Introduction
Welcome to this edition of “My Thoughts with Dale Van De Bogart.” I would like to welcome all of our faithful and new watchers to the broadcast. As a reminder, all notes are in PDF, and located on our website, vdbm.org. Click on My Thoughts Video Series, scroll down on the page to choose the series, and download our notes.
In this week’s segment, “The Gospel According to an Angel.” I will discuss why the Gospel is the Good News of Jesus Christ according to an angel who first brought the news. Open your Bible to the Gospel of Luke 2:9-14.
Extra, Extra, Hear all About it
The greatest event in history had just occurred! The Messiah had been born! For ages, the Jews had waited for this, and then it finally happened. What a privilege for the angel God commissioned to leave the courts of Heaven and fly to earth with this announcement of the Savior’s birth. Yet it is a greater privilege for us to proclaim the gospel, for whereas the angels have never sinned, we have, and we can speak from personal experience of the saving power of Jesus Christ.
The announcement came to the shepherds in the fields tending to their flocks. The good news about Jesus comes to all the world. All types of people, including the plain, the ordinary, and the outcasts of society. He comes to anyone with a heart humble enough to accept him. Whoever you are, whatever you do, you can have Jesus in your life. Don’t think that you need extraordinary qualifications. Jesus accepts you as you are.
Passage Text – Luke 2:9-14
9 And behold, an angel of the Lord stood before them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were greatly afraid.
10 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.
11 For there is born to you this day in the city of David a Savior, which is Christ the Lord.
12 And this will be a sign to you; You will find the Babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, 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, goodwill toward men!
Why is the Gospel Such Good News?
Before I answer this very important question, let us look at the meaning of “Gospel.” The word in Greek, “euaggelizo,” is made up of two words, “eua” or “eua,” which means “well done” or “good.” The other word, “aggelos” or “aggelizo” means “a messenger” or “angel.”
We all know angels were sent by God to bring news to people. In this setting, the angel was sent by God to bring the “Good News” of the birth of the Lord Jesus Christ. So, the word “euaggelizo” means “to announce Good News” hallelujah! I have six reasons why the Gospel is the Good News.
First Reason – The Gospel is Good News because it Banishes Fear – Luke 2:9
“Do not be afraid…” were the first words of the angel. At the end of verse nine we read the shepherds were “terrified” or “greatly afraid,” and we are not surprised. The whole world back in first-century Israel was gripped by fear and superstition, as our history books inform us.
As these shepherds were living in the fields under the sky, suddenly a bright light broke through the darkness. An “angel of the Lord” stood before them, and the “glory of the Lord” shone around them.
Up to this point, 400 years had passed with no word from God. The prophet Malachi was the last to speak, and then there was no more word until the Lord Jesus Christ was born and His birth was announced. Today, there is fear everywhere, and the answer to fear is the “Gospel” or the “Good News” of Jesus Christ.
Second Reason – The Gospel is Good News because it Brings Great Joy – Luke 2:10
“I bring you good news of great joy…,” said the angel. Where fear reigns there can be no real joy. Fear is the greatest enemy of joy because the hearts of men were filled with fear before Jesus came. Those same hearts were also joyless.
This “Good News” would bring great joy, for it comprised everything for which the Jews had been hoping and waiting as the Savior had come. The “good tidings” would one day bring great joy to people of every land across the globe, it came first of all to God’s covenant people.
How amazing it is to realize that the Gospel of Jesus Christ brings joy into the lives of all who come to Him and trust Him. John 15:11, “These things I have spoken to you, that My joy may remain in you, and that your joy may be full.”
Only the Gospel of Jesus Christ received and rejoiced in, can bring the joy of the Lord into the heart and life of the believing person. There is no other way! His joy is a joy that can be experienced even in the face of great problems and trials.
Third Reason – The Gospel is Good News because it is for All People – Luke 2:10
“I bring you good news….that will be for all the people”. This shows us that the Gospel is adapted to the needs of everyone. We must remember this because we are living in a very cosmopolitan world. The tendency today is to say Jesus can only meet the needs of certain people. This is quite wrong.
