Jesus Christ, Son of David, Our Savior Is Born Advent ...

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Jesus Christ, Son of David, Our Savior Is Born Advent Sermon Series – Part 3

Kenwood Baptist Church Pastor David Palmer December 20, 2020

TEXT: Luke 1:46-55

Praise the Lord. I'm so grateful to be here with you this morning on this Christmas Sunday. I

know that many of you find yourself in the midst of a battle right now: a battle against a virus, a

battle against depression or anxiety, a battle against uncertainty and confusion about what lies

ahead, a battle about truth, a battle about strength. I know some of you find yourself near the

end of your strength. This morning I have good news of great joy from God's Word for us. The

good news is that the battle belongs to the Lord, that He is with us, and that He announces to

us that we need not fear. This Christmas season is different from any others I've had in my

lifetime. God's Word has strengthened my soul, and it is my prayer for you, as you look to Him

in this moment, that you allow His presence to come in to comfort you and to banish fear from

your soul. We have seen that Christmas starts in Bethlehem. We have seen that Christmas

comes to shepherds in the fields around Bethlehem. And this morning we see that Christmas

comes with the promise of a great victory, and this is announced to Mary by the angel Gabriel.

In Luke 1, just a few verses before our text for this morning, we read that in the sixth month,

that is, in the sixth month of the pregnancy of Mary's relative Elizabeth, Gabriel, whose name

means that God is a warrior, was sent from God. He came to a city named Nazareth in Galilee to

a virgin betrothed to a man named Joseph, and note that he was from the house of David. The

virgin's name was Mary, Miriam in Hebrew, just like Moses’ sister. The angel says to Mary,

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“Fear not; do not be afraid.” “Fear not” is God's Word to us this morning, and it's a word that

we desperately need to hear. “Fear not,” the angel declares. Why? If you're like me, you could

easily push forward many reasons for fear, for anxiety. As I mentioned, some of us are fearful

about the devastating increase of the virus around us. We are fearful about the future. We live

in a moment in our nation’s history that seems surrounded with confusion. We need God's

Word to tell us, “Fear not.” Why? “Fear not,” the angel says, “for you have found favor with

God.” Grace from God is the first move with divine authority against our fear. To find grace or

favor with God is to receive what we do not deserve. As Adoniram Judson, the first missionary

ever to leave from the United States, said, “The future is as bright as the promises of God.” In

Luke 1:30, we read:

“And the angel said unto her, ‘Fear not,’ Mary: for thou hast found favor with God.’”(KJV)

The angel tells her that what she fears or dreads will not come to pass, because God has

showered His favor upon us. In Luke 1:31, the angel continues:

“And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall call His name

Jesus.”

Matthew explains to us the meaning of the name: Yahweh brings salvation or victory. “Do not

be afraid. Your Son, your Child will bring a victory to the world. He will be great.” In Luke 1:32,

the angel continues:

“He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. And the Lord God will give

to Him the throne of His father David.”

This Child, Jesus, will be the great One. Kings and rulers across history have clamored for that

epithet, that title, “the great” to distinguish themselves from others. And yet God's Word tells

us there is only one great King. He will be given the throne of David, and He will reign forever.

In Luke 1:33, we read:

“And He will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of His kingdom there will be no

end."

This portion of Scripture is like a prelude. It's the prolegomenon, if you will, to the text that

comes afterward, and it already encourages us that Jesus will reign forever. Of His kingdom

there will be no terminus; there will be no ending to it at all. Are you encouraged? I am

encouraged. I am encouraged this morning, as my fear starts to come unhinged, it is getting

ready to be moved out by the announcement that this One will bring victory and this One will

reign forever. And His reign will never reach its end. Are you encouraged? I am encouraged.

Mary's response is a fitting one. In Luke 1:34, we read:

“And Mary said to the angel, ‘How will this be, since I am a virgin?’"

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The angel replies to her in Luke 1:35:

“The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow

you; therefore the Child to be born will be called holy – the Son of God.”

You see, this is not humanly possible. And yet he declares “the Holy Spirit will come upon you,

will overshadow you.” Just as in the opening sentences of the Bible, when the Holy Spirit hovers

over the waters of creation, and God brings light and life into the world, the Holy Spirit comes,

for nothing is impossible with God.

