Joy in Christ
Notes
Transcript
Sermon Tone Analysis
A
D
F
J
S
Emotion
A
C
T
Language
O
C
E
A
E
Social
Text:
Text:
In the same region there were some shepherds staying out in the fields and keeping watch over their flock by night.
And an angel of the Lord stood before them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them; and they were terribly frightened.
But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid; for behold, I bring you good news of great joy which will be for all the people.
For today in the city of David there has been born for you a Savior, who is Christ the Lord.
“And this will be the sign for you: you will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.”
And suddenly there appeared with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying,
“Glory to God in the highest,
And on earth peace among men with whom He is pleased.”
And it happened that when the angels had gone away from them into heaven, the shepherds began saying to one another, “Let us go to Bethlehem then, and see this thing that has happened which the Lord has made known to us.”
So they went in a hurry and found their way to Mary and Joseph, and the baby lying in the manger.
And when they had seen this, they made known the statement which had been told them about this Child.
And all who heard it marveled at the things which were told them by the shepherds.
But Mary was treasuring all these things, pondering them in her heart.
And the shepherds went back, glorifying and praising God for all that they had heard and seen, just as was told them.
Sermon Title:
Sermon Title:
Joy in Christ
Thesis:
Thesis:
If you seek Jesus, you will find the greatest of joys in Him.
Introduction:
Introduction:
(Insert Introduction Statements, Illustration)
- Brief Explanation of Text
Problem to be addressed
Solution/Restate Thesis
Point I:
Point I:
In the same region there were some shepherds staying out in the fields and keeping watch over their flock by night.
And an angel of the Lord stood before them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them; and they were terribly frightened.
The sheep outside Bethlehem were used for temple sacrifices in Jerusalem, and the shepherds would have had to be awake at night, protecting the sheep from predators.
They did this year round - not just n the Spring as some would have you believe, but all year - so we can’t deduce from this what time of year Jesus was actually born.
Society often looks upon shepherds as lower class - because they smell, they often are not wealthy, often times they would hire themselves out to supplement their income.
Scripture has a very positive view of Shepherds. In fact, the point that shepherds - society’s lower class - were the first to hear of Christ’s arrival, is a sort of flip flop from what one would expect, the angel did not appear to the religious elite, the rulers, the wealthy, but to shepherds.
This shows us God’s heart for the shepherd, the lowly, the social outcasts… And again, Scripture has a higher view of such people than society would typically choose to view them.
God is depicted as a Shepherd (Psalm 23)
King David was taken from the life of a shepherd to that of a warrior, then a king (1 Samuel 16-17)
Jesus refers to Himself as the Good Shepherd (John 10:11)
So these men are lower class, but God sympathizes with them, and so He sends an angel to them, and they’re “Terribly Frightened.”
εφοβηθησαν φοβον μεγαν - ephobothesan phobon megan - “intensely fearsome fear”.
Why wouldn’t they be? The passage does not tell us the angel appeared as a man, but as an angel.
Angels are scary looking things when we see them as they are. Eyes everywhere, 4-6 wings, some have 4 different faces… that shows up when you’re working the night shift, you don’t get scared, you’ve had a very intense life!
Not only the angel, but the glory of the Lord is shining all around them - which is what John the Baptist’s dad, Zechariah, had mentioned earlier when he said - both literally and metaphorically speaking -
Luke 1:78-79 “Because of the tender mercy of our God, With which the Sunrise from on high will visit us, TO SHINE UPON THOSE WHO SIT IN DARKNESS AND THE SHADOW OF DEATH, To direct our feet into the way of peace.””
but all that light, out of nowhere, plus a… curious looking heavenly being now talking to them, they’ve got to be about ready to jump out of their skin, so the angel says to them this:
But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid; for behold, I bring you good news of great joy which will be for all the people.
For today in the city of David there has been born for you a Savior, who is Christ the Lord.
“And this will be the sign for you: you will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.”
Do not be afraid! This is what the angel told Zechariah (Luke 1:12-13) and what the angel had said to Mary (Luke 1:29-30).
Don’t be afraid, because .. the angel brings good news of GREAT JOY...
The Good News is evangelizo in the Greek, it is used in the Septuagint of Isaiah which refers to God’s Good News of Salvation!
How lovely on the mountains
Are the feet of him who proclaims good news,
Who announces peace
And proclaims good news of good things,
Who announces salvation,
And says to Zion, “Your God reigns!”
The good news is that of “great joy” or (Gr.) charan megalen - intense joy.
