, in the dreams of her fiancé or the dreams of the wise men, in the night sky—and every time, their message is the same: God is entering this world.
• I love verse 11.
Luke 2:11 (CSB)
11 Today in the city of David a Savior was born for you, who is the Messiah, the Lord.
• We talked about the shepherds last week and how society had deemed them outcasts because the religious leaders deemed them so.
• God did not deem them as outcasts.
• Verse 11 reveals that God said that a savior was born for YOU!
• You the outcast, you the one people walk by on the street without giving you a thought.
• You who do not do the glorious jobs are but pieces of the background of life!
• YOU!
• In verse 11, Jesus is called out by three titles that make Him unique and makes Him special for YOU!
• He is called SAVIOR!
• Jesus is the deliverer of us from the enemy!
• Savior has reference to Jesus’ office as the sin-bearer, the purchaser of salvation for you, a salvation which, supremely above everything else, was the remission of your sins and restoration of the fellowship lost in Eden.
• He is called Messiah!
• Messiah identifies Jesus as the fulfillment of Old Testament prophecy, Anointed, Suffering Servant, and Messiah foretold of old.
• Jesus is the divine head of the theocracy, the lawful ruler of Israel, the promised Son of David who would usher in the great kingdom, misunderstood by the Jews as a mere resurrection of the low kingdom of Solomon.
• This child was also called The LORD!
• Jesus is head of all creation!
Luke (H. The Shepherds and the Angels (2:8–20))
These terms and many others will be needed to explain the significance of this Messiah who is more than Messiah. The shepherds are told how to find this newborn: a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.
• I ask the same question from last week, WHO are the YOU’s we are leaving out.
• Who are the YOU’s we will not go to?
• If the shepherds were the terrible people the religious leaders deemed them to be, how could they help change that problem?
• Instead of ignoring them and writhing them off, these “leaders” could have shared the love and message of God with them!
• But wait, when God or Jesus is a system and not a personal Savior with whom you have a PERSONAL relationship, it would not occur to us to share Jesus because systems do not save or change people; systems become another thing we follow.
• A personal relationship with Jesus saves and changes you!
• I do not believe you can be saved if you are not changed.
• If you have a personal relationship with Jesus, you will be changed.
• Some marriages fail because they are not changed by the relationship with their spouse; they are just legally married.
• Let’s look at verses 13-14
Luke 2:13–14 (CSB)
13 Suddenly there was a multitude of the heavenly host with the angel, praising God and saying:
14 Glory to God in the highest heaven,
and peace on earth to people he favors!
II. The reaction of the angels shows us the birth of Jesus is good news for all creation.
• What scene to behold. First, an angel stands before them and shares the good news.
• As soon a the message was delivered, a multitude of the heavenly hosts with the angel started praising God!
• The scene had to be the most beautiful thing these shepherds had viewed in their lives!
• This child, Jesus, would offer salvation for more than just people.
• When sin entered into the world, not only was the human race affected but so was all of creation.
• In Genesis 3:17-18, we find that sin also affected the earth.
• Creation was supposed to be a beautiful thing that served humanity; however, sin cursed it.
• As a result of this curse, nature does the opposite of serving man (Genesis 1:26), creation can take the life of people.
• We do not have natural disasters like floods, storms, earthquakes, tornados, and hurricanes because of man-made global warming; we have them because of sin.
• Since the fall, creation has been longing to be made right again.
Romans 8:18–22 (CSB)
18 For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is going to be revealed to us. 19 For the creation eagerly waits with anticipation for God’s sons to be revealed. 20 For the creation was subjected to futility—not willingly, but because of him who subjected it—in the hope 21 that the creation itself will also be set free from the bondage to decay into the glorious freedom of God’s children. 22 For we know that the whole creation has been groaning together with labor pains until now.
• When we see a wrong, we desire to see it made right.
• Creation has not been right since sin entered the world.
