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(Luke 2:8-12)

INTRODUCTION: This Advent season our church has been looking at Four Great Prophecies of Christmas on Sunday mornings. One of the amazing things about the Bible is that it is filled with prophecies, and not just prophecies, but fulfilled prophecies – prophecies made centuries in advance that were later fulfilled exactly as they were foretold. This is one of the many evidences that the Bible really is the word of God, because only God knows the future, and only God can guarantee that what he has spoken will come to pass.

Many of these prophecies in the Bible are about Jesus. In fact, there are more than three hundred prophecies about Christ in the Old Testament that were directly fulfilled by Jesus when he came. And then there are many others that will be fulfilled later when Christ returns.

In our series on Sunday mornings, however, we have been looking at those prophecies that Jesus fulfilled at Christmas – prophecies that were specifically fulfilled at the birth of Christ.

   1) A Great Battle (Genesis 3:14-15)
   2) A Great Star (Numbers 24:17)
   3) A Great Sign (Isaiah 7:14)
   4) A Great King (Isaiah 9:6-7)

We looked at the prophecy of a great battle, the prophecy of a great star, the prophecy of a great sign and the prophecy of a great king. All that leads us to tonight’s message which is about a great Savior! (Read Luke 2:8-12 and pray.)

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As we just read, the angel told the shepherds out in the fields that first Christmas Eve: “Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is Christ the Lord.” (Luke 2:11) And so tonight we come to the message of a great Savior: Jesus Christ who was born in Bethlehem to be a Savior so many years ago.

And there are three reasons I would like us to look at tonight from the Bible that explain to us why Jesus is such a great Savior: 1) He fulfills all the great prophecies. 2) He brings great joy and peace. 3) He is our great God and Savior who was given for us. So, let’s look at Jesus our great Savior together tonight.

I. He fulfills all the great prophecies

The first reason Jesus is a great Savior is because he fulfills all the great prophecies. This was the whole purpose of our series this Christmas season. We took some time to look at these four great prophecies of Christmas so we could better understand how Jesus came not unexpectedly but in fulfillment of prophecy, and how these prophecies were given so that we would recognize Jesus when he came.

We don’t have time to look at these four prophecies in great detail tonight, but I do want to run through them again briefly, both as an introduction for those of you who may not have been here for the messages and as a review for those of you who were.

   A. The prophecy of a great battle
      – Genesis 3:15

First, we looked at the prophecy of a great battle from Genesis 3:15. This was the first prophecy of Christmas; in fact, it is the first prophecy recorded in the whole Bible. God gave this prophecy all the way back in the beginning, back in the Garden of Eden, back when Adam and Eve first sinned against God. God told Satan in Genesis 3:15: “And I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and hers; he will crush your head, and you will strike his heel.” (Genesis 3:15)

In this prophecy, we learned that a specific individual would be born of the seed of the woman who would defeat Satan and his seed. We also saw an early hint of the prophecy of the virgin birth in the emphasis on the seed of the woman rather than the seed of the man. This is the first great prophecy of Christmas which foretold the coming of Messiah who will deliver God’s people from all their enemies.

   B. The prophecy of a great star
      – Numbers 24:17

And then secondly, we looked at the prophecy of a great star. We read in Numbers 24:17: “A star will come out of Jacob; a scepter will rise out of Israel. He will crush the foreheads of Moab, the skulls of all the sons of Sheth.” (Numbers 24:17)

We saw that the star and the scepter in this prophecy are both symbols of royalty. The scepter brings us back to an earlier prophecy in Genesis where we learned there will be a royal line of kings from the tribe of Judah leading up to the Messiah. (Genesis 49:10) This king who comes from the line of Judah will crush the heads of God’s enemies, which brings us back to the prophecy of the great battle where we learned that when the Messiah comes, he will crush the head of the serpent.

The prophecy of the star was fulfilled by the royal star of Bethlehem which signaled to the Magi that the Messiah had come and guided them to Jesus that they might come and worship him.

   C. The prophecy of a great sign
      – Isaiah 7:14

And then thirdly, we looked at the prophecy of a great sign. We found this in Isaiah 7:14 where Isaiah prophesied: “The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and will call him Immanuel.” (Isaiah 7:14)

This prophecy foretold that the Messiah would be born of a virgin. The virgin would give birth to a son, and this male child – born of a virgin, born of the seed of the woman – would somehow signal God’s presence with us on earth.

   D. The prophecy of a great king
      – Isaiah 9:6-7

And then finally, we looked at the prophecy of a great king. We read in Isaiah 9: “For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace…. He will reign on David’s throne and over his kingdom, establishing and upholding it with justice and righteousness from that time on and forever.” (Isaiah 9:6-7) When the Messiah came, he would come in the line of David to reign as king on David’s throne forever.