“Fear not” is the opening word to Mary, and her response to this weighty declaration of a

coming victory is to burst into song, a prayer of praise. And I want you to notice that Mary's

song of praise, her prayer on Christmas Sunday, is filled with imagery of a God Who will come

and bring a mighty victory. Fear not, for Christ will win this Christmas. In Luke 1:46-47 we read:

“And Mary said, ‘My soul magnifies the Lord, and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior,’”

This could have been our theme verse for the magnify campaign at Kenwood. It's another one

of those key passages in Scripture, where we speak unto ourselves, and we declare the

greatness of God. God is greater than any of our fears. He is greater than anything we face, and

so we sometimes speak to ourselves, to declare God's greatness, because sometimes the things

we’re afraid of seem so big, and yet God is much, much larger.

My spirit rejoices in God, my Savior, and I want you to hear this word “Savior” this morning in

its full semantic orb. I want you to hear it, not just as salvation from sin, but salvation from

anything that threatens us. The term “salvation” (God as a Savior) is used in Scripture to

describe His victory and even to describe a military victory that He will win. Mary praises God.

She celebrates His greatness. He has looked on the humble state of His servant, and God will

act in a way that will take her situation from being low to being blessed for all generations. In

Luke 1:49-50, Mary declares:

“For He who is mighty has done great things for me, and holy is His name. And His mercy

is for those who fear Him from generation to generation.”

God's victory is not for a single moment in history. It is for all time. In Luke 1:51, Mary

continues:

“He has shown strength with his arm; He has scattered the proud in the thoughts of their

hearts.”

I want you to see the military imagery in her song of praise: God has shown strength with His

arm. This is a great allusion to the Exodus, where God says, “I will reach out My arm, and I will

give victory.” His powerful arm brings down the mighty from their thrones. This is a very clear

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and strong image of God's military victory, His great triumph that is announced on Christmas.

He will bring down the mighty, and He will exalt the humble, the great reversal of God's saving

purpose. God has filled the hungry with good things, and the rich He has sent away empty.

These words in Mary's song are participles. They are words that describe those who are

presently hungering, just as Jesus will announce in the Sermon on the Mount: “Blessed are

those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be satisfied.” This is not an abstract

statement about economics. It is about God, who will act to fill the hearts of those who are

longing for His saving action. And “the rich,” as the ESV translates, has the sense of those who

are satiated or those who are exploiting those around them for personal gain. God will act with

righteousness to satisfy those who are longing for His arrival. But for those who are profiting at

the expense of others, He's going to send them away empty-handed. It is an expression of great

hope. It is an expression of great triumph. It is an expression of confidence in God that will

banish fear this Christmas. And it is the celebration of the coming Son of David, a coming Son of

David who will sit on David's throne, who will reign forever, and who will bring a victory, a

strong, powerful and everlasting victory, and yet none of His weapons are described. How can

this be? He will be a conqueror, but how? He will achieve everlasting victory, but by what

means?

This Advent season we have been looking at the life of David as a type of Christ. God in His

sovereignty weaves the Scriptures together in such a way that He provides clear foreshadowing

of the arrival of the Savior. When we go back to David, we have seen that David will draw the

hearts of all nations, and they are woven into his genealogy in the story of Ruth. We have seen

that David will shepherd his people in righteousness, and so will the Son of David. We have

seen together that David is one who points to the Lord Jesus Christ, compellingly and vividly.

We look back to David and to the victory that he won and how he achieved it. We go to a text

that is famous in Sunday School. It is

wonderful for young people to see the

description of this great battle and victory.

But we hear it this morning, as a child and

with the faith of a child, but we also hear it

as adults this morning, adults who know

fear, adults who know danger. We go back

together to the Valley of Elah in 1 Samuel

17, where the Philistines had gathered and

mustered their armies for battle. They were

pitched between Azekah and Socoh, with the Valley of Elah stretched out in between, the camp

of Saul on one side and the camp of the Philistines on the other side. Rushing out from the

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camp of the Philistines came a champion named Goliath of Gath, one of the Philistine

pentapolis cities. He was a towering figure, about six cubits tall. A cubit in the Bible is the

measure from the tip of your finger to your elbow – a foot and a half – so he stood 9 feet tall.

Scholars estimate that this includes the height of his helmet and his feathers, so whether he

was, head to toe, 6’8” or 6’9”, who knows exactly? But he was a towering figure. Not only was

he immense in size and stature, but he was decked out with a full display of weapons, a helmet

of bronze, a coat of mail. The coat of armor that Goliath wore was 5000 shekels in weight,

nearly 100 pounds.

