Great joy for You and Me! (Luke 2:1-20)

[Stephan Choe]

Dec. 24, 2023

Key verses: 2:10-11:   "And the angel said to them: 'Do not be afraid! Behold, I proclaim to you great joy, which will come to all the people; for to you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord."

I ask you where you were born: At home or in a hospital?

When I was born, most Koreans were poor. Children like me were born at home, usually in a warm room.

Today we want to experience the joy of the birth of Jesus Christ, because his birth is a great joy for all of us.

1 The birth of Christ (1-7)

Around 2000 years ago, Augustus was the emperor of the Roman Empire and the most powerful man in the western world. From Spain to Babylon and Egypt, his word was regarded as the absolute word of power. He once gave an order from his throne: All his subjects were to go to their home town and register with the authorities. The emperor then wanted to collect taxes from them and conscript men as soldiers. His order was so strict that even a heavily pregnant woman like Mary had to undertake an arduous journey without delay.

And among the people who had to travel home to register was a young married couple, Joseph and Mary, who moved from Nazareth to Bethlehem their birthplace. The two had to walk about 150 km on foot. If they had walked 10 hours a day, they would have had to travel for about 4 days. What an exhausting journey for the heavily pregnant Mary!

But something even worse happened. Mary went into labor when they got close to Bethlehem. Joseph looked everywhere for a room for Mary, but to no avail. Finally, he was forced to take a place for Mary in a stable. There she gave birth to a boy and laid him in a manger.

Jesus is actually the Creator God. He could, if he only wanted to, come into the world as a rich and powerful man and display his power. But he came into the world as a poor, helpless baby and was born in a stable. When he had grown a little, he then worked as a poor carpenter until he was 30 years old. Finally, without sin, he had to die cruelly on the cross.

Because Jesus experienced poverty, helplessness, injustice, and death himself, he understands all sad, desperate people well. He knows our grief, sorrow, helplessness, and despair. He can comfort us and stands by us. He is our best friend, helper, and savior.

Anyone among us who is sad or in despair can come to Jesus and find comfort and new strength. Those who are afraid of death can find peace and hope in him.

2. Great joy (8-14)

When Jesus was born in the stable, there were some shepherds in the open field near Bethlehem. They were guarding their flock. They were poor and illiterate. They were so despised in society that they were not even considered witnesses. But God held them in high esteem and sent his angel to them first.

"And the angel said to them: Fear not! Behold, I proclaim to you great joy, which will come to all the people; for to you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord" (10-11).

God shared the good news with the shepherds, "To you is born this day a Savior, who is Christ!"

God's good news is "The Savior is born to you today!"

About 30 years ago, I visited the swimming pool in Bochum-Langendreer with missionary Paul Chang and some children. Hanpol is Paul's second child. Hanpol was small at the time and could not yet swim. When he fell off the slide into the water, he immediately shouted, "Save me!" I was just there and was able to get him out of the water immediately.

Jesus Christ is always with us. He is ready to save us.

What does he save us from? - From sin and death!

Sin means what is deadly in the eyes of God. It is deadly to ignore God and his love. Whoever ignores God and his love does what is bad in the eyes of God.

Sin is bad, but it behaves as if it were our best friend. Sin whispers in our ears: "God wants to rob you of your joy and restrict your freedom. Do whatever you want!"

But that is a lie.

Those who believe in God and his love can have a blessed, eternal life and enjoy God's blessing.

But unbelief and sin rob us of true joy and eternal life. Those who sin feel guilty and experience God's wrath, so that they lose their peace and suffer from bad feelings. After all, sin brings us to hell, as it is written in Rev 21:8:

"But the cowardly, and unbelieving, and the workers of iniquity, and murderers, and whoremongers, and sorcerers, and idolaters, and all liars, their part shall be in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone: which is the second death."

Why is the birth of Christ a great joy for us?

The angel says in verse 11: "For unto you is born this day a Savior, which is Christ the Lord, in the city of David."

Our joy is the birth of Jesus, because he is the Savior.

Jesus Christ saves us from sin and hell and brings us into the kingdom of heaven.

Actually, each of us should be condemned to hell as punishment for our sins.

But God laid all our sins on Jesus and punished him in our place.

God then raised Jesus from the dead. Because Jesus received all divine punishment for our sins through his sacrificial death on the cross and defeated sin, death and the devil through his resurrection, we are forgiven of our sins and do not go to hell, but to the kingdom of heaven.

Our God warmly accepts us all as his children, indeed as heavenly princes and princesses.

He gives us eternal life, the Holy Spirit and the kingdom of heaven. Of course, God gives us peace, living hope and his love.

We will be resurrected on the day of our physical death and enter the kingdom of heaven.

There will be no sickness, pain or injustice. There we will see God face to face and live with him for eternity.

Praise Jesus the Savior!

The angel gave the shepherds a sign that the baby would be found safely:

"And have this for a sign: You will find the child wrapped in swaddling clothes and lying in a manger."

It was actually unthinkable that the Savior would be born in a stable and lie in a manger. This special circumstance helped the shepherds so that they could safely find the Christ in Bethlehem.

"And immediately 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 among men of his good pleasure. (13-14).

The birth of Jesus means "glory to God and peace among men".

In other words, Jesus' birth gives glory to God and peace to men.

Why does the birth of Christ bring glory to God? 

- Because his birth demonstrates that God is worthy to take the glory. For example, the birth of Jesus shows us that God loves us very much. He loves us, who were actually sinners and enemies of God, so much that he came into the world as a human being to comfort us and save us.

That is why it says in John 3:16: "For God so loved us, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life."

Jesus' birth also shows us that God is worthy to take the glory because God proved himself to be faithful and good through the coming of Jesus.

Shortly after Adam's fall into sin, God had already promised to send the Redeemer through a woman (Genesis 3:15). God fulfilled his promise and sent the Savior to save us. He saves us from sin, death, and the devil and accepts us as God's children.

Because we recognize God's love and his faithfulness through the birth of Jesus, we can thank God from the bottom of our hearts and give him the glory.

Honor or recognition is an important concern for every person. No one wants to be despised. On the contrary, everyone wants to be recognized and praised. But a serious problem arises when one seeks human recognition or honor for oneself, but does not give glory to God. If someone seeks vain honor and human approval mainly for himself, he will inevitably become dependent on vain honor or human approval. He will not lead his life before God, but before men. He will fall into dishonor and shame.

But those who recognize God's love in Jesus and give him the glory will find the right meaning for their lives and receive great, everlasting glory.

We should therefore give God the glory and live for God's glory. We also pray that as many people as possible will experience salvation through faith in Jesus Christ and give God the glory. That is why we pray that as many students and people as possible will become God's children through faith in Jesus Christ and give God the glory.

The birth of Jesus also means peace among people.

Jesus came as Savior to save us and to give us peace.

Because Jesus has defeated all the powers of darkness and given us victory, we have true peace. We have peace with God because we have received forgiveness through Jesus' death and have become God's children. God will take care of us and lead us on the right road until we enter the kingdom of heaven. That is why we can trust God and have peace.

God also gives us peace with our fellow human beings. Through his sacrificial death, Jesus has removed the hostility between people so that we can forgive one another and love one another warmly.

May God save us through Jesus from all difficulties and from the power of sin and the devil. May he give us peace so that we live blessed lives as heavenly princes and princesses.  May he also give us peace with our fellow human beings so that we praise God with one heart and actively do God's work.

May God help us to give God the glory from our hearts and to work for his glory.

I wish us all a Merry Christmas!

2023-12-24 Lk 02,1-20 Great joy for You and Me!.doc

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