A Savior, Who Is Lord and Christ

(Luke 2:10–11 NKJV) Then the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid, for behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy which will be to all people. {11} For there is born to you this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord.”

God overflowed with joy and excitement at the birth of his only begotten son. So he sent a celestial delegation to share the thrilling news with some true shepherds. An angel announced it; then a multitude of the heavenly host joined him to praise God and declare his glory (See: Luke 2:8–14).

In the middle of all this celebration, the angel explained that a “Savior” was born that day in “the city of David.” What did he mean by the word “Savior”? Interestingly, when the angels spoke to Joseph in a dream about this baby, this is how he put it:

(Matthew 1:21 NKJV) “And she will bring forth a Son, and you shall call His name JESUS, for He will save His people from their sins.”

Here we see why Jesus was called Savior, even before his birth. And this reveals what God had in mind for Jesus’s mission to earth: “He will save his people from their sins.” Of course the phrase, “His people,” is laden with intrigue and the promise of profound revelation; it therefore draws us into deeper study to investigate its meaning. On the surface, “His people,” sounds like it refers to the Jews, as his mother and stepfather were Jewish. However, later Jesus expanded this when he said:

(John 10:14, 16 NKJV) “I am the good shepherd; and I know My sheep, and am known by My own. ... {16} And other sheep I have which are not of this fold; them also I must bring, and they will hear My voice; and there will be one flock and one shepherd.”

Our Lord didn’t say, “My sheep are the Jews,” neither did he limit by race or location those who could qualify; he simply said, “Other sheep I have … not of this fold.” Therefore, we can all potentially be Jesus’s own sheep. How do we know when we meet the criteria for this?

(John 10:27 NKJV) “My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me.”

Jesus says that we are his sheep when we hear his voice and follow. In other words, when we hear and obey by faith.

Through the apostle Paul, the Holy Spirit further clarified Jesus’s ownership of those who hear and follow—making us “His people”:

(1 Corinthians 3:23 NKJV) “And you are Christ’s, and Christ is God’s.”

“You are Christ’s.” This phrase implies ownership as the following passage explains:

(1 Corinthians 6:19–20 NKJV) “Or do you not know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and you are not your own? {20} For you were bought at a price; therefore glorify God in your body and in your spirit, which are God’s.”

So when the angel says, “His people,” he means those Jesus purchased with his blood—we, the redeemed. So, all who put their faith in Jesus’s death, burial, and resurrection—and who press in to hear his voice, and who obediently follow what he says—are “his people.” They are the ones for whom Jesus is Savior; they are the ones he saves “from their sins.” For them, Jesus truly is Lord—their controller and owner.

In our opening passage today, the angel went on to say:

(Luke 2:11 NKJV) “… who is Christ the Lord.”

As in the words of the Christmas carol, Silent Night, Jesus was both Lord and Christ at his birth. Being absolute controller and God’s anointed one wasn’t something Jesus had to deserve, earn, or work for. His Father assigned these roles, functions, and titles to him at his birth—independent of anything he had done, or would do. After all, a baby hasn’t yet done anything good, bad, indifferent, or deserving.

Similarly, when you received Jesus’s new birth, you became his. And simultaneously—without having to earn it or deserve it—you were endowed with every spiritual blessing in Christ (Eph. 1:3); you were given a new identity, along with righteousness, life, peace, joy, the Holy Spirit, adoption, your name in heaven,