December 9, 2002
LifeWay Family Bible Series for Dec. 22
Christ, the Savior, came for regular Joes & Janes
___Luke 2:820
___By Rick Willis
___First Baptist Church, Roscoe
___The narrative in Luke 2 pans like a movie camera from a worldwide scope of the Roman Empire to the narrow scope of a field outside little Bethlehem. Secular histories would give much space to the reign of Caesar Augustus, but his only consequence to the gospel is that God used him as a means to fulfilling prophecies of Christ's birthplace. In Jesus' story, the emperor is not as interesting as the sheepherders.
___Angels and regular Joes
___Luke 2:89 tells of the fantastic intersection of angels and common people when God came into human life in Jesus.
___While masses of people traveled for the census, shepherds sat in familiar fields and watched the flickers of distant activity like headlights on the interstate. The shepherds were not necessarily the outcasts they are sometimes portrayed to be. They were just regular Joes.
___They had no idea God had been born a few miles away. They couldn't look at the stars or listen to the wind and perceive "God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life" (John 3:16). Someone would have to tell them.
___So while they sat in the fields, the anonymous angel appeared among them--there in those ordinary fields where, a long time before, David had tended sheep without knowing he was Israel's great king. The angel announced to them the joyous good news.
___While we go about our regular routines, God is up to something good for us. It has happened. It's done. We wouldn't know it, except that God lets us know.
___Jesus and glorious news
___Luke 2:1014 gives the content of the angel's message and a glimpse of heaven's celebration of Christ's birth. Our celebrations of Christmas sometime give the impression that the baby in the manger is the end of the story. The angel's message, the true glory of Christmas (and Easter), is the whole person of Jesus.
___As Luke tells the story, the angel's announcement encompassed the breadth of the real Jesus in three titles.
___He is our Savior. Emperors and heroes were sometimes called saviors, deliverers. They were the kind who rescued people from oppression that threatened them from the outside. But the Bible makes clear Jesus' role as Savior. As another angel announced, his name signifies he will save us from our sins (Matthew 1:21). He rescues us from the chaos and death that threatens us from within.
___He is the Christ, Greek for Messiah, which in Hebrew means Anointed One. All God had revealed to historic Israel was not enough. The law and the prophets raised a thirst in the people of God which was yet unsatisfied. They longed for the ideal deliverer who would be anointed with God's Spirit. He would tie up all the loose ends and bring great joy to all the people of God. He would fill Jewish hopes to overflowing and bless all nations.
___He also is the Lord. There's a long story behind the New Testament confession of faith, "Jesus (Christ) is Lord" (Romans 10:9; 1 Corinthians 12:3; Philippians 2:11). The gist of it is the ancient Jews didn't like to use the name of God given to Moses at the burning bush, so whenever they came to that word in the Hebrew Scriptures they would read aloud, "the Lord." Therefore, the angel's declaration that the Savior was Messiah, the Lord, was a way of saying Jesus and God are one (John 10:30).
___Faith and confirming
___experience
___Before the heavenly chorus of praise, the angel gave the shepherds word of a sign. They not only had something to believe, but something to do to confirm the report. Christ offers a self-validating assurance that he is the truth. It comes by obedience (James 2:18).
___Luke 2:1520 relates that the shepherds hurried to Bethlehem to find the baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger. Their obedience led to results. First, the angel's message was confirmed by the reality they found. Second, their genuine delight and praise of God made them natural witnesses.
___Perhaps their audience was only "amazed." Amazement and amusement are kindred feelings. I can be amazed by air travel and never board a plane. Many people will be amazed at Christmas decorations, celebrations, parades and spectacular shows but will never receive the full-grown Christ whose birth Christmas celebrates.
___For the shepherds who excitedly told their story, and Mary who kept the world's greatest baby book, God's promises were confirmed.
___God also promised: "If you confess with your mouth, 'Jesus is Lord,' and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved" (Romans 10:9). God promised, "Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!" (2 Corinthians 5:17). And again, "The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control" (Galatians 5:2223).
___See for yourself.
___Questions for discussion
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