Luke 2:1 - 20 THE BIRTH OF THE SAVIOUR
1. The Illumination That Made Them Fearful (a) God's Presence Revealed 10 And the angel said unto them, Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people. No Communication from God for 400 years (b) God's Purpose Revealed 11 For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord. (c) God's Praise Revealed 13 And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God, and saying, 14 Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men.
2. The Incarnation That Made Them Thankful 16 And they came with haste, and found Mary, and Joseph, and the babe lying in a manger. Look at what the shepherds found: 1) They Found the Miracle of the Saviour’s Birth “… they … found Mary … ” His was a Virgin Birth - Born without Sin, Lived without Sin, Died without Sin, Arose without Sin, Ascended without Sin, Reigns without Sin, Returns without Sin,
His was a Virtuous Birth - A Saviour
His was a Vicarious Birth - (The Lamb Of God)
His was a Victorious Birth - which is Christ the Lord. 2) They Found the Message of the Saviour’s Birth “… they … found … Joseph … ”
Matt 1:20 But while he thought on these things, behold, the angel of the Lord appeared unto him in a dream, saying, Joseph, thou son of David, fear not to take unto thee Mary thy wife: for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Ghost. 21 And she shall bring forth a son, and thou shalt call his name JESUS: for he shall save his people from their sins.
The Saviorhood of Christ should have preeminence. Christ did not come into the world primarily to teach, reform, heal, or even raise the dead, “… Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners … ” (1 Tim. 1:15).
11: “For unto you” - that's something PERSONAL; “is born this day” - that's something PRESENT; “a Saviour” - that's something PRECIOUS. 3) They Found the Majesty of the Saviour’s Birth “found the Babe lying in a manger”
12 And this shall be a sign unto you; Ye shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger.
In the Babe we see the majesty of His Identity; in the swaddling clothes the majesty of His Simplicity; in the lowly manger the majesty of His Humility.
3. The Inspiration That Made Them Useful 17 And when they had seen it, they made known abroad the saying which was told them concerning this child. 18 And all they that heard it wondered at those things which were told them by the shepherds. The Shepherds Announced the Faith Concerning Christ Having Ascertained the fact, they had Accepted the findings. They proceeded to Announce the faith which they had received at the cradle of Christ. 1) They Personally Announced Their Faith 17 And when they had seen it, 2) They Publicly Announced Their Faith - they made known abroad the saying 3) They Praisefully Announced Their Faith - 20 And the shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things that they had heard and seen, as it was told unto them
The message of Christmas is the gospel of “… great joy which will be to all people”
4. The Intervention That Made Them Accountable Christ’s coming into the world has: 1) A Saving Claim Upon Your Life 11 “Unto you is born … a Saviour” 2) A Spiritual Claim Upon Your Life which is Christ. The title Christ means “the anointed one.” It is a term which marks Him as the Prophet, Priest and King upon whom the Holy Spirit came without measure. John 4:24 God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth. 3) A Sovereign Claim Upon Your Life a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord. This world will never be right until Jesus Christ reigns as King of Kings and Lord of lords. What is true of the world generally is equally true of the individual personally. We will never know peace, purpose or power until Christ reigns in unchallenged sovereignty He was born to be Lord. He died that He might be the Lord; He rose again that He might be Lord Rom. 14:9 For to this end Christ both died, and rose, and revived, that he might be Lord both of the dead and living. He is returning as Lord.
