The Joy of Advent: Joy to the World, the Lord has
Come!
Luke 2:9-12
Introduction: One of the songs we sing at Christmas
time is, “Joy to the World, the Lord has
come!” Yet when we see the pressures, the frantic shopping, and the focus
on parties, gifts and giving, is “joy” really what you think about at
Christmas? I read this week a story of a
mother wearily dragging her young child through a department store, shopping,
and the child paused at a nativity display. The mother said, “Let’s go, we’re
late!” The child asked, “Momma, can’t I look at Jesus for a minute?” The tired
mother pulled her along, “We don’t have time to look at Jesus!” Joy to the world? Is this what Christmas has
become for us?
Christmas
celebrates a critical moment in human history: God entered our story, taking on
himself a human nature He entered into this fallen world, knowing that his path
would lead to Calvary. We should
be joyful, if we have trusted in that sacrifice, because it means that by His
grace, through faith, we have been reconciled to God: Heaven is ours! We’ve been led for three weeks now by Dr. Dan
Bates in one of the adult classes in a study of heaven. We have so much to
rejoice about! Can you see it on the
faces around you? What about in the
mirror? Some of us have trouble showing the joy in our hearts in our
countenance. C.H. Spurgeon said:
“When you speak of Heaven let your face light
up, let it be irradiated with a heavenly gleam, let your eyes shine with
reflected glory. But when you speak of Hell—well, then your ordinary face will
do.”
Heaven is ours because Christmas is not just a story—it
is history. God concerned himself with the human condition and stepped onto the
stage of human history. Billy Graham said,
“Christmas is not a myth, not a tradition,
not a dream. It is a glorious reality. It is a time of joy. Bethlehem’s
manger crib became the link that bound a lost world to a loving God. From that
manger came a man who… brought us into a new relationship with our creator. Christmas
means that God is interested in the affairs of people; that God loves us so
much that He was willing to give His Son.”
That
is reason for joy. Real joy,
the joy of the Lord, springs from a heart that has been reconciled with
God. We’ve considered this month the “Hope
of Advent” and were reminded that the first coming of Jesus
revealed God’s grace and motivates us to live faithfully in the sure hope of
His return. We’ve looked at the “Peace of Advent” and were reminded that the
Son entered this broken world, taking
upon himself a human nature in order to give his life so that we could
experience the true peace, the Shalom, for
which we were created. Today we
remember that Christmas is reason for
joy! Not just the presents and the get togethers, and the dinners and decorations.
Those are nice, they are a blessing, but the heart of Christmas is the good
news that “Unto you a Savior is born this
day in the city of David a Savior—Christ the Lord…”
From the Old
Testament times the messianic hope anticipated a time of rejoicing would be
associated with the coming of Messiah. In Isaiah 9:2,3 we read,
“The people who walked in darkness have seen a great
light; those who dwelt in a land of deep darkness, on them has light shined. 3 You have multiplied the nation; you
have increased its joy; they rejoice before you as with joy at the harvest,
as they are glad when they divide the spoil.”
The
magi in Matthew’s gospel certainly felt joy when the star they saw in the east
led them to Him. We read in Matthew
2:9-10 “And behold, the star that they had seen when it rose went before them
until it came to rest over the place where the child was. 10 When they saw the star, they
rejoiced exceedingly with great joy.” The God who is, led them to the
Promised One, the Messiah of the Jews and Savior of the World. They had reason
to rejoice! And so do we!
In Luke,
when the pregnant Mary came for the first time into the presence of her cousin
Elizabeth who was also expecting, the yet unborn John the Baptist responded
with joy, in Luke 1:44 Elizabeth says “For behold, when the sound of your greeting came to my ears, the baby
in my womb leaped for joy.” As we focus on the Joy of Advent, I want to look again
at a familiar passage, focusing on the angel’s announcement to the shepherds in
Luke 2:9-12,
“And an angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the
glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were filled with fear. 10 And the angel said to them,
"Fear not, for behold, I bring you good news of a great joy that will be
for all the people. 11 For
unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the
Lord. 12 And this will be a
sign for you: you will find a baby wrapped in swaddling cloths and lying in a
manger."
