The Gospel According to an Angel
TEXT: The Gospel According to an Angel
TOPIC: Luke 2:9-14
Pastor Bobby Earls, First Baptist Church, Center Point, Alabama
Wednesday, December 07, 2005
The first four books of our New Testament Bibles are called “The Gospel,” the Gospel according to Matthew, the Gospel according to Mark, the Gospel according to Luke, and the fourth, the Gospel according to John. Each of these Gospel writers refers to the birth or the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ in some fashion. But are you aware of the Gospel according to an Angel?
Look with me at the 2nd chapter of Luke, beginning with verse 9.
9And behold, an angel of the Lord stood before them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were greatly afraid. 10Then the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid, for behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy which will be to all people. 11“For there is born to you this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. 12“And this will be the sign to you: You will find a Babe wrapped in swaddling cloths, lying in a manger.” 13And 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, goodwill toward men!”
What a privilege it must have been for the angel chosen to announce the Savior’s birth! He was selected and commissioned to leave the courts of Heaven and swoop down to earth to announce these glad tidings to the shepherds of Bethlehem.
What a greater privilege still it is for each of us to share the good news of our Saviors coming. Angels can not fully comprehend the meaning of salvation. Only we who have experienced the curse of sin and death, only to be freed of death’s dark sway can fully realize the good news of the gospel of salvation.
Nevertheless, this Gospel message delivered by an angel was indeed good news for the following reasons:
1) The Gospel is Good News because it banishes fear, “fear not” Luke 2:10
The first words of the angel were “fear not.” Verse 9 had informed us that the shepherds were “sore afraid.”
The whole world was filled with fear and superstition. For 400 years there had been no word from God to man. The world living in darkness and fear needed good news.
2) The Gospel is Good News because it brings great joy, “Behold I bring you good tidings of great joy…” Luke 2:10
When fear reigns there can be no real joy. Fear is the greatest enemy of joy. Hearts that are fearful are void of the joy that only Christ can bring. Every soul that has truly experienced the joy of Christ’s salvation can sing of this truth. “Cast out all fear and enter here. Be born in us today.”
3) The Gospel is Good News because it is for all people, “to all people” Luke 2:10
“I bring good news (good tidings) to all people.” Haggai called Him “the desire of all nations.” (Haggai 2:7).
The Good News offered by the Angel is for all people of all time, for the rich and the poor, the educated and the uneducated, the young and the old, for black and white, for yellow and brown. The Gospel is the fundamental need of every race, every culture, every person in the world.
4) The Gospel is Good News because it elevates the value of the individual,
“unto you” Luke 2:11
The Gospel is for all people, yet it is “unto you.” The Gospel always emphasizes the value of the individual. Jesus preached His greatest messages to an audience of one, (i.e., Nicodemus, the religious and lost; the Samaritan Woman, the oppressed and lost; the woman with an issue of blood, the hopeless and lost; the Ethiopian, Cornelius, Saul of Tarsus, and so on.)
5) The Gospel is Good News because it saves, “a Savior, which is Christ the Lord,” Luke 2:11
Not born to be a King, though He was a King; not born to be a teacher, though He was a Teacher; not born to be a Reformer, though He did reform the world; He was born to be a Savior. He is the One and Only Savior of mankind. Not One of many, but the One and Only.
6) The Gospel is Good News because it glorifies God, “Glory to God in the highest” Luke 2:13-14
At the conclusion of the Angel’s announcement of Good News, there suddenly appeared with him, “a multitude of the Heavenly Hosts,” praising God and saying Glory to God in the Highest!”
The Gospel is the central theme of Heaven. Nothing glorifies God like the Gospel of Christ. It is His own masterpiece of eternity.
7) The Gospel is Good News because it brings real and lasting peace, “on earth peace, good will toward men” Luke 2:14
It is the Gospel of peace because Jesus is our peace. We have peace with God (Romans 5:1) and the peace of God, (Philippians 4:7).
But only the Prince of Peace can bring true and lasting peace on earth.