A Moe-Ment about Announcement

Announcement definition. News means newly received or noteworthy information, especially about recent or important events.

There is good news today! Jesus Christ is born! In our world, broadcast stations mostly announce bad news but our God was announcing good news. The good news of peace, hope, joy, love, and salvation for everyone. 

How did God announce the birth of His Son? God doesn’t announce the same way that man announces the biggest event of history. Let’s consider a chronological list.

1.      OT prophecies: God has been announcing the coming of His Son since the very beginning. First mention of one coming who would crush Satan’s head in Gen 3:15. But in regards to His birth, Is 9:6 “For unto us a child is born, to us a son is given.” 

2.      Luke 1:31, Angel come to announce to Mary that she “will be with child and give birth to a son and you are to give Him the name, Jesus. 

3.      Elizabeth’s child leap with joy at the announcement of Mary’s arrival

4.      Joseph and his dream. Others in village of Nazareth. Joseph had his own supernatural encounter. [Matt 1:20-23] First the angel revealed that the child was conceived by God’s Holy Spirit, which made Him the literal Son of God. Second, the angel announced that the child would be the long-awaited Messiah. 

5.      Shepherds and people in Bethlehem. The rich and powerful in Jerusalem were blissfully unaware [as it was in the days of Noah] of the momentous event taking place in the countryside, angels appeared to outcast shepherds. Host of angels to the lowly shepherds in contrast to breaking news of today’s standard. Behold I bring you good tidings Luke 2:10. A great company of the heavenly host.  All of heaven rejoicing. The shepherds immediately left their sheep alone to go to “Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has told us about.” They found it just as the angels said. They must have gone from fear to joy and wonder at the announcement of the birth of the Savior. They became evangelists. The Greek word for evangelism—announcing of good news. There were thousands of people who emerged on the town then who were available to hear the announcement. They were amazed at what they heard and then promptly forgot about it. 

6.      Simeon and Anna. When Jesus was presented on the eight day in the temple as required by law, Mary and Joseph encountered Simeon, a righteous and devote follower, and Anna, a prophetess. The Holy Spirit announced and prophesized to them that the baby would bring salvation to the world.

7.      Magi saw star and followed it, fully expecting it to lead them to a great king, in the capital city, in a royal palace. Jesus however, the rightful heir to the throne of Israel, quietly was born in a small town with no fanfare among no one of great worldly importance.

8.      The Magi made an announcement to Herod and all in palace which ignited death of babies under the age of two.

9.      Skip ahead 30 years and you have John the Baptist saying one who is greater will come.

10.    God at Jesus’ baptism and God on the mountain of transfiguration

11.    Jesus himself told His disciples.

12.    The Demoniac and the Samaritan woman told those outside of Jerusalem.

13.    Demons announced who He was.

14.    All witnesses from then until today.

The announcement today is that He is coming again. No one knew the day of the Messiah’s arrival though there were many prophecies. No one knows His second arrival, though many prophecies in Revelation. The message is always the same. Be ready!

Transcript

Announcement definition. News means newly received or noteworthy information, especially about recent or important events.

There is good news today! Jesus Christ is born! In our world, broadcast stations mostly announce bad news but our God was announcing good news. The good news of peace, hope, joy, love, and salvation for everyone. 

The Christmas story as told in Matthew 1:18-25:

This how the birth of Jesus came about: His mother Mary was pledged to be married to Joseph, but before they came together, she was found to be with child through the Holy Spirit. Because Joseph her husband was a righteous man and did not want to expose her to public disgrace, he had in mind to divorce her quietly.

But after he had considered this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, “Joseph son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary home as your wife, because what is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. She will give birth to a son, and you are to give Him the name Jesus, because He will save His people from their sins.”

All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had said through the prophet: the virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and they will call Him Immanuel—which means, “God with us.”

When Joseph woke up, he did what the angel of the Lord had commanded him and took Mary home as his wife. But he had no union with her until she gave birth to a son. And he gave him the name Jesus.

How did God announce the birth of His Son? God doesn’t announce the same way that man announces the biggest event of history. Let’s consider a chronological list.

1.      OT prophecies: God has been announcing the coming of His Son since the very beginning. First mention of one coming who would crush Satan’s head in Gen 3:15. But in regards to His birth, Is 9:6 “For unto us a child is born, to us a son is given.” Micah 5:2 and Matt 2:1-6 it says He would be “born in Bethlehem.” In Is 7:14 He would be “born to a virgin.” God fulfilled all of the prophesies that surround the birth of Christ. If He kept all of those promises, you can find comfort that He will fulfill all of His other promises.

