Entrusted With The Greatest News

I want you to think of the worst news you have ever received. This could be personal news or news you heard or read or saw on the news. It could be something like 9/11. It could be a phone call that changed your life.

And if you’re thinking about what the worst news you’ve heard was, ask yourself some questions: How did it affect you? What did you feel when you heard it? What did you do in response to it? How were you changed as a result of it?

I think for me, it was September 11. Those of us who were alive for that were never the same afterward. And I think for those of us who were just coming of age, we were young adults when we saw the towers fall, it changed how we saw the future. Ever since then, we’ve been sort of waiting for the other shoe to fall, so to speak.

What is the worst news you have ever received? How did it affect you? What did you feel when you heard it? What did you do in response to it? How were you changed as a result of it?

News changes us. Whether bad or good, when the news is big, and life-altering, and world-changing, we too are altered — for better or for worse.

In fact, in this these 20 verses, there are five references to news scattered throughout the text — whether it’s the news proclaimed to the shepherds, or the shepherds passing on the news, or responding to the news. This tells us that the Christmas season is all about life-altering, world-changing news.

For the Christmas message is nothing less than this: God has come to us. God has come. Heaven and earth have met, on earth. How could we ever be the same after news like that?

I invite you to go on a journey with me this morning through this text and see with me how the shepherds heard, responded to, shared, and were changed by the news on that first Christmas.

[SLIDE: THE SHEPHERDS HEAR THE NEWS]

The shepherds hear the news

Notice with me, first, the shepherds hear the news. In verses, 1-7, the news happens.

Luke 2:1–7 ESV

In those days a decree went out from Caesar Augustus that all the world should be registered. This was the first registration when Quirinius was governor of Syria. And all went to be registered, each to his own town. And Joseph also went up from Galilee, from the town of Nazareth, to Judea, to the city of David, which is called Bethlehem, because he was of the house and lineage of David, to be registered with Mary, his betrothed, who was with child. And while they were there, the time came for her to give birth. And she gave birth to her firstborn son and wrapped him in swaddling cloths and laid him in a manger, because there was no place for them in the inn.

This is the Christmas story that most of us know. If nonbelievers know nothing else whatsoever about Christianity, they usually know this.

God has come to us.

Heaven and earth have met, on earth.

The eternal, all-wise, all-powerful, all-knowing, everywhere-present God — the Creator and Sustainer of the universe — the holy and righteous Judge of all the earth — He has come to earth as a baby, and now that same God lies in a feeding trough, sleeping, wrapped in swaddling clothes. Without any loss of His divinity, without any lessening of His divine powers, the King of kings and Lord of lords lies, asleep, in a feeding trough — even though as He sleeps there, He sustains the entire universe by His power.

That is earth-shattering news. And who are the first recipients of this news? Surely the Emperor — Caesar Augustus, the ruler of Rome and the ruler of the known world. No? Then surely King Herod, the appointed king of Judea? No? Then surely Jewish high priest and his house!

But no, the news was first announced to shepherds. Shepherds were dirty. Shepherds were members of the lowest social class. Shepherds were viewed as robbers at worst, untrustworthy at best. “God chose what is foolish in the world to shame the wise; God chose what is weak in the world to shame the strong; God chose what is low and despised in the world, even things that are not, to bring to nothing things that are, so that no human being might boast in the presence of God” (1Cor. 1:27-29 ESV).

How were the shepherds told the news? They’re out in the field, where they lived with their sheep. They’re keeping watch over the flock. It’s nighttime. Darkness except for whatever light the fire they have built provides them with. When suddenly the darkness of the night gives way to the brightness and glory of the God of Israel. Verse 9, “And an angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were filled with great fear” (Luke 2: 9 ESV).

The shepherds are like, “You have our attention. What is this about? You’re kind of freaking us out here. We may be shepherds, but we are Israelites and we know that no man can see God in all His glory and still go on living.”