The Big Idea: Advent is cause
for joy to all who believe the good news: God sent his Son who revealed His
glory and provided salvation by giving himself for us.
I.
Advent is cause for joy because it is a revelation of the glory of God (v.9). “And an angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord
shone around them, and they were filled with fear.”
Notice that the message came to them, to
a group of shepherds watching over their flocks on a Bethlehem hillside. What
an awesome moment that must have been! Common shepherds, out in the fields,
watching over their sheep. They were doing their job, they weren’t in a church
or a synagogue, they weren’t praying (at least as far as we know). But God met them where they were and revealed
Himself to them.
That’s the first lesson to take from this story: If our eyes are open to
the truth, we’ll see that He meets us in the course of life. Times of retreat
are helpful when we can withdraw from the busyness of life and seek God. It’s
good, yes, essential, that we gather together for worship and celebrate Jesus.
But it is also true that there is no secular/sacred dichotomy for a Christ
follower. God is interested in every aspect of our lives. Even our work is
worship if we do it for Him. He meets us where we are, living as broken people
in a broken world, and He picks us up, dusts us off, and walks with us on the
way.
God sends this angel to announce a
glorious message that the Jewish people had been anticipating for centuries. It
was an awesome revelation of the glory of God…
Incredibly,
it was a revelation through a heavenly messenger, an angel of the Lord. Several humans have had the opportunity to
see and hear an angel in the gospel accounts. After centuries of apparent
silence, at this point in history, as the fullness of time approached, an angel
had spoken to Zachariah, to Mary, to Joseph, announcing that the time was at
hand, and now to a group of Shepherds to news that He was born.
“The Glory of the Lord shone around them…”
As though heaven itself cracked the door open for a moment, the light of
heaven, God’s glory, flooded all around them. The brilliance of the glory of
God is something the Jews understood from Old Testament times. Moses got a glimpse of it as God hid him in
the cleft of a rock and passed by in his radiant glory. The Jews in the
wilderness had a hint of it as they saw the Pillar of Fire in the wilderness
leading them on the way and awesome presence of God shaking Mount Sinai and
shining in the Tabernacle. It spoke to His transcendence and His holiness. That
same glory shone down on these shepherds on a hillside outside Bethlehem. Christmas
reveals God’s glory. We read in John 1:14,
And
the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as
of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth.
Notice
the response of the shepherds to this revelation from heaven: they were filled
with fear! This was probably not just
the godly reverence of knowing they were in the presence of holiness, a visitor
from heaven. They were probably confused, troubled and frightened by what was
happening! But their confusion would soon be transformed into joy. The God who
is has spoken. And Advent is cause for
joy to all who believe the good news that God sent his Son as He had promised,
revealing His glory and providing salvation by giving himself for us.
II. Advent is cause for joy since the good news is
for all people (v. 10). “And
the angel said to them, ‘Fear not, for behold, I bring you good news of a great
joy that will be for all the people.’”
They were terrified, and what did the angel
say? “Fear not…” That is often the
word of the Lord to his people when he is revealing himself. We respond with
“fear” I think because we recognize our weakness in the light of his power. Our
sinfulness is exposed in the light of his holiness. But the admonition “fear
not” in itself is good news. It reminds us as Billy Graham said, that God is
interested in us, that He loves us so much that He did not send His Son to bear
a sword, but to bear a cross.
Then the angel goes on to say, “…I bring you good news of a great joy that
will be for all the people.” That offer of salvation in Christ is
extended to all people: a universal call to turn from your sin and rebellion
and turn to Jesus for life. Jesus came to provide the one and only way for
sinners to be reconciled to God. That
might sound like an exclusive message,
after all we read in John 14:6 “I am the
way, the truth and the life, no one comes to the Father but by me…” and
Acts 4:12, “There is no other name under
heaven given among men by which we must be saved…” Exclusive, yes, but in another sense it is an
amazingly inclusive message in its
context. The barriers were gone: rich or poor, male or female, Jew or Gentile,
the Lamb came to take away the sins of the world and to offer life to
all who turn to Him in faith without racial or ethnic distinction. That is
cause for rejoicing! Advent is cause for joy to all who believe the good news
that God sent his Son, revealing His glory and providing salvation for all who
will believe, by humbly giving himself for us.
