Christmas Eve- This Will Be A Sign Unto You (Luke 2:8-14)

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This Will Be a Sign Unto You… (Luke 2:8-14)

Prepared and preached by Pastor Steve Rhodes for and at Bethel Friends Church in Poland, OH on December 24, 2024

I like to watch BBC television shows. More specifically, I like to watch shows about the royal line throughout the history of England. One thing I realized is that when the political climate shifted it was better off to be far away from the king. It was better to be ordinary. In Luke’s Gospel, the angels appeared to ordinary people. They came to common, ordinary people to tell about the Savior’s birth.

The shepherds were ordinary, but the angels came to them—let’s re-read the passage:

Luke 2:8–14 (ESV)

8 And in the same region there were shepherds out in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night. 9 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. 10 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. 11 For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. 12 And this will be a sign for you: you will find a baby wrapped in swaddling cloths and lying in a manger.” 13 And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying,

         14       “Glory to God in the highest,

and on earth peace among those with whom he is pleased!”

  1. The extraordinary took on the ordinary.
    1. Timothy Keller quotes C.S. Lewis:
    2. S. Lewis, listen carefully. Listen very carefully to this one.
    3. He says, “… the power of the Higher, just in so far as it is truly Higher, to come down … to include the less. Thus solid bodies exemplify many truths of plane geometry, but plane figures no truths of solid geometry … Montaigne became kittenish with his kitten but she never talked philosophy to him. Everywhere the great enters the little—its power to do so is almost the test of its greatness.”
    4. Thus when I’m at peace and joy, I can enter into the hurt of someone who is angry and despondent. But when I’m angry and despondent, I cannot enter into joy and peace. Why? Because joy and peace are higher, greater. That’s why, I can add, Lincoln can understand Hitler, but Hitler will never be able to understand Lincoln. Why? Because Lincoln is greater.
    5. He is saying how do you know, therefore, something is really high and really great? Because it can come down. It can enter into the lesser. It can sympathize. It can humble itself. You’re strong enough to be weak. You’re secure enough to be vulnerable.[1]
    6. Why did the angels come to these shepherds?
    7. They announce the Savior has been born. They worship the Lord.
    8. The shepherds go to see the Lord.
    9. Why?
    10. Because we have a problem.
    11. God is holy and our sin violates His holiness.
    12. Jesus came to restore our relationship with Him.
    13. The whole Old Testament was pointing to a time when God would unite us with Him.
    14. So, in a nutshell Christmas is all about Jesus’ birth. God became a human being so that He could die for our sins. God brought events involving kings, common people, and shepherds in order to bring His Son into the world. Jesus lived among us for 33 years and then died in our place. He died for our sins.
    15. Do you believe that?
    16. In a talk Tim Keller gave on J.R.R. Tolkien back when The Lord of the Rings movies were new, he spoke about the uniqueness of the gospel story. I’ll recount what he said as it makes clear how we should see Christ entering the world to save us as the ultimate story.
    17. Tolkien and Lewis were having a conversation as they made their way around Addison’s Walk in Oxford. This is a paraphrase, but it captures accurately the essence of what Tim said:
    18. Tolkien asks:What moves you most? What gives your life meaning? 
    19. Lewis replies:The stories I love. When I’m done with a story I love, it inspires me. I’m ready to be better. They inspire me and move me. They give me meaning in life.
    20. Tolkien says:The reason that stories move you is they get in touch with some underlying reality. 
    21. Then Tim explained:All the good stories that move you … like Beauty and the Beast — love really can change people — point to an underlying reality. Even though the story isn’t true, it gets at some kind of underlying reality we identify with. 
    22. But here’s what I want you to know [and what Tolkien said to Lewis], the gospel story — the story of Jesus Christ being born in a manger, living his life here on earth, dying and being resurrected — is not one more story pointing to an underlying reality. The gospel story is the reality to which all the other stories point.
    23. Tolkien goes on to say to Lewis that the gospel story isn’t that good will triumph over evil. The gospel story is that the underlying reality came into this world to save us. It’s the ultimate story where victory is snatched from the jaws of defeat. Tolkien even coined a word for it: eucatastrophe. All good stories have elements of the gospel story woven into them if they end with eucatastrophe.[2]
  2. Respond
    1. You cannot be indifferent to Jesus.
    2. Have you come to a point in your life where you have accepted Jesus into your heart for forgiveness of your sins. Jesus didn’t come to earth just to live with us; He came to instruct us and to die in our place.
    3. The Bible says that all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God (Romans 3:23). The Bible says that the penalty for sin is death (Romans 6:23). The Bible says that Jesus is the way the truth and the life and no one comes to the Father except by Him (John 14:6). The Bible teaches that sin separates us from God (Isaiah 59:2). The Bible says that God will not let the guilty go unpunished (2 Thess 1:8-9). Yet, the Bible teaches that God loves the people of the world (John 3:16). That is a dilemma. God can’t tell a lie, or He wouldn’t be God (Numbers 23:19). God doesn’t change His mind (1 Sam 15:29). That is why God sent Jesus. The guilty must go punished. Jesus took our punishment on the cross. The penalty of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life through Jesus, who is the way, the truth and the life.
    4. One of the most exciting things that you can do while celebrating Jesus’ birthday is to make it your spiritual birthday as well. You can accept Jesus’ free gift of salvation right now.
  1. God created us to be with him (Gen. 1-2).
  2. Our sin separated us from God (Gen. 3).
  3. Sins cannot be removed by good deeds (Gen. 4-Mal. 4).
  4. Paying the price for sin, Jesus died and rose again (Matt. – Luke).
  5. Everyone who trusts in him alone has eternal life (John – Jude).
  6. Life that’s eternal means we will be with Jesus forever (Rev. 22:5).

Prayer

[1] 1  Timothy J. Keller, The Timothy Keller Sermon Archive, 2012-2013 (New York: Redeemer Presbyterian Church, 2013).

[2] Gospel In Life email. December 17, 2024

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