The Song of the Angels: Luke 2:8-20

Keep it around 1500 words since Kurt will need time to talk.

Introduction

Good morning and let me once again welcome you to this gathering of Hope Bible Fellowship. I’m so glad you are here with us. What a morning it has already been. I want to call your attention to a couple of things if I could.

We are so thrilled to have Kurt with us this weekend.

Please pray for Franc and Sue Ann, Becky, and others that have been battling illness.

Invite someone to Christmas Eve service.

If you are a member please come to our members meeting next Sunday directly following service to find out about our budget for 2022 and help us welcome a group of new members.

Survey on time change for service

I know some of you can remember back farther than I can but I remember a day when someone would have a baby and there would be a birth announcement in the local newspaper. I grew up in Winterset, Iowa and the local paper, the Madisonian would have a section of birth announcements. Well, the internet changed that quite a bit. When Asher was born we pulled up to our house as we came home from the hospital and there was a big banner outside our house announcing the new baby. But now… now things have gotten wild. Now when a woman gets pregnant, it’s announced with a viral video showing her telling her husband that he’s going to be a father. Then she has a photo shoot with the fuzzy ultrasound picture. Then there’s the big gender reveal party where they drop a bomb full of pink or blue dust on all their family and friends to tell us if it’s a boy or a girl. Then she posts the monthly baby bump sideways shot in the bathroom mirror. Only after all of this can you move on to the maternity photo shoot, if you can get the right maternity photographer and find a horse or field to have these pictures taken in front of. Maybe do both just for good measure. Then, after the kid is born, you have to do the baby pic and announce the name and weight on social media. Then you have to do the newborn photo shoot with the naked baby and the dad and the… well, you know the rest. It’s getting to feel like a competition for who can share their good news in the most outlandish and most viral way possible and maybe even get a little attention from it. I’m not downplaying the excitement of pregnancy and new babies. That is awesome and we should celebrate that, of course.

But you know the way you automatically win the birth announcement game? When an angel announces the birth. That’s it, that is the tops.

Luke 2:8–20 ESV

8 And in the same region there were shepherds out in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night. 9 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. 10 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. 11 For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. 12 And this will be a sign for you: you will find a baby wrapped in swaddling cloths and lying in a manger.” 13 And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying, 14 “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace among those with whom he is pleased!” 15 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.” 16 And they went with haste and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby lying in a manger. 17 And when they saw it, they made known the saying that had been told them concerning this child. 18 And all who heard it wondered at what the shepherds told them. 19 But Mary treasured up all these things, pondering them in her heart. 20 And the shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all they had heard and seen, as it had been told them.

PRAY

I. The cultural position of shepherds in Israel.

They were despised and considered unreliable.

In general considered dishonest… Could not testify in court proceedings.

Unclean by the standards of the law, were away so much they couldn’t keep all of the ceremonial laws...

Out in the fields during months of March to November… no specific date given

If you were a shepherd it’s because you were born into it. It wasn’t aspirational. Little kids didn’t want to be a shepherd when they grew up.

Transition: So these guys are out in the fields, watching their flocks by night and …

II. An angel appears with an announcement.

I bring you good news: greek verb evangelizo: to preach the good news

The angel uses three titles for Jesus bringing them all together. When this happens in verse 11, it is the only time we see the titles of Jesus brought together.

Christ or Messiah emphasizes Jesus’ anointing as the one who was promised to come from God and Lord, which Luke uses interchangeably to refer to Yahweh and Jesus. His use in this way indicates that he is referring to Jesus as Yahweh… as God.

A Savior… Christ the Lord - He’s the Messiah, the promised one and not just that but He is Lord. The identity of the baby is: He’s God.

Glory of the Lord - the manifestation of God’s presence among his people

Transition: The angel choir shows up for a closing hymn.

III. A song of glory and peace.

Luke 2:14 ESV

14 “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace among those with whom he is pleased!”

Glory to God -

On earth peace -

To those with whom he is pleased -

Thabiti Anabwele writes: “God’s mercy to men brings God’s highest glory in heaven.”

Transition: This whole interaction and everything about it shows us that God is a God of surprises.

God is a God of surprises.

- The location of the birth of Christ was surprising. Bethlehem was a little town. Other than being the hometown of King David, it was a pretty insignificant place. Not the kind of place where you would expect a king to come from.

The place of the announcement was surprising: Out in a field at night.

The recipients of the announcement were surprising:

God chooses to first reveal the birth of Jesus to these shepherds… some of the lowly… this is important because Jesus didn’t come for those people who already though they were good enough… it’s those who know they need a savior, those who the world has run over and looks at as worthless, He shows them their worth in Him.

They represent the outcasts and sinners whom Jesus came for. They were the first recipients of the good news.

We can see a continuation of a theme Luke shows us here. It’s that God came to the lowly, the humble, the servant, and not to the religious elites. This echos what we heard in Mary’s song in

Luke 1:48–52 ESV

48 for he has looked on the humble estate of his servant. For behold, from now on all generations will call me blessed; 49 for he who is mighty has done great things for me, and holy is his name. 50 And his mercy is for those who fear him from generation to generation. 51 He has shown strength with his arm; he has scattered the proud in the thoughts of their hearts; 52 he has brought down the mighty from their thrones and exalted those of humble estate;

Divine visitation - GOD WITH US - Emmanuel

Based on who gets this message, it seems that God believes that high theology is for low people. This is why I want to teach the whole council of God, the deep things of God. We don’t want to make this more complex than they need to be. When we see the angels deliver this message, the are speaking plainly. As one scholar wrote, “they use plain speech to convey deep truth.”

That’s what good preaching does. I like to say, “put the cookies on the bottom shelf.”

Transition: What this means for us:

The shepherds respond to this good news. How will we respond?

Let’s go see… OBEDIENCE

The appropriate response of all creation is praise...

Spread the word of the child

They returned glorifying and praising God… they continued the activity of the angelic host from earlier in the passage...