Really good news. How do we get across to others how much Jesus really means to us?

Transcription

1 Really good news How do we get across to others how much Jesus really means to us? One of my friends told me that as a brand new Christian, in his late teens, he sent letters to all of his relatives, telling them t they were going to hell, and they desperately needed Jesus to save them. His father said, Son, if you want to get your message across to us, that s probably not the best place to start! When I was studying at Macquarie Uni in the early 1970s, a young man appeared in the grassy area where most students had their lunch. He was draped in a sandwich board, a placard, front and back which read, Repent! The blood of Jesus saves us from all sin. That drew a few comments! But then he headed straight towards meand called out, You re David Ritchie, aren t you? I said, Yessss He said, You and I were at primary school together! Well, that was an odd moment! Writing a letter to friends and relatives could be helpful. Not so sure about a sandwich board.

2 Scrawling Eternity on footpaths in chalk in the early 20 th century certainly left it s mark. Getting a sky writer to use an aeroplane to proclaim, Jesus saves. That certainly got our attention in Sydney harbour on New Years Eve a few years ago Bu what about us? How can we get across how much Jesus really means to us? I reckon we should take a leaf out of God s Book, and see how he did it! Please turn to Luke 2:8-20. At first glance it would seem that when God entrusted the good news of the birth of his Son to an angel the angel bungled it took a wrong turn ended up in the wrong place! He didn t appear to any of the great movers and shakers on planet earth, the emperor Caesar in Rome, or the religious elite in Jerusalem He appeared to the ancient equivalent of homeless people. In the land of the Lord Jesus, shepherds were regarded as unclean. The strictest of orthodox Jews called shepherds, sinners. a derogatory term meaning vile and unclean. Probably because they were in contact with animal secretions, slept outdoors, and were surrounded by dung and disease. At first glance, verses 8-10 are not a very promising start! 8 There were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night. 9 An angel of the

3 Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. 10 But the angel said to them, Do not be afraid. I bring you good news that will cause great joy for all the people. The angel s message underscores my heading for this passage: Really good news: Depending on which side you re on, there s been good news in the press lately: If you re a supporter of the British Monarchy, and a fan of the American mini-series, Suits, no doubt you would have been thrilled to hear of the engagement of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle. If you were one of the 61% of our nation who voted in favour of marriage equality, you probably joined in the shouts of joy in parliament last Friday afternoon. I don t think I ve ever seen such scenes of jubilation on all sides of the house, as well as in the public gallery as we saw then. God s messenger highlights that his really good news, good news of great joy he calls it really is for everyone, regardless of ethnicity, social class or gender. So here is the first point: God s really good news is: 1. For all! He makes this crystal clear by giving his good news to the nobodies of this world, first up at least! What a kind, patient a gracious God we have.

4 Secondly, the good news is not hard to understand. You don t have to be a genius to get it. The angel puts it very simply in vs 11: 2. Put simply: There are two points: Jesus is Saviour. Jesus is Lord. I ve tried to learn gospel outlines over the years so I could explain to people who Jesus is, and why people need him. Most of those gospel outlines were complicated and difficult to learn. And they take a long time to tell. So, here s my contribution to gospel outlines, to try to keep it simple: This is the 2006 VC memorial 50 pence gospel outline! This coin has two sides, and it illustrates two point: On the reverse side, a picture of a Victoria Cross, very similar to a Maltese Cross. It was first used by Queen Victoria in 1856 as the highest award to honour gallantry in the face of the enemy. On the medal itself, we read the words, For valour. Recently a VC medal was awarded to Corporal Daniel Keighran: A Royal Australian Regiment (6 th Battalion RAR) soldier who exposed himself to enemy fire to save

5 his comrades during a deadly ambush in Afghanistan. Why did Queen Victoria use a cross? Presumably because what was true of Corporal Daniel Keighran and 1,354 others is supremely true of Jesus. On the cross Jesus exposed himself to enemy fire to save us! From what? In his own words, Jesus put this very simply when he said that his mission was to seek and to save the lost. When we wander away from God, we get lost from him. We get disconnected. And being disconnected from God is a very dangerous thing. If we live without God, we will end up dying without God. And that is the very last thing he wants for us. Jesus came to find us, and to bring us home to God. To connect us, so that we can live with God now and forever. But it was very costly for Jesus to do that. In order to save us, Jesus died on a cross Jesus died in our place, for our forgiveness. This is how the angel puts it in vs 11: Today, in the town of David (that is, in Bethlehem) a Saviour has been born to you.

6 What makes Jesus so special? What authority does he have to die on a cross to save us? Let s look at the other side of the coin. It s an image of the anointed one. At her coronation, Elizabeth the second was anointed with oil. She became Queen of the British Empire (which of course is now a lot smaller than it used to be). In ancient Israel, the king was referred to as the Messiah, the anointed one. After many false starts, and disastrous failures on the part of all the kings, God said, One day I will send a truly anointed one: a good king a righteous king a powerful king who will rule the whole world forever! According to the angel in vs 11, Jesus is that king! In Greek Christ means anointed one. Jesus is that Christ, the Lord. He shares God s authority, God s goodness, God s power. And nothing, not even death, could stop him! What s the best thing for us to do? The angel expected the shepherds to go and find Jesus and follow him! It s a simple message: Jesus is Saviour. Jesus is Lord. Follow him. I hope you find that coin gospel outline helpful.

7 Now we move to the last part of the passage, where there is: 3. An eruption of celebration (singing God s praises and sharing the good news): 13 Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God and saying, 14 Glory to God in the highest heaven, and on earth peace to those on whom his favour rests. 15 When the angels had left them and gone into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, Let s go to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has told us about. 16 So they hurried off and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby, who was lying in the manger. 17 When they had seen him, they (notice this) they spread the word concerning what had been told them about this child, It s interesting to me that one of the people the shepherds shared the good news with was Mary herself: And how did she respond? 18 and all who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds said to them. 19 But Mary treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart. ( What does it mean for my son to be Saviour and Messiah-Lord? she no doubt wondered.) 20 The shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things they had heard and seen, which were

8 just as they had been told. (Then this curious thing:) 21 On the eighth day, when it was time to circumcise the child, he was named Jesus, the name the angel had given him before he was conceived. The name Jesus means God saves. It defines his mission from the start. To wind up now, how do we get across to others how much Jesus really means to us? 1. First of all, we start, as God did, by reaching out to the nobodies of this world: to people just like us! To do that, we need to build relationships of trust. Trust with our grandchildren, our children, brothers and sisters, nieces and nephews, our neighbours and the people we regularly bump into. We can build trust by being generous, and by sharing snippets of our life story. And, especially for those of us who are chatter boxes, by listening to their life stories and concerns. 2. Secondly, practice simple ways of explaining the good news that Jesus is Saviour and Lord. Practice with friends who already believe that message, so that you ll have more confidence when you meet an interested unbeliever. 3. Thirdly let s raise the roof, and join in a spontaneous eruption of celebration and sing, Hark, the herald angels sing, glory to the new born king!