8. Hear The Angel Voices

Luke 2:8-21

On Christmas Day 1932, via a scientific marvel called the wireless (a.k.a. the radio), King George V became the first British monarch to broadcast a Christmas Day speech. His granddaughter, Queen Elizabeth II, delivered 69 of them but the greatest Christmas address was made long before 1932 and the wireless.

It was given by an unnamed angel on a hillside outside Bethlehem to a handful of terrified shepherds over 2,000 years ago.

“Do not be afraid. I bring you good news that will cause great joy for all the people. Today in the town of David a Saviour has been born to you; he is the Messiah, the Lord.” (Luke 2:12)

That’s it. Shorter than a tweet.

Yet, if this proclamation is believed, it takes away fear and gives us joy. Literally: “I gospel you great joy.”

‘Gospel’ is not a religious word; it is a word used by emperors to make announcements that had implications for the whole empire.

The angel’s proclamation is for all people then and now and it makes three stunning proclamations about Jesus, with words that are politically and theologically loaded.

SAVIOUR

From a political point of view, Caesar Augustus (who has been in the background from the start of Luke 2) loved to be referred to as “saviour”.

From a theological perspective, if the proclamation of a Saviour is good news then there must be something that we need saved from. What would that be?

Matthew recorded the words of another angel: “Give him the name Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins” (Matt 1:21).

You might evaluate your life and come to the conclusion that you’re not that much of a sinner and therefore you don’t need a Saviour.

But sin is anything that separates us from God. Any way of life that is lived independent of God is sin regardless of whether or not you feel you’ve kept ‘the rules’. We have all sinned and missed the mark of living a fully human life as God intended. We all need a Saviour who can forgive sin.

MESSIAH

In Hebrew it’s mashiach. In Greek it’s christos. It literally means “anointed one” - the one with oil poured over his head. In the Hebrew Scriptures (the Old Testament) the anointed one was the king.

Political cages are getting rattled again with this term. Over against the A-listers of Luke 2:1 we have the proclamation of the birth of a new world leader. Move over Caesar Augustus, Governor Quirinius and Herod the Great – in those days there was a proclamation of a new King.

Theologically speaking, if the proclamation of a new King is good news then there must be another king who is to be cast out, and another kingdom that is to be cast down. That is not merely the kingdom of Caesar or Herod. It is the kingdom of Satan.

“If I drive out demons by the finger of God, then the kingdom of God has come upon you.” (Luke 11:20)

LORD

This does not just mean He is a really important person and we need to honour and respect and obey Him. This term is a nuclear bomb, both politically and theologically.

Politically, Caesar takes another hit. The Greek word for ‘Lord’ is kurios. At public events throughout the Roman empire, the attendees would have to say kaiser kurios (“Caesar is Lord”).

“Sorry, Caesar. Jesus is Lord, which means you’re not.”

Theologically this is an earth-shattering proclamation. The Hebrews did not say the name of God (Yahweh) for fear of unintentionally breaking the third commandement. Instead they used the Hebrew word Adonai. When the Hebrew Scriptures were translated into Greek, that word Adonai became the Greek word kurios. Kurios was the word that referred to the Lord God.

When the angel told the shepherds that the baby born is the Lord, he was making an incredible proclamation.

As Dietrich Bonhoeffer put it, “God is in the manger.”

Do not ever lose the wonder of that.

No other address or proclamation we hear any day will come close to this one.

Shepherds occupied a low position in society, pretty much at the bottom of the ladder. But God comes down the ladder to meet us, not vice versa. That is what the Incarnation is about.

It is not enough to just hear the good news and think, “Well, isn’t that nice.” Once you’ve heard the Gospel, life can never be the same because there is a decision to be made. You can stay with your sheep or you can go to the King.

But once you encounter Jesus, you still have to go back to work just like the shepherds did. However, now they’ve got a new song and they are not the same. They told others and said, “Everything we have seen is just as we were told.”

I’ve followed Jesus for 28 years. Everything about Him is just as it says. He does not disappoint. He does not leave one hungry and looking for life anywhere else.

Ponder

What other things present themselves to you as “saviour”?

What tries to be “king” of your world and holds rule over you?

Consider again the wonder of the Incarnation. The Word became flesh and dwelt among us (John 1:14). God was in the manger.

Hear the angel voices: Jesus is Saviour, King and Lord. That’s good news.

And don’t miss the “to you” in Luke 2:11.