The Very First Gospel Presentation -- Good Tidings of Great Joy!
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The Sovereignty of God in Action — (Vs. 1-5)
The Sovereignty of God in Action — (Vs. 1-5)
Chuck Swindoll — On the other side of the Mediterranean Sea, nearly 1,500 miles away, a man calling himself Augustus, “supreme ruler,” thought he controlled much of the known world. Luke, however, casts Caesar Gaius Octavian as a pawn of God’s providence. His order to count the people of Israel merely served to move Joseph and Mary from Nazareth to Bethlehem in order to fulfill Micah’s prophecy:
2 But thou, Beth-lehem Ephratah, Though thou be little among the thousands of Judah, Yet out of thee shall he come forth unto me that is to be ruler in Israel; Whose goings forth have been from of old, from everlasting.
The meaning of the word translated “taxed” is “to register or enter in a list” (Vincent). “It was a census, not a taxing, though taxing generally followed and was based on the census” (Robertson) — John G Butler Commentary
Also, don’t miss the fact that “Bread of Life” was about to be born in “The House of Bread.”
The Savior of the World is Born — (Vs. 6-7)
The Savior of the World is Born — (Vs. 6-7)
Salvation is Shared with the Shepherds — (Vs. 8-14)
Salvation is Shared with the Shepherds — (Vs. 8-14)
To “come upon” means to stand…not to hover as we often think of in today’s time.
“Bring” — euangelizō — means to proclaim news or to announce information. It’s the same word we get our word “Preach” from.
This verb described the actions of a messenger bearing official proclamations of the king or announcing news of military victory or the birth of a royal heir. — Chuck Swindoll
The Angels were literally the first people to Preach the Gospel of Jesus Christ!
Savior — Speaks of His Primary Responsibility — To save the people from their sins!
Christ — Speaks of His Primary Role — He is the anointed one, the Prophesied Messiah!
Lord — Speaks of His Primary Rule & Reign — He is King of Kings and Lord of Lords!
“Multitude” — plēthos — primary meaning is “fullness” speaking of a large company.
“Host” — stratia — means “army”.
The Shepherds go in Search of the Savior — (Vs. 15-16)
The Shepherds go in Search of the Savior — (Vs. 15-16)
They took the good news they had just been informed of and put their faith in action and went and found this babe they had just been told of!
And I don’t want you to miss the haste in which they went looking!
“Let us “now” go to Bethlehem and see this thing which has come to pass!
Now, now, now!
Listen friend, if God is dealing with your heart today, the time to do business with God is NOW! AMEN!
What better day to be born again than on the day that Christ was born!
Their faith led to them finding the babe just as the Angels had said!
A babe wrapped in swaddling clothes lying in a manger!
Listen, people get this idea that the Lord likes to play hide and seek or something and He can never be found.
God said in the Book of Jeremiah...
13 And ye shall seek me, and find me, when ye shall search for me with all your heart.
Listen, if you want to find God this morning, He wants to be found, Amen!
Jesus said in...
7 Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you:
8 For every one that asketh receiveth; and he that seeketh findeth; and to him that knocketh it shall be opened.
These Shepherds had one thing on their mind and that was finding Jesus and I pray that if you are here this morning and don’t know this babe we’re talking about, that you would seek for Him too!
And don’t stop seeking until you find Him!
I guarantee you that these Shepherds didn’t find this babe wrapped in swaddling clothes in the first stable they came to. I’m sure they had to check here and there but it didn’t stop them, they didn’t get tired and give up…no they sought for Him with all their hearts and then, they found Him, just like the Angels had said!
Their seeking led to their Salvation and dear friend, if you need to be saved this morning, just seek for Him and you too will find Him!
The Savior came to save and if you want to be saved He’ll save you, Amen!
The Shepherds Share the Good News of Salvation with Others — (Vs. 17-20)
The Shepherds Share the Good News of Salvation with Others — (Vs. 17-20)
“Wondered” — means to be amazed.
Mary “pondered” — means to think about seriously.
One writer said the word “ponder” literally means “to put together.”
Like pieces of a puzzle, Mary was taking all the information she was receiving and storing them up in her heart like pieces of a puzzle and with every passing year, the picture in the puzzle began to become more clear.
Truly, she had given birth to humanities greatest gift!