We read together Luke chapter 2, verses 1 through 20, which is the scripture reading for this morning. Luke chapter 2, 1 through 20. And it came to pass in those days that there went out a decree from Caesar Augustus that all the world should be taxed. And this taxing was first made when Cyrenius was governor of Syria. And all went to be taxed, every one into his own city. And Joseph also went up from Galilee out of the city of Nazareth into Judea, unto the city of David, which is called Bethlehem, because he was of the house and lineage of David, to be taxed with Mary as a spouse-wife, being great with child. And so it was that while they were there, the days were accomplished that she should be delivered. And she brought forth her firstborn son, and wrapped him in swaddling clothes, and laid him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn. And they were in the same country shepherds abiding in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night. And lo, the angel of the Lord came upon them, and the glory of the Lord shone round about them, and they were sore afraid. And the angel said unto them, Fear not, for behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord. And this shall be a sign unto you, he shall find a babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, 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. And it came to pass, as the angels were gone away from them into heaven, the shepherd said one to another, Let us now go even unto Bethlehem, and see this thing which is come to pass, which the Lord hath made known unto us.' And they came with haste, and found Mary and Joseph and the babe lying in a manger. And when they had seen it, they made known abroad the saying which was told them concerning this child. and all they that heard it wondered at those things which were told them by the shepherds. But Mary kept all these things and pondered them in her heart. And the shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things that they had heard and seen, as it was told unto them." So far the reading of God's holy word. The text for the sermon is verse 11. Verse 11, "'For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, which is Christ the Lord.'" Beloved congregation, 4,000 years ago, Abraham looked forward, and he looked forward to see a certain day, the day of the coming of the Lord Jesus Christ, and from the distance he saw the day of Christ. And he longed for the coming of Christ, the Savior. And David also looked ahead, around 3,000 years ago, looked ahead to the coming of the Lord Jesus Christ, and he sang in one of his psalms, which the Lord hath made, we will rejoice and be glad in it." The prophets, they also looked ahead. Twenty-seven hundred years ago, Isaiah spoke of people who were in darkness, but they were going to see a great light. And then finally the light came. There was a true light, from a star shining upon Bethlehem, upon one specific location. The wise men from the East saw that light with great joy. They were seeking the new-born King. And if you seek the Lord Jesus Christ, you will find Him. Then the Lord God will shed light upon his son. And that's what the wise men experienced. And so there were shepherds watching their flock outside of Bethlehem. And they were also going to see a great light. They were people in darkness. They were going to receive hope. They were people who were outcasts, these shepherds. They were not even allowed to testify in court cases. They were considered to be refuse of society. And they were going to see a great light, because the Lord Jesus Christ came and His coming into this world was going to be announced. And so we see this morning in our text, the coming of Jesus Christ into our world. And we consider first the event, and secondly the need, and thirdly the person. Well, boys and girls, I think we know the events. You've been told that at school, at Sunday school, here in church. You know that Mary and Joseph had to leave Nazareth And you know why they had to leave Nazareth? Were they planning to leave Nazareth? Oh, no. They just wanted to stay there. But the Roman emperor made a decree, because he thinks he is ruling the whole world, but he doesn't know that he is a tool in the hand of the Lord. And the Lord wants a peasant couple from Nazareth to travel down south to be in Bethlehem at exactly the time when the lady will bring forth a child. God wants this to happen. And that's why he lays in the heart of Emperor Augustus to number all his people. And so Mary and Joseph left. And you know, they came to Bethlehem. It was very busy. and there's no room for them anywhere. And so finally they were referred, yes, to a stable, could have been a shed, could have been a cave where sheep would be kept. The sheep were now out on the fields. We only know the word manger, a feeding trough of animals. And that shows us that probably they were in some stable. And that's where Mary gave birth to her son. And she wrapped him in swaddling clothes and laid him in a manger. Joseph and Mary, they must have looked at this child. And Joseph must have looked at Mary and said, this is Yeshua, Savior, Yeshua. And they didn't understand how or what or when No. And for 30 years it seemed as if nothing was going to happen. He was eventually