Today we are starting a new sermon series entitled “Hark the Herald Angels”. This year, during the season of Advent, we are going to take a closer look at the messages the angels delivered to prepare God’s people for the birth of God’s one and only Son, our Savior Jesus. As we read about angels being sent to Abraham, Zachariah, Mary, Joseph, and the shepherds, there is no denying that every time an angel appears to herald a message it is a significant emotional event for the listener. It is easy for us to quickly imagine ourselves in the situation and visualize how terrifying/ exciting it would be if an angel suddenly appeared before one of us. However, it is my intention to prepare a series of sermons for you that focus our attention more on the message than the moment. I want us to really hark what the angels are heralding.

Over the next few weeks, we will be spending a great deal of time in the first two chapters of Luke’s gospel. However, our series begins in Genesis 22. I don’t think I have ever done this before, but I am going to preach on the same text twice in the same year. Except for a few festival texts like Luke 2 which are is the assigned gospel for every Christmas, I generally avoid preaching on the same text twice in the same decade let alone the same year. Whenever possible I like to preach on a new text because there is so much of God’s Word I still need to learn and share with you. However, even though I preached on Genesis 22 last February I am going to make an exception to my rule because we are going to look at this text from a completely different perspective. Last February when I preached this text, I focused our attention on Abraham and Isaac so that we would have a better appreciation for the God who so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son. Today I am going to focus our attention on The Angel and the message He brings.

First, permit me a few general remarks about angels. The word “angel” is used over 300 times in the Bible. The word means “messenger”. Sometimes people such as prophets, priests, and even pastors are referred to as angels because they deliver messages from God to His people. Most of the time, however, when mention is made of an angel it is in reference to one of those extraordinary creations of God who dwell in the heavenly realms and are dispatched to be guardians of God’s people and on special occasions to deliver messages from God to them. These angels are powerful and perfect; they radiate the holiness of heaven which is why they often must begin a conversation with one of us by saying “do not be afraid…”. These Angels will be heralding to Zachariah, Mary, Joseph, and the shepherds in the weeks to come, but today we are called upon to harken to a different kind of herald.

The Angel that is heralding to us today first appeared (at least by this name) to Hagar, the handmade of Abram’s wife Sarai. After This Angel appeared to her, Hagar said, “You are the God who sees me,”[1] Later this Angel appeared to Jacob in a dream. There the Angel identified himself as “the God of Bethel”[2]. This Angel also appeared to Moses in the flames of the burning bush. The Angel said to Moses, “I am the God of your father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob.” From these and other encounters with The Angel of the Lord we quickly learn that This Angel is different than all other angels. This Angel introduces Himself as God and makes promises only God can make. This angel is not your typical messenger of the LORD, This Angel is the LORD. This Angel is the second person of the trinity. This Angel is the Son of God before He became also the Son of man. This Angel is the preincarnate Jesus. Thinking of the preincarnate Jesus as a messenger of The Word is supported in John’s gospel where we are told “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.” And then when the time had fully come “The Word became flesh and made His dwelling among us”[3]

In the Old Testament, on special occasions, Jesus, the Word before He became flesh, served as His own messenger and was known as THE Angel of the LORD. One of those special occasions occurred atop a mountain in the region of Moriah where The Angel of the LORD delivered a message of substitution and salvation.

The Angel of the LORD watched as Abraham led his son Isaac up the mountain. The Angel of the LORD heard Isaac ask, “7 Father”, “The fire and wood are here,” “but where is the lamb for the burnt offering?” Though Abraham’s voice likely trembled, and his eyes filled with tears, The Angel of the LORD looked beneath the man’s emotion and saw a resolute faith burning in Abraham’s soul as he answered, “8… God himself will provide the lamb for the burnt offering, my son.” The angel of the LORD watched as the altar was built, the son was bound, and the knife was raised. The Angel of the LORD saw a child doomed to death, but before the sentence could be carried out “11 the angel of the LORD called out to him from heaven, “Abraham! Abraham!” “Here I am,” the patriarch cried “12 Do not lay a hand on the boy,” he (The Angel of the LORD) said. “Do not do anything to him. Now I know that you fear God, because you have not withheld from me your son, your only son.” 13 Abraham looked up and there in a thicket he saw a ram caught by its horns. He went over and took the ram and sacrificed it as a burnt offering instead of his son.” Instead of his son. Abraham looked up and saw that The Angel of the LORD had provided a substitute to be sacrificed instead of his son.

