The final purple candle is lit the last Sunday of Advent. This candle is known as the “Angel’s Candle” or the candle of love. This year we have arrived on this day, the fourth Sunday of Advent, on the same day as Christmas Eve. The moment we have been waiting for has arrived! We will also light the candle in the middle: the white candle, called the Christ candle.
In his book, The Last Battle, C. S. Lewis wrote, “Once in our world, a stable had something in it that was bigger than our whole world.” I love the way he worded that, for it is certainly true. The event that we celebrate tonight is the most important event that ever took place in human history. Why do I say that? Because every human’s greatest need is to be reconciled to God. Jesus was born in order to provide the way for us to be reconciled to God. Christmas Eve celebrates that God became man and was humbly placed into a manger. As C. S. Lewis wrote in his book Mere Christianity, “The Son of God became a man to enable men to become sons of God.”
To tell everyone that this world-altering event had happened, God tasked an angel to tell some ordinary shepherds about it. Let’s read again what Luke 2:9-14 (ESV) says:
9 And an angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were filled with great fear. 10 And the angel said to them, “Fear not, for behold, I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. 11 For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. 12 And this will be a sign for you: you will find a baby wrapped in swaddling cloths and lying in a manger.” 13 And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying, 14 “Glory to God in the highest,
and on earth peace among those with whom he is pleased!”
The first part of the angel’s message tells us two things that are vitally important. First, the angel tells the shepherds not to be afraid, for the message is one of good news and great joy. This event of the Savior’s birth is good news! We don’t need to be afraid, we can rejoice. God has come to us. The prophesied Messiah has arrived, and it’s not bad news, it’s only good news. Some prophesies and announcements are rather frightening sounding. If you’ve ever read through the end time prophesies in the book of Revelation, you know that a lot of that is very terrifying. Even in the Old Testament, when God would appear in a cloud or in fire, the people were afraid, and they had every right to be so. But now, in this moment, when the shepherds are told that the prophesied child has been born- it is only good news. They do not need to be afraid. For Jesus has arrived, having come to us as a newborn infant. This is new. This is different. This is cause for rejoicing and joy!
The second thing the angel’s message tells us is equally important. It’s spoken quickly though, almost as an aside, and if we don’t pay attention, we might miss it. The angel announces that this message of good news and great joy is for all people. This is so important, for this message is not just for the Jews. This is message is not just for God’s chosen people- but it is a message of good news for the whole world. All people are included in this. All people are invited to hear this message of the birth of the Messiah.
This point is subtly showing everyone that this new thing that God is doing is very different from what He has done in the past. In the past, God had chosen the Israelites to be His chosen people. They were supposed to follow and obey Him and He would make them into a testimony to all people that the God of Israel is the one true God. They were to be a witness to all people of what it looks like to follow God. Now, God is doing a new thing. He has sent the prophesied Messiah, the One who is born, not just for the Jews, but for all people. We know that the people did not understand or catch this subtle wording at first, for even the apostle Peter had to be convinced to bring the gospel message to the gentiles, as Acts 10 tells us, if you would like to read more about that.
But I want to look closer at the next section of the angel’s message, though. Verse 13-14 says, “And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying, ‘Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace among those with whom he is pleased!’”
The message of this host of angels is usually summarized as the KJV states it, “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men.”
Why are the translations so different from one another? Which one is correct? Is it important to clarify that the message of peace is for those with whom He is pleased, as the ESV and other translations do? I think so. For just as we saw last week that joy is available to believers, so is peace. But just as joy is given to us when we are obeying and following the Lord, so, too, is peace. We have peace when we have faith in Jesus. For the only way to please God is when we have faith. It is as Hebrews 11:6 says, “without faith it is impossible to please him, for whoever would draw near to God must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who seek him.”
If a person is not a believer, how can they have true peace? They cannot. As Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible notes, “the following words, are not to be considered as a wish, that so it might be, but as an affirmation, that so it was.” The angel is not stating this as a wish or hope, but is making a pronouncement. The angel is saying that now that the Messiah has come, there is peace and God’s favor on mankind, but for those with whom God is pleased. This peace and goodwill is available to all people who would have faith in Jesus. I think that is an important distinction to make. For that is why, even though the Savior has to come to earth and brought peace and goodwill to all people, our world is still broken and suffering. Our world is not peaceful. That is because not all people have faith in Jesus.
This week’s advent candle is also called the candle of love. The reason God wanted to bring this peace to the world is because He loves us. He went through this great trouble to bring us peace because He loves us so much. As John 3:16-21 tells us, “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him. Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God. And this is the judgment: the light has come into the world, and people loved the darkness rather than the light because their works were evil. For everyone who does wicked things hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his works should be exposed. But whoever does what is true comes to the light, so that it may be clearly seen that his works have been carried out in God.”
God sent us the Christ Child because He loves us. This is why we celebrate Christmas! This is why we are celebrating tonight and having a party. God has come to us and brought us these gifts of hope, peace, joy, and love through our faith in Him. And because we want to celebrate this, we give gifts to each other, as a way to share this joy and love with one another. Our gift giving to others is an expression of our love for Jesus. He wants us to give generously to others and to love one another. As Jesus says in John 13:34-35, “A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another: just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another. By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.”
