God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen

Introduction

As I mentioned last week, my messages this month will center around the biblical truth of some of our famous Christmas carols. This morning I would like us to sing another carol that isn’t in our hymn books. The words will be up on the screen:

God rest you merry gentlemen,

Let nothing you dismay

For Jesus Christ our Saviour

Was born upon this day

To save us all from Satan’s power,

When we were gone astray

O tidings of comfort and joy

Comfort and joy,

O tidings of comfort and joy.

Back in the 1400’s, Christmas music was primarily somber and dark; but faithful Christians began to come up with more uplifting Christmas Carols. This carol is one of the oldest English Christmas carols that we know of and it is said that nightwatchman in London used to sing this song during their rounds at night in England. Soon afterwards, Oliver Cromwell outlawed all Christmas carols and celebrations, but Christians would continue to sing the songs in secret. Eventually, all of Cromwell’s laws were repealed and this carol went on to be one of the nations favorites under Queen Victoria and is even mentioned in Charles Dicken’s A Christmas Carol.

We are going to look at the message of this first verse from Luke 2 which is one of our most well known Christmas passages.

God rest ye merry gentlemen

This first phrase of the song comes from the Angels as they greeted the Shepherd. When you read through stories like this it is helpful to put yourselves into the shoes of the characters. Imagine, you are out their watching your sheep out on a hill with a bunch of your shepherd friends. You probably lit a small fire because their is a nip in the air. The sheep are asleep so you just have to watch for predators and you might be a little on edge. All of a sudden Luke 2:10 “And the angel said unto them, Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people.”

Christmas time isn’t normally a time of fear, but it can be for some.

Fears of not having enough money to pay for presents

Fears of family drama

Fear of missing out on some experience that others are having

For some, the fear may be what is going to happen to them when they die. Christmas time marks another year gone by and the older we get the more our minds begin to fear death and what comes next.

The message of Christmas is supposed to bring rest from our fears because it is a great message. It is an amazing message. So as Christmas time rolls around we ought to be able to have great joy. How can we find Joy in the midst of the chaos and pain of our world?

For Jesus Christ our Saviour was born upon this day

Luke 2:11 “For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord.”

The answer is the same today as it was back then. Christmas reminds us of the birth of Jesus Christ. I think many of us do not take this event as seriously as we ought to. Think about what happened on that Christmas day. God took on flesh and lived among us. 2 Corinthians 8:9 “For ye know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that, though he was rich, yet for your sakes he became poor, that ye through his poverty might be rich.” Jesus Christ left the glories of heaven and gave up wealth and riches so he could come and be born. But Jesus didn’t come as a king; he wasn’t some renowned Rabbi living in a nice house with three square meals. He didn’t have servants catering to his every need.

Instead, God came and was born in a manger. God came and didn’t have a place to lay his head. When he went to Samaria, he had to beg a cup of water from a woman at the well. But the joy of Christmas is not found merely in the fact that Jesus came. It is why he came that matters most.

To save us all from Satan’s power, when we were gone astray

Luke 2:11 “For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord.”

Our hymn says Jesus came to save us all from Satan’s power. In Luke 2:11, he is called a Saviour. What does a savior do? He rescues us from danger.

Back when I was a kid, we used to go swimming at Mission beach in San Diego and I remember one year, we had boogie boards that we could ride on the waves with. If you don’t know what a boogie board is, it is kinda like a kick board you use in the pool, but larger so you can ride the waves by laying down on it. They always have a strap on them so if you fall off the board you don’t get separated from the board. One day I was ridding a wave, but I fell off and go rolled over and over again under the water. I didn’t think I was going to get back up. Those waves in Cali are huge. Now at the beach, there is this guy up in a red booth who sits there watching for people in danger. His only job is to rescue those in danger.

When Jesus came to earth, he had a purpose. His purpose was to save mankind from the danger. The song goes on to say that we were all gone astray. This is a reference back to Isaiah 53:6 “All we like sheep have gone astray; We have turned every one to his own way; And the Lord hath laid on him the iniquity of us all.” The danger we all face is that we have wandered from where we are supposed to be.