But they’re told: “Fear not, for behold” — and here is the first references to the news, so mark it down or highlight it or underline it — “fear not, for behold, I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people” — not just for the elite government in Rome, not merely for the the members of the puppet king Herod, not only for the Sanhedrin — the ruling Jewish council — not just for the high priest — not first for any of them — this news came first to shepherds so that it would be clear that this great news is indeed for all the people.

“For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord.” If you’re an Israelite, all kinds of bells and whistles are going off here.

In the city of King David — the prophecies always said the Messiah would come from David’s line, and one prophecy said that Messiah would be born in David’s home town of Bethlehem.

A Savior — The Roman Emperors called themselves Savior. They were known to call themselves “the Savior of the world.” In the OT Scriptures, God was called Savior. He had saved Israel from Egyptian captivity. He had saved them countless times through their history from foreign invaders. And sometimes because of their sin, He had not saved them. But now a baby has been born in the city of David to parents from the line of David and the angels are calling Him a Savior.

Again, the Savior is “Christ, the Lord” — this child is the anointed one, the Messiah, which is what the word “Christ” means. All of this points to one thing and one thing only: this child is the Promised One who would rescue Israel and the world from the devastating effects of sin.

After this newscast, the angel of the Lord is joined by a host of angels that they couldn’t have counted if they had tried. And they’re singing — worshiping — “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace among those with whom he is pleased” (Luke 2:14) — because the good news is not just that a Savior has been born. Do you know what the word Savior really means? It means rescuer. The good news is that Christ Jesus was born our Savior in order to be our rescuer.

That the Messiah is called Savior implies that we have a need for a Savior. Do you sense deep within your being that you need a Savior? Or do you wonder, secretly of course because you would never tell anyone this — do you wonder what all this talk of a Savior is all about because, after all, you feel pretty good about yourself as you are?

Let me tell you that that statement alone tells me that you are unsaved and that right you cannot receive salvation because you do not have an awareness that you need it.

But if you feel within you the need for salvation, then Christ came for you. He came to be your Savior. He came to bring forgiveness of since, reconciliation with God, eternal life, peace with God and flowing from that, peace with one another. Peace between nations. At this time of year, everyone seizes upon the promises of Christmas. “Peace on earth! Why can’t we have peace on earth?” We can. But not without Jesus, the Prince of Peace.

This is the news the shepherds hear. Do you hear the news? Every Sunday morning, the good news of the gospel is preached here. Are you tuning it out? Are you distracted from it? Or are you hearing it?

The shepherds hear the news.

[SLIDE: THE SHEPHERDS RESPOND]

The shepherds respond to the news

Next, the shepherds respond to the news. The shepherds respond to the news.

How did the shepherds respond to the news? The first thing they did is they converse with one another. And they’re all in agreement. Verse 15: “When the angels went away from them into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, ‘Let us go over to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened” — and here’s the second reference to the news, so mark it down or highlight or underline it --”which the Lord has made known to us” (Luke 2:15 ESV).

Think about this for a minute. We have no way of knowing anything about God and sin and salvation if God had not told us. Today, that translates to our Bibles. If you’re have your Bible open, hold it up for me. If God had not inspired authors to write His words, had He not breathed His words onto those pages, we would be lost in sin and consigned to an eternity in hell away from God. When’s the last time you thanked God for your Bible — for telling us about Himself? He didn’t have to do that.

So the first way the shepherds respond to the good news is they converse with one another. The second is that they agree with one another to go and see this child, this Savior who is Christ the Lord. After all, the angels gave them a sign as to how they could find Him. “And this will be a sign for you: you will find a baby wrapped in swaddling clothes and lying in a manger” (Luke 2:12 ESV). “So they went with haste and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby lying in a manger” (Luke 2:16 ESV).

The shepherds hear the news. They respond to the news. Do you respond to the good news of the gospel? You hear it every Sunday morning. And the thing about the good news of the gospel is this: you are always being changed by it. You are either being softened and sanctified by it, or you are being hardened by it and are becoming resistant to it. The shepherds respond to the news.

