Advent 2020: Joy
Luke 2.8-12
Introduction
Joy or fear, what would you say describes the world right now? Joy or fear, what would you say describes the USA right now? When you peruse Facebook or Twitter what do you see more joy or fear? Those questions are broad. Let’s bring it closer to home. Joy or fear, what would you say describes Christ Community Church right now? Joy or fear, what would you say describes your home right now? Joy or fear, what would you say describes your heart right now?
We find ourselves in the third week of advent, which is a celebration of joy. We lit the pink candle; we had readings about joy. We sang, “Joyful, joyful, we adore thee” and “joy to the world.” Are we doing that because it’s Christmas time and those are the kinds of platitudes one uses at this time of year, or are we truly a people full of joy? Is there even any room for joy right now? I mean there’s a global pandemic and the country is aggressively politically divided. I wonder if for some of us a song entitled, “Fear to the world” would be more fitting.
The message of advent is a message of joy. 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. Why is the message of advent good news of great joy? Why is the announcement of the incarnation of the Son of God good news of great joy? Why should it produce great joy in your heart and home and our church, even in America and the whole world? Why should this gospel purge fear and produce joy? Let’s look at one of the most famous passages in the Bible to find our answer.
Savior
First advent is good news of great joy because Jesus is our savior. This truth is not only foundational to orthodox Christianity but also to human history. Scripture tells us that we were created in the image of God and that in Adam we fell in sin. The wages of sin is death (Rom 6.23). Because of our sin we need to be saved, not from the devil or even from sin itself. We need to be saved from the wrath of God for our sin. We need salvation from the just condemnation of a holy God in hell.
Christians have always understood this. As we confess the Apostle’s Creed we confess, “we believe in the forgiveness of sin.” In the Lord’s Prayer we pray, forgive us our debts as we also have forgiven our debtors (Matt 6.12). The 10 Commandments reveal to us that we miss the mark of God’s character. Since Genesis 3 humanity has needed a savior.
The great Old Testament archetype of salvation is the Exodus. YHWH redeemed his people from slavery in Egypt. He put pharaoh and the gods of Egypt to shame. The Exodus was a signpost pointing forward to what God was going to do through the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus. Jude tells us Jesus…saved a people out of the land of Egypt (Jude 5). In the same way Jesus has come to lead us out of slavery to sin and into the promised land of the new creation.
Through his sinless life Jesus obtained the righteousness that God required of us. Through his substitutionary death Jesus paid the penalty for our rebellion against God. Through his resurrection Jesus inaugurated glorified life. Confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead for everyone who calls upon the name of the Lord will be saved (Rom 10.9, 13). There is no greater joy than knowing that your sins are forgiven and that you have been adopted into the family of God. Christmas is about salvation. Do you want joy? Look past the manger to the cross and empty tomb of Jesus our savior.
Christ
So first advent is good news of great joy because Jesus is our savior. Second advent is good news of great joy because Jesus is our Christ. One issue to clear up off the bat is that Christ is Jesus’ title, not his last name. It’s not as if there was a mailbox in Galilee that read “Christ, Jesus.” In the same way that McGuire is Kevin’s last name and pastor is his title. Pastor is to Kevin as Christ is to Jesus. Jesus is the Christ.
The Greek word Χριστὸς is a translation of the Hebrew word מָשִׁיחַ, which means, “One anointed with oil.” The old covenant had 3 anointed offices: the prophet, the priest, and the king. When the angel announces that the fetus carried by the Virgin Mary is the Christ, he is declaring that the child is the final prophet, priest, and king of God’s people.
Prophet
The first reason that it is good news of great joy that Jesus is our Christ is that means he is our prophet. In the Old Testament the prophet spoke on behalf of God; he was God’s spokesman to his covenant people. Jesus is God’s final prophet. Listen to Hebrews 1:
Long ago, at many times and in many ways, God spoke to our fathers by the prophets, but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son (Heb 1.1-2).
This is good news of great joy for us because we can know 100% what God is saying to us. If you want to hear God speak, listen to Jesus. The only place to hear the voice of Jesus is the Bible. And I don’t mean the red letters only. Every word in the Bible is the word of Christ. As we’ve been reading through 2nd Samuel and the Psalms this week, we’ve been hearing the voice of Jesus. If you want joy submit to the Word preached every week here at church. If you want joy read your Bible, listen to the Bible, memorize the Bible.
There is also a warning that comes with this good news: don’t trust anyone who calls themselves a prophet. Don’t trust anyone who says they have a vision or word from the Lord apart from the Scripture. God does not speak to anyone apart from the Bible. Jesus is God’s final word and Jesus is revealed exclusively in the Scripture.
Priest
The second reason that it is good news of great joy that Jesus is our Christ is that means he is our priest. We won’t spend a lot of time on this today because we explored the topic of Jesus as our priest last week. I would encourage you, if you haven’t heard last week’s sermon, go back and listen to it. What’s important for us to note is that in the Old Testament the priest stood as an intercessor between God and the people. The priest administered the ceremonial elements of the Law. They were in charge of Israel’s liturgy. They offered the sacrifices for sin. And once a year on the Day of Atonement the high priest went into the holy of holies and made atonement for the nation.
