Open your Bibles again to Luke chapter 2 if you would. Looking again at the word given here by Luke in the second chapter. Looking at our Saviors. The announcement of His coming to the shepherds by the angels. Considering together verse 14. A multitude of the heavenly host appeared praising God. Glory to God in the highest and on earth peace among those with whom He is pleased. It was the greatest moment ever witnessed by the heavenly host. Imagine the joy, the ecstasy of the angelic host that gathered together Praising God here as they appeared before the shepherds, we can imagine the joy that the angelic host must have had at the creation of the world. As God the Almighty brought all things out of nothing, stretching forth the creation with his own hands, placing the stars in the sky, bringing forth the trees from the ground, calling forth the fish in the seas and the beasts to cover the earth. We can imagine the joy of the angels when the triune God took special pains on the sixth day of creation to make man in his own image. We can imagine the awe and the wonder when the Lord God fashioned man of the dust of the earth, but an empty form, and then breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and man became before the very eyes a living soul. How the angels must have stood in awe of God's works then. But here in Luke chapter two, here In this day in Bethlehem, here was a work of God which far outshined all other works. Here was a wonder which robbed all other wonders of adoration. When God made man in the garden, the heavens certainly stood in awe. But when God became man, the heavens burst forth with praise, glory, be to God in the highest." This brought the angels to their feet, we might say, and it occasioned a proclamation of the greatest joy. It put praise upon their lips, the likes of which was never heard before. When the angel appeared to the shepherds, he simply said, Behold, I bring you good news of great joy. It was a simple statement, and yet it was packed with significance. Christ's birth was good news for the shepherds and for all men, but it was good news for several reasons. Christ's birth meant the end of all prophecy. Even as we read in Hebrews 1, it said in times past, God spoke to the fathers at many times and in many ways. But in these last days, the days begun in Bethlehem with Jesus' birth, God has spoken to us finally and most clearly by His Son. whom he has appointed the heir of all things. All before the coming of Christ were servants who prefaced their messages with, thus saith the Lord. But the coming of this one is the coming of the heir, the coming of him who prefaced his words with, verily, verily, I say unto you. Christ's birth meant the fullness of time had come, Paul said in Galatians 4. But when the fullness of time had come, God sent forth His Son born of a woman. God's timetable for Christ's coming had reached its zenith. And Christ was sent forth at just the right moment on this very night in the city of David. Christ's birth was good news because it meant the fulfillment of all types. Time would fail us to go through the Old Testament and point out every type by which God and His wisdom had put in place to prepare for the coming of His Son. But here in Christ's birth, all the Father's preparations throughout the entire Old Testament had reached their fulfillment. Every Old Testament type is now seen to have been built with lumber from either his manger or his cross. For they all pointed either to his birth or to his death. It's good news because Christ's birth was the substance of every shadow. In Colossians 2.17 we read, These are but a shadow of the things to come, but the substance belongs to Christ. The coming of Christ is like the dawning of the sun which cast its rays across the horizon in all directions. The entire Old Testament witness was but several shadows cast by His birth. He arises from Bethlehem as the Son of Righteousness, the very substance whose rays gave light to all that came before Him. And Christ's birth was good news because it was the fulfillment of every promise. Whatever promise God made throughout all the years of the Israelites in the Old Testament, whatever hope was ever stirred in the hearts of His people, they were all fulfilled in Christ's coming. In 2 Corinthians 1, verse 20, Paul says, all the promises of God find their yes in Him. And therefore, it's through Him that we utter our amen to God. This was indeed good news that the angel came to announce. And being good news, it could not but be the occasion of great joy. Who among us is ever sad to remember an escape from danger? Who among us is ever sad to catch sight of a harbor in the midst of a storm? How can melancholy reign in the hearts of those who see their deliverance at hand? or in the minds of those who receive news of their king's victory over the enemy. Just so was this announcement of the greatest joy, for what they announced would be the mirth for man's melancholy. It would be the cordial for man's condemnation. It would be the laughter for man's lamentation. The sadness of man would now be buried. the suffering of man would now be relieved, the sinfulness of man would now be forgiven, and