👼 Luke 2:10-11 | "I bring good news of great joy..."

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Advent is here! We pray that you connect with the beauty of Christmas in a new way this month. Today, we’ll look at the lowly birth of our Savior.

In today’s email…

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And the angel said to them, “Fear not, for behold, I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people.

For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord.

Luke 2:10-11

To begin our week in Luke 2:10–11, let’s zoom out and see how these verses fit into the Gospel of Luke as a whole.

Luke opens his Gospel with a statement of purpose: he has “followed all things closely” so that he can give an orderly, careful, well-investigated account of Jesus’ life. Luke isn’t an apostle. he’s a historian, a theologian, and a physician.

He is meticulous. He wants his readers to know that the story of Jesus is not a legend or a myth but a real event rooted in real history.

You can see this right away in the opening chapters.

Luke anchors the birth of Jesus inside the political world of his day — Augustus, Quirinius, Herod — names that signaled fear, taxation, and oppression for ordinary Jews. A census wasn’t a neutral event; it was a tool of empire, a way of extracting every possible resource from a weary people.

And yet this is precisely where Luke wants the good news to break in.

Into this world of exhaustion and empire, Luke tells the story of a peasant couple forced to travel at the worst possible time. Mary is about to give birth after uncomfortable travel. And in a place fit for animals, the sky suddenly erupts with angels to announce joy “for all the people.”

This is classic Luke: God shows up in unexpected places, to unexpected people, at unexpected moments.

Luke emphasizes the overlooked — old priests (Zechariah), barren women (Elizabeth), teenage girls (Mary), and shepherds who lived at the bottom of the social ladder.

But God noticed them.

And the first announcement of Jesus’ birth wasn’t given in a palace or a temple or a capital city. It was given to people who lived on the margins, keeping watch in the darkness.

Which brings us to our verse:

As Luke shows throughout his Gospel, Jesus defies expectations: the humble are lifted, the proud are brought low, and good news arrives not to the powerful first, but to ordinary people.

This is the story of Advent.

The Great Light entered darkness. An infinite God became finite. The God of ultimate power became a baby.

And it’s announced with a message of hope: “Fear not, for behold, I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people.”

Today’s practice is simple, but powerful:

Light one candle and read Luke 2:10–11 aloud.

Do it slowly. Let the light push back the darkness in the room. And let the Word push back the darkness in your heart.

Then say this prayer quietly: “Jesus, bring Your good news into my fear today.”

Let this be your practice for the week. A small, sacred pause where the announcement of the angels becomes the announcement over your own life.

🙏 Pray

Father, thank You that into a weary world You sent a Savior, Christ the Lord.
Thank You that Your good news comes to ordinary people, in ordinary places, even in the middle of fear. Open my eyes this week to see Jesus as Luke wants me to see Him. Amen.

Pay-it-forward subscribers, enjoy the song we created below to help you memorize the verse of the week!

Pay-it-forward subscribers, enjoy the song we created below to help you memorize the verse of the week!

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Every Sunday on our way to church, every member of my family selects one worship song they’d like to listen to on the ride.

This was mine this week as I reflected on Luke 2.

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And the angel said to them, “Fear not, for behold, I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people.

For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord.

Luke 2:10-11