The birth of Jesus Christ is good news. In fact, it is by far the best news the world has ever heard. If God had not sent His Son into the world to save sinners, we would have no assurance of anything except eternity in hell. However, because Jesus was born, we are assured that God has made a way for us to have peace with Him. That is indeed welcome news to the person who recognizes that their sin separates them from God. To hear that Christ was born as the Savior who reconciles us to our Creator brings us hope. And that God would broadcast this good news so that all may have an opportunity to hear and be saved only demonstrates further His love for humanity. For centuries, the Lord God foretold the coming of His Son via His messengers, the prophets. But when His Son was born, the Father in heaven sent heavenly messengers to herald His arrival. He dispatched a multitude of the angelic host to announce good tidings of great joy to the world. In the Gospels of Matthew and Luke, we find the angels of God acting as His messengers prior to Christ s conception and also following His birth. In, they appear to a humble audience (v. 8) with a truly heavenly announcement (vv. 9-12) and a harmonious affirmation that the Savior had come to earth (vv. 13-14). 1
Good Tidings of Great Joy (2:8-14) A Humble Audience (v. 8) Luke explains that, at the time of Christ s birth in Bethlehem of Judea, there were in the same country shepherds living out in the fields, keeping watch over their flock by night (v. 8). Bethlehem was, of course, the birthplace of David, the great king of Israel from whom the Christ was to be descended (2 Sam. 7). Christ was, therefore, born in Bethlehem because it was David s hometown (Micah 5:2; Luke 2:1-7). That region of the country was well known for its shepherds. David s family had owned flocks, and David was himself a skilled shepherd (1 Sam. 16:11-13). God chose David as king in order to shepherd, or lead, his people Israel a foreshadowing of the leadership of Christ the King of heaven (2 Sam. 7:8; Is. 40:11; Ezek. 34:23; cf. Heb. 13:20). The shepherding trade and its imagery were very familiar to the Jews as far back as the patriarchs, Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. But why, in God s plan, did He send His angels first to shepherds to announce the birth of the Savior? From the world s perspective, it seemed unlikely that shepherds would be an audience to this angelic proclamation. Shepherds were just common people certainly not royalty. Theirs was a simple life lived mostly out in the fields, keeping watch over their flock day and night. 2
However, since Bethlehem was near Jerusalem, the shepherds were kept busy supplying sheep used in the Temple sacrifices -- sheep which symbolized the true Lamb of God who was to come into the world to bear our sins (John 1:29, 36). That was whole point of announcing the birth of Christ to shepherds. The heavenly host came to tell these everyday people -- people who were very familiar with the purpose of the sheep they raised -- that THE Lamb of God, the descendant of David, had come into the world. And THE Great Shepherd was delivered as promised (Heb. 13:20). So the shepherds were the humble and unlikely first recipients of the message that Jesus had arrived, and they timidly but willingly received the heavenly announcement. A Heavenly Announcement (vv. 9-12) So it was that an angel of the Lord stood before them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were greatly afraid (v. 9). The detailed announcement was made by a single angel of the Lord who would later be joined by other angels in glorifying God. This messenger was possibly Gabriel (Dan. 8:16; 9:21) who had appeared to Zacharias (Luke 1:19), Mary (Luke 1:26), and likely to Joseph (Matt. 1:20-21). 3
He appeared in the midst of the shepherds, and because he came from the very presence of God the Father in heaven as His holy messenger (1:19), Gabriel reflected the glory of the Lord around [the shepherds]. It would have indeed been an awesome and fearful sight for these mortal men to find themselves in the presence of absolute holiness. Fear is always the appropriate response for those who realize they have come in contact with God s messengers or the power and presence of God Himself (e.g. Lk. 5:8-10). And that is the response we find throughout Scripture. While a reverent fear was appropriate, God s purpose was not to scare them, but to bring them joy and hope. The fearfulness of the angel s presence simply confirmed the message as heavenly and trustworthy. That is why the angel said to them, Do not be afraid, for behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy which will be to all people (v. 10). His message was the good tidings (Gr. - euaggelizo) of the Gospel. The word is actually a derivative of the root from which comes the word angel. So the heavenly messenger brought a heavenly message -- a report of great joy that is intended for all people. It is the global message of the Gospel of Jesus Christ (John 3:16-18). It is the good news that, although we are sinners who deserve God s judgment, God offers salvation to us through His Son. 4