The text uses the illustration of sheep. Sheep generally wander the hillsides looking for grass to graze, but they are guided by a shepherd. He has a place for them to be to get their food and water and rest under his care, but sometimes sheep wander off. When a sheep wanders off it faces many dangers. It could fall off a sharp drop and break a leg. It could be eaten by wolves. It could get lost and never find its way back or it could drown in water as its wool is weighted down. When a sheep wanders off, it needs someone to rescue it from these dangers.

But this isn’t sheep. This is people. And according to Isa 53, it is all of us. God like the good Shepherd had a plan for mankind’s good. His law is what is best for our lives. You ever think about that truth. Why do we have laws in the first place? It is so that society can function properly and everyone can live their best lives possible. Imagine a world were there was no law saying you couldn’t steal; so everyone just takes what they want. Sounds good when its you doing the taking, but what about when its you being robbed. God established the law to show us our own sinfulness and all of us have broken that law.

Romans 3:23 “For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God;”

1 John 3:4 “Whosoever committeth sin transgresseth also the law: for sin is the transgression of the law.”

So what happens when you break the law? You get punished with fines, jail time, prison or in some cases the death penalty. There is a punishment for sin. Romans 6:23 “For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.”

So why is Christmas so important? It is because Jesus came to rescue us from Satan’s power Hebrews 2:14 “Forasmuch then as the children are partakers of flesh and blood, he also himself likewise took part of the same; that through death he might destroy him that had the power of death, that is, the devil;” Why is it that Jesus was born in a manger as a baby? Why not come as an angel or a fully formed man descending from heaven? Jesus took on human flesh and was born do that He could destroy Satan’s power over us by his death.

Jesus came to die for our sins and by His death conquered Satan’s power over us. We know longer have to face eternal death if we place our faith in Jesus Christ as our Savior. John 3:14–18 “And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of man be lifted up: That whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have eternal life. For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved. He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.”

O tidings of comfort and joy

The chorus to our songs speaks of tidings of comfort and joy. The tidings are the good news. Our bible word for that is the gospel. There is good news for those overwhelmed with fear this Christmas. There is good news for those beaten down by life, those who suffer lose, those who are worn out this Christmas. The good news is that Jesus can bring rest and joy into our lives because he can rescue us from our sins.

So Christian, here is the application. On that Christmas day, what did these faithful shepherds do? They went and they told everyone they could the good news that they had received. Luke 2:17 “And when they had seen it, they made known abroad the saying which was told them concerning this child.”

The first part of the verse says when they had seen it. It refers to the Christ child. When we truly get a glimpse of the beauty of Jesus Christ, it will stir our hearts as well. When we meditate on the amazing truths of the incarnation and when they truly get ahold of our hearts, we will go out too.

They made known abroad- another word for this is revealed. There is something that only we Christians truly know and we need to reveal it to the world. 2 Corinthians 4:3–4 “But if our gospel be hid, it is hid to them that are lost: In whom the god of this world hath blinded the minds of them which believe not, lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine unto them.” God has given us the task of revealing the purpose of Christmas to others. Matthew 5:14–16 “Ye are the light of the world. A city that is set on an hill cannot be hid. Neither do men light a candle, and put it under a bushel, but on a candlestick; and it giveth light unto all that are in the house. Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven.”

The saying- their is a specific message we have to give them. Matt 5 talks mainly about people seeing our good works and that is part of our witness to the lost, but we must also proclaim the message. The message we proclaim is the gospel, the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus Christ.

Conclusion

Christmas time is a reminder that we have good news of great joy to tell others. There is hope to offer. The gospel isn’t intended to be a message of doom and gloom. Doom and Gloom is our state without the gospel message, but now we have something to offer to the world. As we think about the Christmas story today it must stir up our hearts to be like the Shepherds on that Christmas morning.