The Awesomeness of the Angels
Notes
Transcript
In these few weeks in the run up to Christmas, we’re looking at some of the miracles that occurred with the birth of Jesus.
Today, we are going to hark! the herald angels!
Birth narratives littered with “angelophanies” - appearance of angels bringing big messages announcing that God is about to big things.
Whenever angels appear to men and women in the Bible, they often say “do not be afraid.”
Simple reason - an encounter with an angel of heaven is no doubt terrifying!
Another reason for being struck by fear is that angelic announcements signal life-changing events. They are receiving a message about a huge transformation that’s about to happen in the lives of individuals, or nations, or the whole world. Can be scary facing all of that.
But the angels always provide a reason to not be afraid - God is at work, fulfilling his promises, working out his purposes.
It seems to me that the people receiving visits from an angel were already afraid of something before the angel showed, especially in the birth narratives.
And today, fear and anxiety is all around us, inside all of us, including Christians.
We need to hear the messages that the angels brought to Zechariah, Mary, Joseph and the Shepherds, and the reasons they gave to not be afraid. Because they are still speaking to us today, pointing us to Jesus and the outworking of God’s plans through him in us.
Don’t be afraid because...
"Your prayer has been heard”
"Your prayer has been heard”
Zechariah was an old priest. He and his wife Elizabeth had no children. While he was on duty at the temple, burning incense before the Lord, this happened...
Then an angel of the Lord appeared to him, standing at the right side of the altar of incense. When Zechariah saw him, he was startled and was gripped with fear. But the angel said to him: ‘Do not be afraid, Zechariah; your prayer has been heard. Your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you are to call him John.
“Your prayer has been heard.”
Might seem obvious that Zechariah and Elizabeth had been praying for a child. No doubt they had been. The inability to conceive is a pain that some here will know all too well.
However, it’s just as likely that Zechariah had been praying for the coming of the promised Messiah - maybe even as part of temple service.
Can be seen most fully in Zechariah’s own prophesy in Luke 2:67f.
That longing for God to send his everlasting King is seen in others in Luke - eg. Simeon and Anna.
The announcement that Elizabeth was going to conceive was obviously life-changing. But the identify of this child was even more so!
He will be a joy and delight to you, and many will rejoice because of his birth,
He will bring back many of the people of Israel to the Lord their God. And he will go on before the Lord, in the spirit and power of Elijah, to turn the hearts of the parents to their children and the disobedient to the wisdom of the righteous—to make ready a people prepared for the Lord.’
The impact of this announcement on Zechariah was understandably massive. He had waited for so long, prayed for so long.
Was that the real source of his fear?
Many today fear that their heartfelt prayers go unheard, unanswered. That their deepest longings and sigh-ings before God are forgotten or even ignored.
You might have come to church this morning with those fears weighing you down.
There’s no angel that we can see here, but there is the Word of God before us. The promise that Zechariah and Elizabeth had been longing to be fulfilled, the prayer that they had prayed many times, has come.
Their son, John the Baptist, prepared the way for the one who has “come to his people and redeemed them” (Lk 2:68).
Whatever the longing, whatever the prayer, it is answered in Jesus, who was born, lived, died, rose again and now rules from heaven for you.
Don’t be afraid, your prayer has been heard.
Don’t be afraid because...
"You have found favour with God”
"You have found favour with God”
Mary was a young girl pledged to be, but not yet, married. She also had a visit from an angel.
The angel went to her and said, ‘Greetings, you who are highly favoured! The Lord is with you.’
Mary was greatly troubled at his words and wondered what kind of greeting this might be. But the angel said to her, ‘Do not be afraid, Mary, you have found favour with God.
“Highly favoured!”
“The Lord is with you.”
“Wondered what kind of greeting this might be.”
“You have found favour with God.”
Why do you think Gabriel leads with the whole “highly favoured” thing?
And then why does he seek to calm Mary’s fear with “you have found favour with God”?
Might it be that this was something Mary struggled with? A sense of unworthiness, feeling her low position?
It’s certainly possible, especially when we look at her song when visiting cousin Elizabeth...
And Mary said:
‘My soul glorifies the Lord
and my spirit rejoices in God my Saviour,
for he has been mindful
of the humble state of his servant.
And then comes the announcement.
You will conceive and give birth to a son, and you are to call him Jesus. He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his father David, and he will reign over Jacob’s descendants for ever; his kingdom will never end.’
Mary’s is child is will be the King that Zechariah and Elizabeth, and all Israel, had been praying for over centuries.
He will be given David’s throne - fulfils the promise made to King David 1000 years before that one of his descendants would be on the throne forever.
And Mary was to be his human mother!
Talk about life-changing - Mary was to be used by God to bring about history-changing, eternity-changing event. Central to salvation history. Mother to the Messiah!
Perhaps we see a glimmer of uncertainty with Mary’s question:
‘How will this be,’ Mary asked the angel, ‘since I am a virgin?’
Not just about her marital status. It’s about her overall sense of lowliness, powerlessness.
Could that be the source of her fear?
Many fear that they are unworthy, insignificant, no part to play in God’s plans...
