Hearing and Obeying

Merry Christmas!

What if the peace announced at Christmas was never meant to be a feeling — but the reign of a King?

On that first Christmas night, the angels did not proclaim calm, comfort, or seasonal serenity. They announced good news — euaggelion. In a world ruled by Caesar and shaped by the iron grip of the Pax Romana, heaven declared a radically different gospel: a new King had been born — the King of the Jews.

The shepherds would have understood the tension immediately. Rome already claimed to offer peace — but it was a peace enforced by power, maintained by fear, and secured by violence. Loyalty to Caesar promised safety. Resistance brought death.

Yet just outside of Bethlehem, the angels proclaimed a peace of an entirely different kind:

“On earth peace among those with whom he is pleased.”
(Luke 2:14)

This was not Rome’s peace. This was shalom — the restoration of everything broken since the Garden of Eden.

Long before Rome ever spoke of “good news,” the prophet Isaiah had already announced it:

“How beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of him who brings good news… who says to Zion, ‘Your God reigns.’”
(Isaiah 52:7)

Christmas fulfills that promise. The child born in Bethlehem is not merely a Savior in a personal sense — he is the Messianic King, the Prince of Peace, whose government will never end (Isa. 9:6–7). His peace does not become fragile over time; it increases. And this peace is not accomplished by armies or decrees, but by a cross.

As Paul the Apostle writes, God makes peace “by the blood of his cross,” reconciling all things — on heaven and earth — through Jesus (Col. 1:19-20). Christmas points forward to Easter, and the cross already casts a shadow over the manger. Yet, Jesus’ story does not end in defeat.

This sermon that I preached during the Christmas Eve service at Celebration Church Almere on December 24, 2025, unpacks how the angels’ announcement confronts empire, fulfills prophecy, and invites us to be partners in God’s great work of restoration. It challenges shallow ideas of peace and calls us to receive — and extend — the peace of the reigning King.

🎥 Watch the full message and rediscover Christmas as the announcement that still changes the world:

You can download my message notes here.

Featured image by KaLisa Veer on Unsplash