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And when the shepherds saw it, they made known the saying that had been told them concerning this child. You may be seated. In the name of Jesus, Amen. Dear Saints, Merry Christmas, and in the name of Jesus, may the Holy Spirit open our ears and hearts to rejoice in the good tidings of great joy that the angels had for the shepherds on the first Christmas night.
I think that this bulletin, and God be praised for all the hard work that Jonathan has done assembling this, will become a tool for you as you reflect on the joy that Jesus gives to us in looking at the art and all the preaching that’s in there for you. But there is one thing that I want to make sure we point out tonight, and that is that almost all of the paintings that you see in your bulletin are wrong.
And they are wrong in this way. In almost every painting, there is a light that’s emanating from Jesus. Now theologically, this is absolutely 100% correct. Jesus is the light of the world. In Him is no darkness at all. We’ll hear it tomorrow: “The light has come into the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.” He is the light that lightens all humanity, and so it’s right when these painters would preach that to us by showing Jesus glowing and all of the people and even the animals in the manger reflecting that light that’s coming from Him.
But when the shepherds went into the manger and saw Jesus sitting there in the food trough for the cattle, they did not see a little glowing baby. They saw a baby that looked like every other baby they had ever seen. In fact, the only reason the shepherds knew that this child was something different, something unique, something to be preached and wondered at and rejoiced in—and for the news about this child to be spread throughout the world—the only reason they knew is because the angels told them.
The angel—we don’t know the name of the angel, but probably the angel Gabriel—comes to appear to them, the angel of the Lord, and he preaches this glorious sermon which contains almost all of our theology. He says, “Rejoice! I bring you good tidings of great joy. Don’t be afraid, for this great joy will be for all people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior who is Christ the Lord, and this will be a sign for you. You will find the baby wrapped in swaddling clothes and lying in a manger.”
And then—and it’s very emphatic in the Greek—suddenly, blam! Together with the heavens sort of unfurl like a curtain in the sky is thrown back, and there are all these angels singing. I get the picture like this: Gabriel is there and he’s kind of sent to preach this sermon to the shepherds, and there’s a bunch of other angels who are kind of hanging around to see how this thing went. And then Gabriel announces the news to the shepherds, and they can’t help it; they just burst out in song. It’s almost like they cut off the sermon because they can’t hold back for the glory.
And I think, by the way, that’s what we’re doing tonight. I mean, have you ever thought about how we’re jumping the gun? I mean, Christmas is tomorrow, but you’re all here tonight. You can’t wait to celebrate Christmas. You can’t hold off. This is how the angels are, and they preach, “Glory to God in the highest, and peace, goodwill to all those with whom the Lord is pleased.”
Now, why are they so excited? In fact, I noticed something in the text that I never noticed before until this year. All the years thinking about the text, studying the text, reading the text, preaching the text—I never noticed this. You know what the shepherds are talking about when they leave the manger, when they leave the cave where Mary and Joseph and the baby were? Do you know what they’re talking about? They’re talking about what the angels said. They’re telling everyone not what they saw, but what they heard.
That this child that looks just like every other child that we’ve ever seen, this baby that looks just like every other baby that we’ve ever seen, is something different. This one, in fact, is the Savior, Christ the Lord, the one who will save his people from all their sins. Jesus, the Son of God, is born just like you were born. Wrapped in swaddling clothes just like you were wrapped in swaddling clothes, laid in a manger—not like you. You probably had a crib. But this is the point: just like us.
Remember the story of the father-son space explorers? Did I tell you guys this last year? The father and son space explorers are traveling around space, and they come upon this planet. They circle in close, and as they study this planet, they find out that it is full of dogs—mangy dogs. They get closer and see that it’s full of almost ravenous, mean, huge, angry dogs; packs of wolves running around everywhere, destroying each other, eating each other, and clawing at each other.
As the father and son space explorers get closer and closer to this planet, the father—he was a captain—turns to the son and says, “You know what I think about these dogs?” And the son says, “That they’re horrible.” And he says, “Well, that’s obvious, but I love them. And I want to save them.”
“Okay,” says the son, “how are we going to do that?” He says, “Well, maybe some bad news. You’re going to have to go down there and do it yourself.” “Okay,” says the son, “I’ll do that. What’s the plan?” And he says, “Well, you’re going to have to become a dog, like them. In fact, maybe a little more bad news: you’re going to have to become a Chihuahua.”
“And they are going to claw at you. They are going to scrape at you. They are going to destroy you. And they are going to devour you. But after you’re dead and buried, on the third day, you’ll be raised and back up here with me. But you will also be a Chihuahua forever, joyfully.”
The Son comes down and is born of the Virgin Mary for us and for our salvation. He is incarnate in our flesh, sharing in our flesh and in all the weaknesses, in all of the pain and all of the suffering, even in all of the sin. He was perfect, remember, in every way. He never sinned and never broke God’s law, but all of our sin was laid on Him.
Here’s another picture. I was talking with a pastor friend of mine yesterday. We were trying to work this out. It’s not finished yet, so you’ll have to bear with me. Maybe next year we’ll be finished. But can you imagine going to the doctor, and the doctor tells you, “I’ve got bad news: you are sick with a terrible disease, and you probably only have a few months to live. But the good news is that I’ve been working on a cure for this disease, but it’s not completed yet. But I think with a little motivation, we can get it finished.”
“And so here’s what I’m going to do. I’m going to take your disease and I’m going to put it into my own body, so that if you die, I’ll die with you. And if there’s a cure, then we’ll both be cured.” Do you see? When Jesus takes upon our flesh and blood, when He takes upon Himself our humanity, He is joining us, so that how it goes with us, so it goes with Christ—or better, however how it goes with Christ is how it goes for us.
So Jesus joins us in our flesh, joins us in our weakness, joins us in our mortality, so that we can join Him in life that never ends. He carries our sin and our sorrow so that He can give us peace and forgiveness. And this, dear saints, is what the angels preach: “Fear not, for behold, I bring you good news of great joy that will be for everyone. For you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, a Savior, your Savior, Christ the Lord.”
His manger means that there is a place for you in eternal life. His humility means that there is for you glory that never ends. His poverty means riches beyond our asking or imagining in the eternal glory of heaven. His suffering means your peace. His sacrifice means your forgiveness. His being stricken and smitten means your comfort, and His death means that you will live forever.
So God be praised. This is a good sermon that the angels preached, not just to the shepherds, but for all people—that means for you and for me. For unto you is born in the city of David a Savior, Christ the Lord. Amen.
The peace of God guard your hearts and your minds in the name of Jesus, now and always. Amen.