the satisfaction which God demanded for reconciliation would now be supplied. What a difference it would make in our lives if we thought more often of the great joy of this announcement. The angels of God stand here in this passage as the heralds of that first Christmas. And with what emotion do they overshadow it? What stirring in the heart do they warrant and demand but the greatest of joy? All the religions of the world add sorrow upon sorrow in the hearts of men because they offer no salvation, no relief, No forgiveness, no reconciliation with the God who is. Christianity alone is the occasion of great joy. Christianity alone fills the heart with gladness and fills the lips with praise. Christianity alone calls forth a heavenly host and solicits such heavenly praise. And furthermore, the angel says that this good news of great joy is for all people. The Jewish hope is being answered as the promise to Abraham of a seed and to Judah of a king and to David of a son are all finding their answer in this child that is born. But besides that Jewish hope, The human hope is being answered here in this birth as the promise to Adam and Eve of a child who would crush the head of man's perennial adversary finds its answer at last in this child's coming. And thus we see how comprehensive this good news of great joy is. None is shut out. None is excluded. The angels have come to announce an event that would affect every nation and all peoples. An event, in fact, that according to Revelation 5, 9, would culminate in the ransoming of a people for God from every tribe and language and people and nation. The content of the angel's announcement centers on the description of a particular child born that night in the city of David, a child whom they herald to the shepherds as Savior, Christ, and Lord." The angel had told Joseph that the child was to be named Jesus, for He would save His people from their sins. In this child, salvation had come down to man. In this child, God would work the reconciliation which man so desperately needed. God would offer the sacrifice that man's sin required. God would placate His own wrath, which stood over the sinner. By this child, God would save, God would deliver, He would rescue, He would redeem, and He would purchase His people for Himself. When man could not ascend the heavens to bring salvation down, God descended from heaven as a child to bring salvation to a lost and sinful and hopeless people. And this Savior is also the Christ, which means Messiah. This child was the one commissioned, anointed, authorized, and ordained by God for the work of subduing all people to Himself, ruling and defending them, and restraining and conquering all His and their enemies. And therefore the kingdom of God is come with this child. It was through this child that God Himself would reign among His people. that He would bring His kingdom into the hearts and the lives of His own. But not just Savior, not just Christ, this child, the angel said, is also the Lord. His birth was the coming of God, the tabernacling of God among men, no longer in a temple, no longer behind a veil, but now forever in human flesh, which is why Matthew told us in Matthew 1, verse 23, that this child shall be called not only Jesus, but Emmanuel, God with us. But how would the shepherds find this child? Bethlehem was overrun with people as everybody returned to his hometown to be registered for the census. How would they find a single child amidst such a multitude? The angels told them this heavenly child would not be found in the pomp of the palace, nor would he be found with the wealth of the world swaddled in the robes of the royal and the clothes of the comfortable and attended by courtiers of the queen. Instead, they would find this child wrapped in swaddling cloths and lying in a manger. clothed in wraps which tell of His poverty, and manifesting from His trough cradle what He would later declare to men, that the Son of Man had nowhere to lay His head. Already in this first Christmas, in the very birth of man's Savior, God was dressing the good news of salvation in humble clothes. God would not send forth His Son in the world's garb, but rather God would call the world to lay aside their garb and to be clothed by faith in the righteousness of His own Son. Now what praise could suffice for such an occasion as this? What choir could suitably comprise the leading hymn of the incarnation of God? None less than a choir of angels compelled to praise God in the highest. I want you to notice the two themes in this leading hymn of Christmas. The first is the glory which Christ's birth brings to God. And the second is the peace which Christ's birth brings to sinners. Glory is brought to God because God's attributes are on display in the birth of this child. God's wisdom in the very plan of redemption itself. Who could have come up with this? Who could have arranged all of this? Who could have made this happen so perfectly and wonderfully? God's wisdom is on display. God's power is on display in the miracle of the virgin conception. God's grace is on display in providing a lamb for his own self. God's mercy is on display in withholding judgment from man, which