Luke chapter two. No doubt for so many of us, Luke chapter two is the, that very familiar passage that speaks about our savior's birth. And I don't know, some of you may have had the same tradition that I had growing up and that I have continued having become grown up and having had my own kids. And that is that on Christmas day, we read this account of our Lord's birth before Before we open presents, before we dive into all of that, we start remembering Jesus' birth. What a beautiful and wonderful passage this is. I have heard it so many times and read it so many times, particularly in the Old King James, that I caught myself this morning, as I was reading in the New King James, reverting back to some of the Old King James language. But we will read today Luke chapter two, verses one through 20 Luke chapter two verses one through 20 in the new King James. And it came to pass in those days that a decree went out from Caesar Augustus that all the world should be registered. This census first took place while Quirinius was governing Syria. So all went to be registered, everyone to his own city. Joseph also went up from Galilee out of the city of Nazareth, into Judea to the city of David, which is called Bethlehem, because he was of the house and lineage of David, to be registered with Mary, his betrothed wife, who was with child. And so it was while they were there, the days were completed for her to be delivered. And she brought forth her firstborn son and wrapped him in swaddling cloths and laid him in a manger because there was no room for them in the inn. Now there were in the same country shepherds living out in the fields, keeping watch over their flock by night. And behold, an angel of the Lord stood before them and the glory of the Lord shone around them and they were greatly afraid. Then 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. For there is born to you this day in the city of David, a savior, who is Christ the Lord. And this will be the sign to you. You will find a babe wrapped in swaddling cloths, lying in a manger. And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying, glory to God in the highest and on earth, peace, goodwill toward men. So it was when the angels had gone away from them into heaven, that the shepherds said to one another, let us now go to Bethlehem. and see this thing that has come to pass, which the Lord has made known to us. And they came with haste and found Mary and Joseph and the babe lying in a manger. And when they had seen him, they made widely known the saying which was told them concerning this child. And all those who heard it marveled at those things which were told them by the shepherds. But Mary kept all these things and pondered them in her heart. Then the shepherds returned glorifying and praising God for all the things that they had heard and seen as it was told them. Well, this wonderful passage records for us in such beautiful and poetic ways, poetic language, the birth of our Lord and the wondrous visitation of the angels to announce it. You read through this and we have read it and heard it so many times. that the weight of it, and the greatness of this passage, and the greatness of the child in the manger, the greatness of the angels that proclaim his birth, it's maybe lost to us. We follow the trajectory of this, and this morning I spoke about really the first seven verses, and we found by the time we get to verse seven, here is Jesus, Son of God, laying in a manger. There's no room for them in the inn, so there he is in a manger. It's not just that he is not in the inn, it's that he is also laid in a manger. Now we understand what a manger is, it's like a little trough that animals would eat out of. That's where Jesus is laid. But then we go from that point of here's Jesus in the manger to here's the shepherds, And then right after that, we have the angels. Matthew Henry, in looking at this text, said something I think wonderful and helpful for us. He said, when we saw him wrapped in swaddling clothes and laid in a manger, we were tempted to say, surely this cannot be the son of God. But see his birth attended, as it is here with a choir of angels. And we shall say, surely it can be no other than the son of God concerning whom it was said when he was brought into the world, let all the angels of God worship him. Hebrews one and verse seven. I want us to think about the angels tonight. I've been going through this series and I've been looking at the cast of Christmas and primarily focusing on those cast of Christmas characters that we don't ordinarily think of in the Christmas story. This morning we thought about a guy named Octavian or Caesar Augustus, as he's called in history and in Luke chapter two. I want us to think about the angels tonight. And I want us to be reminded that through the angels, their message and their ministry, we see both the greatness and the grace of Jesus. First, I want us to consider the fact that the greatness of Jesus is shown in the greatness of the messengers, the angels. we maybe don't think enough about angels and maybe not enough biblically about angels. There's a lot of views about angels today, very strange things about angels. I once went on the internet and wanted to look at angel art. And I thought, you know, maybe that's a very safe thing to type in. And there was all kinds of different pictures of angels, but I found it very strange the way that some of these angels were depicted. Everything from effeminate male-type figures to very powerful male-type figures. Everything from maybe powerful female versions of angels to actually sensual versions of female