[SLIDE: THE SHEPHERDS SHARE]

The shepherds share the news

Next, the shepherds share the news. They share the news. Verse 17: “And when they saw it” — and this is going to be now the third reference to the news and notice that now the emphasis is not on how they have received the news, the emphasis is on how they are now sharing the news they’ve received — “they made known the saying that had been told them concerning this child.”

There are things we have no problem talking about. We’ll talk about politics. We’ll talk about our kids or grandkids. We’ll talk about the sermon. We’ll talk about the economy, how expensive everything is. We’ll talk about our spouses, complaining about them. We’ll talk about our jobs and our bosses.

But there is one thing we refuse to talk about, and that is the gospel, the good news.

Let’s talk about why that. Just as a spoiler alert, we’re going to talk about two reasons why we don’t share our faith. The first is going to be mildly convicting; the second one is going to be a bit more painful.

First, the milder one. Why do we not share our faith? I read an article recently that listed three reasons why Christians don’t share their faith.

One reason is that we’re just too busy; we forget.

[SLIDE: AFRAID TO SHARE OUR FAITH]

Afraid to share our faith

15% of Americans are afraid of ghosts

30% of Americans are afraid of spiders

31% of Americans are afraid of failure

[https://www.brnow.org/opinions/voices-opinion/3-reasons-christians-stay-silent-about-their-faith, accessed Dec. 9, 2023]

Another reason is that we’re afraid. What are we afraid of? Three things, according to this study by Lifeway. The first one is fear of failure. This fear of failure is an epidemic. Did you know more people are afraid of failure than of spiders? 30% of Americans are afraid of spiders. 15% of Americans are afraid of ghosts. 31% of American are afraid of failure. [https://www.brnow.org/opinions/voices-opinion/3-reasons-christians-stay-silent-about-their-faith, accessed Dec. 9, 2023]

We fear failure because there’s a lot to lose in sharing our faith. The person might not talk to us again. If this is someone we’re close to, there’s even more at stake. We don’t want to permanently offend our best friends or our parents if they’re lost. We don’t want to lose the relationship. That’s understandable.

Sometimes we’re afraid of not knowing enough. We might not be able to answer their questions. We’re afraid of saying the wrong thing. In both of these things, we forget that we serve a God who is able to override our mistakes.

But here’s the thing I’m convinced most Christians are most afraid of in sharing their faith. We’re afraid of how we will look. Will we look intolerant? Will they think we’re narrow-minded? We think if we start talking about Jesus everyone around us will cringe, they’ll conclude that we are hopelessly bigoted, and walk away.

But do you know what the assumption we’re making there is? The assumption is that they’re not open to hearing about Christ. That’s not true! There was a recent study that found that non-Christian Americans are curious. Unbelieving Americans are curious. 51% of those surveyed said, Yes, I would like to know why faith is so important to some people. [Ibid.]

So it seems to me that if anyone is cringing about the gospel message, it’s not them; it’s us. We’re more afraid of how we will look in talking about it, than they are of hearing about it.

Now for the other reason. This is the one that will be a little harder to hear, but trust me, I am right there with you.

How many of you remember the day you got engaged to the person you’re married to?

How many of you remember the person you told first?

Now, is there anybody here who got engaged but you said, “You know, I don’t want to tell anybody about this. What will they think? What will they say? How will I say it?

Do you see what my point is? When there is news that we really cherish, something we’re really excited about, we don’t need any incentive to tell others about it…do we?

Now, how many of you would be honest and say, “Yeah, I don’t really feel that excited all the time about sharing my faith?”

Now, one reason the shepherds had no problem with sharing what they had been told is that they had just had an amazing experience of God and it was still fresh in their minds.

And when we’re brand new Christians, when we’re on fire for God, this isn’t really a problem for us. We’ve been changed by God. And it’s fresh and new and we want to tell others what God has done in us and we want them to know God can do the same for them.

But as time passes, those intense feelings wane — and let me just say, that is normal. We’re not intended to live on the mountaintop all the time. We have to understand that this is just what happens. That’s not to excuse our lack of sharing our faith; but it does explain why we don’t share our faith. So what we need are seasons of personal revival from God. I am here to tell you that if you ask Him for that, He will give it. Even King David said, “Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within me…restore to me the joy of your salvation, and uphold me with a willing spirit” (Psalm 51:10,12 ESV).

