Alba 12-15-2024
GOOD NEWS FOR THE SHEPHERDS
Luke 2:8-20
What is the good news at Christmas? More toys for the kids? More time with each other? More things to do and more travel to take? What is the good news? It is the birth of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.
Candy Chand tells of her son’s Christmas play at North Country Elementary School in Antelope, California. Her son was in kindergarten and was excited about Christmas. For weeks he had been memorizing songs for the school’s “Winter Pageant.” (It would have been inappropriate to call it a “Christmas Play.”)
Mrs. Chand went to the dress rehearsal in the morning and sat on the floor with the other parents. Finally, the students were led into the room, and each group rose at their appointed time to perform their song. Because of how conscious the school was of avoiding any mention of the real meaning of Christmas, she only expected songs about reindeer, Santa Claus, snowflakes and good cheer.
But when her son’s class rose to sing, she was surprised to see that their song was entitled “Christmas Love.” Her son Nicholas was aglow, as were his classmates who were outfitted with fuzzy mittens, red sweaters, and bright snow caps on their heads. The children in the front row held up large letters, one by one, to spell out the title of the song. As the class sang “C is for Christmas,” a child would hold up the letter “C.” Then, “H is for Happy,” and so on, until each child had held up his or her letter to complete the message of “Christmas Love.”
Everything was going smoothly until a shy little girl in the front row held her letter upside down. Instead of holding up her “M,” she was holding it so that it appeared to be a “W.” The adults smiled and the children from the other classes began to snicker. She had no idea why they were looking at her so intently and smiling, so she stood tall and proudly displayed her “W.”
Candy Chand said the teachers tried to shush the children, but the laughter continued until the last letter was raised. Then a hush came over the audience, and people stared in wonder as they saw the sign which, instead of “Christmas Love,” now read: “Christ was Love.”
She said, “There in that moment, the Christ of Christmas made His message known. Out of the chaos and secularization of His birth, Christ the King came out of the cradle to announce the reason He came.”
Of course, the first announcement at the time of Jesus birth was made to the shepherds who were out in the fields keeping watch over their sheep at night. This was an interesting choice that God made. It was not to kings and priests. The announcement was given to shepherds.
A shepherd's life was not an easy one. Their whole life was spent in the pasture taking care of their sheep. In regards to society they were at the bottom. This demonstrates that God does not show favoritism; He does not treat one group of people differently than another.
Jesus is the Savior of all equally. He doesn’t give preference to any group or any class. Nor does He discriminate on the basis of intelligence, or education, or wealth, or profession, or political power, or social standing, or any of the other qualities on which human beings make judgments. His love is offered to anyone who will come to Him in obedient faith, trusting in Him as Savior.
It is possible that these shepherds may have been taking care of the temple sheep that were being kept for temple sacrifices. I think of the shepherds sitting out on the hillsides, watching sheep all night long. And then one night it says in, Luke 2:9, “And behold, an angel of the Lord stood before them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were greatly afraid.” Do you hear that? They were surrounded by...
1. GLORY
Can you imagine being out in the middle of the pasture and having an angel appear with the glory of the Lord shining around? How could a person not be afraid? It would have to be frightening.
What is this glory? We don't know exactly, but it appears that it was an extraordinary bright shining, with an overwhelming sense of the presence of God. The “glory of the Lord’ is the splendor or divine radiance of God. The glory of the Lord was so great it says in Second Chronicles that the priests in Solomon’s temple could not stand up.
The shepherds' experience must have been similar. The Greek text uses the word fear twice to describe how the shepherds felt at the angel’s sudden appearance: The shepherds “feared” (phobeo) a great fear (phobos megas)!” But the angel did not come to strike great fear, but in contrast, to spread great joy. Verse ten says, “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.” The angel's proclamation is not just of joy, but great joy.
Further, the angel clearly explained everything to them. Verses eleven and twelve continue the message: “For there is born to you this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. And this will be the sign to you: You will find a Babe wrapped in swaddling cloths, lying in a manger.”
When I was in High School I took a journalism class. There we learned that a news article should have five “W”s and an “H”. In other words, tell the who, what, when, where, why, and how, in order to give all the needed information. Well, the angel did just that. In the midst of all this glory, good information was given.
The what was “great joy”; the who was - “for all the people”; the when was - “today;” the where was - “in the town of David”; the why - “a Savior has been born to you; he is Christ the Lord;” and the how -”you will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.”
The shepherds listened in amazement to the divine proclamation. This was not the voice of a prophet, a priest, or a rabbi. The message is not from a pulpit in the temple. It is not a prophecy about a future promise. The words are not theological and perplexing, but simple and convincing. This time the message is from on high. The speaker is an angel who came with the glory of the Lord. And soon many angels joined the chorus.
Verses thirteen and fourteen say that “a multitude of the heavenly host [were] praising God and saying: 'Glory to God in the highest'”. The angels did not only come with the glory of God, but they gave glory to God. Anyone who loves the Lord, who trusts Him wholeheartedly, should join the angels' adoration of the Lord of heaven and earth and give Him glory.
When the angels shouted, “Glory to God in the highest!” they were ascribing to God the worth that He alone possesses. The glory they speak of does not go to just any old god. This proclamation goes to God “in the highest.” This is not the God of Israel alone, or the god in some pagan temple. This is not some unknown remote idol in a dark temple.
This expression of praise went up to the God of heaven, the Most High. He is a God of glory and deserves our praise. And He promises peace and...