angels. And it was very strange for me to see all of this imagination conjured up with angels. Well friends, angels are not effeminate men, nor are they sensual females. Angels are great in power and majesty. Psalm 104 and verse 4 tells us that God makes his angels spirits and his ministers a flame of fire. That may not mean a whole lot to us until we connect that with an Old Testament story in which the Syrians have basically surrounded the city in which the prophet of God is. And it seems as though there is no hope for the prophet of God, Elisha, and for all of those that are inside the city. But Elisha prays and says, Lord, I pray open his eyes that he may see The Lord opens the eyes of this young man that attended to the prophet. The scripture tells us, behold, the mountain was full of horses and chariots of fire all around Elisha. This terminology, this expression of ministers of flame of fire speaks of their great power. Psalm 103 verses 20 and 21, The scripture says, Bless the Lord, you his angels, who excel in strength, who do his word, heeding the voice of his word. Bless the Lord, all you hosts, you ministers of his, who do his pleasure. Angels excel in strength. In fact, angels are so glorious that if we were to see one today, we would be tempted to worship them. You say, no, no, no, I only worship the Lord my God. I would never worship any creature. Well, I think if there's anyone that we would expect would not fall for any kind of creature worship, it would be the Apostle John. And yet, in the book of Revelation, on two occasions, John actually gets down and begins, as it were, to worship this angel. And both times, the angel rebukes him and says, stand up. See that you don't do that. I am your fellow servant, and of your brethren who have the testimony of Jesus. Worship God. That's how great angels are. How then do the greatness of angels show the greatness of Jesus? As great as these angels are, they are those who do the will of the Lord. They are the ones who announce the birth of Jesus. In fact, in their announcement, they are pointing to someone far greater than themselves. As great as they are, their announcement, the fact that it is angels announcing it, shows us just how great Jesus is. Let me have us turn to a passage of scripture where we see the greatness of angels in contrast with the greatness of Jesus. It's Hebrews chapter 1. In the words of Matthew Henry, he quoted part of Hebrews chapter 1 verse 6, I want you to see just how much greater Jesus is than the angels. I'm reading Hebrews chapter 1, verses 1 through 14. God, who at various times and in various ways spoke in time past to the fathers by the prophet, has in these last days spoken to us by his son. whom he has appointed heir of all things, through whom also he made the worlds. Who, being the brightness of his glory, and the express image of his person, and upholding all things by the word of his power, when he had by himself purged our sins, sat down at the right hand of the majesty on high, have him become so much better than the angels, as he has by inheritance obtained a more excellent name than they. And then what the author of Hebrews does is goes in quotes a number of Old Testament passages, verse five. For to which of the angels did he ever say, you are my son, today I have begotten you. This is a quote from Psalm chapter two and verse seven. And again, I will be to him a father and he shall be to me a son. But when he again brings the firstborn into the world, and we read this from Matthew Henry earlier, when he brings the firstborn into the world, he says, let all the angels of God worship him, worship Jesus. And of the angels, he said, who makes his angel spirits and his ministers a flame of fire, but to the son, he says, your throne, oh God, is forever and ever. A scepter of righteousness is the scepter of your kingdom. You have loved righteousness and hated lawlessness. Therefore, God, your God has anointed you with the oil of gladness more than your companions. And you, Lord, speaking to the sun, you, Lord, in the beginning laid the foundation of the earth and the heavens are the work of your hands. They will perish, but you remain. They will all grow old like a garment, like a cloak, you will fold them up and they will be changed, but you are the same and your years will not fail. But to which of the angels has he ever said, sit at my right hand till I make your enemies your footstool? Are they not all ministering spirits sent forth to minister for those who will inherit salvation? It is these angels, as great and powerful as they are, who are the messengers, the message boys, that tell us about Jesus' birth. The greatness of Jesus is shown in the greatness of these messengers. As great as the messengers are, Jesus is that much greater. So the greatness of Jesus is shown in the greatness of the messengers, that they are angels. But then again, back to Luke chapter two, the grace of Jesus is shown in those who receive the message of the angels. Who is it, of course? Well, we've read the story so many times. We know it, we expect it. Verse eight, now there were in the same country shepherds living out in the fields keeping watch over their flock by night. And behold, an angel of the Lord stood before them. We've heard this story so many times that we just expect, okay, yes, it was the shepherds that received this message. But within that time and culture, it would seem that this group of people would be the least likely to receive the message about Jesus' birth. One of the interesting contrasts that we think about when we think about Jesus and the announcement of