But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid. I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is Christ the Lord. (Lk.2:10-11)
The birth of Christ was declared to be good news by the angles who announced his birth. Good news, of course, is the definition of the word gospel. The gospel of Jesus Christ is the good news of Jesus Christ. In this verse, the idea is linked to the title of Savior. If you’re drowning and someone shows up on the scene who can save you – that’s good news. A world drowning in sin and hopelessness needed some good news and that was Jesus! It is still the same today.
The declaration of good news by angels to shepherds in the gospel of Luke was not the first use of that term related to Jesus. In Isaiah 61, the prophet who spoke often of the coming Messiah, declared on behalf of the one who would come, “The Spirit of the Sovereign Lord is on me, because the Lord has anointed me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim freedom for the captives and release from darkness for the prisoners, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor and the day of vengeance of our God, to comfort all who mourn” (Isa.61:1-2). This is one of the great Messianic prophecies and it gives us some significant insights into the gospel of Jesus Christ.
Somehow in the past 200 years the gospel of Jesus for many has simply become the message that Jesus died for our sins so that we could be forgiven and live forever in heaven. If that was all the gospel promised, that would be more than enough but the truth is that it offers much more. The “good news” referenced in Isaiah 61 includes the healing of broken hearts, freedom from every form of bondage including sin, release for those who have been imprisoned in spiritual darkness, and the declaration that God is for us rather than against us. Too many believers have lived a Christian life believing that the extent of Christ’s power in their lives was forgiveness. As a result, they live forgiven but not transformed. They live as if freedom from bondage, addictions, fear, depression, and all the other things that hinder the witness of believers is only available after their funeral. They seem to believe that forgiveness is for now but transformation only comes in heaven. But that is not the gospel.
The good news the shepherds heard 2000 years ago was that not only will your sins be forgiven in Christ but the power of Christ will make you into a new creation in this world as well as the world to come. If you were to read the next few verses of the Isaiah 61 passage you would see the word “instead” mentioned several times. The prophecy promises that when Jesus came the lives of people would be drastically changed. In Christ they would exchange ashes for a crown of beauty, mourning for the oil of gladness, and despair for a garment of praise. In each life there would be radical reversals – not just the forgiveness of sin but radical transformation.
Yet how many of us know long-time believers whose lives and conditions are hardly different from those who don’t know Jesus at all. Sometimes, they remain in the same condition in which they met Jesus because they don’t know what has been made available to them through the cross. The announcement of angels that a Savior had been born was intended to communicate that this Savior would not only deliver them from sin but also from their brokenness and their bondage. That is a gift worth celebrating. That is a gift you definitely want to unwrap and yet many believers leave most of the packages Christ has purchased for them under the tree. They leave the gifts unclaimed because they don’t know what’s in the boxes nor do they know that those presents are for them. This Christmas you may want to seriously consider all the gifts in heaven with your name on them and begin to confidently ask God to release those gifts into your life because in the Kingdom of Heaven, every day is a day to celebrate Jesus and every day is Christmas.