• Jesus is going to come back and make things right!
• It starts with the incarnation and will end with the Second Coming!
• The unfolding of God’s salvation plan is something that heaven had also been waiting with bated breath to see unfold.
• The apostle Peter writes of this in his first letter, when speaking of the Prophets:
1 Peter 1:12 (CSB)
12 It was revealed to them that they were not serving themselves but you. These things have now been announced to you through those who preached the gospel to you by the Holy Spirit sent from heaven—angels long to catch a glimpse of these things.
• The Christmas story, God’s salvation plan, isn’t some well-worn story.
• It’s exciting! It’s fresh! It’s always new.
• It is so fascinating that the angels in heaven longed to look into it—they couldn’t wait to see it happen!
• The word LONG in 1 Peter 1:12 conveys the thought of a powerfully strong desire.
• The angels had set their hearts on seeing the birth of Jesus!
• Based on the reaction of the angels in front of the shepherds and Peter’s observations about them, we know that Jesus’s birth was excellent news of great joy for all—including the angelic host!
• Heaven was excited about Christmas and what it meant for all creation!
• How about you, are you excited for the same reason?
• Let’s turn to verses 11-12 and 16-20.
Luke 2:11–12 (CSB)
11 Today in the city of David a Savior was born for you, who is the Messiah, the Lord. 12 This will be the sign for you: You will find a baby wrapped tightly in cloth and lying in a manger.”
Luke 2:16–20 (CSB)
16 They hurried off and found both Mary and Joseph, and the baby who was lying in the manger. 17 After seeing them, they reported the message they were told about this child, 18 and all who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds said to them. 19 But Mary was treasuring up all these things in her heart and meditating on them. 20 The shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things they had seen and heard, which were just as they had been told.
III. The presence of the angels calls our attention to the birth of King Jesus!
• The presence of these angels in the Christmas story calls our attention to the birth of a king!
• The presence of angels tells us that the Christmas story is supernatural!
• God’s entering the world in human form was extremely important.
• There has never been anything like it in history, and there never will be again.
• We see in this story angels going all over, doing the bidding of God, preparing the way for the Lord to enter into his kingdom in the flesh.
• While the King of the world was moving people around for his census (Luke 2:1–2), the King of the universe was putting the pieces into place for his inauspicious entry.
• But the heavenly host could not hold back, and when the moment comes, as is fitting in the presence of the most powerful and glorious of all kings, a host of angels takes over the night sky and sing.
• The whole Christmas story points to a baby born in a manger.
• The hope of the future salvation of humanity and the restoration of creation back to its original intent and splendor rests on the shoulders of this newly born child!
• This child is King Jesus!
• Do you know this King?
• We sing the song, WHAT CHILD IS THIS?
• We know this child is Jesus, God’s one and only begotten Son!
• He is Lord of ALL!
• Will you let this child get out of the manger and grow up to eventually be crucified on the cross so that you can have eternal life?
• Are you going to live your life like He is still a baby in a manger, or will your life reflect the fact that you have been redeemed by the blood of this child?
• Is Jesus your LORD and SAVIOR or just a cute little baby in a manger?
• Make no mistake, one day, EVERY knee will bow, and EVERY tongue will confess Jesus is LORD!
CONCLUSION
• The characters of Christmas show us that when Jesus entered this world, God was showing us his love for everyone.
• In our traditions, Christmas has become an inward-focused holiday in many ways.
• We spend a lot of money on ourselves or our family members, while our family members spend money on us.
• There’s nothing wrong with celebrating the birth of the King of Kings.
• But what can you do this Christmas to reflect the scope of the Christmas story?
• The Christmas message of God’s grace entering the world should be celebrated, but even more important than that is what the angels show us: the message needs to be delivered to everyone.
• CALL UP VINCE!
› Our Motivational Drive from the message is this: What can you do this Christmas to focus on others, rather than merely focusing inward?
