Good Tidings of Great Joy

• Jesus (Jehovah Saviour) - Saviour from Our Sins. Since Christmas is celebrated in almost every country, the birth of Christ is undoubtedly the best-known part of the Bible for people all over the world. But beyond the Baby in a manger Who would bring "peace" on earth and "good will toward men", most people do not grasp the real significance of Jesus' birth. Christ came for a very specific mission.

Mat 1:21"And she shall bring forth a son, and thou shalt call his name JESUS: for he shall save his people from their sins."

Isa 43:11 "I, even I, am the LORD; and beside me there is no saviour."

Hos 13:4 "Yet I am the LORD thy God from the land of Egypt, and thou shalt know no god but me: for there is no saviour beside me."

Luke 2 :10-11 "And the angel said unto them, Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people. 11For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord."

Tit 1:3-4 "But hath in due times manifested his word through preaching, which is committed unto me according to the commandment of God our Saviour; 4To Titus, mine own son after the common faith: Grace, mercy, and peace, from God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ our Saviour."

Titus 3:4-6 "But after that the kindness and love of God our Saviour toward man appeared, 6Which he shed on us abundantly through Jesus Christ our Saviour;"

Acts 4:12 "Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved."


Tit 2:13 "Looking for that blessed hope [second coming of our Lord], and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ; 14Who gave himself for us, that he might redeem us from all iniquity, and purify unto himself a peculiar people, zealous of good works."

• Peace on Earth - Yes, He did come to bring "peace", but it is a spiritual peace that ends the warfare between mankind and his Creator, God Almighty. Why does such "enmity", or hatred, exist between man and God? It is because of our sin, which is sending us to Hell.

Luke 2:14 "Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men."

Acts 10:36"The word which God sent unto the children of Israel, preaching peace by Jesus Christ: (he is Lord of all)."

Eph 2:14-15 "For he [Lord Jesus Christ] is our peace, who hath made both one, and hath broken down the middle wall of partition between us; Having abolished in his flesh the enmity, even the law of commandments contained in ordinances; for to make in himself of twain one new man, so making peace."

Rom 5:8-10 "But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. 9Much more then, being now justified by his blood, we shall be saved from wrath through him. 10For if, when we were enemies, we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, being reconciled, we shall be saved by his life."

2 Cor 5:18-20 "And all things are of God, who hath reconciled us to himself by Jesus Christ, and hath given to us the ministry of reconciliation; 19To wit, that God was in Christ, reconciling the world unto himself, not imputing their trespasses unto them; and hath committed unto us the word of reconciliation. 20Now then we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God did beseech you by us: we pray you in Christ's stead, be ye reconciled to God."

• The Righteousness of God and our Saviour Jesus Christ - This passage clearly underscores the necessity of Jesus' first coming to pay for the sins of His people, to clothe them with His righteousness, and to qualify them to enter heaven. Isa 61:10 beautifully describes this gift which God graciously bestows upon His elect.

Isa 61:10"I will greatly rejoice in the LORD, my soul shall be joyful in my God; for he hath clothed me with the garments of salvation, he hath covered me with the robe of righteousness, as a bridegroom decketh himself with ornaments, and as a bride adorneth herself with her jewels."

Phil 3:9 "And be found in him, not having mine own righteousness, which is of the law, but that which is through the faith of Christ, the righteousness which is of God by faith:"

2 Pet 1:1 "Simon Peter, a servant and an apostle of Jesus Christ, to them that have obtained like precious faith with us through the righteousness of God and our Saviour Jesus Christ:"

• Lord Jesus Christ is the bread of life - The birth of the Lord Jesus was foretold by Micah the prophet in Micah 5. Micah's prophecy informs us that the Lord Jesus was to be born in Bethlehem, or the "house of Bread". This should not surprise us because the Bible refers to Jesus Christ as the "Bread of Life".

Mic 5:2 "But thou, Bethlehem Ephrata, though thou be little among the thousands of Judah, yet out of thee shall he come forth unto me that is to be ruler in Israel; whose goings forth have been from of old, from everlasting.

John 6:35"And Jesus said unto them, I am the bread of life: he that cometh to me shall never hunger; and he that believeth on me shall never thirst."

John 6:51 “I am the living bread which came down from heaven: if any man eat of this bread, he shall live for ever: and the bread that I will give is my flesh, which I will give for the life of the world.”

• Emmanuel, God with us - The Bible also details His virgin birth, His eternal deity, and His many names. Because of time we will be able to look at only a few of His names. Mat 1 speaks about His virgin birth and emphasizes that one of His names is "God with us". Isa 9:6 is a passage that lists five of the Lord Jesus' names.

Mat 1:18 "Now the birth of Jesus Christ was on this wise: When as his mother Mary was espoused to Joseph, before they came together, she was found with child of the Holy Ghost."

Mat 1:23 "Behold, a virgin shall be with child, and shall bring forth a son, and they shall call his name Emmanuel, which being interpreted is, God with us."

Jer 23:5-6 "Behold, the days come, saith the LORD, that I will raise unto David a righteous Branch, and a King shall reign and prosper, and shall execute judgment and justice in the earth. In his days Judah shall be saved, and Israel shall dwell safely: and this is his name whereby he shall be called, THE LORD OUR RIGHTEOUSNESS."

Isa 9:6 "For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace."

• Light of the World - The Lord Jesus was not welcome as a baby, nor as man. He is the Light of the World but we love darkness rather than light, because our deeds are evil.

Luke 2:7 "And she brought forth her firstborn son, and wrapped him in swaddling clothes, and laid him in a manger; because there was no room for them in the inn."

Isa 53:2-3 "He hath no form nor comeliness; and when we shall see him, there is no beauty that we should desire him. He is despised and rejected of men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief: and we hid as it were our faces from him; he was despised, and we esteemed him not."

John 3:16-21 "For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. 17For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved. 18He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God. 19And this is the condemnation, that light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil. 20For every one that doeth evil hateth the light, neither cometh to the light, lest his deeds should be reproved. 21But he that doeth truth cometh to the light, that his deeds may be made manifest, that they are wrought in God."

• Good Tidings of Great Joy - The good tidings that the "angel", or messenger, announced in this verse is referring to the spreading of the Gospel of salvation. Once again we need to be reminded that this was Jesus' mission, as He Himself declared in Luke 4. The responsibility of preaching the Gospel did not fall on Christ alone, but on every one of His followers thereafter. May God give us grace to be obedient to this command.

Luke.2:10-11 "And the angel said unto them, Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord."

Luke 4:18-19, 21 "The Spirit of the Lord is upon me [Lord Jesus Christ], because he hath anointed me [Lord Jesus Christ] to preach the gospel to the poor; he hath sent me to heal the brokenhearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised, To preach the acceptable year of the Lord… And he began to say unto them, This day is this scripture fulfilled in your ears."

Mark 16:15 "And he said unto them, Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature."

Rom 10:14-15 "How then shall they call on him in whom they have not believed? and how shall they believe in him of whom they have not heard? and how shall they hear without a preacher? 15And how shall they preach, except they be sent? as it is written, How beautiful are the feet of them that preach the gospel of peace, and bring glad tidings of good things!"