The Greatest Joy. For ALL PEOPLE.
It is a joy available for Jew and Gentile alike!
This is the fulfillment of all God has been working towards since He told Abraham, Genesis 12:3 “...And in you all the families of the earth will be blessed.””
“For today in the city of David there has been born for you a Savior, who is Christ the Lord.”
David had a few cities that were called this, Bethlehem was the first - it was the city he had come from, but there was also Ziklag, which had been given to him by a Philistine King named Achish, and there was also Jerusalem, which is also called Zion.
That’s why, when the Wise Men show up in Matthew, Herod has to gather the priests and Scribes and zero in on where the Messiah was to be born, and they end up quoting specifically, Micah 5:2 ““But as for you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, Too little to be among the clans of Judah, From you One will go forth for Me to be ruler in Israel. His goings forth are from everlasting, From the ancient days.””
That’s the original city of David, where the Messiah was going to show up - most people would think it would be Jerusalem, if they just went off the idea of it being the “city of David” because that’s where David established his kingdom.
Makes sense, if a ruler was gong to pick up where David left off, as so many believed the Messiah would do, he wouldn’t come from some small town, He’d start out at the center of the kingdom.
That’s not what God does, though, He begins where He says He’d begin, in Bethlehem.
And in this city, is the “Christos”, the “Meshiach” (in Hebrew), the Lord. The Savior.
His parents will name Him Yeshua, or “Jesus” is what we called Him, because that’s what the angel told them to name Him: Matthew 1:21 ““And she will bear a Son; and you shall call His name Jesus, for He will save His people from their sins.””
And the sign for the shepherds, how they’ll know who He is, is they’ll find the baby laying in a feeding trough, a manger.
Now remember, Bethlehem is pretty crowded because of a census the Romans were taking, David had a lot of descendents, there was no room for the family to stay in the local Inn, and there was likely only 1 Inn because Bethlehem was a small town - maybe 200 people lived there year round at this point...
Being shepherds from the area, they’d likely know all the local barns and places where people fed their animals, so it wouldn’t take them long to find the one place in town where there was a baby in a feeding trough.
As one commentator said, “Instead of a heaven-sent warrior on horseback, ready to annihilate the Romans, the Savior-Messiah-Lord enters the human stage as an infant gurgling in an animal feeder.”
Isn’t it God’s sense of humor, that the first people He’d send to find the Great Shepherd who would seek and save the lost, were shepherds themselves?
He didn’t come like they may have thought, but if the shepherds seek Him out, they will have the greatest of joys in Him.
Point II:
Point II:
And suddenly there appeared with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying,
“Glory to God in the highest,
And on earth peace among men with whom He is pleased.”
Out of nowhere, what must have seemed like an endless supply of angels began to praise God with the angel who was speaking to them.
The word for “Multitude” is the Greek “plethos” - it’s where we get the word “plethora” - and it literally means the whole place was filled with a large number of the heavenly host.
In other words, all of heaven is packed full now, and they are praising God and saying - they are not singing - they are saying, the word for praise is “anounton” which means they are speaking of His excellence.
They are declaring the goodness of God! They are not singing, they are proclaiming a truth, they are stating a matter of fact.
It is not subjective when they say “Glory to God in the highest” as if the glory has a choice, it is HIS GLORY, ALL glory belongs to Him!
It does not mean they are giving Him something He needs, or does not have, they are proclaiming the wondrous glory He possesses forever.
The phrase they say, “Glory to God in the Highest” has been taken in the Latin phrase “Gloria in Excelsis Deo” which we hear in some Christmas Carols like “Come All Ye Faithful”.
Subpoint A.
Subpoint B.
And it happened that when the angels had gone away from them into heaven, the shepherds began saying to one another, “Let us go to Bethlehem then, and see this thing that has happened which the Lord has made known to us.”
So they went in a hurry and found their way to Mary and Joseph, and the baby lying in the manger.
Explain Text
Subpoint A.
Subpoint B.
Point III:
Point III:
And when they had seen this, they made known the statement which had been told them about this Child.
And all who heard it marveled at the things which were told them by the shepherds.
Explain Text
Subpoint A.
Subpoint B.
But Mary was treasuring all these things, pondering them in her heart.
And the shepherds went back, glorifying and praising God for all that they had heard and seen, just as was told them.
Explain Text
Subpoint A.
Subpoint B.
Conclusion:
Conclusion:
- Call Back to Introduction
Restate Thesis
Solution and Call To Action
Closing Prayer