going to be raised in Nazareth as a carpenter. And when the Lord Jesus finally did assume his ministry, Mary still didn't understand it. They thought he had gone out of his mind. And so they stood outside the house, Mary and her children, to get Yeshua back. He has to be a bit more normal." They didn't understand it. But later on they did. And then their eyes were opened for the beauty of this Savior, Israel's Messiah. At the time of the birth of the Lord Jesus, who knew about it? Probably Zacharias and Elizabeth. Joseph and Mary, of course. And who else? Well, there was a man in Jerusalem. He knew that the Messiah was going to come, Simeon, and that he would see him still before he would die. But that's all. No one there to welcome him. The King of kings and the Lord of lords is born, and nobody welcomes him. God is going to make sure that there will be a welcoming committee. And so he sends Gabriel, an angel, and where shall that angel go to? To the priests in Jerusalem? Or to Levites? Or to those who are of royalty? Maybe to the Sanhedrin. No. God chooses the lowest of the lowest shepherds. What a blessing. Because now there's hope for you and for me. Because we also belong to the lowest. Maybe we don't feel that. Maybe we don't see that. But when God's Spirit opens your eyes, you realize that you belong to the lowest. Paul said, I belong to the lowest. He says, I'm the chief of sinners. I'm the worst one. And that's how the Holy Spirit works. It's not to make a person depressed or make a person morbid, but to make a person humble and lowly, and to realize the greatness of what God has done to come down to a sinner like me. The Lord seeks the lowest, and those who accuse themselves of being the lowest, shepherds. That's where the angel appears to. And they were in the same country, shepherds abiding in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night, And suddenly, look, behold, lo, the angel of the Lord came upon them, and the glory of the Lord shone round about them. There was light everywhere around them. There was no shadow. All light in the middle of the night. The glory, the Shekinah, Where was the Shekinah, the glory of the Lord in the Old Testament? It was in the Holy of Holies. No one was allowed to go there. That was the holy part. And that glory is now revealed to shepherds. That's the miracle. God has come to dwell with men, to dwell in men. But the shepherds, how do they respond? We find it repeatedly in Scripture that when a mortal human being is confronted to the radiant light of heaven, he fears and trembles. Because we are unholy people, and God is holy, and God is just, and we are defiled, like vermin underneath a log that you may kick over when you're in the forest, and you see all that vermin, the little bugs and worms crawling out, they go away. Cockroaches, they go away, they can't stand the light, they want to hide themselves. That's how man is. We don't want to be under God's light. We want to do our own thing. We want to pretend that we are God. That we can determine what is right and wrong and we will do things ourselves. It's pride. That's our heart. That's our life. That's how man is towards God. And so when they are exposed to His holiness and His majesty, then you fear. And there they stood, those shepherds, wondering, what is this? And they shielded their eyes. We can imagine all that light. And then they hear a voice. Fear not, for behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people. You don't have to be afraid. There is joy, good tidings. Your King cometh unto you, you shepherds. And it's a message not only to you, but to all people. All who are under the gospel must hear this blessed proclamation of salvation. There is joy. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, which is Christ the Lord." That's why you don't have to be afraid. Our translation has a Savior, but in the original it just says, Soter, Savior, with no a in front of it. Unto you is born Savior. He is the Savior. Outside of Him, there's no Savior. In the most absolute sense, in the most perfect sense, He is Savior. And that's a cause of great joy. The shepherds were filled with joy, heavenly joy. And they believed the words, and in verse 16, they came with haste and found Mary and Joseph and a babe lying in a manger. And when they saw him, then they went out. And what did those shepherds do who were not allowed to testify in public? They went around to everyone who wanted to hear it. Their faces were shining. There was joy upon them. The King has been born. Messiah has been born. And the people, they asked, where? What? Yeah, there, in that little hovel over there, in Bethlehem, just outside Bethlehem. Beside those big rocks, there's a cave, there you will find it. But they didn't believe them. No one came to look. No one came to see. But the Lord had his proclamation made among those people of Bethlehem and the surrounding area. The people wondered. But the shepherds, they had joy, and it could not be quenched by anything. When God meets you, you become humble, There's a sense of awe in your heart because of the presence of God. There's awe. You become small. You also become joyful, very joyful, that God looks down upon you, liberating you, delivering you, pouring something of heavenly love