The Message Must Go Out

Just prior to last Christmas, Chris and I travelled from Ashburton to Cromwell. I chose a Spotify playlist of the 100 Greatest Christmas Songs Ever. Not one of them had any Christian content! Surely, out of 100. We get a bit frustrated with things like that, don’t we? Probably there will be little acknowledgment of the real Christmas in any of the television programming. We get concerned that the true meaning of Christmas has been lost amongst all of the commercialism. We want to reminding people that Jesus is the reason for the season. That is exactly why so many people have put time and effort into Unwrapping Christmas. We want to tell people that Christmas is about Jesus. The message must go out.

For the last three weeks, we have been looking at a list of 22 Bible passages that say why Jesus came. There’s a whole bunch that say He came to save the world, or to save sinners. There are some that say we have to make a decision about our response to Him and that decision divides people into those who trust and love Jesus and those who reject Jesus. Or, perhaps, those people have never even heard of Him.

Today, we will see that there is a real stress on telling people about it. But telling people about what?

First, let’s look at the emphasis on telling people. Before we look at the passages on the list, let's think about the Xmas story itself. It started with an angel.

The angel came to the shepherds saying, “Do not be afraid. I bring you good news that will cause great joy for all the people. Today in the town of David a Saviour has been born to you; he is the Messiah, the Lord.  This will be a sign to you: you will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.”

The shepherds went into Bethlehem and found the baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger. Luke 2:17-18 say, “When they had seen him, they spread the word concerning what had been told to them about this child, and all who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds said to them.” So, even on the day of Jesus’ birth, the angel announced it to the shepherds; the shepherds told everyone they could. This was really good news that they were excited to share.

Forty days later, Jesus was taken to the Temple. Anna, the elderly prophet who worshiped day and night, fasting and praying in the Temple, came up to Mary and Joseph with their baby and “gave thanks to God and spoke about the child to all who were looking forward to the redemption of Jerusalem” (Lk 2:38). Are you beginning to see a pattern here?

On our handout of Bible passages, look at numbers 5, 6, 7, 15, 19 and 22. Why did Jesus come?

Mark 1:38

Jesus replied, “Let us go somewhere else—to the nearby villages—so I can preach there also. That is why I have come.”

Luke 4:42-44

42 At daybreak, Jesus went out to a solitary place. The people were looking for him and when they came to where he was, they tried to keep him from leaving them. 43 But he said, “I must proclaim the good news of the kingdom of God to the other towns also, because that is why I was sent.” 44And he kept on preaching in the synagogues of Judea.

The people of Capernaum had brought to Jesus all who were sick, and he had healed them. Many people were delivered of demons. This was fantastic! No wonder they did not want Him to leave. But for Jesus, there was a higher priority. He had been sent to proclaim the good news of the Kingdom of God – this good news that they had just experienced – not just to them everywhere. That is why He was sent.

Matthew 9:35

Jesus went through all the towns and villages, teaching in their synagogues, proclaiming the good news of the kingdom and healing every disease and sickness.

All of the towns and villages. He went everywhere. He kept moving. If there were people somewhere, He would go to them. Everybody needed to hear. Jesus’ mission priority was to tell them.

Jesus lived mainly up north in Galilee. He travelled all over Galilee visiting village after village. But He taught in Jerusalem a number of times. That meant various trips to Jerusalem – 150km away. He taught in villages around Jerusalem. He travelled through Samaria where He met the Samaritan woman at the well and stayed two days in her town where many became believers. He went across the Sea of Galilee into the Gentile territories. He went up to Tyre and Sidon which are today in Lebanon. Jesus went all over the place to preach and to heal and deliver. During His ministry He walked thousands of kilometres. Why? To tell people. The message had to go out. Telling people was a massive priority.

But tell them what? What was this crucially important message?

Luke 4:43 says, “I have been sent to preach the good news of the Kingdom of God.” Matthew 9:35 says that He went to all the villages and towns proclaiming the good news of the Kingdom and healing every disease and sickness. Likewise, Matthew 4:23 talks about Jesus proclaiming the good news of the kingdom and healing every disease and sickness among the people. It is all about the Kingdom.

