Introduction

Advent is a season of waiting, anticipating, and hoping. It’s a time when we plant our feet firmly in the land between two affirmations: Christ has come, and Christ will come again.

On January 9, 2007, Steve Jobs stood up in front of a crowd at the Macworld convention. He was wearing his quintessential black mock turtleneck and he announced the first iPhone. Few people truly understood the impact of what was coming their way.

I can remember hearing that announcement thinking, “I’ll never own one of those. They’ll be too expensive.” Well, I’ve owned four iPhones, and having a device in our pocket that can do what our phones can do has drastically changed our lives. In fact, Business Insider said, “The first iPhone changed the world forever.” That’s quite a dramatic statement.

However, as drastic as it is, it may very well be true. How many of you ever thought:

• You’d do most of your Christmas shopping on your phone?
• You’d watch a sporting event or movie on your phone?
• You’d be able to get on an airplane because of something you had on your phone?

Oh, and we need to acknowledge that without the smartphone, social media would be a shadow of what it is today, if it existed at all. What would we do without those food pictures, opinions from everyone about anything, cat videos, endless memes … oh yeah, and that increase in comparison and anxiety? Very few inventions have changed our everyday lives more than the smartphone.

Announcements have a way of exacting and marking change. There’s a sense of weightiness to an announcement, isn’t there? I mean just think about it, if I say to you, “We have a very important announcement to make” we all perk up a little bit and begin to stand at attention.

Depending on the announcement, they can change everything.

• “I’m taking my talents to South Beach.” LeBron James
• “Two weeks to flatten the curve…”
• “We’re pregnant.”
• “The job potential said, ‘yes.’”
• “We’re moving.”

An announcement can change the course of your entire life.

Beholding the Gospel Allows Us to Become People of Transcendent Joy

The passage we are going to read today is about an announcement that changed everything! Luke just recounted Mary and Joseph’s journey from Galilee to Bethlehem to register. We were told that Jesus had been born (v. 7). That’s where we pick up the story.

(Read Luke 2:8-11)

We’re tracing this word “behold” throughout the Christmas story and here we see it again. That word demands we read with inflection, that requires us to take notice, that causes us to stand at attention. Uttered by an angel, nonetheless. When the angel tells you to “behold,” you do it.

Interestingly, the angel contrasted fear and beholding. “Fear not, behold.” I love the way Rembrandt captured the shepherds' potential fear in The Angel Appearing to the Shepherds, 1634. I bet they were terrified, we’d be! This angel is suggesting that you can fear or behold, but it’s challenging to do both.

“Do not be afraid …” is the most common command in Scripture. One of the reasons we’re told “fear not” so many times throughout the scriptures is because fear occupies our attention. Fear serves us well when we’re in danger and need to escape, but when our fear isn’t grounded in reality it can cause us to miss the good and the God that is all around us. So, the angel calls the shepherds to stop fearing and to behold. I’ll call you to do the same thing today.

What does the angel want the shepherd to behold in verse 10? The shepherds are told to behold good news. In Greek, those two words are one, euangelion. It’s where we get the word “evangelism.” It can also be translated as “gospel.” “I bring you gospel!” The gospel is news, it’s an announcement.

In the first century, “gospel” wasn’t a religious word. Whenever a new king was born or war was won, the Roman Empire would send out a herald to “preach the gospel” or spread the good news. In addition, we think of “gospel” as a serious word, but in the first century, it was a happy word. Romans 10:15 says, “As it is written, ‘How beautiful are the feet of those who preach the good news!’”

Hence the next line. “Good news that will cause great joy” (Luke 2:10). Here’s the idea, when you believe this news, it stirs something in you. It changes you. It messes with you in the best way.

Not just joy, but great joy. The word “great” in Greek is mega. Mega joy!

Imagine the feeling you get when something you’ve been waiting for and wanting, out of the blue, comes to pass. Imagine if somebody burst in the back door right now, or into your living room, and said, “I have good news! They discovered a miracle cure for cancer, here it is, your loved one battling is going to be healed.” What would you feel? Mega joy!

The angel suggests that this is the very thing that happens when you behold the gospel about to be announced. Beholding the gospel allows us to become people of transcendent joy. Steve Jobs has nothing on this angel; the iPhone has nothing on the gospel.

I want to unpack this announcement of gospel—inviting you to behold as well. No announcement has ever changed the world more than this one—and no announcement has more power to change your life if you’ll really take it in.

Grace for the Humble, Not Affirmation for the Righteous

Notice who the announcement first came to: Shepherds. Some have suggested that shepherds were despised by orthodox religious people because they were unable to keep the details of the law because of their work with animals. Others point out that shepherds were hated because they let their sheep venture onto other people’s land. Shepherds had a bad reputation and were considered “godless,” restricting them to the outer courts of the Temple. In addition, they were unable to testify in a court of law because they tended to be untrustworthy.

There is some debate on how lowly shepherds were; some suggest the hatred of shepherds goes back to Aristotle and wasn’t true in Israel. However, most agree that shepherding was a lowly job.

