The song of the angels and shepards

the dark night suddenly lit up with dazzling light.

An angel appears announcing God's special delivery in Bethlehem.

A special delivery clearly marked God's King and Saviour, Christ the Lord.

The salvation package which God had promised many, many years earlier had finally arrived.

Now, big breaking news stories gets a lot of coverage on our social media, our devices.

Pop-ups tell you this is a big story.

All the things that go around it, this is a big story, big news feed.

But nothing compares to this breaking news.

One angel is joined by what I've called before perhaps the first flash mob ever in history.

The sky is filled with angels behind the first angel just singing the praises of God.

Why?

Because of God's special delivery to his world.

Now, there's something really shocking, actually scandalous about this announcement.

The announcement was made to a bunch of shepherds.

Not to high society people who had power and influence, as we might expect a big announcement to be.

Not to them.

But God chose a bunch of shepherds.

Who, in Jesus' day, were actually a despised group of people.

Probably young blokes.

Certainly, they were religious outcasts.

The religious outcasts, because of their work, they couldn't actually fulfill the ceremonial law required for them.

And so they were on the outside of recognized Jewish religion, on the outside of the temple.

And they were social outcasts.

Mostly, they were just uneducated, rough, redneck types.

And yet, it's to these people that God made his special announcement.

Why such an exciting announcement to an unlikely audience?

Well, I don't think it's just because another baby's been born.

Quite literally, around the world that night, there would have been thousands of babies born, quite possibly.

And Luke does emphasize that this was a real baby.

A real human baby, born after a real pregnancy, in a real place, in a real time.

But that's not his focus.

What makes this so interesting is the identity of the baby.

This is an extraordinary baby.

And we'll see more about that in a minute.

So we're going to pause now, and then Chris is going to read the passages with that little bit of introduction.

And then we're going to have another part of the kids talk.

And then we'll sign.

No, we're not.

Okay.

Is that right?

All right.

Okay.

Well, whatever.

Just get on to it then.

I was going to say nobody tells me anything, but that's not true.

They did tell me.

I just haven't got it right.

If you haven't already got your word open or device open, it's Luke chapter 2, starting at verse 1.

Luke 2 · chapter mention

And we're going to read 20 verses, not chapters.

So Luke chapter 2.

Luke 2 · chapter mention

In those days, a decree went out from Caesar Augustus that all the world should be registered.

This was the first registration when Quirinius was governor of Syria.

And all went to be registered, each to his own town.

And Joseph also went up from Galilee, from the town of Nazareth, to Judea, to the city of David, which is called Bethlehem,

because he was of the house and lineage of David, to be registered with Mary, his betrothed, who was with child.

And while they were there, the time came for her to give birth.

And she gave birth to her firstborn son and wrapped him in swaddling cloths and laid him in a manger,

because there was no place for them in the inn.

And in the same region there were shepherds out in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night.

And an angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them.

And they were filled with great fear.

And the angel said to them,

Fear not, for behold, I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people.

For unto you is born this day in the city of David a saviour, who is Christ the Lord.

And this will be a sign for you.

You will find a baby wrapped in swaddling cloths and 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 among those with whom he is pleased.

When the angels went away from them into heaven, the shepherds said to one another,

Let us go over to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has made known to us.

And they went with haste and found Mary and Joseph and the baby lying in a manger.

And when they saw it, they made known the saying that had been told to them concerning this child.

And all who heard it wondered at what the shepherds told them.

But Mary treasured up all these things, pondering them in her heart.

And the shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all they had heard and seen.

And it had been told to them.

And at the end of eight days, when he was circumcised, he was called Jesus.

The name given by the angel before he was conceived in the womb.

So we've got a sky full of angels and a bunch of shepherds.

And they're all just bursting forth in song because of what they'd heard about this announcement of,

the most amazing announcement ever of the arrival of Jesus, God's special package.

The second point I want to make is that this package comes with the most amazing gift wrapping ever.

Clothed in flesh and humility.

So we see the gifts before us.

The final touch, and this is one I'm not interested in really,

but the final touch on any gift is the gift wrapping.

I can see it with my girls.

They really, really see a gift as being extra special

when it's obvious to them, however that comes to them,

it's obvious to them that the gift wrapping

has been chosen as carefully as the gift itself.

The whole package speaks, therefore,

of the care and the knowledge and the intimacy of the person who gave the gift.

But the brutal reality against that is that after Christmas,

we see wheelie bins just overflowing with Christmas wrapping.

Most kids and many adults like me just rip the stuff off

because we're only interested in what's inside.

You might see some girls, adult females,

they might linger over the wrapping

and just delicately unpick all the little bits of sticky tape.

Everybody else in the room, come on, get on with it.

But they're savoring.

They're unwrapping, they're savoring,

and they want to keep it.

But for both groups,

the main event is on the inside,

the gift itself.

As the angel announced

the arrival of God's special delivery,

he also put special attention on the gift wrapping.

We're told that this gift comes to us in human flesh.

The sign, as Chris read to us,

would be a baby in a manger.

