Six weeks on Tuesday, six more weeks to get all the presents, trimmings, food etc ready for Christmas Day. How is your Christmas shopping going? Perhaps the more important question is have you started doing your cards yet?

No doubt you will come across a scene like this; the stable with some quiet animals watching events unfold, Mary gazing adoringly at her son. No sweat, not a hint of tiredness, no lines of exhaustion and effort around her eyes, Joseph stood protectively by her side, shepherds talking excitedly as they look at the child.

It’s the image from the front of a thousand Christmas cards and apart from Mary’s exhaustion it does a pretty good job of describing what we have just read. Until that is you open up the card and on the inside it says ‘Peace on earth’. The scene looks peaceful, but is that all it really means? At Jesus birth does peace suddenly break out? Well no. Shortly after these events Matthew gives us another scene from the story of Jesus birth which I have never yet seen on a Christmas card, as Herod executes all the boys 2 and under. Peace on earth?

There are two sections in our reading this morning the first is the action (1-7) and the second is the explanation (8-20). It’s a bit like a DVD; you can watch the film but you can also watch the director’s commentary where he tells you why things were done and what their significance is. (8-20) is the director’s commentary; God tells the shepherds the significance of what is happening.

The big question is; how does this baby and all the events surrounding his birth bring peace? And the key to understanding the action, the events is (11);"Today in the town of David a Saviour has been born to you; he is the Messiah, the Lord."

1. Royal rescuer and ruler.
There are three titles given to the baby who has just been born here and they are words that I guess we’re pretty familiar with, but we’re going to think about them this morning as we think about what it means for him to bring peace.

a. Saviour - What does the word Saviour mean? A saviour is a deliverer, one who delivers his people from grave danger. In the Old Testament you get a great picture of it with the judges. Israel rejects God and is then defeated by its enemies and then they cry out to God to be saved. And God sends then deliverers in the form of judges like Deborah, Gideon and Samson. The deliverer saves the people and for a time Israel prosper. But the problem is that Israel then falls back into its old ways, forgets God and the cycle starts again.

But in the New Testament ‘Saviour’ refers to God or to Jesus as the one who rescues those who believe in him from God’s righteous anger because of our rebellion to the peace of being in a right relationship with God.

The director’s commentary point 1 this baby is a rescuer.

b. Messiah - What does the word Messiah mean? It means anointed one. In the Old Testament the Messiah would be the long promised, long awaited one from David’s line, one who was a descendant of the line of Israel’s greatest king - David. And do you notice how Luke records the birth? What does he say about it?

As Caesar and Quirinius look to show their power by ordering a census God is ensuring that Jesus, the Messiah is born in (4) "Bethlehem the town of David, because he belonged to the house and line of David." It is emphasised again in (11) as the angels tell the shepherds where he is born "in the town of David". Why does his birth place matter because 650 years before God promised through Micah:

"But you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, though you are small among the clans of Judah, out of you will come for me, one who will be ruler over Israel, whose origins are from of old, from ancient times."

Details matter; why does Luke emphasis the birth place? Because it reveals who this baby is, ordinary birth but extraordinary child. The directors commentary point 2 this is not just a rescuer this is a royal rescuer.

c. Lord - What does the word Lord mean? In Luke "Lord" means absolute sovereign and divine salvation bringer. That’s a phenomenal statement to make about a new born baby isn’t it? This baby a few hours old is the divine salvation bringer, in other words this is God in human form.

But Luke hasn’t just had a brainstorm, he hasn’t just thought hmmm this account needs a little glitz a little glamour, ah I know I’ll say he is God. Luke reaches that conclusion because that is where the evidence takes him. Just think back to that 650 year old promise we were just thinking about of "one who will be ruler over Israel" and come from Bethlehem.

It doesn’t just stop there in its description of him; Micah makes clear that he is no ordinary ruler "whose origins are from of old, from ancient times." That is a Hebrew description of God; it is describing his eternal nature. This baby is the eternal ruler; this baby in the manger is God incarnate. God in human form.

Do you get what the director’s commentary, what God, is telling you about the action, about the significance of the events that are so matter of factly reported? Jesus is God’s long awaited long promised royal rescuer and ruler.

But what about peace on earth? Just listen to this song by U2 and watch the images and think about the question we started with - how does this baby bring peace on earth?

2. Peace on earth?
What is the point that U2 are making? There is no peace on earth so they ask; what is it all about?

Where U2 and the Christmas card that proclaims peace on earth go wrong is in expecting everything to change at the stable door.

(10-11) "I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all people" is what the angels exclaim to the shepherds and that great news is that God’s royal rescuer and ruler is here. But just look at (14) "Glory to God in the highest heaven, and earth peace to those on whom his favour rests."

That word favour has popped up before in Luke as the angel talks to Mary and says she has found favour, or grace. Grace is when God gives us what we don’t deserve.

The great news is that God in sending Jesus gives us what we don’t deserve, a royal rescuer and ruler who will deliver us from facing justice for our rebellion against God and instead gift us the relationship of God’s sons. That’s an amazing statement as Tim Keller says, why did Jesus come? Because the only thing he didn’t have in the universe was us.

As Luke will go on to show Jesus heals the sick, rules over nature, raises the dead, and forgives sins all the time giving us a glimpse of peace on earth. In fact a world exactly like U2 want, where the mother doesn’t have to bury her child, where there is no pain, suffering, death, mourning, war, and no crying. Not just the absence of conflict, not just a ceasefire but giving us a glimpse of real peace on earth, but because ultimately he brings peace with God. One flows from the other. And only when the world knows peace with God will it know peace.

Jesus comes as a baby to bring freedom from slavery to self, which the Bible calls sin, and to bring peace with God, he will come again and bring all things under his control, he will come again not as a baby quietly but as the royal rescuer ruler to bring the universe under his authority and there will be peace because justice will be done and he will reign.

As Luke goes on he shows us those who will accept the peace Jesus offers, but he also shows us others who reject Jesus as royal rescuer and ruler. He shows us those that God favours, that God shows grace to and grants peace to but also those who reject his peace and ultimately will face Jesus as ruler without it.

Do you see the action in these verses? Actions that we know so well. So well infact that we can sometimes miss the directors commentary, God telling us what these events mean, why they are important, calling us to respond. How should I respond to God’s grace?

Just look at the shepherds (15) they respond by "Let’s go to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has told us about." Perhaps this is a new to you, maybe you’ve never thought of Jesus as anything more than a good man and now I’m saying he is royal rescuer and ruler, and he can bring you peace with God. Maybe you like the shepherds need to take a closer look come and talk to me over coffee. You may have questions we can talk about. Or alternatively put your name on one of the cards at the back and come to a course called Simply Christianity that looks at Luke’s gospel, someone will then let you know when it is running and where.

But maybe you have already looked at who Jesus is and you know that he is who Luke says he is and actually you need to put your faith in him. Faith is not knowing or nodding faith is acting. Maybe this morning you need to put your faith in Jesus as your own rescuer and ruler. And then make it known, in a couple of weeks we have a baptism service a great way to say Jesus is my rescuer and ruler.

Maybe you have put your faith in Jesus; did you notice the response of the shepherds when they saw who Jesus was? They tell others and they glorify and praise God. My biggest danger is that I take for granted that Jesus came for me, when I do I lose my edge, I lose my joy. I need to realise afresh what the Shepherds realised and spend my time doing what Mary does "treasures these things and pondered them in her heart" to think on it day by day.

Luke