2. GOODWILL
Verse fourteen continues, “And on earth peace, goodwill toward men!” The NIV has that verse saying, “and on earth peace to those on whom his favor rests.” If peace comes to those who please God, that is His goodwill that comes to us. And we live in a world that needs goodwill.
In a Peanuts comic strip, it's Christmas time. And Lucy comes in where Charlie Brown is standing and says, "Merry Christmas, Charlie Brown. 'Tis the season of peace on earth and good will toward men. Therefore I suggest we forget all our differences and love one another." Charlie Brown, whose face lights up at this, says, "That's wonderful, Lucy. I'm so glad you said that. But tell me, do we have to love each other only at this season? Why can't we love each other all year long?" Lucy retorts, "What are you, a fanatic or something?"
Before the birth of Christ there was no true peace or goodwill in the earth! The earth lay in wait for the coming judgment of a righteous God for their sins. The sacrificial blood of animals postponed the inevitable judgment from year to year but it could never ultimately remove sin's great curse.
Not having forgiveness or complete redemption, no one could have a true inner peace until it finally came by the birth, death on the cross, and resurrection of our Lord, Jesus Christ, the only begotten Son of God. Suddenly everything changed. God has come in the flesh. God has come to be our Savior, to bring "peace on earth, good will to men."
The shepherds had an important decision to make that first Christmas night. What should they do with the news that the angels told them. They were given directions as to where to go and what to look for in finding the Christ child. Now they were left with a decision, and they decided to...
3. GO
Verse fifteen says that, “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.'”
Specific instructions were given the shepherds. They were told to go to Bethlehem. That name signifies the House of Bread. It was a fitting place for the Savior to be born. He is the Bread of life, who was delivered from heaven to earth. Now, because of the census, Bethlehem would be overrun with people. So also they were told that they should look for a baby in a manger. I don't think that was a usual place for a baby. This identifies where the shepherds can and will find the baby. They were to look for the child in a stable.
So verse sixteen says that, “they came with haste and found Mary and Joseph, and the Babe lying in a manger.” We sing the song “Away in a Manger”. A child thought that it was saying, A Way in a Manger. God made "A way in a manger!" Think about it. What a brilliant message. A message that the Savior of the world was born! That the Messiah, Immanuel, God with us, has come to make a way for us. The host of angels proclaimed the message that God had made A WAY IN A MANGER! In that cradle lay the hope of the ages.
Notice, when the shepherds realized the importance of this day, they immediately went with haste to find Jesus. We do not use the word haste very often anymore, but it means that this was a condition of urgency making it necessary to hurry. It meant that they rushed to find the Christ child. You could say that this was the first Christmas rush. They not only heard the message proclaimed, but they went in haste to investigate it, and experience it for themselves.
Their desire to go beyond what they heard was to see if it was true, and to have a first hand experience of it. To encounter for themselves the blessings of Messiah’s birth. I think that one of the great weaknesses in the church today is that there are so few who are really checking things out. We just kind of believe whatever we’re told without bothering to check the evidence. But if the church is going to stand strong for the Lord until He comes, there will have to be Christians who know why they believe what they believe.
Verses seventeen through twenty tell us, “Now when they had seen Him, they made widely known the saying which was told them concerning this Child. And all those who heard it marveled at those things which were told them by the shepherds. But Mary kept all these things and pondered them in her heart. Then the shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things that they had heard and seen, as it was told them.”
So, not only did they go to see the child, they go tell others about this wonderful event. The Shepherd’s just "Can’t keep quiet!" And neither should we! Like the shepherds in the Christmas story, we too come to Jesus. We have a witness, that Jesus Christ has not only been born, but that as Christians, He has been born anew in our hearts and lives.
God may not send angels from heaven with a special message for us today, but God does still speak with us and wants to be a part of our daily life. That is the very reason that He sent the Savior.
So the question for us is: What will we do with this message brought with the glory of God? What will we do with this goodwill that comes from God's grace? Will we go and share the good news?
At the time of Jesus’ birth there was no room for Him in the Inn. Let's make sure that we make room for Him in our lives.
CLOSE:
Dr. Clovis Chappell imagines one of the shepherds who had been a youth on the first Christmas night and has now become old. His grandson sits on his knee as he recalls: “A long, long time ago, when I was little more than a boy, I was out on the Judean hills one night with some other shepherds, keeping watch over the flock.
“And the angel of the Lord came upon us and the glory of the Lord shone roundabout us. And we were sore afraid, But the angel said, 'Fear not . . .for unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, which is Christ the Lord. . . .You shall find the babe in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger.'
The old man stopped talking, his lips cease to move, and there is silence. Then the lad turns and looks with wide, puzzled eyes into his grandfather's face and says: “But, granddaddy, is that all? What did you do when you heard the good news? Was what the angel said really true? Was the Christ Child ever really born?”
The old shepherd sadly shakes his white head and answers: “I never knew. I never went to see. Some say that it is all a myth. Others say they found in Him the light of God, the power for life. But for me, I could never be quite sure. I never did go to see." (Allen and Wallis, CHRISTMAS p. 54-55) (Dwight Gunter II, “The Journey of the Shepherds” - Sermon Central.com)
It is our prayer that everyone will come and see Jesus as their Savior and Lord. And then, like the shepherds, glorify and praise God for the things seen and heard, and truly know that Christ is love.