Make that your prayer. Lord, restore unto me the joy of your salvation. Do a new work within me. Cause me to cherish your good news of salvation once again and lead me in your love to share it with others.

The shepherds hear, respond to, and share the news. Lastly, they return, changed by the news.

The shepherds return, changed by the news

The shepherds return, praising God. That was their mission.

We might think the shepherds returning after all of this is anti-climactic. No mission trip? Why not go tell the world?

Two reasons. Number one, the time for that will come, but it isn’t here yet.

And number two, God’s will for most of us is to be a missionary right where God has planted us. Because, make no mistake, these shepherds are missionaries now. What are they doing as they go back? “And the shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all they had heard and seen as it had been told them.” Is that not a form of sharing the message? Of the most effective sort?

That was the case for a man who Jesus cast a demon out of. This was the man who was indwelt by the demon named Legion. “Legion, for we are many.” With all His authority and power as Son of God, Jesus ordered the demons out of this man and into a herd of pigs. The man was forever changed. He begged Jesus, Let me follow you. Do you know what Jesus said? “No.” Jesus said no. But that didn’t mean Jesus didn’t have a purpose for the man. “Go home to your friends and tell them how much the Lord has done for you, and how he has had mercy on you.” We’re told in the next verse that “he went away and began to proclaim in the Decapolis how much Jesus had done for him, and everyone marveled” (Mark 5:19,20 ESV).

Now, we are going back to Hungary this summer. There’ll be more information about that soon and we’ll have an interest meeting in January. And some of you who went last year will be called to go again. Some of you who didn’t go last year will be called to go again.

But we have this mistaken notion that missionaries are some special class of Christians, and that missions is always going overseas. Many are called to go, sometimes to dangerous places. They have our respect, and we should love and support them.

Now, some of us have a problem with outreach. I don’t know what it is exactly. But we need to search our hearts. We need to realize that none of us would be Christians today, none of us would even be in this church this morning, had it not been for outreach and evangelism and missions.

Do they deserve it? Of course they don’t. Do you? Did we deserve grace? Isn’t the very definition of grace that grace is unearned and undeserved? Church, beware of self-righteousness. Your heart can be infested with it while you are blind to it. God invites us into the joy of serving those less fortunate.

[RETURN TO TITLE SLIDE]

Call for response

[INCREASE TONE]

The shepherds were entrusted with the greatest news. The shepherds heard the news. The shepherds responded to the news. The shepherds shared the news and the shepherds went home, changed by the news. They are models for us.

So first of all, have you heard and responded to this news? “For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, which is Christ the Lord.” What did that Savior do for you? “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him shall not perish but have everlasting life.”

You’ve heard the message. You may agree with the message. You may like the message. But do you believe it with all your heart? Enough admit you’ve lived your life up to this point for yourself only? Enough to place your trust in the Savior? Enough to receive His grace and forgiveness and life? And out of that, enough to live for Him from this day forward? You must make a conscious decision to turn from sin and trust in Christ. If you do, you are born again, saved, given eternal life, forgiven of all sin, past, present and future. If you make that decision today, find me after church. Or find one of our deacons. Let us celebrate with you. Let us encourage you and help get you on the right path to living for Jesus now that you’ve been saved by Him.

For the rest of us, are we willing to entrusted with the good news?

What makes a Christian a missionary is not a plane ticket to go overseas, but a calling to live and love and minister and share the news right where you are, wherever you are.

Some of you are in the school system. That is your mission field.

Others are at home with your kids. That is your mission field.

Some of you are full-time caregivers and that is your mission field.

Some of you are in hard situations. Overwhelming, frightening, situations. So much uncertainty. Even there — especially there — you can share the love of Christ.

Wherever you are and whatever you do with your day, your job is to point to Jesus with your words and your actions. This is how you show yourself one who is entrusted with the greatest news.