But in this case,

the gift wrapping was incredibly important.

Indeed, the gift wrapping is inseparable from the gift

and would never be discarded.

So the message of Christmas

is not just that Jesus was born into the world,

but that in Jesus,

God was born into the world

as an extraordinary baby

who was fully and completely God,

fully and completely human.

And this event happened,

we're celebrating this morning,

a bit over 2,000 years ago.

And it's in the wrapping

that God,

we see God's thoughtfulness,

we see God's care and attention,

we see God's knowledge of us

and how much he values us.

God chose a delicate mesh

of human fiber,

fragile,

needy,

unremarkable,

unremarkable,

to make his gift

totally suited

to his people's needs.

Clothed in flesh

and humility,

God became

one of us.

That's the amazing part of Christmas,

that God became one of us.

He came to us

in our situation,

in our context.

How amazing is that?

The maker of the universe

becomes a small part of the universe.

A baby

lying in a cattle trough

in a dirty,

smelly,

nondescript

animal shelter.

And for all the grandeur

of Jesus' status

as the long-awaited Messiah,

and that's how he's described,

this baby is the Messiah,

God's King and Savior,

Lord.

For all the grandeur

of that,

for all the authority

that that baby had

vested in him

and in himself

to speak and act

in this world,

his story

begins with

a rather scandalous

display of humility.

It's shocking.

And yet we're told here

by the angel

that this would be

his signature tune.

This would be his mark.

This would be the measure

of his whole life,

and especially,

as we'll see later

in the story,

his death.

The mission of Jesus

was not just to come

into the world,

but the mission of Jesus

was to come into the world

to identify with us

and to serve us,

his people,

by doing for us

that which we cannot

do for ourselves,

establish peace with God.

My friends,

there's nothing sentimental

about that.

There's nothing silent

about that.

In fact,

as Jesus came into the world

in the most

inglorious

and humble manner,

God,

in a sense,

was screaming at his world

that this is my

thoughtful

saving commitment

to you,

my people,

who are so desperately

in need of my

thoughtful saving commitment.

We're going to pause again.

Just checking,

just checking.

All right,

so we've got the sky

full of angels,

a bunch of shepherds,

they're all just

overflowing with praise.

It's the most

amazing announcement,

the most special

gift wrapping,

and it's the most

amazing gift ever.

In Jesus,

at Christmas,

God gives us

himself.

When we get a gift,

it's always lovely,

or when we give a gift,

it's always lovely

to hear the response,

whoa,

that's the best

gift ever.

We actually struck

it rich with our

grandchildren this year.

I think we got

a complete agreement

that all our gifts

were actually cool,

which is very special

when you're our age.

But that's what you love

to hear,

isn't it?

People appreciate

that the gift

is just what they want.

This is exactly

what I need.

And when we hear

that response,

then we realize

that all the effort

we put into finding

that gift

has been worthwhile.

Well,

in the birth of Jesus,

we see how much effort

God has put into

getting us

just exactly

the gift we need.

He's described

as a Savior,

and that's good news.

Verse 11,

the angel strings together

a series of titles

from the Old Testament

which described

this newborn

extraordinary baby.

He is Savior,

Christ the Lord.

This apparently

fragile,

helpless baby

is God the Father's

firstborn son.

He has the Father's

full authority.

He's the expression

of the Father's

glory and power.

He's the fulfillment

of all God's promises

to act

or save

or deliver

His people

from their sin.

This baby Jesus

would be the one

who would sort out

the mess

that we have caused

in God's world,

the mess

of our own hearts

and the mess

that overflows

from our own hearts.

God would sort

that out in Jesus,

rescue people

from the power

of sin

and renew us.

Why?

So that we might

have new desire

to love

and serve

and honour

the Lord.

In other words,

Jesus would do

what all the other

prophets before Him

had failed to do

and were unable to do

and what we're unable

to do for ourselves.

Why can we be sure

of this?

Well, because

He is Lord God.

He has the power

and authority

He needs

to do the job

given to Him.

And all of that

is affirmed

in His mission

by display

of God's glory

at His birth.

This is something

the whole of heaven

is invested in.

In the most

important announcement

ever made

in our world,

both our need

is highlighted

and also

the solution

is spelled out.

We need

somebody like us

to sort out

the mess

we've caused.

And in Jesus,

we have somebody

who identifies

with us

but who is also

different from us.

He's not part

of the problem.

He's the solution.

Jesus has come

to reclaim,

to rescue

and renew.

So when we think

of baby Jesus,

we've got to think

humility,

frailty,

but we've also

got to think

grandeur and power

and authority.

And little wonder

therefore

is described

in verse 10

as good news.

Little wonder

verse 13,

all of heaven

bursts into

song of praise.

And we see that

in this series

over three weeks.

Every time we have

people who get

anything of a glimpse

of who Jesus is

and what he's about,

then they erupt

in song,

a song of praise,

a song of thanksgiving.

And heaven too

erupts

because heaven

had waited

for this moment,

for this saving moment,

for centuries.