Our family enjoys going to the Renaissance Festival in the fall. You can see all kinds of medieval

events and foods and music, and I particularly enjoy watching the jousting. These men battle

with full armor. I remember seeing one direct hit, and the man was actually knocked from his

horse, and he fell and could not get up from the weight of his armor.

Goliath is wearing 100 pounds of armor. The shaft of his spear, we read, was like a weaver's

beam. Just the head of his shaft was 600 shekels, 15 pounds, just the head of his spear. The text

is calling our attention to Goliath’s size. It's calling

our attention to Goliath's armor and to his

weapons. This method of settling a dispute is

attested as a Bronze Age tactic. Those familiar

with the Homeric poems will recall the battle of

champions – Achilles and Hector. We read in this

setting, this threat, this challenge, was made by

Goliath to send out a champion to fight against

him. When Saul and Israel heard the words, they were greatly afraid. Goliath challenged them.

He defied the ranks of Israel. Those gathered were terrified. Goliath boasted in 1 Samuel 17:8:

“Choose a man for yourselves, and let him come down to me. If he is able to fight with me

and kill me, then we will be your servants. But if I prevail against him and kill him, then

you shall be our servants and serve us."

He came forward for 40 days, repeating these taunts. In 1 Samuel 14:10, he said:

"I defy the ranks of Israel this day. Give me a man, that we may fight together."

Day after day, he summoned this taunt, and Saul and the Israelite warriors were terrified until a

young shepherd came. David came to Saul and told Saul in 1 Samuel 17:37:

"The LORD who delivered me from the paw of the lion and from the paw of the bear will

deliver me from the hand of this Philistine."

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Note carefully the subject of these sentences. David does not come, saying, “I have experience

in battle.” He does not come, saying, “I am really a good shot.” Rather, he comes with the Lord

as the subject of his sentences:

“The Lord delivered me and He

will deliver me again.” David

steps forward, not in fear, but in

faith. Saul offers him his armor,

but David cannot even fit into it,

for he comes with a weapon

much, much stronger than

bronze. He comes in faith, in the

name of the Lord, who will grant him the victory in battle.

The text wants us to know clearly that David comes without a sword or spear. He comes with

five smooth stones and a shepherd pouch. He comes, not so much with these stones as his

confidence, but he approaches the Philistine and says in 1 Samuel 17:45:

"You come to me with a sword and with a spear and with a javelin, but I come to you in

the name of the LORD of hosts.”

David comes in the name of the Lord of hosts, and the Lord will give the victory so that all of us

would know this morning that the Lord saves, not with sword and spear, for the battle is the

Lord's. There was no sword in the hand of David, but he comes to bring victory in the name of

the Lord of hosts. The Lord of hosts is a description of God, who is at the head of the heavenly

armies. God, the God of Israel, the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, is a mighty warrior,

strong to save. God's victory is captured by this phrase, “the Lord of hosts.” God's victory is

celebrated in Scripture in Exodus 15:3, where we read:

“The LORD is a man of war; the LORD is His name.”

The psalmists are filled with imagery of God, achieving a great military victory. Psalm 46:7, says:

“The LORD of hosts is with us; the God of Jacob is our fortress.”

Martin Luther, at the height of the Reformation, wrote the hymn “A Mighty Fortress is Our

God.” It was inspired by the language and imagery of Psalm 46. The first verse is familiar to us:

“A mighty fortress is our God, a bulwark never failing;

our helper He, amid the flood of mortal ills prevailing.

For still our ancient foe does seek to work us woe;

His craft and power are great, and armed with cruel hate,

on earth is not His equal.”

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But the critical verse for us this morning is the second one:

“Did we in our own strength confide, our striving would be losing,

were not the right Man on our side, the Man of God's own choosing.

You ask who that may be? Christ Jesus, it is He;

Lord Sabaoth His name, from age to age the same;

and He must win the battle.”

Are you encouraged? I am encouraged this morning because Jesus Christ is on my side. Jesus

Christ is on your side. And Luther, like the other great reformers, learned Hebrew and

discovered this great truth that His name is the Lord of hosts. Luther was so riveted by this

truth that he transliterated the Hebrew into the second verse of “A Mighty Fortress,” because

the Lord of hosts in Hebrew is Yahweh Sabaoth, the Lord of the armies. The Lord of hosts

doesn't mean simply that there are a lot of angels in heaven. It means that there are warriors in

heaven and that God is at the head of this heavenly army, and He will win the battle.

