When people send out baby shower invitations, they primarily mail them to family and friends. I once saw a really funny movie, a comedy, where a couple sent out fake shower announcements when they weren’t really going to have a baby. They were in debt and needed some money to pay off their bills, and they had hoped to receive some gifts of “cash” from the baby shower. And what they didn’t receive in cash they had planned to exchange at the store for some cash.
When they contemplated who all to send an announcement to, they considered only those who were wealthy. They even mailed announcements to people they didn’t know, if they happened to be rich. Now, this movie might sound far-fetched, but when sending out baby shower announcements, there are probably some people who really do take into account who has money and who doesn’t. Announcements for any major event, more often than not, are mailed to those who’re deemed well-off or influential.
However, this morning we’re going to see how the birth announcement of the King of Kings wasn’t delivered to the rich or royal, but it was instead delivered in the least expected place!
They Heard the News of Salvation (vv. 8-14)
8 Now there were in the same country shepherds living out in the fields, keeping watch over their flock by night. 9 And behold, an angel of the Lord stood before them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were greatly afraid.
10 Then the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid, for behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy which will be to all people. 11 For there is born to you this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. 12 And this will be the sign to you: You will find a Babe wrapped in swaddling cloths, lying in a manger.”
13 And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying: 14 “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, goodwill toward men!”
Right here we see the account of how the news of the Savior’s birth was initially announced to the world. And who first received this “good tidings of great joy” (v. 10)? Some lowly shepherds did! From our viewpoint we might not think too much about the significance of the shepherds; however, the revelation of the newborn Christ being shared specifically with them was a huge event, and tells us a great deal about God’s concern for people in all levels of society.
“The Shepherds were viewed by the people of Israel as common thieves, they were not allowed to give testimony in court and they could not take part in the ceremonial sacrifice.”(1) “Their job demanded a lonely, rugged existence. As part of that, they were despised by the religious establishment.”(2) Shepherding is really dirty work, and sheep smell. If you spend a lot of time around them, you’ll smell too! Because of this, the Shepherds were considered ceremonially unclean.
To put it plain and simple, the shepherds were the outcasts of society; and yet God decided to announce the birth of the Christ to them first! The King of Kings was not intended only for the elite of society, or solely for the religious establishment. He was given as a gift to all people; and the Lord revealed this truth by instructing the angels to emphatically announce, “I bring you good tidings of great joy which will be to all people” (v. 10); and they also said, “On earth peace, goodwill toward men!” (v. 13); and “men” here is plural. The gift of God’s Son was provided for the entire world; for each and every person!
What exactly was the news that was shared with the shepherds? It was this: “There is born to you this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord” (v. 11). The real news here was the announcement of the Savior! The Savior and Messiah had been foretold for many centuries, and prophesied to be born in Bethlehem. Bethlehem was likely called the city of David, because David’s great-grandfather Boaz was from Bethlehem (Ruth 2:4), and that’s where His lineage began.
When the wise men came looking for Jesus and met with Herod, he asked them where the Christ was to be born, and they replied, “In Bethlehem of Judea, for thus it is written by the prophet: ‘But you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah, are not the least among the rulers of Judah; for out of you shall come a Ruler who will shepherd My people Israel’” (Matthew 2:5). The prophet to whom they referred was Micah, and I wish to read his prophecy from Micah chapter 5:
“But you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, though you are little among the thousands of Judah, yet out of you shall come forth to Me the One to be Ruler in Israel, whose goings forth are from of old, from everlasting . . . And He shall stand and feed His flock in the strength of the Lord, in the majesty of the name of the Lord His God . . . He shall be great to the ends of the earth; and this One shall be peace” (Micah 5:2, 4-5a).
This great Ruler, Shepherd, and bringer of peace - according to the angels - was also the author of salvation (Hebrews 5:9). So, I must ask, “How, and in what way is Jesus the Savior?” In Matthew, the angel of the Lord announced to Joseph, “And she will bring forth a Son, and you shall call His name Jesus, for He will save His people from their sins” (Matthew 1:21). Jesus came to save people; He came to save “all people” from their sins!
Isaiah 59:2 tells us that sin separates us from God. The Lord is holy and righteous; but we are unholy because of sin. Romans 3:10 says, “There is none righteous, no, not one,” and Romans 3:23 says, “For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.” Because we are unrighteous sinners, and cannot come into God’s holy presence, then we can’t enter into heaven when we die. Romans 6:23 tells us, “The wages of sin is death,” referring to spiritual death and eternal separation from God; but Romans 6:23 continues to say, “But the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.” The gift of eternal life comes by having our sins forgiven through Jesus Christ.
Jesus came to save us from sin, and He did so by taking our place in death. Truly, the wages of sin is death; but Jesus died for our sin, when He hung on the cross and was buried in the tomb. Jesus was not only buried, but He rose again from the dead, showing that He had power over sin and death. The Bible tells us in Romans 10:9-10 that if we repent and confess our sins, and turn from our sins, and believe in what Jesus did for us on the cross, then it will take effect in our life; and we will be forgiven and cleansed of our sin, thereby receiving eternal life.
