CHRISTMAS SERIES
CHRISTMAS PARTY: THE SHEPHERDS
LUKE 2:8-20, #ChristmasParty
CHRISTMAS SERIES
12/1 Christmas Party: The Angels
12/8 Christmas Party: The Shepherds
12/15 Christmas Party: The Protesters (Herod)
12/22 Christmas Party: The Birthday Boy
INTRODUCTION… https://thebibleproject.com/all-videos/gospel-series/
Show Luke 1-2 (4:20)
READ Luke 2:8-20
And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night. 9 An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. 10 But the angel said to them, "Do not be afraid. I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. 11 Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is Christ the Lord. 12 This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger." 13 Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God and saying, 14 "Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace to men on whom his favor rests." 15 When the angels had left them and gone into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, "Let's go to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has told us about." 16 So they hurried off and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby, who was lying in the manger. 17 When they had seen him, they spread the word concerning what had been told them about this child, 18 and all who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds said to them. 19 But Mary treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart. 20 The shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things they had heard and seen, which were just as they had been told.
THE SHEPHERDS ARE THE POINT
I find it interesting that shepherds were not prized or honored in the Bible lands since Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Moses, King David, and the Prophet Amos were all clearly shepherds in the Bible and I would count them as honored people. In most places, being a shepherd was looked down upon as a dirty job and not desirable. They were mostly poor. We might put them on a list of “the least of these” if we were making a list of such people.
ILLUSTRATION… https://www.biblestudytools.com/dictionary/shepherd/
The duties of a shepherd in open country like Palestine were very difficult. "In early morning he led forth the flock from the fold, marching at its head to the spot where they were to be pastured. Here he watched them all day, taking care that none of the sheep strayed, and if any for a time eluded his watch and wandered away from the rest, he would seek diligently until he found and brought it back. In those lands, sheep require to be supplied regularly with water, and the shepherd for this purpose has to guide them either to some running stream or to wells dug in the wilderness and furnished with troughs. At night he brought the flock home to the fold, counting them as they passed under the rod at the door to assure himself that none were missing. Nor did his labors always end with sunset. Often he had to guard the fold through the dark hours from the attack of wild beasts, or the wily attempts of the prowling thief.”
So, we know that shepherds were hard working poor folks who were looked down upon by most people. That is crazy considering that in Luke 2, when Jesus was born, the first people to find out about His birth were shepherds. I think that is sort of the point. Truth is different in the Kingdom of God and the message or emphasis does not go the way we think it should go. God made a point to announce the birth of His Son to undesirable shepherds. God offers salvation to people who don’t deserve it. Salvation came through death.
All throughout the Scriptures (especially in the Gospels) what we think is right and good is often turned upside down:
* Matthew 16:24-25, “Then Jesus said to His disciples, "If anyone would come after Me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow Me. 25 For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for Me will find it.”
* Matthew 19:30, “But many who are first will be last, and many who are last will be first.”
* Matthew 20:26b-28, “Instead, whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, 27 and whoever wants to be first must be your slave-- 28 just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many."
* Romans 12:19-21, “Do not take revenge, my friends, but leave room for God's wrath, for it is written: "It is mine to avenge; I will repay," says the Lord. 20 On the contrary: "If your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him something to drink. In doing this, you will heap burning coals on his head." 21 Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.”
So, in the Kingdom of God where things are upside down, it makes total sense that the God of the Universe is born in a barn to unwed parents and the first people to visit are dirty poor shepherds. Yep, total sense. Again, that is the point. The shepherds are the point. Jesus is indeed, “good news of great joy that will be for all the people” and His birth shows that in action.
ILLUSTRATION… Sam the Sheep Part 1 (p)
Sam the sheep was minding his own business when all of a sudden the sky lit up with angels. It was so bright. He couldn’t see because of the shining glory and that was “Baaahd.” There were lots of voices and lots of singing. It was so loud he could hear nothing else but angelic singing. Once his eyes adjusted to the light, the glory of the angels lit up the grass around him… oooh… there was a good patch of grass to eat. Grass is good. Sam the sheep was happy the angels were there because now in the middle of the night he could see where the good grass was. Awesome! Grass is good.
After a little while, the night again grew dark because the angels left. Everything still had a little glow to it though. It had been dark for a few minutes and he heard the command that they were on the move. On the move in the middle of the night? Was the shepherd drunk again? Did the bright light of the angels fry his brain? Traveling at night is not good. He could walk off a cliff like his Uncle Ovine. Whatever the reason, they were on the move. He felt sheepish about traveling at night, but then he always did.
Sam was in shear panic as he didn’t know where they were going, but he followed his shepherd anyway. Somebody mentioned heading to Bethlehem which was ok with him. The water in Bethlehem was good. Water is good. Maybe there would be more food. Mmmmm… food is good.
