JESUS: SAVIOUR, CHRIST AND LORD

Trevor S Ferguson

December 31, 2012

Luke 2:8-11 (KJV)
⁸ And there were in the same country shepherds abiding in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night.
⁹ And, lo, the angel of the Lord came upon them, and the glory of the Lord shone round about them: and they were sore afraid.
¹⁰ And the angel said unto them, Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people.
¹¹ For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord.

INTRODUCTION

The Christmas season is a time when many pause to reflect on the birth of Christ. However, most persons as they reflect on the birth of Christ, focus on the story of the babe in a manger, and as a result see Him only in his humanity, as vulnerable and dependent. It is important however, that our look at Jesus in this time does not focus only on his humanity.  

 We note in today’s scripture, that the angels in announcing the birth of Jesus were careful to give a full declaration of who He is.  We therefore see them informing the shepherds in Luke 2:11 – “For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord.”

Today as we reflect on the birth of Jesus I invite us to reflect on the theme - Jesus: Saviour, Christ and Lord.

EXPOSITION

Jesus - Our Saviour

The bible emphatically states that all men are sinners. Since the fall of man all humanity inherited Adams fallen state, and as such we have a penalty of death hanging over our lives from the day of our birth.

There is no exception to this fallen state. Paul writes in Romans that both Jews and Gentiles are guilty before God and that all must face God in judgment.  He further declares that ignorance of God’s law will not serve as an excuse, because God has revealed Himself in His creation of the world (Romans 1:20). The psalmist reminds us also that the heavens declare the glory of God and the firmament showeth His handiwork (Psalm 19:1). All men therefore stand guilty before God and is deserving of the penalty of death which has been pronounced.

The problem however is that God in His creation desired to have fellowship with man. The fall of man was counter to God’s ultimate plan and therefore He had to devise a way to bring man back to Himself. In Genesis 3:15, we see that at the same time that God was pronouncing judgment upon the serpent and the woman He gave the promise of a redeemer. The seed of the woman would crush the head of the serpent and so procure redemption for Adam’s fallen race.

Jesus’ birth was in fulfillment of this first great Messianic prophecy. He was the seed of the woman. Jesus was born of a virgin. According to Luke 1:35, the Holy Ghost overshadowed Mary and caused the child to be conceived in her womb. As such Jesus had both a human nature and a Divine nature and could therefore be touched with the feeling of our infirmities but yet He was without sin. It is this sinless humanity that qualified him to become the substitutionary sacrifice for human sin. It is through His death, burial and resurrection that He purchased our salvation and now gives us access to the throne of God. 

Call on that Saviour today! He came to seek and to save that which was lost.

                                                                                                                                              

Jesus – The Messiah (Christ)

In an effort to ensure that we have a clear revelation of the identify of this babe in the manger, the angels go on to tell us that this Saviour is the Christ, i.e. He is the Anointed One, The Messiah. He is the one for whom the Jews had been waiting.

The first Messianic prophecy goes back to God’s promise regarding the seed of the woman in Genesis 3:15.  We see this theme throughout the Old Testament – the seed of Abraham (Genesis 12:2), Shiloh (Genesis 49:10), a prophet like unto Moses (Deuteronomy 18:18). We see also several references to the Messiah in the Psalms and the prophets.

Isaiah provides some vivid details concerning the Messiah with passages such as Isaiah 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”. The Jews looked for a kingly Messiah, but Isaiah 53 shows us another picture, that of a suffering servant, who would grow up as a tender plant and as a root out of dry ground. The prophet Micah identified the place of his birth as Bethlehem, again suggesting a humble birth.

 It should therefore not be surprising that the angel should declare this child, born in a manger, in the lowly city of Bethlehem to be the Messiah, the Christ, the Anointed One who would ultimately deliver Israel from her enemies. 

Jesus – Our Lord

The greatest acclamation placed on the Christ-child, however, was not the title of Saviour or Messiah but was the declaration that He is Lord. The word in the Greek is “Kurios” which means to be in supreme authority; i.e. God, Master or Lord. According to Vincent Word Studies in the New Testament, the word “Kurios” when used in the New Testament is the name for God. So the angels in their declaration were saying: Unto us is born in the city of David, a Saviour, one who will deliver us from the power and effects of sin; this Saviour is also the Messiah, the One who was promised, the One who will restore the kingdom of God; but He is more than just that; He is Lord. He is the great God of the universe who has clothe Himself in flesh, who has covered His glory, who has placed Divinity into humanity and has come to tabernacle with us.

It is noteworthy that this same description of Jesus being Lord and Christ is used again by Peter on the day of Pentecost.  As he closed his sermon he declared how Jesus of Nazareth, described as a man approved of God, had been delivered by the Jews and had been crucified and slain, but whom God had raised from the dead. Acts 2:36 declares … God had made that same Jesus… both Lord and Christ”.  

CONCLUSION

I declare unto you today that this same Jesus, who was born as a baby in a manger is our Savior, Christ and Lord. I further declare that it is folly to celebrate Christmas and refuse to acknowledge Jesus Christ as Lord.

My challenge to all today is to go all the way with Jesus. Recognize His birth, recognize Him as Saviour and Lord and place your trust in Him.

The way of salvation today is exactly as the people were told on the day on Pentecost: Repent, accept water baptism in the name of Jesus Christ and seek for, and receive the baptism of the Holy Ghost. Then you will be able to declare like the angels did – Unto ME, is born this day, My Saviour, Christ and Lord!