As believers, we can always have hope, joy, and peace, for we have been given the greatest gift of all time. We have been given the love of Jesus. We were given Jesus, the Christ child who was born for us. For in Him, we receive forgiveness of sins and the promise of eternal life. And while it is good to share love with others and give gifts, Christmas should not be about us and what we are giving or getting from other people. Christmas is about celebrating the greatest gift ever given. That is why, if we have received the gift of salvation through Jesus Christ, we can celebrate this day with hearts full of love, and with hope, joy, and peace no matter what is happening in our lives at this moment. For even in the darkest of times, we can rejoice in the joy of our salvation.
We are having this service while it is literally dark outside, and so, as part of tradition, we are going to light a candle and hold it in our hands while we sing Silent Night. As you know, in the daytime, the light from a candle won’t show up very well. But in the dark, a light- even a small candle- will shine brightly. That is because the darker the night, the brighter any light looks.
It has grown dark, here in America. But we have a message that cuts through darkness and brings light to people. In fact, the darker the night, the brighter the light shines. As Romans 5:20 says, “where sin increased, grace abounded all the more.” If we are telling this message of hope when it is darkest, our message will cut through the darkness and be even more visible.
To help us understand this concept better, we should look at what the Bible tells us about John the Baptist. John’s father was a priest named Zechariah. Right after John was born, Zechariah, filled with the Holy Spirit, prophecies about him. In Luke 1:78-79 he says that John would prepare the way before the Lord for he would explain to people that they can find salvation by repenting and having their sins forgiven, “because of the tender mercy of our God, whereby the sunrise shall visit us from on high give light to those who sit in darkness and in the shadow of death, to guide our feet into the way of peace.”
Zechariah prophesies that John would prepare people’s hearts to receive this light, which is like a new day that is dawning. The sunrise or new day is the birth of Jesus, for He is the light of the world. And as John 1:5 says, “The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.”
The Gospel of John goes on to say about John the Baptist in 1:7-8 that, “[John] came as a witness, to bear witness about the light, that all might believe through him. He was not the light, but came to bear witness about the light.”
All of us believers are to be the same thing that John was: we are to bear witness about the light. Jesus says in Matthew 5:16, “In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven.”
Like these candles we are holding, we are to let our light shine before others, shining in the darkness. But I want to make an important distinction. That verse is from the Sermon on the Mount. Jesus is talking to Jews. So, placing that verse in context, in verses 14-16, He says, “You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden. Nor do people light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a stand, and it gives light to all in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven.”
Jesus is telling the Jewish people that because they are God’s chosen people, they are collectively to be like a city that is set on a hill. People from far away can see the lights of a city. The people of God were to let their faith in God be a beacon, drawing other people to God. We, too, as individuals, are to let our faith in God be a light that shines so others see it and give glory to God.
But the important thing to note is this. We don’t shine; we reflect God’s light. The same way the moon doesn’t actually shine; it merely reflects the sun’s light. We do not shine our own light; we reflect the light of God. It is God’s love shining on us that causes us to be lit up. The light that we have is not from us. It has been given to us through our redemption and faith in Jesus. As Jesus says in John 8:12, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.” We have this light, but it comes from Jesus. Jesus is the light. As Psalm 27:1 says, “The Lord is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? The Lord is the stronghold of my life; of whom shall I be afraid?”
The light of the world has come into the world, and just like the angel said, we do not have to be afraid. The light cuts through the darkness so we can see and be saved.
Tonight is Christmas! Tonight we celebrate God’s one and only Son! We should rejoice and share the love that God has given to us with everyone, for we have seen the light. As Matthew 4:16 says, “the people dwelling in darkness have seen a great light, and for those dwelling in the region and shadow of death, on them a light has dawned.”
Let us praise the Lord for giving us the greatest gift the world has ever known. Let us rejoice together and sing Silent Night, remembering how He was born for us this night.
Silent night! Holy night!
All is calm, all is bright
round yon Virgin Mother and Child,
Holy infant so tender and mild,
sleep in Heavenly peace!
sleep in Heavenly peace!
Silent night! Holy night!
Shepherds quake at the sight;
glories stream from Heaven afar,
Heavenly hosts sing Alleluia,
Christ, the Saviour, is born!
Christ, the Saviour, is born!
Silent night! Holy night!
Son of God, Love’s pure light
radiant, beams from Thy Holy face,
with the dawn of redeeming grace,
Jesus, Lord at Thy birth,
Jesus, Lord at Thy birth.
Pray: Heavenly Father, thank You for giving us the greatest gift of all! Thank You for sending us Jesus, the Light of the World, to come to us so we might be saved. Help us to reflect this light of love to all the world so they too may see and be saved. We celebrate You tonight, this Christmas Eve. We rejoice with heart’s full of thanksgiving and praise for Your great love for us; for Christ the Savior is born! We love You. And in the name of Jesus, the Christ Child, we pray, amen.
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