He is rightly described by the prophet Haggai as “the desired of all nations” (Haggai 2:7). He is the One whom everyone, in every place, desires and certainly needs. Jews, Gentiles, young, old, rich, poor, and satisfaction can be found only in Him. The Gospel is God’s revealed plan and method for saving the lost is described in these two verses:
- John 14:6, “Jesus said to him, ‘I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.’”
- Acts 4:12, “Nor is there salvation in any other, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.”
Fourth Reason – The Gospels is Good News because is Emphasizes the Value of Each Person
In spite of the tendency today to lose sight of the individual, the gospel always emphasizes his or her value:
- Jesus preached that great sermon to one man, Nicodemus (John 3:1-16).
- He went out of his way to go to Samaria to speak to one woman (John 4:1-26).
- Luke 15 contains three parables, Parable of the Lost Sheep, Parable of the Lost Coin, and Parable of the Prodigal Son, to emphasize the value of individuals.
Let us take a look at the Gospel of John 5:1-9 about the healing at the Pool of Bethesda. Jesus had great compassion for this man who was desperately attempting to get to the pool first so he could be healed. He had this infirmity for 38 years. All Jesus asked was, “Do you want to be made well” (v. 6). The man and Jesus could have cared less if that day was the Sabbath or not, the man said yes to Jesus, and was made well (v. 8-9). Jesus values and cares for everyone, no matter who you are!
Fifth Reason – The Gospel is Good News because it Saves – Luke 2:11
We have here a clear statement from the angel that Jesus had come to be the Saviour of His people. This reminds us of the Apostle Paul’s clear statement recorded in 1 Timothy 1:15. The angel might have said that Jesus had been born to be a teacher, a reformer, an example, a friend, a king – all of which was true. The primary purpose of His coming was:
- He might be the Savior of His people (Matthew 1:21).
- He is the Savior for our sins (Hebrews 7:25).
- He is the Savior from ourselves (Romans 8:2).
- He is the Savior from Satan (Acts 26:18).
The word “Savior” is used to refer to Jesus only two times in the Gospels. In verse 11 as the angels proclaimed his birth, and in the Gospel of John 4:42 by the Samaritans who came to believe in Jesus as “the Savior of the world.” The “Savior” (soter) which means deliverer. It derives from the Greek word “sozo” meaning to “save” or “ensure salvation.”
Do you know experimentally anything about His saving power? Hebrews 7:25, “Therefore He is also able to save to the uttermost those who come to God through Him since He always lives to make intercession for them.”
Sixth Reason – The Gospel is Good News because it Glorified God – Luke 2:13-14
As the angel finished giving this great gospel message to the shepherds, the heavenly host appeared joining in the chorus “Glory to God in the highest…”. The gospel is the central theme of heaven. Nothing glorifies God so much.
- It magnifies His love and compassion for sinful men.
- It declares His great gift of the Lord Jesus to be our Savior and our Friend.
- It proclaims His remedy for sin and His promise of eternal life.
- Every time we preach the Gospel, God is glorified.
This surely is one good reason for preaching it! It is not enough to proclaim ethics or morality, and certainly, there is little hope and help offered by the preacher of politics; it is a tragedy beyond all tragedies to proclaim some “other gospel” (Galatians 1:6-9). How different it is, however, to proclaim the pure, one, and only Gospel of Jesus Christ!
Conclusion
The Jewish word “shalom” (peace) means much more than a truce in the battles of life. It means well-being, health, prosperity, security, soundness, and completeness. It has to do more with character than circumstances. Life was difficult in first-century Israel just as it is today:
- Taxes were high.
- Unemployment was high.
- Morals were slipping lower.
Roman law, Greek philosophy, and even Jewish religion could not meet the needs of men’s hearts. Then, God sent His Son!
The angels praised God at Creation, and now they praised Him at the beginning of the new creation. The whole purpose of the plan of salvation is “glory to God.” God’s glory had dwelt in the tabernacle and in the temple but had departed because of the nation’s sin. Now God’s glory was returning to earth in the person of His Son, the Lord Jesus Christ. That lowly manger was a holy of holies because Jesus was there, Amen!
I am Dale Van De Bogart and I fully agree on God’s Word!
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