Joy Unspeakable
Journey to the manger • Sermon • Submitted • Presented
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Transcript
Who here knows the hymn Joy to the world? Yeah I know, silly question. We all know it.
Isaac Watts wrote this hymn in 1719. Back then, most of the church only sang psalms. Painstaking work had been done in order to take the psalms and turn it into poem and song. Watts was frustrated though with the quality of music in the English church, and over only being able to use the psalms in worship service. So he set about creating hymns. This he did by translating, paraphrasing, and then running through the lens of the New Testament the psalms. Essentially, he took the psalms and brought them in the post cross portion of history. Which is where Joy to the World comes in. It’s a take from psalm 98, which calls in verse 4 for us to shout out joyfully - all the earth. Watts asked, What would the reason be? from a NT context, it’s because the Saviour of the world had come. So we got our most beloved hymn, and a staple in pretty much any Christmas service, Christmas album, and Christmas tradition.
In Luke 2:7-20, we read the account of the shepherds visiting Jesus. Talk about shouting for joy! They rejoice over what God has done! Today, I want to explore this passage in more detail, and understand how this story leads us to joy that spills over and calls us to praise God and tell others about the best news ever: Jesus Christ.
Series Intro
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.
And in the same region there were shepherds out in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night.
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.
And the angel said to them, “Fear not, for behold, I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people.
For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord.
And this will be a sign for you: you will find a baby wrapped in swaddling cloths and lying in a manger.”
And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying,
“Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace among those with whom he is pleased!”
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, which the Lord has made known to us.”
And they went with haste and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby lying in a manger.
And when they saw it, they made known the saying that had been told them concerning this child.
And all who heard it wondered at what the shepherds told them.
But Mary treasured up all these things, pondering them in her heart.
And the shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all they had heard and seen, as it had been told them.
Rejoice! Jesus has come for us all!
Today we’re going to break down this passage into three movements and look at the story of these lowly shepherd who got to be the first to experience seeing the new-born Christ. These movements leads us to rejoice in Jesus’ birth. Through this, my prayer is that we will gain new, fresh joy the flows out of us like a well-spring overflowing.
An Announcement 7-14
An Announcement 7-14
The first movement of this story can be summed up in one word: Announcement. In this section of the story God breaks through the barrier and announces with the best of heaven’s choirs that Jesus has come… to a bunch of shepherds. Not exactly the audience you’d expect, and that’s the point.
We start at verse 7 to get context: Mary and Joseph had travelled to Bethlehem for the census that had taken place. Bethlehem was crowded no doubt, and clearly they struggled to find a place to stay. While there, Luke tells us that the time for the Messiah’s birth came.
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.
Where was it they stayed? So much debate has centred around this place. Was it the lower room in a house - where the animals were kept? Was it a cave, or perhaps a very poor house? It’s hard to know for sure. We always depict the inn-keeper as this nasty toothless grouch. Probably not. keep in mind, they needed a suitable place for Mary to give birth. Some amount of privacy, and a bit of room to work. This might have been hard to come by in crowded Bethlehem. So they find themselves in a shelter for animals. What is far more important than where they stayed is why. Why did they stay there?
A theme in Luke’s gospel is emphasis on the poor and needy in Israel (NAC, Cornerstone). Christ came into humble beginnings, and his birth was proclaimed to a bunch of fringe-dwellers: the shepherds. Why? Because Jesus came for such people! Jesus came for the poor, the outcast, the lowly. He speaks like and hope to those who have none. Compare what Jesus says of himself from Isa 61:
“The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim liberty to the captives and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty those who are oppressed,
to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.”
How would our own approach change if we understood that? That our Lord went to the hurting and broken, the outcast and lowly of society?
So we receive this picture of the Saviour, born in humble estate. And then the scene switches: We’re out in the field, with the reprobates of society. Nobody liked shepherds; certainly not in Israel. They were dishonest, smelly, and unclean according to the law (NAC). They were usually out in the fields at night about March to November - certainly in time for lambing season.
