Good Tidings of Great Joy

Cameron PorterLuke 2:1–14

Luke 2:1–14 sets the birth of Jesus Christ within precise historical coordinates and a dense web of Old Testament prophecy, demonstrating that his coming was no accident of history but the fulfillment of promises stretching from Genesis 3:15 through Micah 5:2 and Isaiah 7:14. The sermon moves through three movements: the natal exposition of verses 1–7 (the period, the lineage of David, and the nativity itself), the angelic proclamation of verses 8–12 (the recipients, the herald, and the content of the gospel announcement), and the doxological exclamation of verses 13–14 (the heavenly choir and the meaning of 'peace on earth'). Christ is shown to be the true Savior over against the counterfeit claims of Roman imperial cult, truly divine, born of a virgin, in the house of bread, to those who are under the law, that he might redeem them. The sermon closes with a direct call to believe on Christ as the only source of true peace and to rejoice in him not merely at Christmas but throughout the year.