Jesus' birth, the shepherds received the announcement from the angels. The wise men received the notification in the heavens, in the stars. Both rich and poor, both those who were esteemed and those who were despised. Both those who were thought of as great in this world and those who were thought of as nothing, both received the message. But this message to the shepherds was even more personal and particular than, if you will, the message to the wise men. An angel comes and speaks directly to them. A choir of angels joins in singing to them. We think about it from that standpoint, really, we might think that these were the least likely to receive the announcement that the Son of God had come to this earth. The least likely to receive the announcement that the King of Kings and Lord of Lords is now laying in a manger. Shepherds were lowly. One author said it this way, shepherds, especially those charged with the night watch, were among the most socially undesirable classes. These were not the ones who were being invited to the fancy dinners. These were not the ones who were being lauded and applauded for their great contributions to society. These were not people that were in any way thought of as great in this world. They would have been thought of as just shepherds. And that's a strange thing, really. It's a strange thing that the sentiment was this way toward the shepherds in this age, considering the history of the Jewish people. How so many of them in their past were exactly that, shepherds. And yet, in this time, they were that socially undesirable class. Not only that, they were thought to be not only socially unacceptable, socially undesirable, but they were thought to be disreputable and unclean in the words of one author. Disreputable, unclean. You know, you can't live out in the fields with the sheep very long without beginning to smell like the sheep you live with, right? And in time, no doubt, they would have been considered to be somewhat unclean. Think about the tasks that they had to accomplish out there in the fields. They didn't just run to the sink and wash their hands with soap and water every few minutes. Disreputable, thought of as untrustworthy, unclean. You could say it this way, they were lowly and they were sinners. An unlikely group of people to receive this message. But doesn't that point us to the very grace of Christ? In Jesus' ministry later as he has grown and he's began his public ministry, Luke chapter 15 verse 1 tells us that all the tax collectors and the sinners drew near to Jesus. And the Pharisees and the scribes, who were of course themselves also sinners, but didn't recognize that in themselves, these socially acceptable Pharisees, these people on the upper end of society, they looked at the kind of people that were coming to Jesus and they said, this man receives sinners and eats with them. As though that were a bad thing. Growing up, we used to sing a song. I don't know, some of you might have sung it as well. Christ Receiveth Sinful Men was a song we used to sing. Christ receives sinful men. This announcement that went to the unlikely, to the lowly, to the sinners, would set a trajectory, if you will, would show us something of what the ministry of Jesus would be A ministry that would reach to everyone, including those that were outcast and despised. The grace of Jesus is shown in those who receive that message from the angels. But then, together, both the greatness and the grace of Jesus Those two great qualities are shown in the message and the music of these messengers. Again, look at it with me in the text. The angel of the Lord stood before them, verse nine, the glory of the Lord shone around them. And they, the shepherds, were greatly afraid. Again, this points to the greatness of those angels. Seeing these angels with the glory of God shining all around them was actually a terrifying thing. But then the angel says to them, do not be afraid. Don't be afraid, why? I'm bringing you good tidings of great joy. Good tidings, great joy. Maybe the very thing that we seem like we're not hearing a lot of in 2020. Every day we turn on the news, whether it's on the radio or on the TV, whatever the case may be, whatever your news source is, and what is the story that's ongoing? This many people caught COVID. This many people died. And we're hearing this over and over again. It seems like 2020 has not been a year of a lot of good news, has it? But here is news that was given some 2,000 years ago that resounds all the way to today and beyond. It wasn't just good news back then to be heard and then forgotten. It was good news back then and it continues to be good news today. This news is news of great joy. It's news that will be to all people. Again, evidenced in the shepherds and the wise men. Both the poor and the rich and everyone in between. This is good news for everyone who will receive it. What's that good news? Unto you is born this day in the city of David, a Savior, which is Christ the Lord. And in that message, do we not see both the greatness and the grace of Jesus? Unto you is born, to you is born, this great gift of God. Thanks be to God for his unspeakable gift, Paul would tell the Corinthians. There's born to you, a Savior. A lot of people expect or desire things from God. And many of the things that people today desire from God, prestige, money, better job, all of those things do not meet their deepest need. Their deepest need is that of a savior. Because their greatest problem is not their economics or their social status, but their sin. God sent to us his son to meet us at our point of need. This is good news. He didn't