Fittingly it was they who were selected to receive the announcement of the Messiah’s birth. In this announcement, we are learning that the gospel is grace for the humble, not affirmation for the righteous. When Mary sang of the magnificence of God, she said, “He has shown strength with his arm; he has scattered the proud in the thoughts of their hearts; he has brought down the mighty from their thrones and exalted those of humble estate” (Luke 1:51-52).

In this way, the announcement about Jesus was subversive, even a threat to people in positions of power. This is the story all throughout the Gospels. Jesus says, “Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick. I have not come to call the righteous but sinners to repentance” (Luke 5:31-32). He goes on to say in Luke 13:30, “And behold, some are last who will be first, and some are first who will be last.”

This was the message Jesus came preaching, but it was also the way the message was first delivered. Think about this, it’s no coincidence that Jesus is first announced to shepherds who couldn’t testify in a court; and after rising from the dead, he first appears to women who couldn’t testify either. This is the upside-down kingdom of God that is breaking into the empire of earth. Can you receive it?

I love that the angel said to them, “I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people” (Luke 2:10). I bring “YOU” good news of great joy. It’s not just news, it’s news for you. That’s huge. The scriptures are ruthless about trying to get you to believe you’re not beyond the hope of the gospel.

• A murderer leads Israel out of Egypt.
• An adulterer is considered a “man after God’s heart.”
• A person who was a part of the religious mafia becomes a church-planting, Scripture writing, pastor.

The universal gospel is made particular, it’s made personal. You can know the power of the gospel in its universal scope, but you can only be transformed by the gospel when you know that it’s for you. I bring you gospel. It’s for all, but it’s also for you today.

An Announcement About Jesus, Not Advice for Humanity

This is the first time in Luke’s Gospel we have the gospel described (Luke 2:11). If you were to summarize the gospel in one word, it would be Jesus. The gospel is an announcement about Jesus. The gospel is not:

• Instructions about how can go to heaven when you die.
• A path to become healthy and wealthy.
• A way to be justified by grace through faith not by works.
• A call to care about social justice.

The gospel is news that Jesus was born and what would follow as a result. The angels show us that the gospel is an announcement about Jesus, not advice for humanity. The gospel is not, “Do this or don’t do that.” The gospel is about Jesus. Period. Hard stop. We have a part to play, but we’ll talk about what that is in a few minutes.

However, the angel does give us more details about Jesus than just his name. In a sense, the angel lays out his vocation using three titles. Interestingly enough, this is the only time all three show up in the same passage. Jesus is said to be Savior, Christ, and Lord. Each one of these titles gives us a little bit of a different view of the work of Jesus.

Savior

There are three ways the word salvation is used in the New Testament. First, to rescue from danger and restore to a former state of safety. Second, to cause someone to become well again after having been sick. Third, to cause someone to experience divine salvation.

After all, his name means, “Savior from sin” (Matt. 1:23). At Christmas we celebrate “God and sinners reconciled” because Jesus is our Savior. The essence behind this title is that Jesus will provide deliverance from enemies. God the Creator rescued his creation from corruption, decay, and death, and rescued us to be part of his work.

Anytime you read the title “Savior” you should remind yourself that we are in a world at war, that’s why we need saving. I love the way C.S. Lewis in Mere Christianity captured it when he wrote, “Enemy-occupied territory—that is what this world is. Christianity is the story of how the rightful king has landed, you might say landed in disguise, and is calling us to take part in a great campaign of sabotage.”

The gospel tells us that Jesus saves us from our enemies who are bent on our destruction, both in the physical and spiritual realms. There really is an enemy that seeks to “steal, kill, and destroy; but Jesus has come that we may have life to the full” (John 10:10).

Christ

This is a title loaded with Old Testament meaning. It is the Greek rendition of the Hebrew word “Messiah,” and it literally means “anointed one”—typically for a special purpose and often reserved for a king or priest.

When we call Jesus the Christ, we are saying that he is the ultimate king and our high priest. He is chosen by God to reign and redeem his people. When Jesus is referred to as “Christ,” he is the Messiah fulfilling Israel’s long-awaited hope.

Lord

This was a title that was not so much religious as it was political. Early disciples would never have disturbed the Roman authorities by confessing Jesus as the Christ. They would not care about that. But to confess Jesus as Lord was another matter.

There is a papyrus which dates to 1 AD which speaks of sacrifices and libations “for the Lord and emperor”—speaking of Augustus. To say that their first allegiance was to the Lord Jesus as opposed to Lord Caesar got many of them thrown into prison and killed.

Lord was a call to allegiance and obedience. Accepting Jesus' Lordship involves saying "yes" to whatever he says. It involves denial of self-interests, including sometimes the giving up of life itself. But it also involves finding life; that is, eternal life.

If you put all three of these vocations together here’s what you have. The gospel is the announcement that Jesus has come. He is God’s anointed Savior who delivers us from our enemies and calls for our allegiance because he is the Lord of all. This is good news. You can almost sense a sigh of rejoicing reverberating from this announcement.

