When God Came Down

Luke 2:8-20

A Visit to the Lowly

The Queen’s Visit

A Mrs Adams had the very rare honour of having the Queen visit her at home. This was in 1952 – before the Coronation – when Her Majesty was visiting a new housing estate in Hemel Hempstead.

It was supposed to be a ‘no fuss’ visit. ‘We were told not to do anything special, that she wanted to come into a normal household and see how an ordinary family lived,’ Mrs Adams explains.

Of course, who wouldn’t don the Marigolds and start cleaning furiously, told that the Queen was coming to visit? Mrs Adams duly did, but she made the mistake of setting her tin of furniture polish on the hot plate of her new electric stove – and disaster ensued. ‘I very kindly set fire to the kitchen,’ she recounts. ‘The baby cried, so I went to the baby and… bang! I thought we’d been shot to pieces! The polish exploded. It was just like an atom bomb on the ceiling.’

Panic ensued, and the family cobbled together what paint they could. ‘It was a duck egg blue, and when the Queen came and admired my duck egg blue kitchen I felt like telling her the whole kaboosh. She said she liked the colour of my kitchen!’

How would you react if you were given notice that the King would be coming to your house for lunch this afternoon?!

We might have sudden feelings of inadequacy, we might worry about the state of the house, about what to wear!

But what happens in Luke 2 is even more incredible than that - this isn’t an earthly ruler visiting one of their subjects, this is God, the creator of all heaven and earth visiting some of the lowliest of all His creatures.

God sends one of His messengers to deliver the good news about Jesus, not to Herod, not to the High Priest but to a lowly group of shepherds out in the fields at night.

The Good News of the gospel of salvation came not to the rich, the powerful, the self assured - it came to the lowly, the meek and the humble. To the kind of people the world would least expect to receive a visit from God!

It is still the same today - it is the humble, the meek and the lowly that God visits with good news.

Just like Queen Elizabeth walking into that messy kitchen, we remember at this time of year that God visited the most lowly and poor, saw their mess, saw their trouble but didn’t judge them, He wasn’t embarrassed by them, instead the angel says: DO NOT BE AFRAID I BRING YOU GOOD NEWS OF GREAT JOY WHICH WILL BE FOR ALL THE PEOPLE.

What was this good news of great joy which the angel brought to these lowly shepherds?

I’m going to promote you so that you don’t ever have to be shepherds anymore?

I’m going to make you the wealthiest men in all Bethlehem?

No, this good news of great joy met with a need far greater than their need of money, it had to do with their need of a Saviour.

This Saviour is Christ, The Lord. He is both Saviour and God.

This is said to be good news of GREAT JOY! Christ is not just A SAVIOUR but he has come to be YOUR SAVIOUR.

Story of Ryan Kuja breaking his collar bone while surfing. He was an experienced surfer but he began to feel the panic rising as the waves kept coming. Another surfer paddled over to him tied a rope around him and said two words; “I’m here”. Immediately Ryan felt himself relax.

Jesus Christ coming into this broken world is God saying to you “I am here.”

2. Glory to God in the Highest

Suddenly in the skies above Bethlehem thousands of angels appear, they are praising God with the very first Christmas carol:

“Glory to God in the highest,

And on earth peace among men

with whom He is pleased.”

The story of Christmas is the story of God’s glory.

Luke 1:68–69 NIV

68 “Praise be to the Lord, the God of Israel, because he has come to his people and redeemed them. 69 He has raised up a horn of salvation for us in the house of his servant David

This is how God has chosen to bring glory to His name - this is his highlight reel! Through showing grace and mercy to the world in Christ Jesus.

This is God’s peace treaty with the world - a world that has been at war with Him since Eden. God sends Christ to give peace to all who will receive Him.

Peace with God through justification

Peace within through the Holy Spirit

Peace towards one another through His grace

3. Marvellous news shared widely

As soon as the Angels had gone the shepherds decided to act upon what they had heard saying ‘Lets go to Bethlehem’

When God speaks to you through His word - it’s always wise to act upon it quickly. Don’t dally, don’t delay - do what He has said.

We read in verse 16 that they went in a hurry and found their way to Mary, Joseph and Jesus lying in a Manger.

All who dilligently follow God’s word will not be disappointed, all who earnestly seek Jesus will find Him.

The Shepherds shared what they had heard from the angel to all who would hear - and all who heard it Marvelled.

Good news is too good to keep to yourself!

There are still people in this city who have never heard the marvellous news! It’s our privilege to tell them!