just send us someone or something that would provide us temporary relief or some fleeting pleasures or joy, He sent to us His own Son, a Savior. And who is the Savior? He is Christ. He is the Messiah promised in the Old Testament, prophesied repeatedly, the one God had said would come. The one that would accomplish God's great program, the one who would bring God's kingdom, that's the one. The one who would give his life a ransom, that's the one. Well, who is this Savior? Who is this Christ? He is the Lord. Greatness and grace. This is no ordinary gift. This is the Lord come to earth to live and die for sinners. The one in the manger is the Lord, the Lord of glory. Verse 12, and this will be a sign to you. You will find a babe wrapped in swaddling cloths, lying in a manger. What an interesting sign that is. Here's the Lord, he's come, he's the Christ. He's the Savior, how are you gonna know who he is? He's that baby in the trough. He's that baby in the manger. They would know who Jesus was by where he was located. Wrapped in swaddling cloths, lying in a manger, lying in a feed trough. Can you not again see with me both the greatness and grace of Jesus? Here's the Lord of Glory, where is he? He's in a feeding trough. Here's the Messiah, where is he? Well, he's out there in the stable. Here's the Savior. Surely if he's the Savior, he's gonna be mighty and powerful, right? He's a baby lying in a manger. And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying, glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, goodwill toward men. We sang, some of you online, some of you present, sang earlier, angels from the realms of glory, wing your flight o'er all the earth, ye who sang creation's story, now proclaim Messiah's birth. now proclaim the Savior's birth. Just how great is our Lord? Well, if we look back in the history of what angels did, God tells Job that at the foundations of the earth, the angels sang together and shouted for joy. We're told that the angels sang in creation. But how great is Jesus? When Jesus is born, we're not just told that they sang, we're told what they sang. What are they saying? Glory to God in the highest. And on earth, peace, goodwill toward men. This plan of God, where the greatness and grace of Jesus is shown, is a plan that brings glory to God. But it's a plan also that brings peace to man. peace with God through this baby in the manger, through our Lord Jesus Christ. It is a plan that expresses and demonstrates God's good will toward men. How do we know the love of God? We know the love of God through the incarnation and through the death of the son. And so here it is, God's goodwill toward men, embodied in this tiny baby. Jesus, Savior, Christ, and Lord. So how do we respond to this? These angels certainly do, in their ministry, reveal to us both the greatness and the grace of Jesus. How do we respond to this, this Christmas season? Well, first I would say we should share the angel's reverence. The angels with reverence proclaim the birth of Jesus. They proclaim Jesus as savior who is Christ and Lord. They do have reverence to the one who is the creator. They have reverence to this baby in the manger and so should we. Do we reverence Christ? Is he great in our mind? Do we bow before him, share the angel's reverence, second, believe the angel's message? If the word spoken by angels was steadfast, how shall we escape if we neglect so great salvation? This word spoken by angels was and is steadfast. And we should believe these good tidings of great joy. By the way, it's so amazing to me that this truth that they proclaim is a truth that they never will ever be able to completely receive, at least in the same way we can. Angels, The Lord did not come to live and die for angels, as he did for us. And so even as the angels proclaim the birth of Jesus, who is the Savior, who is Christ and Lord, there is some mystery to this that they will never fully grasp. I know we won't either, but what I mean by this is they won't experience it in the same way we will. Let me show you a verse in Luke, sorry, let me show you a verse in 1 Peter. 1 Peter chapter one and verse 12. To them it was revealed, and this is speaking of the prophets of years gone by, to them it was revealed that not to themselves but to us they were ministering the things which now have been reported to you through those who have preached the gospel to you by the Holy Spirit sent from heaven. And then it says, things which angels desire to look into. This is beyond their ability to grasp. It's beyond their experience. Friends, this really is good tidings of great joy. Believe this truth this Christmas. So how do we respond? We share the angel's reverence, we believe the angel's message, but let us also join the angel's chorus. No, we cannot join the angel's chorus in the sense that we become angels, we don't become angels, that's not a biblical concept. But we can join their chorus by embracing this message and proclaiming it ourselves. Every time we tell ourself this truth, we are joining the angel's chorus. Every time we sing this truth with meaning, we are joining the angel's chorus. Every time we would share this truth with others, we are joining this angel's chorus. We can only truly join this angel's chorus by faith. They sang with conviction. But we by faith enter into this conviction in a much deeper and greater way by faith in Jesus, the one who has come to live and to die for us. And so the angels, yet another part of the cast of Christmas, what do they show us? They point us to the greatness and the grace of Jesus. Let's not forget that this Christmas season, amen.