It’s funny, from Mary’s perspective I’m sure it wasn’t a very silent night. But perhaps for the shepherds out in the fields in was quiet. Then suddenly, God breaks through the barrier. An angel comes to them. Not only that, but the glory of the Lord appears to them. Compare:
Then the cloud covered the tent of meeting, and the glory of the Lord filled the tabernacle.
This would have been one powerful sight indeed! It shines around them. I wonder if it felt like the sky had split in two and out come a giant kaboom of light. The shepherds were terrified. This is certainly not the only time in Scripture where an angel start off this way. Most of the time, in fact, angels start with some variation of “fear not.”
If an other-worldly being suddenly appeared with the glory of heaven surrounding them, wouldn’t you be terrified?
But their message is one of the best news ever. The angel announces:
And the angel said to them, “Fear not, for behold, I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people.
For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord.
And this will be a sign for you: you will find a baby wrapped in swaddling cloths and lying in a manger.”
This is great news for “all the people.” Probably, all the popel here means the Jews. Yet it also carries weight for us as well - this is the greatest new to the whole world! What is that news?
A Saviour - Christ - the anointed one - the One to save and rule and restore, He’s here!! Christ, the Lord. Lord here in Greek is Kyrios, which translates the Hebrew YHWH. So this is no mere lord or rulers. This is the King of Kings and Lord and Lords come down in human form!
Then a promise: Here’s a sure-fire way of knowing this is true: Go check in Bethlehem, he’s lying in a manger right now!
Truly, Jesus is the greatest, for at that moment, to celebrate the best news ever, all of the host of heaven busts out in celebration.
“Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace among those with whom he is pleased!”
Ever been a part of a church choir? I have, and we would work for a couple months to get the parts down for just that one or two performances we would do each year. How long do you think the angles waited and practiced, prepping for that one night when they sang to the shepherds?
Peace among those with whom God is pleased. The emphasis here is on God (Tyndale). Peace - or salvation - to upon all whom God chooses.
This first movement of the story is an invitation that finally, the time has come. Finally, the Saviour is here. Heralded to shepherd, this news is the spark that ignites the joy of the shepherds, and us. Jesus has come, and to us, his people, indeed there is peace, there is salvation in Him!
A Proof 15-19
A Proof 15-19
The second movement in our story could be summed up with the word: proof. Remember what the angel said in Luke 2 12
And this will be a sign for you: you will find a baby wrapped in swaddling cloths and lying in a manger.”
Now we are going to examine the shepherd’s response to that invitation.
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, which the Lord has made known to us.”
And they went with haste and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby lying in a manger.
Do you see the obedience of the shepherds in their response? “Let’s go!” We’ve got a baby to find! So they go - wether running or walking, clearly they waste no time in obeying the divine directive. And they found the proof.
Here’s something we need to understand at this point: God ALWAYS keeps His promises.
When God promised Adam and Eve way back in the garden of Eden that their disobedience would lead to death, it did, and does.
and in your offspring shall all the nations of the earth be blessed, because you have obeyed my voice.”
And your house and your kingdom shall be made sure forever before me. Your throne shall be established forever.’ ”
When God promised Abraham and David that a son would come through whom all the nations of the world would be blessed - someone to sit on the throne and rein - it happened. When God told Mary that she would be the mother of the Messiah, it came true. When God told Eve in Eden that one would come from her who would conquer Satan, it happened. And that night, when the shepherds found baby Jesus in his strips of cloth in a manger, God’s promises were proved true. God made a promise to those shepherds - a promise that echos down through history, and they saw it was true. How amazing is that?!
The shepherds started telling all who heard about what had happened. Everyone marvelled, but then we get this focus on Mary. Another one of Luke’s themes is an emphasis on women in his gospel. We zoom into Mary’s perspective, and see something interesting:
But Mary treasured up all these things, pondering them in her heart.
What does this mean? We get a picture of Mary heart here: She didn’t fully understand all the implications of what had just happened to her (NAC). Yet her spirit is open. We get a sense in this passage of awe, that she does not take these things lightly, but ponders over these extraordinary happening. It reminds us a bit of Jacob and Joseph in Genesis:
And his brothers were jealous of him, but his father kept the saying in mind.
Mary picked up on the fact that something extraordinary had happened here, and she got to be a part of it.