John 18:37 is another passage on our list that says why Jesus came. When on trial before Pilate, Jesus said, “The reason I was born and came into the world is to testify to the truth.” But look at the context.  Jesus and Pilate were debating whether or not Jesus was a king. The truth that Jesus came to testify to was the truth about His rule and His Kingdom.

How would you share the good news of the Kingdom? Put really simple, there are two kingdoms. One is ruled by Satan and is a world of chaos. The other is ruled by God and is a world of peace and good.

Is that true? Is that what the Bible says?

John 12:31 calls Satan “the prince of this world”. 2 Corinthians 4:4 calls him the god of this age.

John 10:10

The thief comes only to steal, kill and destroy; I have come that you might have life, life in all its fullness.

Satan has a kingdom – a kingdom of death and destruction. Jesus has a kingdom – a kingdom of life.

Colossians 1:13

He has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of the Son He loves.

We see the Kingdom of Darkness all around us. Imagine if that was the only option. Imagine if there was no alternative. But Jesus came to tell us about a different Kingdom – the Kingdom of God. Good news.

He didn’t only talk about it; He showed it. He showed people God at work. People were sick and Jesus healed them. People were demon-possessed and Jesus set them free. People were alienated from God by their sin and Jesus forgave them. People were lonely and rejected and Jesus befriended them. People were lost, like sheep without a shepherd and Jesus became their shepherd. God was invading Satan’s domain and asserting His authority. God gave glimpses of what it is like when He is King. It is much, much, much better.

Passage #6 on your sheets is familiar.

Luke 4:18-21

18 “The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to set the oppressed free, 19 to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favour.”

Jesus proclaimed the good news of the Kingdom and He demonstrated the good news of the Kingdom. And people chose the Kingdom of God. People chose to follow King Jesus.

When John the Baptist had doubts and sent messengers to Jesus to ask if He really was the Messiah. Jesus simply pointed to what was happening. “Go back and report to John what you have seen and heard: The blind receive sight, the lame walk, those who have leprosy are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the good news is proclaimed to the poor” (Luke 7:22). Was He the Messiah? Well, the Kingship of God was visibly present.

There are two other passages on your sheet that talk about defeating the Kingdom of Darkness.

Acts 10:38

God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and power, and… he went around doing good and healing all who were under the power of the devil, because God was with him.

1 John 3:8

…The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the devil’s work.

Jesus rescues people from Satan’s clutches. What good news.

During Jesus’ trial Pilate said to the crowd, “Here is your king”. But they shouted “Take him away! Take him away! Crucify him!”

“Shall I crucify your king?” Pilate asked. The chief priests answered, ‘We have no king but Caesar’.

Tragic! They rejected King Jesus and killed Him. The notice on the Cross mockingly said, “Jesus of Nazareth, King of the Jews”. What they didn’t know was that Jesus’ death would be the sacrifice that would make forgiveness and entry into God’s Kingdom possible.

Jesus wants us to make the opposite choice. Do you trust Jesus enough to invite Him to be King of your life? Choose the Kingdom of shalom that will one day be absolute perfection.

Jesus went to every village and town telling people they could be part of God’s Kingdom.

The New Testament church was passionate about taking that message everywhere. Ordinary, everyday Christians were motivated to share the good news of the Kingdom. Jesus’ priority became the priority of the church. The preaching was accompanied by miracles. God continued to destroy the devil’s works.

That priority now rests with us. We, as church, have organised Unwrapping Christmas because we want to be faithful to that priority. The message must go out. People need to know about Jesus.

Jesus said, “As the Father has sent me, so I send you”. Our mission is the same as His. Our mission is to make sure people know. We are to go and make disciples of all nations (as Matthew puts it) and preach the gospel to all nations (to use Mark’s words). All nations emphasises that everybody needs to know, and echoes Jesus’ determination to get to every village and town.

Christmas celebrates the birth of that Saviour King. “Where is the one who has been born king of the Jews – in fact, king of the world?”

Right from that first day when the angel declared, “A Saviour has been born” and the shepherds told everyone and Anna told everyone and Jesus told everyone and the early Christians told everyone, people who have experienced the good news of the Kingdom have been motivated to tell everyone they can. Telling people is right there in the Christmas story and telling people was one of the core reasons Jesus came. May it be just as true of us. Let’s take a few minutes to pray about the fact that people need to know.

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