Great Joy to All the People

Luke 2:10 CSB

10 But the angel said to them, “Don’t be afraid, for look, I proclaim to you good news of great joy that will be for all the people:

I. To whom was this news to be delivered?

All people, in fact the shepherds being the first to hear this message is the proof that the message was indeed for all people.

The shepherds would not have expected this message to be delivered to them.

The religious people would have expected this message to be delivered through some great prophet , well-known leader or king

II. Why was this joy “great”?

The word for “great” in Greek is “megas”.

It is where we get our word for mega. So in essence this message wasn’t just attached to a little bit of joy, but “mega” Joy.

The same word is also used in:

Matthew 4:16 CSB

16 The people who live in darkness have seen a great light, and for those living in the land of the shadow of death, a light has dawned.

Because it is not fleeting joy. - This joy is not something that is affected by external circumstances but is created inside the person that accepts it.

John 16:22 CSB

22 So you also have sorrow now. But I will see you again. Your hearts will rejoice, and no one will take away your joy from you.

Galatians 5:22 CSB

22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness,

III. Was the joy this message proclaimed determined by the listeners’ response to it?

A. The word “Joy” describes the message not the response to the message.

B. The Joy is present and must be allowed entrance into the person’s life.

The angel was not proclaiming joy to all the people, but rather the message of joy to all the people. In other words, The joy comes with the understanding, belief and acceptance not just the hearing of it.

C. The message is that anyone anywhere can be forgiven, set free from their Sin, be loved, accepted and have personal relationship with the self-sustaining , all- powerful God of creation. It is only in the acceptance of the message of Joy that this joy is produced in the life of the receiver.

Application: One of the biggest mistakes that anyone can make is to simply hear the message of Joy and then not accept it. We often come to the story of Jesus birth and how the angels proclaimed this message of joy to the shepherds acknowledge it and then move on without allowing it to penetrate our hearts.

The idea that God became man to redeem a lost and fallen world is amazing. It should to the listener be more than just another story. It should humble us. That God looked upon the broken condition of man and yet still loved us enough to send His son to be born as a baby to a lowly family to live as a poor man without a home. He was rejected and despised by proud who thought they had no need of a savior, but to the humble, broken, and lowely

IV. By whom was this message to be delivered?

A. It was delivered by Angels, but was to be circulated by man.

Luke 2:15–20 CSB

15 When the angels had left them and returned to heaven, the shepherds said to one another, “Let’s go straight to Bethlehem and see what has happened, which the Lord has made known to us.” 16 They hurried off and found both Mary and Joseph, and the baby who was lying in the manger. 17 After seeing them, they reported the message they were told about this child, 18 and all who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds said to them. 19 But Mary was treasuring up all these things in her heart and meditating on them. 20 The shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things they had seen and heard, which were just as they had been told.

1. The shepherds who witnessed these things told the story to others with great excitement and joy.

What difference would it make in our witness, if we were excited and joyful about being able to tell the story of redemption.

When you have an exciting experience you don’t dread recounting the events to others. On the contrary you go and tell it with Joy and excitement. Sometimes we retell the story of a football game we were in or watched 20 years ago with more excitement and eagerness about it than we do the “good news” that man stood condemned before Yahweh, the Holy God, but yet God loved mankind to become the solution to the problem of our sin by sending His Son to die as an atoning sacrifice. Then three days later he rose again from the grave. Defeating not only sin but death as its consequence. That all things through Jesus Christ have been made new and the relationship with God had been restored. How can one be embarrassed or ashamed by this great news?

Romans 1:16 CSB

16 For I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, first to the Jew, and also to the Greek.

Matthew 28:19–20 CSB

19 Go, therefore, and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 teaching them to observe everything I have commanded you. And remember, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”