Luke 2:7-14 And she [Mary] brought forth her firstborn Son [Jesus], 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!”
Pastor Herk continues: Jesus was given by our Creator Father God to all mankind as the Savior of the world. In Romans 3:22-24 the Apostle Paul explains to us, “the righteousness of God, through faith in Jesus Christ, to all and on all who believe. For there is no difference; for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, being justified freely by His grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus.” He came for all of us. Salvation is available to everybody, but many people fail to understand and refuse to respond to God’s offer of redemption and forgiveness through the Savior. They reject the great news of the gift of salvation by grace through faith. The Lord Jesus explained in John 3:16-18, “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved. He who believes in Him is not condemned; but he who does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.”
Another reason that the good news proclaimed to the shepherds was glad tidings of great joy was because of who Jesus is. The angel of the Lord uses first the term “a Savior”. This tells us that all people are in need of being saved from their sin. We sometimes attempt to “sell” Jesus with promises of prosperity and freedom from suffering or negative circumstances in your life. God can and does rescue His people sometimes from unfulfilled lives, help us overcome addictions and bad habits, relational issues, and other problems that arise, but that is not what Jesus Christ came to save us from. In Matthew 1:21 an angel of the Lord told Joseph that Mary “will bring forth a Son, and you shall call His name Jesus, for He will save His people from their sins.” In Luke 1:30-32 the archangel Gabriel said to the virgin Mary, “Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bring forth a Son, and shall call His name Jesus. He will be great, and will be called the Son of the Highest; and the Lord God will give Him the throne of His father David. The Greek word for Jesus is “Iēsous”, which means "Jehovah is salvation".
In Romans 6:22-23 the Apostle Paul explains God’s plan of Salvation, “now having been set free from sin, and having become slaves of God, you have your fruit to holiness, and the end, everlasting life. For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.” Jesus came into this world to save mankind from their sin; sinless Christ was God’s solution to the issue every person born suffers from. All needed to be rescued from sin’s death sentence; it is the universal problem of mankind. So, God provided the way to salvation by sending His Son to die in our place to pay the price. Jesus means “Jehovah is salvation” and is the Savior of the world. This is the Gospel truth and good tidings of great joy.
Let’s continue Pastor Herk’s message on the great joy of Jesus in the next post.
In Christ, Brian
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