Luke 2 records the birth of our Saviour. An angel surrounded by the glory of the Lord, appears to shepherds watching over the flocks by night. This is somewhere in the country surrounding Bethlehem, and it is a frightening thing to these shepherds. The angel calms their fears with these words in verses 10, 11 “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 savior, which is Christ the Lord.” Oh, what glorious news: the Saviour promised by the prophets of old was now here!
But, this news was not good news to many of that day, and they set out to destroy him. There are many today who would destroy him, if they could. But they failed, and he lived some 30 years in seeming obscurity in a city called Nazareth, until it was time for him to be revealed. Then, one day when about 30 years old, he was revealed when he walked across the Judean wilderness to the Jordan River and was baptized by John the Baptist. At that time, John revealed him to Israel in John 1:29 “And the next day John seeth Jesus coming unto him, and saith, Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world.” He was also revealed by his Father and the Holy Spirit in Matthew 3: 16, 17 “And Jesus, when he was baptized, went up straightway out of the water: and, lo, the heavens were opened unto him, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove, and lighting upon him: 17 And lo a voice from heaven, saying, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.”
After his baptism, for the past three years he had walked through the country around Jerusalem, Judaea and all the region round about Jordan and fulfilled every prophecy concerning himself according to Luke 4:18, 19 and Isaiah 61:1. He has preached the gospel to the poor, healed the broken hearted, proclaimed deliverance to the captives, recovered of sight to the blind, set at liberty them that are bruised, and preached the acceptable year of the Lord.
But finally, his enemies catch him and falsely accuse him, illegally try him before a hostile crowd with false witnesses and condemn him to death. I don’t have the space to cover this sufficiently, but he was scourged, stripped, his beard plucked out, and He was finally crucified between two thieves. He was buried but three days later rose from the grave for our justification. Because He lives, I can face tomorrow. Matthew 28:6 tells the rest of the story: “He is not here: for he is risen, as he said. Come, see the place where the Lord lay.” 1 Corinthians 15:20 “But now is Christ risen from the dead, and become the firstfruits of them that slept.”