It was the message of God s grace which the angel delivered to the shepherds: For there is born to you this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord (v. 11). You see, Jesus of Nazareth was born to the Jews in that He was a descendant of Abraham through whom God promised to bring blessing to the world (Gen. 12:3). But Jesus Christ was also a descendant of king David whose throne God promised to establish forever (2 Sam. 7; cf. Pss. 2; 89; 110). And Bethlehem, as noted earlier, was the city of David. Therefore, it was imperative that the Christ be born in David s hometown because it established His lineage. Directing the shepherds to Bethlehem was a confirmation that God s covenant with David was being fulfilled. There these men would find the heavenly King. For this reason, David s descendant was the Savior, who is Christ the Lord. That is, Jesus is God s anointed or chosen (i.e. the Christ ). He came to deliver (i.e. the Savior ) His people from their sins. And He is the faithful King of heaven (i.e. the Lord ), a Man after God s own heart (1 Sam. 13:14; Acts 13:22) like His forefather, David (Matt. 1:1-17). David loved God s Law, and he sought to keep it with all his heart, although he was not sinless. Jesus Christ, however, would both keep it perfectly and satisfy its demand for the death of the sinner as He bore our sins on the cross (Matt. 5:17-20). He was in every way God, and yet He was also fully human with the royal lineage that would allow Him to fulfill God s promise of a Savior/King. 5
The angel s heavenly announcement was that the Savior of the human race had arrived. The shepherd s sign was to find Him in His nativity. The greater Son of David did not come in regal splendor. Like David, He assumed the throne in humility chosen by God and given great honor. Unlike David, Jesus was the God/Man who is able to do all of God s will perfectly. Like the helpless lambs for which the shepherds cared, the Savior entered the world as a Babe being cared for by His mother who had wrapped Him in swaddling clothes and laid Him in a manger (v. 12). The point is that Jesus was born like the rest of us with the same needs as any human baby. It was totally unlike anything the Jews of that day expected of God s promised Savior. The religious leaders of that day were not expecting this (Matt. 2:4-6), and God did not announce it to them for this reason. Instead, the heavenly message of the Savior s humble birth came to a humble but receptive audience. God was inviting them to behold this glorious event for themselves. He knew they would further spread the glad tidings. A Harmonious Affirmation (vv. 13-14) To solidify the message, God provided a harmonious affirmation from a multitude of the heavenly host which suddenly appeared and joined with the initial angel in praising God (v. 13). Their collective message was: Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, goodwill toward men! (v. 14). We often think of this as an angelic choir, but it simply says they made a unified proclamation. There is no indication they sang, although it is possible they did (cf. Job 38:7). 6
But the emphasis is not how the angels praised God, or even that they did praise Him, but that God in the highest heaven is worthy to be praised for seeking peace with sinful men (Rom. 10:15; Eph. 6:15). Although angels themselves have never experienced this great salvation, they contemplate what God has done for mankind, glorify Him for it, and minister to those who are to inherit it (Heb. 1:1-14; cf. 1 Pet. 1:12). The word, goodwill refers to God s sovereign pleasure. That is, God offers peace as a gift of His grace to those whom He chooses. This was and is a proclamation stating the truth of God s sovereignty in the highest heaven and on earth. Almighty God the Creator, to whom all creatures are accountable, has the supreme authority to either judge sinners or reconcile them to Himself. And He has chosen to reconcile those to whom He grants repentance from sin and faith in Christ His Son. Paul wrote in Colossians 1:19-23: For it pleased the Father that in [Christ] all the fullness should dwell, and by Him to reconcile all things to Himself, by Him, whether things on earth or things in heaven, having made peace through the blood of His cross. And you, who were once alienated and enemies in your mind by wicked works, yet now He has reconciled in the body of His flesh through death, to present you holy, and blameless, and above reproach in His sight -- if indeed you continue in the faith, grounded and steadfast, and are not moved away from the hope of the gospel which you heard, which was preached to every creature under heaven 7
Paul, like the multitude of the heavenly host, praised God and affirmed His great work of making a way for true and eternal peace with repentant sinners. If you have believed in the Lord Jesus Christ as Savior, then you also can join in affirming God s provision of peace through His Son (2 Pet. 1:2). You can join the holy angels, the apostles and all believers in proclaiming the true Gospel of God s grace toward sinners. On that wonderful night, when Jesus Christ our Lord was born, God the Father sent His holy angels to a humble audience of shepherds with an heavenly message announcing the birth of the Savior who has reconciled repentant sinners to God. In harmony they affirmed the arrival of God s peace glad tidings of great joy to all people! Sinners will never have true peace with God or anyone else unless they repent of sin and receive the good news of the King who was born to save us. Do you have this peace with God? Like the shepherds, have you humbly received the Gospel of Jesus Christ the heavenly message of God s salvation? Do you share the angel s praise to God for the peace He offers to men? Any true celebration of the birth of Jesus acknowledges Him as the Savior, who is Christ the Lord. 8