Arrival Of The Christ-2

ARRIVAL Of The CHRIST-II—Luke 2:1-20

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How do I know that Jesus is indeed Lord as you Christians say He is? What makes Him so special? He was evidently an intelligent & gifted man, no doubt, but what makes Him any different than any other recognizable personality from history?

Luke records for us the revelatory/telling circumstances/events surrounding the arrival/birth of Christ the Lord.

The circumstances/events surrounding/dealing with the arrival/birth of Christ the Lord are revelatory.

What are the revelatory/telling circumstances/events surrounding/dealing with the arrival/birth of Christ the Lord?

3 revelatory events surrounding the 1st arrival of Christ the Lord.

A revelatory event of Christ the Lord’s arrival is His...

Previously we discovered that

Christ the Lord is revealed thru His...

1. BIRTH(:1-7)

2—Christ the Lord is revealed thru His...

ANNOUNCEMENT/(:8-14)

Explanation: (:8-14) Proclamation/Initial Exposure

:8—Now there were in the same country shepherds living out in the fields, keeping watch over their flock by night.”

In the same area(approximating Bethlehem(:4)) were some shepherds who were watching over their sheep in the fields. Shepherds always stayed with their flocks in the field.

?What does it mean to “keep watch” over one’s sheep?

It was night. Sheep are not nocturnal, so some of the shepherds must have been sleeping, Some probably were not.

Some were sleeping—as the door of the sheep— a common practice Jesus later use to describe a vital aspect of His ministry...

Jn. 10:7-14—“Then Jesus said to them again, “Most assuredly, I say to you, I am the door of the sheep. All who ever came before Me are thieves & robbers, but the sheep did not hear them. I am the door. If anyone enters by Me, he will be saved, & will go in & out & find pasture. The thief does not come except to steal, & to kill, & to destroy. I have come that they may have life, & that they may have it more abundantly. I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd gives His life for the sheep. But a hireling, he who is not the shepherd, one who does not own the sheep, sees the wolf coming & leaves the sheep & flees; & the wolf catches the sheep & scatters them. The hireling flees because he is a hireling & does not care about the sheep. I am the good shepherd; & I know My sheep, & am known by My own.”

“Living out in the fields/Abiding in the field/Staying out in the fields”—agraulew—1) To live in the fields, be under the open sky, even at night. Strong—To camp out:-- Abide in the field.

“Keeping watch”—fulassw—1) To guard; 2) To observe for one's self something to escape. Indicates safe custody & often implies assault from without.

:9—“And behold, an angel of the Lord stood before them, & the glory of the Lord shone around them, & they were greatly afraid.”

An angel of the Lord suddenly appeared before the shepherds. The shepherds must have been in one area. At night, the sheep would have been penned & the shepherds themselves either being the door or guarding the sheep from intrusion.

“The glory of the Lord shone around the shepherds. “The glory of the Lord” was manifested as a light surrounding the shepherds. It was doubtlessly recognized by them as belonging to the manifestation of the Lord God’s presence(See :15).

Witness: The so-called Shekinah Glory— “There was not only an angel of the Lord by the shepherds, but "the glory of the Lord shone around them"; Jehovah, God Himself, was there as well as the angel. He had come down in the glory of grace near to the shepherds. It was not merely that He sent a message from heaven, to announce what had come in in the Babe that was born, but God in His glory was there; the glory of Jehovah shone round about them. It was the Shekinah glory...”—ENT CAC 28

The shepherds were extremely frightened by this sudden display of God’s glory in its brightness. Imagine God’s glory manifested before such lowly uneducated people as herdsmen going about their usual routines at night.

In the presence of God’s glory one’s helplessness before such majesty is realized. And this is merely “an angel”—not God Himself—albeit manifesting God’s glory.

“Glory”(See :14, 20)—doxa—N. f.—1) Opinion, judgment, view; 2) Opinion, estimate, whether good or bad concerning someone—2a) in the NT always A good opinion concerning one, resulting in praise, honor, & glory; 3) Splendor, brightness; 4) A most glorious condition, most exalted state. Strong—Glory (as very apparent), in a wide application (literal or figurative, objective or subjective):-- Dignity, glory(-ious), honor, praise, worship.

“Shone around/Shone round about”—perilampw—1) To shine around. Strong—To illuminate all around, i.e. Invest with a halo:-- Shine round about. Used 2X.

“Greatly Afraid”—efobhyhsan fobon megan—Lit.—“they feared a great fear”—RWP. —fobew—V.—1) To put to flight by terrifying (to scare away). “To fear”, the general term; often used of a protracted state. Strong—To frighten, i.e. (passively) To be alarmed; by analogy, To be in awe of, i.e. Revere:-- Be (+ sore) afraid, fear (exceedingly), reverence.—fobov—N.m.—1) Fear, dread, terror—1a) That which strikes terror; 2) Reverence for one's husband. Strong—Alarm or fright:-- Be afraid, + exceedingly, fear, terror.