God’s promises are ALWAYS true, and the second movement in our story is one that shows us just that: We see the the shepherds have an encounter with Jesus. Just as the angels had said, there he was. Just as prophecy had said, there was the fulfillment. The second movement in this story, leading us to rejoice because Jesus has come for all is proof: the shepherds saw with their own eyes, no doubt Mary treasured this up - that Jesus really had come. The Christ was here, just as all of heaven’s choirs proclaimed.
A Message 20
A Message 20
The final movement in our story comes from the very last verse in this passage:
And the shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all they had heard and seen, as it had been told them.
If we were to sum up this movement in one word, it would be: message. The shepherds had a message to share, and a joy overflowing. They had heard the announcement from angels, and seen the proof with their own eyes. They leave the stable changed men. They had seen the new born Christ! And guess what? They couldn’t shut up about it.
Clearly they had already shared what they had heard to those in the stable. Now they go away glorifying God. They praise Him for the fulfillment of this long awaited promise. Here again Luke emphasizes that God keeps His promises, by making it very clear at the end of the verse “as it had been told them.”
Luke presents the Saviour as being for all people (Cornerstone, p. 55). Everyone - anyone who believes and trusts in Jesus Christ as Lord and Saviour can claim Him as their personal Saviour and Lord.
Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus,
who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped,
Who would give up their place in heaven for you? Who would love you enough to find eaulk with an eternal problem you could never outcome? Jesus would. The King of Kings would come down to earth for them. They rejoiced because their hearts had been filled with the joy and gratitude that comes from knowing - not just hearing - the message: The Christ is here! He has come. Good news!
They couldn’t shut up about it. They went back proclaiming their praise to God. That’s the mark of a changed man! They proclaim praise to God, and give glory. I believe that others heard that. Who knows, maybe the shepherds were stopped and asked what was going on.
We, like them, carry the same message. Only we have the next chapter in the story. Not only do we herald Christ’s birth, but His life, death, and ressurection. We know Jesus saves - because we are saved by Him! We carry the greatest news. The greatest gift - the Saviour - has come. Just like the shepherds we need to rejoice! Do we really realize where we would be without Jesus?
For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.
For the wages of sin is death. Not just physical death, but spiritual death - hell. But the FREE gift of God is total reversal of that. Freedom from evil, freedom from sin, hope and new life in Jesus!
When you realize that you can be free - free of sin, free of the curse or weight of death, free to live with hope for an eternity without evil, does that give at least a little bit of joy? I hope so! And so we, like the shepherds, are motivated to joyful priase by the same news: Christ the Lord has come.
“Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace among those with whom he is pleased!”
The final movement in this story shows us the message now ringing in the shepherds hearts - and ours. One that spurs us on to praise and glory of God, proclaimed to the world.
Conclusion
Conclusion
Rejoice! Jesus has come for us all!
An Announcement
A Proof
A Message
God did something that night: He visited a bunch of shepherds, broke through the barrier and proclaimed the best news ever. His promises are sure, and the proof of the Saviour’s birth was found in that lowly little stable, in a manger, by a bunch of outcast shepherds. And as a result, these shepherds couldn’t shut up about the joy and praise now ringing in their hearts!
It’s Christmas time (if you haven’t guessed.) We sing joy to the world, oh come all ye faithful, and many other carols. Will we heed the message? The shepherd were invited to the manger. They were obedient, and got to be the first to see the new born Saviour. The left rejoicing: praising and glorifying God for the extraordinary events that had taken place.
Verse 1 of Joy to the world reads as follows:
Joy to the world; the Lord is come;
Let Earth receive her King;
Let ev'ry Heart prepare him room,
And Heav'n and nature sing.
And Heav'n and nature sing.
And Heav'n, and Heav’n, and nature sing.
The Lord has come - born in a humble stable, laid in a lowly manger. He came to set the world free. Our eternities are based on that night in Bethlehem, and what God did there, and on the cross. So we should be filled with joy, because of the greatest news ever: The saviour has come! Will you let God fill you with that joy until you can’t keep silent, but have to proclaim the wonders of his love?
Salvation call
Pray.