2.      Luke 1:31, Angel come to announce to Mary that she “will be with child and give birth to a son and you are to give Him the name, Jesus. Angel said to Mary, “Greetings, favored one! The Lord is with you.” What a wonderful honor, but just like with us, sometimes the privilege of getting a calling from God requires immense sacrifice and faith, usually never easy. We need increased faith to move from one step to the next. He is always stretching us to grow so we can move forward.

a.       Announcing the miraculous. Mary was a virgin so she asked how can this be? This was not a faithless statement just an inquiry. The angel used imagery that would have been familiar to any Jew. God overshadowed the tent of meeting which the people saw as an eerie glow in the form of a cloud (Ex 40:34-38); Num 9:15-16). The angel used this imagery when he said “the power of the Most High will overshadow you to explain that God’s spiritual presence would miraculously conceive a male child in her womb. While the child would be human in every respect, He would not have a human father. His father would be, quite literally, the Almighty God.

b.      Mary’s response to the announcement. [Luke 1:38], “behold, the bondslave of the Lord; may it be done to me according to your word.” Bondslave translated from Greek describes a particular kind of servitude common throughout history. God obviously chose this humble maiden for good reason, not the least of which was her complete submission to the will of her Creator. I willingly commit myself to the unconditional service of my Lord.

c.       Mary treasured, meaning to protect, to preserve, to guard all these things in her heart. Pondering means to bring together like the pieces of the puzzle. Mary was not astonished, she knew the event could be trusted as authentic even if she couldn’t fully understand all of it at the time.

3.      Elizabeth’s child leap with joy at the announcement of Mary’s arrival

4.      Joseph and his dream. Others in village of Nazareth. Joseph had his own supernatural encounter. [Matt 1:20-23] First the angel revealed that the child was conceived by God’s Holy Spirit, which made Him the literal Son of God. Second, the angel announced that the child would be the long-awaited Messiah. To a Jew, this news would have been breathtaking. Unquestionably, it was the most significant announcement in the history of Israel. And on a person level, the angel confirmed Mary’s innocence, which had to have come as a great relief to the heartbroken groom.

5.      Shepherds and people in Bethlehem. The rich and powerful in Jerusalem were blissfully unaware [as it was in the days of Noah] of the momentous event taking place in the countryside, angels appeared to outcast shepherds. Host of angels to the lowly shepherds in contrast to breaking news of today’s standard. Behold I bring you good tidings Luke 2:10. A great company of the heavenly host.  All of heaven rejoicing. The shepherds immediately left their sheep alone to go to “Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has told us about.” They found it just as the angels said. They must have gone from fear to joy and wonder at the announcement of the birth of the Savior. They became evangelists. The Greek word for evangelism—announcing of good news. There were thousands of people who emerged on the town then who were available to hear the announcement. They were amazed at what they heard and then promptly forgot about it. 

6.      Simeon and Anna. When Jesus was presented on the eight day in the temple as required by law, Mary and Joseph encountered Simeon, a righteous and devote follower, and Anna, a prophetess. The Holy Spirit announced and prophesized to them that the baby would bring salvation to the world.

7.      Magi -saw star and then came later. There is speculation that they learned about Jewish prophecy from Daniel who lived in Babylon for 70 years. Regardless, these magi found it significant enough to follow the star, fully expecting it to lead them to a great king, in the capital city, in a royal palace, and maybe even with [Matt 2:1] great celebration. Jesus however, the rightful heir to the throne of Israel, quietly was born in a small town with no fanfare among no one of great worldly importance.

8.      The Magi made an announcement to Herod and all in palace which ignited death of babies under the age of two.

9.      Skip ahead 30 years and you have John the Baptist saying one who is greater will come.

10.    God at Jesus’ baptism and God on the mountain of transfiguration

11.    Jesus himself told His disciples.

12.    The Demoniac and the Samaritan woman told those outside of Jerusalem.

13.    Demons announced who He was.

14.    All witnesses from then until today.

The announcement today is that He is coming again. No one knew the day of the Messiah’s arrival though there were many prophecies. No one knows His second arrival, though many prophecies in Revelation. The message is always the same. Be ready!

Merry Christmas from Rick and Robin!