Sermon: Christmas Eve – The Savior Cancels Fear – Lk 2.10 (12/24/25)
Introduction
Luke 2.8–14
Luke 2.8 | In the same region, shepherds were staying out in the fields and keeping watch at night over their flock. (CSB)
Luke 2.9 | Then an angel of the Lord stood before them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. (CSB)
Luke 2.10 | But the angel said to them, “Don’t be afraid, for look, I proclaim to you good news of great joy that will be for all the people: (CSB)
Luke 2.11 | Today in the city of David a Savior was born for you, who is the Messiah, the Lord. (CSB)
Luke 2.12 | This will be the sign for you: You will find a baby wrapped tightly in cloth and lying in a manger.” (CSB)
Luke 2.13 | Suddenly there was a multitude of the heavenly host with the angel, praising God and saying: (CSB)
Luke 2.14 | Glory to God in the highest heaven, and peace on earth to people he favors! (CSB)
The setting...
Shepherds were in the fields, tending their sheep...
Suddenly...
Glory breaks in...
Heaven speaks...
FEAR ERUPTS!
Luke 2.9 | Then an angel of the Lord stood before them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. (CSB)
Luke 2.10 | But the angel said to them, “Don’t be afraid, for look, I proclaim to you good news of great joy that will be for all the people: (CSB)
Luke 2.11 | Today in the city of David a Savior was born for you, who is the Messiah, the Lord. (CSB)
You are familiar with the story...
But did you notice that there are two incompatible realities in this scene?
On one hand...
The shepherds were terrified.
On the other hand...
I proclaim to you good news of great joy... a Savior was born for you!
These two realities cannot coexist because fear assumes ABANDONMENT, and the announcement declares divine ARRIVAL.
How do we know these two realities are incompatible?
Because the angel said...
Don't be afraid!
Why not be afraid?
A Savior has been born to you...
Notice, this is not...
Fear versus courage...
Fear versus willpower...
Fear versus positive thinking...
This is...
Fear versus an announcement...
Fear versus good news...
Fear versus something that has happened...
Fear versus "A SAVIOR HAS BEEN BORN TO YOU."
Why were these shepherds afraid?
They feared because...
There was something bigger than them that they couldn't understand or control.
There was uncertainty.
Questions...
There was vulnerability.
They were exposed before holiness without a mediator.
Fear is not an ancient emotion.
It simply wears modern clothes...
Anxiety about the future...
Dread about what might happen...
Fear of failure...
AND BACKWARD FEAR...
Regret over what cannot be undone...
Guilt over what cannot be erased...
Shame that whispers...
If you really knew me...
FEAR LOOKS FORWARD WITH DREAD AND BACKWARD WITH REGRET.
Fear cannot live in the present...
It only rehearses the future or re-litigates the past.
How Does God Answers Fear
Scripture
Scripture Analysis...
First, notice that God does not...
Deny fear exists...
Just say, "Calm down..."
Or suggest, "You shouldn't feel this way..."
God does not minimize fear...
He OUTFLANKS it.
He makes a specific announcement...
Not...
A principle...
Advice
Technique
The announcement is...
A person...
A birth...
A gift...
A Savior was born for you...
Savior...
Assumes danger...
Assumes helplessness...
Assumes we cannot save ourselves...
Born...
Not descending in judgment...
Not arriving with threats...
Entering our world through weakness...
FEAR IS NOT DEFEATED FROM A DISTANCE.
For you...
Personal...
Particular...
Not theoretical...
What does Christmas teach us?
Fear and salvation cannot reign together.
Fear says, "You are alone..."
Salvation says, "God is with you."
Fear says, "This will define you..."
Salvation says, "This will not have the final word."
Fear may speak loudly...
But God speaks last...
Don’t be afraid… I proclaim to you good news of great joy… A Savior has been born for you.
This means...
A decisive action has occurred in history.
God has stepped into the darkness.
Christmas is not symbolic...
It is REAL.
So...
Your fear may be understandable...
Your fear may feel justified...
Your fear may still be loud tonight...
But it has been rendered powerless.
It has been dethroned.
It has been disarmed.
It has been neutered.
Because a Savior has been born for you.
The gospel does not say...
“You can do this.”
It says...
“I’m here, and I will.”
Fear is no longer the truest thing about you.
A SAVIOR IS.
PRAYER...
Lord's Supper Celebration
A Necessary Response
Because the angel did not say...
“A BABY has been born to you.”
But declared...
“A SAVIOR has been born for you.”
Christmas does not end at the manger.
Tonight, we remember not only that Christ was born, but why he was born.
The Savior announced in Luke 2 lived a whole life for us.
The child wrapped in swaddling cloths...
Would one day be wrapped in burial linens.
The child laid in a wooden manger...
Would one day be laid on a wooden cross.
The child born in humility...
Would become the man who died for sinners and rose again in victory.
Tradition
That is why, on Christmas Eve, it has long been our joy as a church to rejoice not only in Christ’s birth, but in his life, his death, and his resurrection by coming together to the Lord’s Table.
Invitation
If you have trusted in Jesus Christ as your Savior, we invite you to celebrate his whole saving work with us tonight.
This table is not for those who have conquered fear, but for those who have been saved by a Savior.
At this table, we remember:
Fear does not have the final word.
Sin does not have the final word.
Death does not have the final word.
JESUS HAS THE FINAL WORD!
The bread reminds us of his body, given for us.
The cup reminds us of his blood, shed for us.
And as we receive them together, we proclaim again the good news of great joy:
A Savior has been born for you.
Lord's Supper Elements
The bread...
The cup...