You might feel like one of the Shepherds right now – like you’re an outcast, and that your life has no meaning or purpose, and that there’s no hope – but God shared the good news of salvation and the hope of heaven with the outcast and downtrodden of society! There is hope and there is salvation, and the Lord is speaking to your heart right now, delivering the good tidings of great joy that there really is a Savior, there really is forgiveness and escape from hell, and there really is the hope of heaven! How will you respond? And how did the Shepherds respond?
They Responded in Faith and Action (vv. 15-16)
15 So it was, when the angels had gone away from them into heaven, that the shepherds said to one another, “Let us now go to Bethlehem and see this thing that has come to pass, which the Lord has made known to us.” 16 And they came with haste and found Mary and Joseph, and the Babe lying in a manger.
Here we see how the shepherds responded. They could have felt that the angels were some fatigue-induced figment of their imagination. They could have thought the message was some fantasy that was too good to be true; yet they didn’t doubt what they had seen and heard. They got up and went out to see for themselves the baby who had been born. They responded in “faith” and “action” to an astounding revelation, and they did so with great “haste,” according to verse 16.
How will you respond? Do you feel right now that this message is just some ridiculous fairy tale? Do you believe that the message of salvation from sin is too good to be true? Perhaps you don’t even believe in sin and hell, or maybe you think you’re a good enough person already without a Savior.
Nevertheless, it is my duty to ask you, “Will you commit yourself to believing the good news recorded here in the pages of the Bible?” How will you respond to the message this morning? Hopefully, you’ll be as the shepherds and obey the tug of conviction on your heart, and then get up and run to see the face of salvation!
They Preached the News They Heard (vv. 17-19)
17 Now when they had seen Him, they made widely known the saying which was told them concerning this Child. 18 And all those who heard it marveled at those things which were told them by the shepherds. 19 But Mary kept all these things and pondered them in her heart.
I want you to notice what the shepherds did next! Once they had discovered for themselves that salvation had truly come, and after they had met Him face to face, they began sharing with others the good news! They told others what they themselves had been informed by the angels; that there was born to them a Savior who is Christ the Lord! And this is what God expects from all whose lives have been saved from sin and made anew; to share with others about the Savior!
When we have an encounter with the Savior, we’re not meant to keep it to ourselves! Jesus said, “Whoever confesses Me before men, him I will also confess before My Father who is in heaven. But whoever denies Me before men, him I will also deny before My Father who is in heaven” (Matthew 10:32-33). It’s part of our job as believers to confess Jesus to others and share the message of salvation. Why would we want to keep such good news to ourselves anyway? In the Great Commission, Jesus told us to go and tell (Matthew 28:19-20)!
We read that “all those who heard it marveled at those things which were told them by the shepherds” (v. 18). When all the bystanders heard the message of salvation they “marveled” and contemplated deeply what they had been told. Perhaps in time, some of them would eventually give their hearts and lives to Jesus. We read of Mary that she “kept all these things and pondered them in her heart” (v. 19). The Greek word for “pondered” means, “to bring together in one’s mind” and “to encounter in a hostile sense.”(3) Mary put the pieces of the puzzle together, and when she did she fell under deep conviction.
How many of you this morning are pondering the message of salvation? As you do, are you encountering a “hostile sense” within your own heart? If so, then it’s because the Holy Spirit is dealing with you, and your heart and mind are at war with one another. Your heart wants to believe, and your mind says it’s all a fairy tale. It is my hope that you’ll be as the shepherds and immediately receive and believe the good news that salvation has come to all men; and that you’ll get up and run to meet the Savior of the world!
They Departed by Praising the Lord (v. 20)
20 Then the shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things that they had heard and seen, as it was told them.
We see here how the shepherds returned to the fields to watch their flocks. They returned to their mundane job, but their outlook on life had changed after their encounter with the Savior. They had been looked down upon and devalued by others, but God revealed their true worth as His own dear children whom He wanted to redeem unto Himself. Life looked up from that moment onward – that is, in a spiritual sense – and they continually gave praise unto God and lived a life of worship.
Time of Reflection
We have a reason to rejoice and look up if we know the Savior! I’m not sure of your place in life. Wherever you are might look bleak and hopeless, but you have a reason to rejoice if you know Jesus Christ! Life may be difficult now, but you have something to look forward to. You’ll inherit eternity with God in the life to come, and you presently have someone to turn to in your daily struggles. Jesus will provide you with such hope that it will enable you to live a life of praise and worship.
If you’ll surrender your life to Jesus Christ, and allow yourself to have an encounter with the Savior, then you too will depart from that experience with newfound hope, meaning, and purpose, giving continual praise unto God! So, if you want to know Jesus this morning, I invite you to come!
NOTES
(1) Brett Clements, “The Shepherds See ‘The Lamb’,” http://freesermons.wordpress.com/2008/07/31/the-shepherds-see-the-lamb-luke-28-20/.
(2) Gary Walters, “The Shepherd’s Gift,” http://www.mccabeumc.com/sermons/Luke%202.8.20.pdf.
(3) “Pondered,” Blue Letter Bible, http://www.blueletterbible.org/lang/lexicon/lexicon.cfm?Strongs=G4820&t=KJV.