Are you encouraged? I am encouraged this morning that when God says, “Don't be afraid,” that

there are really good reasons for not being afraid, that there are heavenly resources, a God

who is on my side, who sends Jesus Christ at the head of the heavenly army. So it's not wishful

thinking for David to come forward and say, “I'm coming to you in the name of the Lord of

hosts. You are in trouble. I'm coming to you in the name of the Lord of hosts, you who trust in

your own technologies, your own forged weapons.” Goliath’s own weapons cause him to fall.

He stumbles with a simple stone. He can’t get up and perishes under the weight of his own

armor. He perishes with the weight of his own sword.

The Lord of hosts is with us. Lord Sabaoth, His name, and He will win the battle. Brothers and

sisters, we need to recover this element of who Jesus Christ is. This image of Him, who comes

as the Savior of the world, is He Who comes to bring and achieve an everlasting victory. He

stands at the head of the heavenly armies, and when we see Him and His power, it banishes

fear from our souls. When Elisha was facing a great battle, his servant was terrified and said,

“What shall we do?” And Elisha said in 2 Kings 6:16:

"Do not be afraid, for those who are with us are more than those who are with them."

Then in 2 Kings 6:17, we read:

“Then Elisha prayed and said, ‘O LORD, please open his eyes that he may see.’ So the

LORD opened the eyes of the young man, and he saw, and behold, the mountain was full

of horses and chariots of fire all around Elisha.”

Are you encouraged? I am encouraged.

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Jehoshaphat, king of Judah, in 2 Chronicles faced a battle. It was a battle that was confusing. It

was a battle that raced ahead of him. He was threatened with fear, and he didn't know exactly

what to do. You may be in a spot like this right now, where you’re just not sure what to do.

Jehoshaphat speaks for all of us when he says, “We do not know what to do, but our eyes are

on You.” And the Lord God replies through the prophet in 2 Chronicles 20:15:

“Do not be afraid and do not be dismayed at this great horde, for the battle is not yours

but God’s.”

He continues in 2 Chronicles 20:17:

“You will not need to fight in this battle. Stand firm, hold your position, and see the

salvation of the LORD on your behalf, O Judah and Jerusalem. Do not be afraid and do not

be dismayed. Tomorrow go out against them, and the LORD will be with you."

So the victory is granted by sending out the worship team, and they praise God. Their enemies

are defeated, not by their own strength or by the compelling nature of their song, but because

the Lord of hosts is with us.

Brothers and sisters, beloved church family, I am encouraged this Christmas Sunday, because

the Lord of hosts is with us. When Isaiah saw the heavenly host gathered in worship and songs,

he heard the seraphim singing out to one another, “Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God Almighty.”

It is the Lord of hosts that they declare: “The whole earth is full of His glory. Holy, holy, holy is

the Lord of the heavenly armies. The earth is full of His glory.” They see that He is mighty,

powerful, and willing to save. In Isaiah 9:7 (the arrival of the Savior just a few chapters later),

Isaiah described the Lord like this:

“Of the increase of His government and of peace there will be no end, on the throne of

David and over His kingdom, to establish it and to uphold it with justice and with

righteousness from this time forth and forevermore. The zeal of the LORD of hosts will do

this.”

How will this happen? The zeal of the Lord of hosts will accomplish it. Hallelujah. Are you

encouraged? I am encouraging myself in this sermon. This is why the angel says to Mary, “Fear

not.” Fear not, brothers and sisters, fear not. When the angel appears to the shepherds in the

field, he announces the good news of Christmas with the same opening, “Fear not.” I know that

many of us are feeling fear right now. I know that. I know that in conversations with you. I know

that in messages you're sending to me, and I praise God that He sees us and that He knows us

and that He tells us again and again and again, “Fear not.”