Of course, these are only four of the many prophecies about Christ that Jesus fulfilled at his birth. The Bible also foretold that: 1) the Messiah would come from the offspring of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob (Genesis 12:3, 17:19, 28:14); 2) the kingship would come through the line of Judah (Genesis 49:10); and 3) the Messiah would be born in Bethlehem (Micah 5:2).

No one else fulfilled all these prophecies – only Jesus. Jesus is a great Savior first of all because he fulfills all the great prophecies.

II. He brings great joy and peace

And then secondly, Jesus is a great Savior because he brings great joy and peace.

   A. Good news of great joy for all the people
      – Luke 2:10-11

Returning to the shepherds out in the fields that first Christmas Eve, we read that when the angel first appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, they were terrified. 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.” (Luke 2:10-11)

Notice the birth of Jesus is not only good news. It is good news of joy. And it is not only good news of joy. It is good news of great joy! And it is not only good news of great joy. It is good news of great joy for all people – everywhere!

Why is that? Because Jesus is a great Savior! He came to save us from our sins. He came to deliver you from the power of Satan, sin and death. He came to rescue you from this present evil age and bring you into his glorious kingdom forever. He offers you the free gift of eternal life just for believing in his name.

This is good news of great joy for all the people, because Jesus is a Savior for all. Whosever will may come, and everyone who believes in him will be saved. What could be better news than that? Jesus is a great Savior because he brings great joy for all the people.

   B. Glory to God and peace on earth
      – Luke 2:13-14

And then Jesus is a great Savior also because he brings great peace. After the angel finished speaking to the shepherds, we read in Luke 2:13-14: “Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God and saying, 14 ‘Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace to men on whom his favor rests.’” (Luke 2:13-14)

These are the familiar words of Christmas carols and glad tidings everywhere. Jesus came to bring peace between you and God. Jesus came to bring peace between you and your fellow man. Jesus came to bring peace in your heart. And Jesus came to bring peace over all the earth. One day all wars and striving will cease, and there will be nothing but peace, peace, glorious peace.

And so, that’s the second reason Jesus is a great Savior. He brings great joy and peace.

III. He is our great God and Savior who was given for us

1) Jesus is a great Savior because fulfills all the great prophecies. 2) Jesus is a great Savior because he brings great joy and peace. And then 3) Jesus is a great Savior because he is our great God and Savior who was given for us.

   A. God gave Jesus to us as a Savior
      – Isaiah 9:6; Luke 2:11

The Bible says that God gave Jesus to us as a Savior. We read it first in the prophecy of a great king from the book of Isaiah: “For to us a child is born, to us a son is given.” (Isaiah 9:6) Then we read it again in the words of the angel to the shepherds in Luke 2: “Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is Christ the Lord.” (Luke 2:11)

Jesus is not just a child who is born. He is a son who is given. Jesus is not just a Savior who has been born. He is a Savior who has been born to you. He is a son who is given to us, and he is a Savior who was born for us. God gave Jesus to us as a Savior.

   B. Jesus gave himself for us as a Savior
      – Titus 2:13-14

God gave Jesus to us as a Savior, and Jesus gave himself for us as a Savior. We read in Titus 2:13-14 about “the glorious appearing of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ, 14 who gave himself for us to redeem us from all wickedness and to purify for himself a people that are his very own, eager to do what is good.” (Titus 2:13-14)

God not only gave Jesus. Jesus gave himself to save us from our sins that we might live lives that bring glory to God and good to the people around us. We all like to give and receive gifts at Christmas. But the greatest gift of all was Jesus our Savior. He is our great God and Savior who was given for us.

CONCLUSION: Jesus is a great Savior. Which leads us to the great question: “How shall we escape if we ignore such a great salvation?” (Hebrews 2:3)

You see, you cannot simply look at Christmas each year and then look away. The good news of Christmas demands a response. Jesus came as a great Savior at Christmas to save you. We have all sinned and fallen short of the glory of God. But God sent Jesus at Christmas to save us from our sins and to bring us into his kingdom forever. All you need to do is believe.

The Bible tells us in John 3:16: “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.” (John 3:16) Will you put your faith in Jesus as your Lord and Savior this Christmas? Will you receive the greatest gift of all into your life – the gift of God’s only Son who died on the cross for your sins?

Jesus is a great Savior. 1) He fulfills all the great prophecies. 2) He brings great joy and peace. 3) He is our great God and Savior who was given for us. Hebrews 2:3 asks the question: “How shall we escape if we ignore such a great salvation?” (Hebrews 2:3) Jesus gave himself for you. Now only one question remains. Will you give yourself to him?

© Ray Fowler

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