is deserved by sinners. God's truthfulness is on display as we see him keeping covenant, fulfilling promises made long ago, every promise coming to fruition here and now. God's faithfulness and God's love in sending his only begotten son to be man's savior. But not only glory to God, but peace to sinners is also the theme. Because Christ's birth in human flesh was the alliance of enemies. It was the marriage of warring parties. It was the making of peace between God and man. When the second person of the Trinity stooped to take on flesh, he established an eternal and intimate union with humanity, putting an end to the war between God and his sin-laden people. In the birth of this child, God was acting for man's salvation. And God was making peace with his wayward people once and for all. What a glorious event this first Christmas was. And what praise it justly brought forth from the angelic host. But can we do any less today? Is not the news of Christ's birth still good news? Is it not still, and will it not ever be, the greatest news ever heard? Is it not still news which stirs the heart with the greatest joy? Can we consider this matter lightly, dear brothers and sisters? Can we dwell our thoughts upon this great event of the coming of our Savior and not have our hearts stirred with the greatest of joy? Is it not still the best news of the greatest joy for all peoples? Are you excluded in this news? Has God gathered all but you with this news? Has He not here still announced? good news of great joy for all peoples? Then I would ask you today, where are you in relation to this angelic announcement? Do you know the joy of the Savior's birth? Do you know the joy of the salvation that He brings to sinners? Do you know the peace of a reconciled God? If you do, then rejoice. Rejoice that God has not left you in darkness, that God has not left you in sin. Rejoice that God has not left you without salvation, but has come to you in Christ His Son, that He has rescued you from danger, that He has saved you from damnation, that He has set His eternal seal upon you by coming to you in Christ. And let it be clear, by the joy in your life, And by the peace of God, which fills your heart, let it be clear to all the world and to all who know you. Let it be clear in the coming year that Christ is your beloved and you are his. Let the world know that this Jesus is your chief delight. That this Jesus is your savior. But if you're a stranger to the joy and the peace of Christ's birth, then the Bible says you are still lost and dead in your sins and under the wrath of God. And your only hope is in this child born in Bethlehem so long ago, because he is the Savior. He is God come down for your salvation. And therefore, I urge you, and plead with you in the name of God to come to this Jesus, to draw near to this Lord and this Savior in faith, and to receive the salvation which He brings. Maybe you're hindered by the great number of your sins. And the great number of your sins keeps you away. But I would have you know this night, that this Savior bore the sins of the world upon His shoulders. What then are your few sins but a drop to the great ocean of sins which He bore on the cross? Maybe it's the gravity of your sins which keeps you from coming to Christ. That your sins are so grievous and horrible and terrible that you imagine none could forgive you. But let me remind you this night that the Savior upon the cross forgave his own murderers. And he said himself in Mark chapter 3 that all the sins of men would be forgiven. What then are your sins compared to those who drove the nails into his hands and feet? Maybe this night it's the great distance between you and God that keeps you away. The great length of the chasm which separates creator from creature and more so holy God from wretched, vile sinner. I would have you know tonight that this savior came to you knowing that you could not come to him. And with his bloodstained cross, he bridged that chasm created by your sin. How great then can that distance really be if Christ has already bridged it for you? Maybe it is, after all, God's holiness that keeps you away. But God is holy, holy, holy, and you are not. And you imagine there is no way you could stand in His presence. I would have you know tonight as we read together that this Savior was born in poverty. That this Savior was laying in a cattle trough. This Savior ate with prostitutes. He drank with sinners. And He died between thieves. What then is your pollution? What then is your filth to Him? Are you any worse than any others? He has already proven that He is not ashamed to come where you are. Hear His call then, and come this night. and know the joy and the peace of His salvation. His incarnation has removed every excuse. His incarnation has leveled every mountain of hindrance and it has filled every valley of impossibility. Nothing stands in your own way but your own pride and unbelief. Therefore, lay these down. and come to Christ and be saved. For blessed is the one who seeks His refuge in Him. May God therefore so draw you and may He grant that you might know the unspeakable joy and the eternal peace which Christ brings to sinners. Amen.