Go Tell....

"Go Tell It on the Mountain" was the work of an unknown slave, before the Civil War. The idea is one of excitement, of not being able to contain your information. An idea that we should shout from the mountain tops and tell everyone we know that Jesus has come. The African American slave who created this beautiful song was probably imagining how the shepherds felt in the fields. Luke 2:9-11 says:

 9 An angel of the Lord stood before them. The glory of the Lord was shining around them, and suddenly they became very frightened. 10 The angel said to them, “Don’t be afraid, because I am bringing you some good news. It will be a joy to all the people. 11 Today your Savior was born in the town of David. He is Christ, the Lord. 

But why is His birth so significant? Why does it matter? Isn't every birth exciting? It is. The excitement of the birth of Jesus is not merely because He was born, as is with all other babies, but it was because He came to die. The literal definition of the word Savior is this: 'one who saves from 'destruction'. 

The reason He was born was so He could die. All of us die, it is true. But we don't die for a purpose. I heard it said recently that we all take turns dying, just as we do being born. We, as a human race, recognize a life that is born, and we take time to recognize a life that has ended. 

Last month, we recognized the life of my father-in-law, Bill Pitts. He has had a lot of health issues over the years, most recently his kidneys were failing and he was not eating and drinking. He went home on hospice care, but was not even home for a week, and passed away. The fact that he would die soon was a sad reality to us, but the timing so soon was very unexpected. 

My father-in-law was not a "religious" man. He wasn't interested in going to church, nor did he think he needed a Savior. My husband has prayed for years and years that his dad would accept Jesus. The saddest thing to us was the fact that my father-in-law could pass away, and we would have no idea if he was in Heaven or Hell. But just about a month or so before he died, he confirmed to my mother-in-law and her pastor that he had accepted Jesus and was saved and headed for Heaven. Hallelujah! That was the happiest day when we found that out. 

 Jesus was born, just so He could die. He died for you, for me, for my father-in-law, for the entire human race. But He didn't stay dead. After 3 days He rose again! He paid the price once and for all, for the sin of mankind. If He had stayed dead, there would be nothing to celebrate. It wouldn't make Him any different from anyone else. In Matthew, he tells the exciting account of Jesus' resurrection. 

Matthew 2:1b-7

Mary Magdalene and another woman named Mary went to look at the tomb.
2 At that time there was a strong earthquake. An angel of the Lord came down from heaven. The angel went to the tomb and rolled the stone away from the entrance. Then he sat on the stone. 3 He was shining as bright as lightning. His clothes were white as snow. 4 The soldiers guarding the tomb were very frightened of the angel. They shook with fear and then became like dead men.
5 The angel said to the women, “Don’t be afraid. I know that you are looking for Jesus, the one who was killed on the cross. 6 But he is not here. He has risen from death as he said he would. Come and see the place where his body was. 7 And go quickly and tell his followers. Say to them: ‘Jesus has risen from death. He is going into Galilee. He will be there before you. You will see him there.’” Then the angel said, “Now I have told you.”

Jesus rose from the dead just as He said He would. He is the Savior of the world. The announcement of Jesus' birth and the announcement that He rose from the dead, both began with angels appearing to people. Both times the people were frightened, and both times the angels said, "Do not be afraid."  Both announcements were more exciting than anything you could imagine. The angels announced these events with excitement! Then they said, "Go and tell!" We should do the same, share with everyone, tell everyone, shout it from the mountaintops..... for we ALL need a Savior. We need to be saved from destruction. 

Oh how I wish I could talk to my father-in-law now that he has seen Jesus, even if just for 5 minutes. 

He was not a

loud, boisterous person, and didn't really like bringing attention to himself. But I can guarantee you that if he could come back to earth just for 1 day, he wouldn't spend the day at home with his family, he wouldn't spend the day playing computer games, or watching tv or even visiting his grandkids. He would spend it telling as many people as he could about Jesus. He would shout it from the street corners, and get in touch with family or friends that don't know Jesus. He would urge them, plead with them, to accept Jesus. Accept salvation, to understand that we each need a Savior,  

not wait until the end of their life as he did.  

See, without the birth of Jesus, He couldn't have died for all of mankind. It took birth and death to save us from our sins, and so we celebrate His birth! We shout it from the mountains. 

Go tell.....tell of the good news!

 Jesus is the Savior of the world! 

Go Tell It on a Mountain- Zach Williams

Go Tell... The Martins LOVE this song!