An Infusion of Heaven’s Peace into Earth’s Pain

(Read Luke 2:12-14)

The angel calls in the reinforcements for this portion of the announcement. Just in case you thought this was about something you had to do, the angels remind us that the gospel is a call for us to recognize God’s glory, and to receive heaven’s peace.

The gospel is good news because it’s an infusion of heaven’s peace into earth’s pain. But it doesn’t eliminate earth’s pain… yet.

The soil the gospel grows in is our normal, everyday, messy life. This is the paradox of the gospel. It’s an announcement that changes everything and yet the shepherds “return” to their everyday lives—lives wrought with hardship and pain.

The gospel changes everything, but everything still feels normal. It changes everything and yet, there are still:

• Tornadoes that strike…
• Another shooting…
• Cancer that’s diagnosed…
• Division that weighs heavily…

Remember, that word translated as “peace” means, “the weaving back together of frayed parts.” God leverages his glory for our peace, that’s good news! We typically think of the gospel as a way to get to heaven, but the first gospel announcement was said to be “peace on earth!” This gospel isn’t about escaping earth, it is good news coming to earth.

What if you started to think of it that way too? How might Jesus want to infuse your pain with heaven’s peace? He wants to redeem the pain you’re walking through. He wants to comfort you as you weep. He wants to remind you of glory. He’s meeting you right here, right now. The gospel is for today, not just for someday.

A Comprehensive Scope that Demands a Personal Response

What do you do after an angel choir appears in the sky? My guess is that you must gather yourself a bit. You probably confirm the reality of what’s happened with others who experienced it.

(Read Luke 2:15-18)

They go and see, and they tell of what they’d seen. I think the shepherds are showing us that the gospel is good news for all people, but you must respond to it for it to be good news for you. It’s comprehensive in scope but demands personal response.

This was true when Jesus preached the gospel as well. Mark 1:14-15 says, “Now after John was arrested, Jesus came into Galilee, proclaiming the gospel of God, and saying, ‘The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel.’”

Change your mind and place your trust. That’s what it means to “repent and believe.” The shepherds don’t just believe, they act on what they have heard. I think this is a missing piece in some discipleship today.

We know this is true in our everyday lives. You may receive a few gift cards this Christmas. They are great, but you must take them to the store or load them on Amazon to reap the benefits of them. A 2020 study found that $3 billion in gift cards go unused every year! The gospel works the same way. It must be received and acted up. “Repent and believe!”

As the Gospel Fills You with Joy, Respond with Praise

Finally, we see what happens in the shepherds’ lives as they hear, believe, and respond.

(Read Luke 2:19-20)

When we experience the reality of the gospel, the natural result is praise. However, while this good news rattles heaven’s gates with the angels’ chorus, the shepherds eventually have to “return.” Meaning they had to go back to their normal lives and their job keeping the sheep in the field.

• They knew heaven’s glory, but they weren’t allowed in the temple.
• They knew heard the voice of angels but couldn’t share it in a court.
• They had amazing news, but few people normally trusted them.

But their circumstances no longer determine their happiness, the announcement from the angel does. According to N.T. Wright, "The good news was, and is, that all this has happened in and through Jesus; that one day it will happen, completely and utterly, to all creation; and that we humans, every single one of us, whoever we are, can be caught up in that transformation here and now."

What a glorious day that will be. Let’s live today in light of that day and allow it to fill us with joy. As the gospel fills you with joy, respond with praise!

Conclusion

Now, there is something that I didn’t point out about the shepherds the first time around. It’s a detail in the text that’s easy to overlook or view as insignificant. Luke 2:8 says, “And in the same region there were shepherds out in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night.” Why would Luke tell us that they were “in the same region”? He wants us to know that they are close to Bethlehem.

The early church historian Eusebius linked these fields to a unique biblical location called Migdal Eder, which translated means the “tower of the flock” (mentioned in Genesis 35:21). He did that because of a prophecy in Micah 4:8 which reads, “And you, O tower of the flock (Migdal Eder), hill of the daughter of Zion, to you shall it come, the former dominion shall come, kingship for the daughter of Jerusalem.”

This area is on the outskirts of Bethlehem. According to the Talmud, all cattle and sheep found in the area surrounding Jerusalem “as far as Migdal Eder” were deemed to be holy and consecrated and could only be used for sacrifices in the Temple, in particular for Passover sacrifices.

This means the shepherds in the fields of Bethlehem who first heard the good news from the angel were shepherds raising lambs that would be sacrificed during Passover. The lambs that they were raising were born to die for the sins of the people. Not only that, but the shepherds would also often wrap the newborn lambs in swaddling clothes and place them in a manger until they calmed down to keep them without defect, suitable to be sacrificial lambs for the sin of the Israelites.

So yes, a baby wrapped in swaddling cloth and lying in a manger would have been a sign to these shepherds. These shepherds who made their living selling sheep to be sacrificed were being called to behold the good news of an entirely new way of salvation. Not lambs that would be sacrificed, but the Lamb, born to die.

So, I end our series by saying the same thing that I did at the beginning. “Behold the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world.” Jesus. Savior. Christ. Lord. Friends, this is the gospel. Believe and be filled with joy.