Sam asked Suzie next to him if she knew why they were going to Bethlehem. Admittedly he had been distracted by grass. Grass is good. “Ewe don’t know why?” she laughed, “We are going because The Good Shepherd was born and the shepherds are flocking to check Him out.”
“What?” Sam asked Suzie, “You mean I missed out on the announcement about The Good Shepherd because I was eating grass?”
“Yes,” Suzie said as she trotted along.
“That’s baaahd,” Sam said sheepishly.
THE SHEPHERDS ARE AFRAID
In our passage, we have angels appearing and announcing the birth of the Messiah. The passage tells us something we could have guessed… the shepherds were afraid. The angels tell them not to be afraid, but they are still afraid. Almost every time God shows up it is accompanied with the phrase: “Do not be afraid.”
* Genesis 15:1 God appears to Abraham to enact the covenant and He says, “Do not be afraid.”
* Genesis 21:17 an angel appears to Hagar and says, “Do not be afraid.”
* Genesis 26:24 God appears to Isaac at night and says, “Do not be afraid.”
* Genesis 46:3 God speaks to Jacob and says, “Do not be afraid.”
* Numbers 21:34 God speaks to Moses about a battle and says, “Do not be afraid.”
* Joshua 8:1 God encourages Joshua about His presence and says, “Do not be afraid.”
* Judges 6:23 God appears to Gideon who is sure he is going to die and God says, “Do not be afraid.”
* Daniel 10:12 an angel appears to Daniel and touches him on the shoulder and says, “Do not be afraid.”
* Luke 1:13 an angel appears to Zechariah as he is serving in the temple and says, “Do not be afraid.”
* Luke 1:30 an angel appears to Mary to announce about Jesus and says, “Do not be afraid.”
* Matthew 1:20 God appears to Joseph in a dream to tell him about Jesus and says, “Do not be afraid.”
* Matthew 28:10 a resurrected Jesus tells the women who see Him, “Do not be afraid.”
* Acts 18:9 God appears to Paul in a vision to encourage him to not be silent and says, “Do not be afraid.”
* Acts 27:24 an angel appears to Paul to tell him about his trial before Caesar and says, “Do not be afraid.”
* Revelation 1:17 Jesus shares end times revelations with John and says, “Do not be afraid.”
On purpose I mention all these Scriptures and people in the Old and New Testaments because fear has a muted reputation among Christians. We sing songs about Jesus being our Friend and our Brother… which is true… but I believe we have lost a healthy sense of the fear of God who shakes the heavens. Many times we think that fearing God is for Old Testament folks and loving God is for New Testament folks. That simply is not true.
Angels from heaven appeared to the shepherds in the middle of the night and the shepherds were rightly afraid. The sky blew up with angelic activity and I am sure none of them had ever seen anything like it before.
They were afraid that they would be wiped away and killed by these heavenly host.
They were afraid about what the message might be and how it would change their lives.
They were in complete awe at actually and visually seeing heavenly spiritual beings.
They were in awe that the spiritual realm was ripping into our physical life and didn’t know what it meant.
They had complete respect for the message that was being given which was directly from God.
It is good and right and proper to fear God. It is good and right and proper to be afraid that you will melt into a pile of goo if God Almighty ever actually appeared to you. It is good and right and proper to be in awe of what God does in our lives and in the lives of others that we might call a miracle. It is good and right and proper to be in awe that the Holy Spirit is present among us and in us. It is good and right and proper to have complete respect for God, worship, and holy times.
ILLUSTRATION… Sam the Sheep Part 2 (p)
Sam the sheep had been minding his own business when all of a sudden the sky had lit up with angels. Then there was travel involved. He and the shepherds and the rest of the sheep arrived on the outskirts of Bethlehem and went to a stable. Oh yeah, they were going to stay in a great place tonight. No sleeping out in the open, oh no, they were sleeping in a barn with a proper feeding trough. No one was going to pull the wool over his eyes, being in Bethlehem was a great thing!
The shepherds went into the stable and the sheep just kind of stood around outside. That’s what they did. Stood around. Sam the sheep got curious. The last time he got curious he ended up getting his head stuck in a hole for half a day, but he figured if the shepherd was in there it couldn’t be too bad. Sam rammed himself past some other sheep and looked inside the barn.
What he saw absolutely shocked him to the wool.
The proper feeding trough in this barn was being used! They put a human baby in there. That’s no place for a baby! Babies belong in a knapsack or in a drawer or something, not in a trough where food goes! A trough is a place for food! Mmmmm… food is good. Then, Sam the sheep heard his shepherd’s voice and he listened because he always listened to the voice of his shepherd.
“The angels told us He is our Savior. The angels told us He is the Christ. The angels told us He is God. Is that true?” Both the man and the very tired looking woman said yes. Sam the sheep was looking at The Good Shepherd in the flesh.
The Good Shepherd is the Savior.
The Good Shepherd is the Christ.
The Good Shepherd is God.
