Luke 2:10 tells us that when the angels appeared on the night Christ was born in Bethlehem, their first words to the shepherds were

“Fear not.”

These two words perfectly summarize the good news of the real message of Christmas.  While we can imagine that the angels were just trying to calm the nerves of the shepherds, there was much more to the angels’ message of “Fear not.”

The angels were announcing the birth of the promised Messiah, who would deliver men from sin and bring peace between God and man. In this Savior, hope for reconciliation with God had been restored, and fear of eternal punishment for sin was erased.

1 John 4:18 says that

“perfect love casts out fear,”

and Romans 8;39 assures us that

“[nothing] shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Jesus Christ our Lord.”

When we understand the depth of God’s perfect love, demonstrated in the sending of His Son to the earth to be the sacrifice for our sins, we also understand that we have nothing to fear. In Christ our Savior, we find perfect peace, eternal security, and overwhelming joy.

The angels’ message to the shepherds is God’s Christmas message to us: Rejoice in the coming of Christ, for He has vanquished everything which would cause us to fear.