Jesus is the true and final priest of God. He offered the once for all sacrifice draining the wrath of God for the sins of the elect. He intercedes on behalf of his people. He prays for his people. This is good news of great joy because if you trust in Christ you know for sure that your sins are forgiven. You can rest in the reality that Jesus intercedes on your behalf. He stands between you and God and he is your advocate. Jesus is the only priest you need and if your faith is in him then he is the priest you have.
King
The third reason why it is good news of great joy that Jesus is our Christ is that means he is our king. The final anointed office in the Old Testament was that of the king. As far back as Jacob’s blessing of Judah YHWH promised Israel a king. David was Israel’s great king, a man after God’s own heart. YHWH made a covenant with David that one of his sons would rule as king forever. But as we read in the Bible reading challenge this week, David and his sons were sinners. And Israel would wait for their true king.
The angel announces here that the baby in Mary’s womb is the true and better king. Jesus is born in the city of David because he is the fulfillment of David’s covenant. In gospel irony Jesus was crowned with thorns at his crucifixion but after his resurrection he ascended to the right hand of the Father Almighty. Jesus sits in session as king of the world. We are not waiting for Jesus to be king; Jesus is king, seated on the throne of David at God’s right hand.
It is good news of great joy that Jesus is king because it brings comfort and obedience. First, we are comforted by the sovereign rule of Jesus. Abraham Kuyper said, “there is not a square inch in the whole domain of our human existence over which Christ, who is Sovereign over all, does not cry: ‘Mine!’” Nothing in history has ever happened out of Jesus’ control and nothing ever will. That is good news of great joy because that means everything that unfolds is somehow for God’s glory and our good.
The sovereignty of Christ should also bring obedience. Jesus is the king and he alone has authority over our conscience. He created governments to facilitate human flourishing and where they align with his will we are called to obey. But if governments stand in opposition to the revealed will of Christ in the Bible, we are called to disobey. How can we discern when civil disobedience is biblical? Jonathan Leeman has a helpful adage: when the government commands what the Bible condemns or condemns what the Bible commands, we must obey King Jesus. And we can do so with great joy because on the last day the United States government or any other king will not judge us. Jesus Christ, the King of kings will judge us.
The Lord
Advent is good news of great joy because Jesus is our savior and Jesus is our Christ but third advent is good news of great joy because Jesus is our Lord. We can be prone to miss what Luke is saying here because of how English Bibles are translated. Luke says that the baby who will be in the manger is κύριος, the Lord. In the LXX κύριος is used to translate יְהוָ֣ה, the covenant name of God. The ESV clues us in on this when you see LORD in the Old Testament. What is the point? Luke isn’t merely saying that Jesus is lord/master (though he is); Luke is telling us that YHWH himself will be born of the virgin.
Jesus will say this himself when he says, “Truly, truly, I say to you, before Abraham was, I am” (John 8.58). When Moses asked YHWH, “who shall I say sent me?” YHWH responded, “I am who I am” (Exod 3.14). Part of why Israel crucified Jesus was because he identified himself with YHWH.
But why is it good news of great joy that Jesus is the Lord, YHWH? Because when we worship Jesus we’re worshipping the same God that humans have worshipped from the dawn of time. John 1 tells us that Jesus created the world. Jesus isn’t a Johnny come lately to the religion game. The Father, Son, and Spirit are the one true God who created the world and humanity in their image. When you worship Jesus, you’re doing what you were created to do.
The second reason why it’s good news of great joy that Jesus is the Lord is that it means God keeps his promises. He promised in Genesis 3.15 that he would crush Satan’s head and make everything sad untrue. The incarnation is the moment in history where God got in the mud to clean up our mess. There’s a great scene from the West Wing where Leo McGarry tells Josh Lyman this story:
This guy's walking down a street when he falls in a hole. The walls are so steep, he can't get out. A doctor passes by, and the guy shouts up, "Hey you, can you help me out?" The doctor writes a prescription, throws it down in the hole and moves on. Then a priest comes along, and the guy shouts up "Father, I'm down in this hole, can you help me out?" The priest writes out a prayer, throws it down in the hole and moves on. Then a friend walks by. "Hey Joe, it's me, can you help me out?" And the friend jumps in the hole. Our guy says, "Are you stupid? Now we're both down here." The friend says, "Yeah, but I've been down here before, and I know the way out."
That’s a great story of friendship, but the gospel is even better. It’s not that God himself comes down because he’s been down before and he knows how to get himself out. Jesus is our only way out of the pit of sin and hell. In the incarnation God jumps down in the hole with us because otherwise we will be left for dead.
Conclusion
Did you notice that when the angels first appeared to the shepherds they were filled with great fear (Luke 2.9)? The KJV says they were sore afraid. But the angel commands them fear not for behold I bring you good news of great joy. Their great fear was replaced with great joy. What is the good news that replaces great fear with great joy? For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. “Joy to the world, the Lord has come. Let earth receive her king. Let every heart prepare him rom and heaven and nature sing.”