Luke 2:10-11 (NIV) – The angel said to them, “Do not be afraid. I bring you good news that will cause great joy for all the people. Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is the Messiah, the Lord.”
Angels and shepherds are some of the most familiar images of this time of year. What Christmas Nativity scene would be complete without either of them? Yet, the words the angel gave those shepherds applied to far more than just those watching their flocks by night on the hills outside of Bethlehem. After speaking to calm the shepherds’ shock and fear, the angel let them know the message they were about to hear was good news for all the people.
This meant the good news was for more than just the shepherds who saw and heard that angel. It was for more than just the faithful Israelites who knew that God had promised a Messiah hundreds of years before who would save the entire nation. This good news was to be for all the people, not just of that day, but also of all time. That means this means ¬is still good news for us today.
What is this good news? “A Savior has been born to you.” The wording of the angel’s words leave no doubt. The key element of good news is the birth of a Savior to us, because we each need to be saved. Like the kid at a poolside birthday party who was thrown into the deep end by a friend who did not realize he did not know how to swim, we need a lifeguard with the skills and qualifications to jump in and rescue us. The savior lifeguard had superior swimming skills, training in saving lives, and the certificate to prove it. The Savior we all need requires more skills than that.
We need a morally and ethically perfect Savior. There has only ever been one like that. I met a few people who claimed to be perfect, but it did not take long to discover how wrong they were. We have each made mistakes, and the price of these is our eternal lives (Romans 6:23). Without a Savior, we are separated from God forever. We also need one who was specially sent by God for the mission. That is why the angel called him Christ. This is the Greek word for the Hebrew Messiah. This is the Anointed One, set apart and filled with the Holy Spirit for God’s mission.
There is one more trait this Savior has to have: divinity. He must be fully God to overcome sin, death, and hell, but he must also be fully human to pay the price for the wrongs done by all the people – all of us. So, the angel called him Lord (Kurios), the word used in the Greek Septuagint Old Testament Bible for the one and only LORD God. Yet the angel said this Savior would be born as a human in the City of David. Only Jesus meets all these criteria.
Christmas is truly a season of good news. If you have not yet experienced the best news of all, I urge you to make Jesus your Savior, too. You will never be the same.