in your heart. And that's how the Lord draws a sinner behind himself to follow Him. You experience something of what the shepherds did, joy, awe. And you have to speak about it. You can't contain it. You want to talk to others about it. What you've seen, what you have heard, Because the Lord is so good, that's what God's Spirit works, how He works. And the shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things that they had heard and seen as it was told unto them. And the heart of what happened to the shepherds we find in the words of our text. For unto you is born this day in the city of David, a Savior, which is Christ the Lord." So that's the events of this gospel. But now we also go a bit deeper into the need for this gospel, because shepherds, they needed this gospel. They were despised, they were rejected of men, and Israel was in spiritual darkness. because of the bondage and the legalism of the Pharisees that put upon the people, there was no joy. And the people were also in bondage by Roman oppressors. The royal throne of David had been overthrown 500 years earlier already, while the Lord had promised that there would always be a descendant from the line of David upon the throne, That didn't happen. It didn't happen. And all Israel was in darkness, but all mankind was in darkness. They all followed their pantheons of gods and with lewd practices. It was darkness covering the earth. They were all alienated from God. And now the time had come that God would bring salvation into this world. He did it. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, which is Christ the Lord. The shepherds heard these words. You know how they responded? They did not say, Are these words really for us? Are these words not too high and far-fetched? They didn't say, well, these words are too wonderful. No. They realized these words are suitable for them. And so they wanted to find out the truth of these words. They want to go and see what the angel had said. And so these shepherds were overcome by the power of God. And that's what happens when the gospel enters your heart. You become overcome by the power of the gospel. You cannot continue on in your life anymore. The Lord Jesus becomes too strong for you. It's what Psalm 110 says, His people shall be very willing in the day of His power. Then the Lord enters your heart. And then you need Him. And that's what happened to these shepherds. Their soul was trembling when they heard the voice. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, which is Christ the Lord. Unto you? Us? We? Outcasts? Has the Messiah come for us? It's this word, you, congregation, that makes this text so beautiful. If you leave these two words, unto you, out of this text, the text loses all its flavor, all its beauty, and its attraction, if we only hear about a Savior born somewhere. Well, that may be interesting, but the text says, And the angels are speaking, as it were, to us this morning, unto you is born the Savior. And then you who are wondering, how can I ever be converted? You who are wondering, how can I ever be reconciled to God? You who are trying to fulfill all kinds of conditions and to meet a certain standard so that you will be acceptable to God according to your own thinking. You who see the power of sin in you, and you hate it, you can't stop it, you're struggling with addiction, and you can't stop it, and you hate it, you're a prisoner. You who cannot deliver yourself And you're wondering, what must I do? Well, to you all, this blessed news comes, for unto you is born the Savior. What love! What love! He comes down to save you. The Savior who can save you from all your sins. He has come to ransom a people who are stuck in sin, to deliver them from the powers of bondage. He enters their lives with His love, and then miracles happen. Sinners start to confess their sins and their unworthiness, and God's love and peace enter their heart. Then joy and life are realities. Unto you, Well, then you're amazed. And to me, yes, and to you, whoever you are, the Savior who can save you from every misery, in absolute sense, the Savior who saves from sins, from guilt, from defilement, who renews your life, who will renew your body, who will bring you into the presence of God Himself in utmost peace and joy and love and happiness is there. There's nothing more to be desired. This is the Savior. There are many saviors in this world. Economists, teachers, professors, they claim to be saviors. Philosophers, follow me and I will teach you how to live. Saviors, who say, just live it up and enjoy as much as you can, for life is short. They call themselves saviors. They are nothing. They're all fake. They all will end up in darkness, because they don't tackle the big problem, and that is sin. But here is one who tackles the problem, sin. It will cost him his life, but he will do it, because he is motivated by love to his people, and he enters hearts of people. And then questions you may have and certain problems you may have, oh, they evaporate. They're not a problem anymore. and the things that tie you down, the things that keep you busy, keep you awake at night, they're removed. There's peace. He is mine, and I am his. Before the Lord Jesus enters your heart, everything is dull in your life. You don't