Advent Trail December 22nd - Luke 2:11-12

“Today in the town of David a Saviour has been born to you; he is the Messiah, the Lord. This will be a sign to you: you will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.” (Luke 2:11-12)

The angel’s announcement to the shepherds includes several of the most frequently used words in Luke’s gospel. The verb “to bring good news” is found often on Jesus’s lips (e.g. Luke 4:18; 4:43; 7:22), and “joy” and “people” also occur in Luke more than in the other gospels. What is this good news that brings us joy? It’s summed up in three more keywords which tell us about Jesus.

A “Saviour” has been born who is “Christ” and “Lord”. Christ means anointed one, which in Hebrew is Messiah. The One long-promised has come and he is the Lord, the same word used for God in the Greek translation of the Old Testament. Here at his birth Jesus is described in the same exalted terms which are declared about him after his resurrection (Acts 2:36; 2 Cor.4:5; Phil.2:11). That’s why he is able to “save his people from their sins” (Matt.1:21).

And so neither we nor the shepherds need be afraid of God’s glory or his holiness. Through Jesus the way is now open into God’s holy presence and we are “able to serve him without fear”, because God has given “his people the knowledge of salvation through the forgiveness of sin” (Luke 1:74,77). The child in the manger is God’s sign of this. Don’t let over-familiarity with the scene cause you to miss its profound significance and personal relevance.