But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid. I bring you good news …” Luke 2:10b

Devotion

The angel’s words may have sounded vaguely familiar. For devout Jewish listeners, they would have echoed Isaiah’s ancient promise: “The Spirit of the Lord GOD is upon me, because the LORD has anointed me to bring good news to the poor …” (Isaiah 61:1). These shepherds—ordinary men on the lowest rung of society—may well have memorized those words as boys. And now, they hear them spoken to them. Not just good news in general, but good news for them.

They needed it. These were hard lives lived under the weight of Roman rule. And under Rome, “good news” had its own meaning. The empire used the Greek word euangelion—which we translate as gospel—to celebrate victories in battle or announce the birth of a future emperor. “Good news,” in the Roman world, was peace imposed by the sword and loyalty demanded by fear. It was called the Pax Romana, but it came at a price.

One especially grand example appears in a stone calendar inscription from 9 BC commemorating the birthday of the emperor Augustus. In poetic (and political) fashion, the inscription praises Augustus as a god sent to save humanity:

“Providence … has given us Augustus, whom she filled with virtue that he might benefit humankind, sending him as a savior … that he might end war and arrange all things … The birthday of the god Augustus was the beginning of the good tidings for the world that came by reason of him …”

According to Rome, the gospel had already come. But the angels in Luke proclaim a different kind of gospel—good news of great joy for all people. And this good news wasn’t about a throne in Rome. It began in a manger in Bethlehem.

Into the grandeur of empire, a child is born—not under the spotlight of royal scribes but under a silent sky, announced to shepherds instead of senators. Yet his coming had been foretold—not in marble inscriptions but in the scrolls of Scripture. And no prophecy speaks more beautifully than Isaiah 9:6–7:

“For unto us a child is born, to us a son is given;
 and the government shall be upon his shoulder,
 and his name shall be called Wonderful Counselor,
 Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.”

Rome offered peace through conquest. Christ offers peace through presence. Augustus ruled by fear. Jesus rules by love. One gospel demands allegiance to a throne. The other invites surrender to a Savior.

The angel’s words are as radical today as they were that night: I bring you good news. Not good advice. Not good feelings. Not good intentions. This is God’s breaking news—an announcement that everything has changed because Jesus has come.

PRAYER

Father, help me fully realize how good the good news truly is—so that, having come to your peace, I might become a peacemaker to those around me.

Skip McKinstry
Spiritual Formation

Practice

Set aside a quiet moment this week for reflection or journaling. Ask yourself: What is the good news to me, personally? How has it shaped my story? And how would I share it with someone else who’s never heard it?

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