“Fear not,” the angel tells Mary. He tells this to the shepherds in the field, and then heaven

opens, and the shepherds see and hear. Brothers and sisters, what do they see? Suddenly they

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see the angel with a multitude of the heavenly host. The shepherds see the heavenly army and

Jesus at the head. They don't see just a large group of angels. The text is clear that what they

see is a multitude of warriors. Now, I often hear people say that the Israelites were expecting a

military victory, and Jesus wanted to bring a spiritual victory. No one in antiquity made that

distinction. Jesus came to bring a military victory. Jesus came to triumph over our foes. How

would He achieve this victory? The angels announce: “Glory to God in the highest, and peace on

earth.” Jesus Christ, Son of David, the warrior, mighty to save, will win the battle in such a way

that will bring peace to the earth. Mary celebrates in Luke 1:51-53:

“He has shown strength with His arm; He has scattered the proud in the thoughts of their

hearts; He has brought down the mighty from their thrones and exalted those of humble

estate; He has filled the hungry with good things, and the rich He has sent away empty.”

When his son is born, Zechariah, the father of John the Baptist, burst into praise in Luke

1:68-74:

"Blessed be the Lord God of Israel, for He has visited and redeemed His people and has

raised up a horn of salvation for us in the house of His servant David, as He spoke by the

mouth of His holy prophets from of old, that we should be saved from our enemies and

from the hand of all who hate us; to show the mercy promised to our fathers and to

remember His holy covenant, the oath that He swore to our father Abraham, to grant us

that we, being delivered from the hand of our enemies.”

This Child, born in Bethlehem, is a warrior. I want you to see that the Child born in Bethlehem,

that we celebrate and worship this morning, is the One who will grow up to defeat our darkest

enemy. He will defeat the enemy, and He will command the field forever.

It is critical this morning, beloved, that we join in with the counsel of God's Word to properly

identify our enemy. It's not one another. We are tempted to do that this morning. Our enemy is

not a virus, and it’s not one another. Our enemy is the one, that ancient foe, who seeks to work

us woe, who seeks to drive a wedge between us and our heavenly Father, and Jesus has come

to achieve our victory. He is the incarnate Son, who will crush the head of the serpent. He is the

empowered Son, who will defeat the dragon. He is the glorious Son, who will set the captives

free. He is the anointed Son, who will create a people against whom hell cannot prevail. Are you

encouraged? He is the chosen One, who will command the field of battle. How will He gain His

victory? Let me tell you, Jesus, the Child born in Bethlehem, the One at the head of the

heavenly armies, will come and He will destroy lies by the power of His truth. Jesus will come to

illuminate the darkness by bringing the great light. He will step forward as the champion of

heaven. He will silence the accuser. Then by Himself being accused, He will remove sin, as far as

the east is from the west, by the sacrifice of Himself. He will blot out our transgressions with His

own shed blood. He will achieve the victory. He will defeat death by dying for it. He will

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overturn the gray by his resurrection, and He will empty hell by the full power of an

indestructible life. He will achieve the victory.

Are you encouraged? I am encouraged this Christmas Sunday because Jesus Christ comes, a

warrior mighty to save. “Fear not, I bring you good news of great joy, for unto you is born this

day in the city of David, a Savior.” Fear not, brothers and sisters, Jesus Christ is born. His arrival

brings joy to the world. His arrival causes us to celebrate. His arrival changes everything, and

His arrival defeats our enemy forevermore. Are you encouraged? I am encouraged this

morning!

I want to invite you, right now, wherever you are, if fear has overwhelmed you, just say, “Lord

Jesus, Yours is the battle.” I want to ask you right now to open your heart to Him. Come to Him

with whatever you're afraid of, and confess that Jesus is my victory. You can find a stone and

write on it: “Jesus is my victory.” He does not ask us to take up arms. He asks us to fall into His

arms. Jesus, Son of David, is a warrior mighty to save. Fear not, beloved. This Christmas Sunday

we announce joy to the world, as Jesus Christ, Son of David, our Savior, our victorious warrior

has come. Will you pray with me?

Lord Jesus, we praise You. You are mighty, and You are great. In Your greatness, You came

down to save. In Your greatness, You came down, Lord Jesus, to defeat the real enemy. We

thank You, Lord Jesus, that You silenced him in the wilderness by quoting the Word of God, that

You released the captives and those who were harassed by him, with Your Word. We praise You

that You silenced his accusations by taking them upon Yourself and that, Lord Jesus, You have

gained the victory. I praise You this morning for how You have encouraged my own soul by Your

Word and by the accomplishment of Your incarnation, the perfect life, atoning death and

resurrection, and that You reign forever. Joy to the world, the Lord is come. Let earth receive

her King. Let every heart prepare Him room. Joy to the world, the Savior reigns. Hallelujah!

Merry Christmas! Amen.

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