III. Advent is cause for joy since it celebrates
the birth of the promised Savior and Lord (v.11). “For unto you is born this day in the city of
David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord.”
Isaiah had said 700 years earlier, “Unto us a child is born, unto us
a Son is given…” Now the angel
speaks and says onto you is born a Savior. The word of the prophet was not only for the
leaders and the powerful and the influential, it was even for these shepherds,
and it is God’s word for you and me. He came for us, to save us.
“…in the
city of David…” just as the prophet had said. So He is born according to promise, in
fulfillment of Scripture. In perfect detail, God arranged history to compel
Joseph and Mary to travel to Bethlehem. We looked last week at Micah 5:2 which
says, “But you, O Bethlehem Ephrathah,
who are too little to be among the clans of Judah, from you shall come forth
for me one who is to be ruler in Israel, whose origin is from of old, from
ancient days…” They had been in Nazareth, but that wouldn’t do. God
providentially guided circumstances rather than giving a direct revelation to
get them where they needed to be for His plan to unfold on schedule. By the way
do you ever struggle discerning the will of God? Search the word, His will will
never conflict what Has been written. Seek godly counsel, He has designed us to
be part of a community of faith. God will use those to help give direction. But
don’t ignore the circumstances through which you are passing. He is Lord of
history.
The angel gives some information about this
coming one, He is “…a Savior, Christ, the
Lord.” He is Savior, Messiah
(Christ), and Lord. Only the unfolding of His life, his teaching, and his death
and resurrection would reveal the full meaning that God intended for each of
those terms. This would prove to be the greatest “Good News” that humans had
ever received. Advent is cause for joy to all who believe the good
news that God sent his Son, revealing His glory and providing salvation for all
who would turn to him in faith. He gave himself for us.
IV. Advent is cause for joy since it revealed His
willingness to humble himself for us (v.12). “And this will be a sign for you: you will find a baby wrapped in swaddling
cloths and lying in a manger."
His
humble birth was a sign. First, He came as a human baby. Think about how
humbling that was! Couldn’t He at least
have created a second Adam as an adult human out of the dust of the earth? Of
course he could have, but He didn’t.
Mary was with child of the Holy Spirit. He was born. And as a tiny
helpless baby He depended on her care and feeding and the protection of Joseph.
This was the creator of the Universe and yet He took the form of a servant and
was made in the likeness of men!
And remember
the circumstances that surrounded His human birth: Not to the castle of a king,
not in wealth or even with the recognition of the religious leadership, but
with this sign: in humility, humbly wrapped in rags and laying in the feeding
bin of an animal. Paul said to the Philippians that “He emptied himself, [by] taking
the form of a servant…” Isaiah had prophesied of the coming of a
servant-king, a suffering servant, and it began in his incarnation.
Notice that it was a sign given to these
shepherds, men who were looked down upon for their failure to “keep kosher,”
since they couldn’t regularly get into the city for worship, but who also did
the essential work of caring for the animals that were destined for sacrifice
in the temple. They were watching over these sacrificial lambs who were destined
for temple sacrifice [not that they could take away sin]. They were shadows and
types, pointing forward to a perfect sacrifice that could finally take away
sin. The time has come: get down to Bethlehem and see the Lamb of God who takes
away the sin of the world.” That is Good News. They believed, and they
rejoiced!
What is God
saying to me in this passage?
Advent is cause for joy to all who believe the good news that God sent his Son
as He had promised, revealing His glory and providing salvation by humbly
giving himself for us.
What would God have me to do in
response to this passage? Every year,
as we look back during this season on the year past, we’ve faced some crises as
an extended church family. This has been no exception. Mourning for some,
praying in the midst of uncertainty for others, struggles of faith in the midst
of decision and financial uncertainty for several, health issues, our prayer
list is full of them. None of these struggles can rob our joy in the truth, the
good news, that God is good (all the time), and that He loves us so much that
He sent His Son into the world, to humbly give himself for us. That is cause
for joy! We have to make time to look at Jesus, we have seen His glory!
Joy
to the Word, because the Lord has come
and He is coming again! So rejoice in the Lord always! Again I will say it,
rejoice! AMEN.
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