have really anything to live for. You just live and exist and try to enjoy something you hope for the best. That's how people live. But when the Lord Jesus enters your heart, then that changes. Then you have fulfillment. Then your lives are no longer dry and barren and meaningless. Then you're no longer under the power of death, or of sin, or of misery. Or you will still die, but there will be a translation into glory. Death has lost its sting, because life is Christ, and my death will be gained, and I long to depart to be with Christ, because He is the Savior, blessed Savior. Unto you is born this Savior. Unto you. Are we paying attention unto you? The shepherds went to inquire, what do you do? What do I do? We are to be at the foot feet of the Lord Jesus. We are to be, so to speak, at the manger, and we are to look in. And when you see that child, the Lord causes golden rays of light to shine into the darkness of your existence. That's what the Lord does in His way, at His time, in His manner. because He is the light of the world, and those who follow Him will never more walk in darkness." Darkness. Where did that come from? Because we wanted to be as God. That's where it came from. And then we plunge ourselves in darkness. But in the Lord Jesus, God became man. We wanted to be as God. But God chose as a response to become man. And so the Lord Jesus brought life and joy back into this dying world. The shepherds had no perspective. They only hoped to take care of their sheep and nothing to life in life for them. No expectation for salvation, no hope. No joy, no blessedness, no ray of light. And modern man comes with some artificial light. And you, in your desolate condition, whoever you may be, you go on. You don't want life to stop, but your sins press upon you. You have no peace. Your heart is empty. You see no light. You have no righteousness before God, because you don't really care about God. But behold, unto you is born the Savior. The Savior was born. He was not created. It had to be like this. He had to become one with mankind. If the Lord Jesus had been created, He would not have been a part of mankind. He had to be one of us, and then He could bear the punishment for us. That's why He had to be God in human flesh, born, not created. And so the Lord Jesus had to do our lives, repeat our lives all over again. Born, that's where our lives start. And from our very beginning we are corrupt. A so-called innocent little baby doesn't exist. There's only one innocent baby in the history of mankind and we find that this morning in the manger. Because we are all conceived and born in sin, But the Lord Jesus was born in purity, and He remained pure His whole life, and He ended His life in purity, because we were called to be pure, and we are not pure. And so the Lord lays His purity upon His people, so that they are reckoned pure in the sight of God. He was born in purity, but we were conceived and born in sin. And what a beautiful reality it is that He was born in purity. He is our substitute. And then we also see in the third place the Savior of this gospel. Because we read here the word Savior, not salvation. For unto you is born this day in the city of David Salvation, no, a Savior, which is Christ the Lord. And the emphasis is laid upon Savior. You know, you and I can be more concerned about heaven than about the God of heaven. We can be more concerned about salvation than upon the Savior. We can often think about the question, how can I be saved? Now, that's a good question. But there is more. There is a higher question. And that is, how shall God be glorified in my life? God must be glorified. That's the heart issue. And that's why the angels sang glory to God in the highest. And that's also the case when the Holy Spirit lays the Lord Jesus into your heart. Then it's not some sentimental, emotional feelings you have, but you become uncovered to your corrupt condition. You realize there's nothing good in me. You become so small that you don't daydream about heaven, but you acknowledge God is just. I deserve to be cast out. And then it becomes a miracle, God's unspeakable gift of His Son. You have a godly sorrow because of sins you've done, and you bow for God's goodness, and you need this Savior to stop that fountain of iniquity within you. You need Him, the only Savior. And then you need to be incorporated. into Him. There needs to be a living bond between the Lord Jesus Christ and your soul. You need a living person who can save you. You need one who understands you, who understands your struggles and your plight and your difficulties and your pain, and who knows how to soothe you and to lead you. He knows what you need to learn. He can instruct you. You need one who will take your place as the substitute, that He does everything right on your behalf, that He pays the penalty of sin on your behalf. You need Him who gives life, who strengthens you. And this is the Savior who does all that. He conquers death. Sinners sinking away into the night of everlasting death. They are brought into everlasting light. This is the truth of what the text means that the Lord Jesus Christ has come. If we look at our text, we have to read Scripture carefully and listen to every word. We believe in the verbal inspiration of the Scriptures. And