I've Got Good News

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."

Luke 2:10, NKJV

What a night! What an announcement! And we need to hear it as loudly and clear as they heard it on that night. Here were these shepherds, just your ordinary, every-day, average stockmen minding their own business on a hillside near Bethlehem. It was the middle of the night, and all was quiet. And then an angel glowing the light of the presence of God steps from the celestial onto the terrestrial and--as the shepherds cowered in shock and awe at the appearance--says those famous angelic words: FEAR NOT!


"Why not?" those guys might have asked.


"Because I've got good news!" was the answer, whether the question was asked or not. And that's ultimately what needs to be understood about the birth announcement of Jesus Christ. The church has often used the "gospel" to hit people over the heads, to browbeat, bully and berate folks into rejecting it so that we can dust our hands off and say, "Well, we tried to tell 'em. All those dirty rotten sinners are going to hell, praise His holy name, and they had their chance to get it right with the Lord just now, and they didn't take it, so they can go on go if they're going." We've eased our conscience by telling people to turn or burn, while having little genuine concern for the condition of their lives or the eternal destination of their souls. It ought not to be that way, because the gospel is good news. It's not about hell, it's about heaven. It's not about sin, it's about salvation. And it's not about the sinner, it's about the Savior. Imagine the response we might get if we started telling people the good news that we have, rather than the bad.


The Angel continued that it was good news of great joy! The gospel of Jesus Christ is supposed to generate excitement, producing feelings of joy and hope and love among those who hear it. We've often turned it into a drudgery. With our long, unsmiling, unfriendly, unhelpful faces we mutter our verses about sin, judgment and death and wonder why people aren't joyfully receiving. What would happen if we were so excited about Jesus and the message of salvation that it showed on our faces and was heard in our voices as we told people about Christ and what He's done for us? What would happen if our enthusiasm about being saved stirred others to desire? People might actually start believing us if we started acting like we had something that just tickled us pink.


The final part of the message was, in my opinion, the coolest part of all. To this point in human history, God had revealed himself specifically to one nation, and sporadically to anyone else. But it was with a purpose. He needed a dedicated people through which he could bring His ultimate plan to fulfillment in the person of Jesus Christ. Now, all the planning and preparation was done. The fulfillment of all the promises was here. And this time, it's not just good news for the Jewish people. It's good news of great joy for everybody, everywhere. And it still is.


The salvation available through Jesus Christ is still good news to the Jew, and the Gentile. It is good news to the freedman, and to the slave. It is good news for the rich, and for the poor. It is good news for everyone who will hear, and believe, and receive. It is good news for you. Jesus has come that you might have everlasting life!