Well, Sam already knew that last one. God was everyone and everything’s Good Shepherd. The shepherds starting praying. Then the shepherds were singing. The parents just held their kid and took it all in. Sam understood what he was looking at. The Almighty God had entered creation and became flesh and made His dwelling among His creation. That wasn’t just good, but the bestest.
THE SHEPHERDS ARE WITNESSES
The desire of the shepherds after they saw Jesus and witnessed Him was to tell others. The passage says, “When they had seen Him, they spread the word concerning what had been told them about this child, 18 and all who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds said to them.”
I can imagine hearing what the “least of these” people were saying as they left Bethlehem:
We saw God in the flesh.
We saw the Savior of Humanity.
We saw the King of Kings and the Lord of Lords and He was a little baby in a barn.
I would like you to note the phrase “spread the word.” That is an action. It also indicates they used words to share what they had seen. Many times we say that we share the Gospel by how we live, which is true, but witnessing for Christ often means using words to explain what we know to be true. Witnessing is sharing why Jesus is important to us and the difference He has made in our lives. The shepherds spread the word about Jesus and were faithful witnesses about His birth. We can be the same.
BE A WITNESS DURING CHRISTMAS
#1 Don’t say “Happy Holidays” or even “Merry Christmas,” but train yourself to say “Jesus is the Reason for the Season” or “Happy Jesus’ Birthday.” I was thinking this might come off as obnoxious, but there must be some way where we can verbally state that Christmas is about the birth of Christ. Be creative!
#2 Do not send secular Christmas cards, but rather send overtly religious Christmas cards and include Scripture in them to everyone no matter if they go to church or not. Maybe even include a sheet with your favorite Bible verses with your Christmas card instead of a Christmas letter or in addition to it.
#3 Buy a gift for someone you are praying for that will plant seeds of the Gospel. Maybe buying them “More than a Carpenter” by Josh McDowell or “The Case for Christ” by Lee Strobel will lead them to read something that might move their heart towards God. They won’t read it if you don’t send it.
#4 Invite someone to the Christmas Eve service (12/24, 7pm). People are more likely to go to church on Christmas and Easter than other times of the year because as a collective society we know those are religious holidays even if we don’t celebrate them. They may accept and they will hear the Gospel.
#5 Post Christmas Bible verses from Matthew and Luke on your Facebook and other social media pages all throughout December. This allows you to reflect on them and is a witness as people read them.
#6 Invite someone over. Lunch or dinner is a great time to show that you care about your not-yet-Christian friends and want to share time with them. It is also a great, light-hearted environment to talk to them about what Christmas means for Christians. They might open up about their lack of faith.
#7 Read the Christmas Story from Luke on Christmas Eve or Christmas Day for whomever is in your home. They are in your home! You get to decide what kind of Christmas you have regardless if everyone who is under your roof is a believer. Read Luke 1-2 proudly.
ILLUSTRATION… Sam the Sheep Part 3 (p)
Sam the sheep had been minding his own business when all of a sudden the sky had lit up with angels. Then there was travel involved. Then he had seen The Good Shepherd in the flesh which was a little underwhelming to tell the truth. He was a baby. In a barn. Taking up space meant for food. The shepherds seemed overjoyed and were sharing the news with everyone they passed on the way out of town.
Sam told a dog he passed, “Hey The Good Shepherd is here and He will bring people salvation.”
Sam told a cat he passed, “Hey The Good Shepherd is here and He will forgive people of sins.”
Sam told a rabbit he passed, “Hey The Good Shepherd is here and He will lead lost people to God.”
Sam the sheep was never the same after that night. Would ewe be?
SUMMARY
It is the second week of December and we are making sure that our focus and our hearts are on Jesus during this Christmas holiday time. It is a tragedy when God’s people are not focused on Him. Today may we remember that Jesus Christ came to save everyone from the greatest to the least and everyone in between no matter what. Today may we have a healthy fear, awe, and respect for our God Almighty. Today may we commit ourselves to being witnesses about the birth of Christ.
GOSPEL MESSAGE
In the silly Sam the Sheep story I just told, I had the sheep calling Jesus… The Good Shepherd. For example, at the end…
Sam told a dog he passed, “Hey The Good Shepherd is here and He will bring people salvation.”
Sam told a cat he passed, “Hey The Good Shepherd is here and He will forgive people of sins.”
Sam told a rabbit he passed, “Hey The Good Shepherd is here and He will lead lost people to God.”
I did that because being the Good Shepherd is what Jesus calls Himself in the Gospel of John. John 10:14-15 He says, “I am the good shepherd; I know my sheep and my sheep know me-- 15 just as the Father knows me and I know the Father-- and I lay down my life for the sheep.” We are the sheep. He is the shepherd. He laid down His life for us. Jesus died for you and for me that we might be able to have a relationship with God freed from sin and guilt and shame.
CONCLUSION IN PRAYER