This week is was introduced to the term “Learned helplessness!”
A psychological condition where, through negative experiences, a person comes to believe that they can’t do anything to improve their situation and so stop trying.
Leads to low self-esteem, anxiety, fear.
Mary seems to exhibit something of that.
And she represents many of us who live with a sense of being powerless in our lives, circumstances.
Or a sense of being unworthy - of love, of honour, of God.
Maybe you’ve come to church this morning with those kinds of fears and feelings weighing you down.
The angel’s announcement that Mary was to conceive and give birth to the Messiah, the King and Saviour that God was sending into the world, surely changed everything her.
Her head was lifted high, her spirit rejoiced!
And the same joy can be ours too, if we look to Jesus.
Are you worthy of love? Are you worthy of honour? Are you worthy of God?
Jesus answers every one of those questions!!
No. You’re not. None of us are. Neither was Mary.
We are undeserving sinners!
But God so loved this unworthy world that he gave his son for us, to die our death, to suffer our suffering, to pay our debt.
Jesus makes us worthy.
Don’t be afraid, you have found favour with God.
And don’t be afraid...
"This is from the Holy Spirit”
"This is from the Holy Spirit”
Joseph found himself in extremely uncomfortable position - betrothed to a young girl who is pregnant. What should he do? Was going to quietly end the relationship.
But after he had considered this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, ‘Joseph son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary home as your wife, because what is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit.
Joseph’s fears are a little more obvious. The immediate situation he faced was uncomfortable to say the least.
He’s at risk of public shame - it would seem that his betrothed had been unfaithful. And maybe it seemed that she was making up some cock-and-bull story about an angel and the Messiah?
If he goes on to marry Mary, despite her pregnancy, he would be seen as unfaithful to the law, marrying an adulterous and promiscuous young woman. They would both be cast out of Jewish society.
No wonder he was afraid.
But the angel speaks directly into that fear.
But after he had considered this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, ‘Joseph son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary home as your wife, because what is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins.’
He’s told what Mary was told - this child is from God, the Messiah, divine.
Far from being a fearful thing, this is a fantastic thing! The Christ is finally coming, and Joseph is going to be his adoptive father!
Joseph takes the angel at his word and obeys all that he is told.
Of course, not everyone will understand or accept that this child is the Messiah, and the shame will remain.
But Joseph & Mary would know the truth; they had the messages from the angel to help them through the accusations and scorn they would undoubtedly face. They would know that their child, their situation, the life they would live, is from the Holy Spirit.
Joseph’s fear was in obeying God, doing the right thing, following God’s word.
Maybe you’ve come to church today afraid of what obeying God’s word might mean for you.
Could be the shame of following Jesus in a world that thinks Jesus is a joke.
Could be the relational fallout of living for Jesus when it means family or friends will keep you at arms length or even disown you.
Could be the implications of obeying God in the workplace.
Many fear because of uncomfortable circumstances.
Obeying the Word of God almost always comes at some kind of cost.
Don’t be afraid. This is from the Holy Spirit!
The Word itself is from God the HS. The help we need to keep it and live it out also comes from the HS.
Don’t be afraid. This is from the Holy Spirit!
And finally, don’t be afraid...
"I bring you good news”
"I bring you good news”
Humble, lowly, shepherds in the fields overnight. Possibly lambing season (likely Spring!!).
Literally minding their own business.
An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified.
Terror at the sight of the angel! Lit. “they feared with great fear.”
Tied to seeing the “angel of the Lord,” with the “glory of the Lord” shining around them.
This is the fear that many have when encountering the things of God for the first time. Can be scary. It is life-changing!
But immediately the angel brings the greatest comfort -
But the angel said to them, ‘Do not be afraid. I bring you good news that will cause great joy for all the people. Today in the town of David a Saviour has been born to you; he is the Messiah, the Lord.
The first to receive this news, beyond Mary & Joseph.
How will they respond?
They could stay in their fear and run away.
Or they could look closer, which is what they did (15-16)
Having seen Jesus for themselves...
The shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things they had heard and seen, which were just as they had been told.
Good news caused great joy.
Maybe you’re encountering God, exploring Jesus right now? There might be some fear about what it could all mean for you.
Don’t run away. Look closer.
And you will find good news of the greatest joy that will completely change your life!
There are many things that make us afraid, in our world, our lives, even our faith.
The messages of the angels announcing the birth of the Lord Jesus speak directly to our fears and give great comfort.
Our prayers do not go unheard or ignored - your loving heavenly father hears you and cares. Your prayer has been heard, and is answered in Jesus.
Our feelings worthlessness or unimportance are answered in Jesus too - he gives us worth and eternal value through his death and resurrection for us.
Our uncomfortable circumstances, our concerns about what obeying God might mean - that’s answered in Jesus too. We can look to him and know that God is working out his eternal purposes and plans in him, and so being faithful to him is never wrong!
And if you are afraid of what faith in Jesus might mean for you, the angels are still saying: Don’t be afraid, I bring you good news of great joy.
Christ is born. His coming means that the hopes and fears of all the years are met and answered.
Let’s bring our fears to him him now as we pray.
