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  22^nd December 2024

SundayReflection

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'Darryl Dash'

 'pastor of Grace Fellowship Church East Toronto'

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Big Idea: Jesus is Saviour, Messiah, and Lord.

Tonight I want to camp on one part of one verse in the passage:

"For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, who is Christ the Lord"

..... Luke 2:11

One part of one verse that contains three titles for Jesus:
Saviour, Christ, and Lord.

These titles were spoken by the angels to the shepherds announcing the birth of Jesus.
This combination of titles is unique.
It appears nowhere else in Scripture.
In describing Jesus this way, the angels help us understand who Jesus is.

First, this child is himself to be saviour.
What is a saviour?
A saviour delivers people from danger, from enemies.
It was used by Caesar Augustus, who's mentioned in verse 1.
He promoted himself as "saviour of the common folk" and "saviour of the world."
He pretended to be a saviour who brought peace, order, and prosperity, fulfilling humanity's desires.

Mostly, though, it's used in the Bible of God.

So when the angels call Jesus a Saviour, they mean that he rescues people from some danger.
We need rescuing.
What is the danger that Jesus rescues us from?
Matthew 1:21 says,

"She will bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins."

Our sins are our greatest problem.
Sin is like arsenic. It has catastrophic consequences.
It destroys everything that it touches.

Secondly, Jesus is Christ.
Christ is not Jesus' second name.
Christ is actually a title which means Messiah, the anointed one, the chosen.

The idea is that God would send a king from the line of David who would reign over Israel in justice and righteousness forever.

This, the angels say, is fulfilled in Jesus.
But that's not all. There's one more term.

This one is staggering.
Lord means that he is ruler, the sovereign, the Lord of the universe.
In other words, this Messiah who was born is God himself.

Put this together and you have a composite picture.
Who is Jesus?
He is Saviour: he rescues us from our sins.
He is Messiah: the long-awaited King who reigns forever.
He is Lord: he rules over all.

What's really amazing is that this Saviour who is Christ the Lord is a baby.

The Saviour is not in a palace.
He's an infant lying in a feeding trough in Bethlehem.

It would have been shocking to see angels and to hear that a divine messianic ruler had been born.
It would have been even more shocking to hear that he was lying in a manger, born to a young couple with limited means.

This, my friends, is Jesus.
Do you need rescue from your sins, from your regrets, from your tendency to do what you don't want to do?
His name is Jesus.

Do you long for someone who bring in an end to injustice and cruelty and usher in peace and security?
His name is Jesus.

Do you need a King who reigns, but also a King who serves?
His name is Jesus.

You could spend a lot of time thinking about these three titles.
This is Jesus, born in Bethlehem all those years ago.

Jesus is Savior, Messiah, and Lord.

   ><(((°>

This is an edited version.
The full article and Bible references are avaiable on request

Darryl Dash
I'm a pastor of Grace Fellowship Church East Toronto.
I love learning, writing, and encouraging.
I'm on a lifelong quest to become a humble, gracious old man.

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