And the direct result

of Jesus

being born a saviour

is that peace

would be established.

That's what the angel says.

Now,

at that point,

this idea has been

distorted

and trivialised

and sentimentalised

as peace and goodwill

to everybody.

That's what we hear

and it's cringeworthy,

isn't it?

It's a sentimental notion

that says,

well,

Christmas is all about

being nice to people

so you have to

make sure you don't

have a family argument

at least on Christmas Day

or, well,

actually,

at least just for the meal

anyway.

But that's not

what it means here.

It's much more powerful.

The peace that's referred

to here

is something that's

granted

by God

through Jesus.

The peace here

is something that

Jesus secures

and it's not necessarily

something that

everyone will experience.

It is peace

among those

who are granted

peace

by God's grace,

by God's favour,

by God's generosity.

And that's what makes

Jesus really unique

in the world.

Jesus was born

into a period

of unprecedented

peace and prosperity.

It was called

the Pax Romana.

Now,

this peace and prosperity

was a political

sort of military

peace

and it was enforced

by the ruthless

brutality

of the Roman

legions

under Caesar

Augustus.

But interestingly,

even in those days,

a philosopher

of the day,

Epictetus,

pointed out how

limited Caesar's

peace really was

and he wrote,

while the emperor

may give peace

from war

on land

and sea,

he is unable

to give peace

from passion,

grief,

and envy.

Yeah,

he could enforce

a form of peace

from the outside in,

but that did nothing

to quell the hearts

that wants to erupt

from the inside out

and ultimately

cause the violence

and terrors

of our world.

He cannot give

peace of heart

for which

mankind yearns,

more even

than for outward

peace.

King Jesus

comes into

our world

to establish

spiritual peace,

peace between

God and man,

which means

freedom

from the fear

of rejection

by God,

confidence

that we have

a secure home

in heaven

waiting for us

at death.

And in contrast

to Caesar's peace,

this will not

be achieved

by violence

and ruthless

suppression

of those

who are their

enemies.

It will be

achieved by

Jesus becoming,

King Jesus

becoming the

Prince of Peace.

It will be

achieved as

God's own

Son absorbs

the wrath

that comes

from the Father

for our sin.

It comes

as Jesus

dies

the death

that we

deserve to

die

to secure

peace and

life for us,

his people,

with the

Father.

Imagine that.

We celebrate

Christmas

as the very

basis of

fear-free

living.

Behind every

fear,

ultimately,

I believe,

and psychologists

would believe,

is the fear

of being rejected

by God.

We see it

stepped right

up.

We fear

being rejected

by those

closest to us.

We fear

being rejected

by family.

We fear

being rejected

by community.

And so it

goes right up

the line.

And ultimately,

there's a deep-seated

fear that many

of us don't even

articulate,

fear of when

we die,

being rejected

by God.

The evidence

of that is we

spend so much

time trying to

assure ourselves

that when we do

die,

everything will

be fine.

Rest in

peace.

Jesus'

kingdom is not

about political

or military

power.

His greatness

is that he

identifies with

those who have

nothing going

for them.

And does for

them what they

could never do

for themselves.

That is,

he gives

restless,

fearful,

wandering

hearts,

the peace

they desperately

crave.

Little wonder

the angel says

I bring you

good news

of great joy

made available

to all people

and to you.

At present

opening time,

every child

and most

adults,

you can see

it this

morning,

they just

want the

best present

to be theirs.

You can see

it around the

family tree.

They're trying

very much to

be in the

moment with

their own

present,

but you can

see the eyes

going sideways

and you can

see them

evaluating,

is my present

as good as

my brother's

present?

They just

want their

present to be

the best.

Well,

God's

announcement

is clear.

God's gift

of himself

is as a

saviour for

you.

This

saviour is

hand-built,

as it were,

by the

Lord,

purpose-built,

individually

and specially

wrapped,

and it's for

you.

Hand-delivered

for you.

For you,

if you're

willing to

put your

hand out

and take

the gift

which God

offers you

with all

the promise

of delight

and peace

and satisfaction

and hope

that comes

with that

gift.

So,

I just

finish with

this challenge

on this

Christmas

morning.

It's really

over to

you.

God is

offering you

this morning

in Jesus

a wonderful

present.

himself,

wrapped

perfectly

as you

need it,

need him

to be

wrapped.

It

demonstrates

completely

God's

love for

you and

his

commitment

to giving

you the

peace that

you crave

in your

heart but

haven't been

able to

find in

anything

else outside

of Jesus.

Jesus

is the

gift

you've

always

needed

but

here's

the

rub.

He's

the

gift

you

may

not

always

have

longed

for.

But on

this

Christmas

morning

he's

the

gift

that's

before

you

one

more

time.

will

you

turn your

nose

up at

him

for

another

year

and

just

let

this

day

be

sentimentality

and a

big

feat

convinced

that you

might

still find

peace

in your

heart

in some

other

place

in our

world

or in

your

life

in some

other

relationship

or will

you take

God's

gift

enthusiastically?

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.