Good News of Great Joy

It has been a joy to celebrate the birth of Christ with you all this Christmas eve. There is so much to reflect on and take in. I've been studying particularly Luke 2:10-11 and while I feel I know the Christmas story pretty well, I have been amazed at how much insight I got out of two verses! And so I want to share some of my insights with you in the hope that it may strengthen your faith as you journey through life. Luke 2:10-11 ESV 10And the angel said to them, "Fear not, for behold, I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. 11 For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, who is Christ the Lord. The first part of this verse we see an Angel of the LORD speaking to some shepherds. Angels are servants of God, who are given specific tasks in furthering God's purposes among humanity and the issue of authority comes up here. A principal of a school has an important message for all the staff and students. Their intercom and internet is down, so he writes this message on a note and gives it to a reliable year 6 student who visits every class on his behalf and relays his message. All the staff and students listen to the message and act accordingly. The message didn't originate with the student, it came from the Principal. And so the angel's message relayed to the shepherds did not originate with the angel, it came from God. And so we need to understand the authoritative weight of who this message comes from and then listening and acting accordingly. Not only that, we also need to remember that a message's trustworthiness is based on the reputation of the person giving the message. I spoke at my school assembly once about fake news and I told the students `Check the source of the information you're reading" Who wrote that article? Is it a credible source? The source of the angels message is God himself and so we can be certain of its credibility and trustworthiness. God's message through the angel to the shepherds started like this. Fear not. The shepherds were terrified. The bright lights when the angel appeared frightened them, kind of like when thunder and lightning frightens kids. What was also behind their fears was the fact that they didn't know what was going on. The visitation of the angel had set them on a path into the unknown and that's a scary place. They had a choice to make, believe the God's message or reject it and their choice would determine what would happen to their fears. God's message through the angel continues with I bring you good news. Good news has a positive effect on people. Proverbs 25:25 says it's like cold water to thirsty and weary souls. Proverbs 5:30 says that good news makes for good health. Now the angel was referring to the good news of Jesus Christ and the benefits of this can be seen in Isaiah 9:7 His government and its peace will never end. He will rule with fairness and justice from the throne of his ancestor David for all eternity. God's message through the angel continues to say that this good news will cause great joy. But what does this great joy mean? In what way is this joy great? I believe the answer can be seen in Hebrews 10:34 which is a cross reference for this passage and it recounts a small group of earlier Christians. These earlier believers suffered. They experienced public ridicule and humiliation, some were beaten and imprisoned and it mentions that some of these early Christians suffered along with those who were thrown into jail, and they joyfully accepted the plundering of their property. So imagine for a moment. These early Christians hear that some of their close friends and family have been imprisoned. They decided to leave their homes to go and stand side by side with them in prison and all that they owned was being taken from them either by confiscation by the governing rulers at the time or looted and destroyed by Christ haters. And they accepted it with joy. That's great joy. I wonder how we would react if we got home tonight and found that someone had broken into the house and looted everything, broken doors, windows smashed, glass and Christmas tree and decorations a mess on the floor, tv gone, presents all gone. How joyful would you be feeling? This great joy is not about enjoying the pleasures of this life to the fullest, It's a great joy because it's overcoming the difficulties and trials of persecution. That's what makes it great. But there is a key to experiencing this great joy that Christ came to offer the world. The earlier Christians knew it deep in their souls, and I fear we've lost it, and it's found in the last part of Hebrews 10:34. They had a better possession and an abiding one. In other words they knew there were better things waiting for them that will last forever. This world is temporary, their lives like ours are like morning fog. It appears for a little while and then it's gone. But they understood that they owned a better possession that would last forever and that's why they never gave up. Though their bodies were dying, their spirits were being renewed every day. They understood that their present troubles were small and wouldn't last that long and that in a mysterious way it was preparing for them an eternal glory that would vastly outweigh their troubles and would last forever! This is why the good news of Jesus Christ gives us great joy. A joy that's not attached to worldly possessions or positions but rooted in God's promise of an overcoming joy that will last forever. God's message through the angel continues by announcing the Saviours' birth into the world. We like to think that there is some good in the world apart from God and that if we just united together we can change this world and make it a better place. But the scriptures say in Romans 3:10-12 that no one is righteous, not even one, no one understands, one seeks for God. All have turned away and have become worthless. There is no one who does good. Not a single person. The apostle Paul sums it up in Romans 3:19. The entire world is guilty before God. We're not good, we're guilty and if we were left to ourselves to try and fix things we would destroy each other. No. Like a parent who steps in to a sibling squabble that's out of control, God had to step in to our dirty, dark and disgusting world. But the good news is that God has shown us a way to be made right with him without following rules. We are made right with God by placing our faith in Jesus Christ. And this is true for everyone who believes, no matter who you are. Everyone has sinned, as we sit tonight with family and friends who know us intimately we know that's true, we all fall short of God's glorious standard. Yet God, in his grace, freely makes us right in his sight. He did this through Christ Jesus when he freed us from the penalty for our sins. God presented Jesus as the sacrifice for sin and so people are made right with God when they believe that Jesus sacrificed his life, shedding his blood. God's message through the angel also mentions the scope of this good news. It is for all people, it reached the Jews, and spread to the gentiles (non-jews) and now God's message has reached you. What will you do with God's message tonight? How will you respond? I hope that you have found this reflection helpful and that God opens your eyes to see that Christ was born for you. It's my prayer that you do respond tonight by humbling yourself and acknowledging God as the ultimate authority in life, accepting His good news in Jesus Christ and as a result experiencing his great joy as you turn away from sin towards Jesus to be your saviour and Lord this Christmas.