you see here, Christ, the Lord. He is Christ. It's one title, name given to Him. He is Christ. And Christ, that means the Anointed One. That means Messiah. He is the Promised One. He will cause all God's promises to be fulfilled. He is the King whose kingdom will never end. He is the priest who can only pay for all your sins. He is the prophet who can personally instruct you in God's way of salvation. He is the Christ. He is the fulfillment of all God's promises. He came. The Lord had promised, and He came. He didn't seem to come. It seemed as if He would never come. But He came. And now the Lord has promised to return with the clouds of heaven to judge the living and the dead, and an end will be made to this world, and then justice will be done It doesn't seem to happen. It seems as if nothing happens. But He will come. Not one word that He has spoken will fall idle to the ground. He has spoken. He is Christ. But He is also Christ, the Lord, the Lord, the Kurios, Lord God Himself. This colors the fact. that He is Savior. He is the Savior who is the Lord, who is all-powerful. He has so much power to enter sinners' hearts. He is the Lord God in human flesh. And here we see shepherds bowing before Him. In a little while, wise men from the east will fall down before Him. adoring Him and offering Him gold, frankincense, his myrrh. He is the Lord, and He calls us also to bow before Him. You, young man, the Lord is calling you to get out of bed, and to get on your knees, and to fold your hands, and to cry out to this Savior, Lord, I need Thee in my life, and I don't know Thee. I'm a stranger to Thee. I hear of light shining in hearts, and I don't have it. I need Thee, O Lord. And so you learn to lay down your life down before Him, and you see something of your shortcomings and sins. But He is the Lord who can take away all your sins. With the Lord there is much forgiveness. Therefore, consider. what the angel said from heaven, Christ the Lord. And so there's expectation for you and me. The things you're wrestling with, the Lord knows how to deal with that. So there's so much joy in this threefold name of this child. He is the Savior. He is Christ. He is the Lord. And when you see that, then the miracle is not that you start to love God. That's also a miracle. That Holy Spirit works out in your life. But the miracle is really that God loved you. You. in your sins, in your unwillingness, and that He went into outer darkness in order to save you. That's God's grace. That's what Christmas is all about. And what a trade-off! What a trade-off! Jesus a manger, and you a crown. Jesus in a stable, and you in a heavenly palace. Jesus lost, you have found. The Lord Jesus in judgment, and you are acquitted. The Lord Jesus in death, and you in life. Would you not now be willing to deny all and everything for this Savior? The angel speaks. We better listen. It's a heavenly message. Today, this day, the Savior is born. Today. That's the only day upon which you can be saved. It's today. You don't know what tomorrow will bring. What you do know is that at the time of the birth of the Lord Jesus, the whole world was in motion because of the Roman censure. The people had to be numbered. And what we also know is that again that will happen. The whole world will be in motion, following the beast, following pure secularism and paganism. There'll be great movement. That's not today, but that's tomorrow. Great movement, great unrest among the people before the Lord Jesus returns. That's tomorrow. And tomorrow is the day when the Lord shall right the nations, those who belong to Him, They will enjoy glory, be forever with Him. And those who do not belong to Him, they will be cast out into outer darkness. Their day of separation is coming. It's tomorrow. But today, there is still grace. Today has been born unto you the Savior. The Lord Christ. Don't bypass this salvation. You've heard it many a time, haven't you? I've preached it many a time. I think nearly 40 times. Nearly. But every time it's new. Let's not downplay it, but let us uphold it and respond today. Amen. O good doing and blessed Lord, we humbly thank Thee for Thy coming into this world. And how can we thank Thee, Lord? It is not that Thou art looking for our thanksgiving, but Thou art looking for our devotion and our self-denial and our surrender O Lord, the shepherds are a good example. They went to find out the things they had heard and seen, and they wanted to see this child. May that desire be awakened in hearts of those who are still outside of thee. Will thou convert them? And when that desire to see more of Thee is awakened in the hearts of Thy children, wilt Thou lead them that they may behold more and more of the unsearchable riches of Christ? Wilt Thou lay hold upon us and renew our lives that they may reflect Thee, Lord Jesus, Christ, Savior? Today is the day still of salvation. Lord, may we not wait till tomorrow, for tomorrow the day will come when thou will judge the living and the dead, and then there's no more time for repentance. And it can be that desires we may have now, we have been awakened, will be gone tomorrow. They may never come back. O Lord, bless the congregation. Be with us this day and bring us back again this afternoon. We pray it all in Jesus' name. Amen.