The Angel of the LORD provided a substitute for Abraham’s son, and He has provided a substitute for my sons and your children, a substitute for you and for me, except our substitute was not caught in a thicket, but rather, our substitute was laid in a manger. The Angel of the LORD looked at you and He looked at me and He saw a people who were conceived in sin. He saw how this sin saturated every fiber of our being and stained everything we touched so that even our so called “righteous acts” were like “filthy rags”. The Angel of the LORD saw how our sin had entangled itself around our feet, twisted itself around our hands, and bound our souls. The Angel of the LORD saw the wages of our sins hanging like a dagger over our heads and knew we were doomed to die unless a substitute was provided. So, the Angel of the LORD allowed Himself to be conceived inside the womb of a woman, He allowed Himself to be born under the law of God, He allowed Himself to be bound to the cross of a criminal, He allowed Himself to be sacrificed for your sin, for my sin, for the sins of all. Instead of you and me. The Angel of the LORD allowed Himself to be a substitute to be sacrificed instead of you and me.

Much to Abraham’s relief, on a mountain in the region of Moriah, The Angel of the LORD delivered a message of substitution, but The Angel of the LORD still had more to say. 15 The angel of the LORD called to Abraham from heaven a second time 16 and said… 17 I will surely bless you and make your descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky and as the sand on the seashore. Your descendants will take possession of the cities of their enemies, 18 and through your offspring all nations on earth will be blessed, because you have obeyed me.” There was much in this message that brought joy to Abraham. The Angel of the LORD told Abraham that he would be both prosperous and protected. And as we continue to read throughout Scripture, we see Abraham’s family grow into a mighty kingdom that today extends beyond any border drawn on a map and consists of people from every nation, tribe, and language. The people of this family have been gathered like chicks under a hen’s wings and have been promised that the gates of Hades will not overcome them. As I said there was much in this message that brought joy to Abraham, but it is perhaps the last thing that The Angel of the LORD said to Abraham that brings the most joy to you and to me.

The Angel of the LORD spoke of a blessing that would come through Abraham’s “offspring”. This word does not jump of the page of an English Bible in the same way it jumps of the page of a Hebrew Bible. Indeed, in English we can easily be misled to believe The Angel of the LORD is speaking of coalition of Christians who will band together to make this world a better place. However, The Angel of the LORD does not deliver a message to Abraham about his offspring-S, rather He speaks to him about his offspring. The Angel of The LORD delivers a message about one specific seed of Abraham. It is an echo of an ancient promise the LORD made to Adam and Eve in the garden of Eden when He told the devil, “I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and hers; HE (one specific seed of Eve) will crush your head, and you will strike his heel.”[4] In Galatians 3:16 the Holy Spirit identifies this specific seed of both Eve and Abraham. There we read, “The promises were spoken to Abraham and to his seed. The Scripture does not say “and to seeds,” meaning many people, but “and to your seed,” meaning one person, who is Christ.”

The Angel of the LORD is not just the sinners substitute, He is also the bringer of blessings. Salvation comes through The Angel of the LORD. Through The Angel of the LORD, you will be delivered from this world of sorrow and sadness to a place where there is no more death or mourning or crying or pain. Through the Angel of the LORD your body will be glorified, and your soul will be purified. Through the Angel of the LORD, you will stand before the throne of God and bask in the warmth of His love as you listen to ten thousand times ten thousand heavenly hosts sing His praise. Because The Angel of the LORD chose to become also the Son of man you and all who believe are given the blessings of salvation.

If ever there was a herald you should harken to, it is The Angel of the LORD. His is a message of substitution and salvation. It is a message He first delivered to Abraham atop a mountain in the region of Moriah, it is a message He reiterated from a manger in Bethlehem, and it is a message He has preserved in the pages of Scripture for all of you who have gathered here today. As you prepare to celebrate the birth of God’s one and only Son our Savior Jesus, I encourage you to hark this herald angel. Amen.

[1] Genesis 16:13

[2] Genesis 31:13

[3] John 1:1 & 14

[4] Genesis 3:15