The Glory Of Heaven Revealed Series

The Glory of Heaven Revealed

December 14, 2025

Dr. Bradford Reaves

Crossway Christian Fellowship

Luke 2:15-20

There’s an old story—one of those tales passed down through small towns and family circles—about a man who spent nearly his entire adult life searching for a treasure box. His grandfather had told him, “Somewhere on this land, buried deep, there’s a box filled with everything you’ll ever need. It’s yours—if you’re willing to search for it.”

Well, that was all the man needed to hear. He became absolutely convinced he was destined to find this treasure. And he searched with fierce determination. He bought maps. He bought tools. He bought metal detectors—three of them, because the first two “obviously had defects.” He dug holes so deep the neighbors were convinced he was either building a pool… or hiding a crime scene.

Every free moment he had—mornings, evenings, weekends—he was searching. His hands became calloused, his back stiff, his yard a landscape of craters and dirt piles. And every time he failed, he just said, “Well, I must have been close. I’ll start over.”

Years passed. And still—no treasure box. One day, worn out and frustrated, he plopped himself down under the old oak tree at the edge of the property. His boots were muddy. His hands blistered. His spirit defeated. He muttered to himself, “Maybe Grandpa was wrong. Maybe I’ve been searching for something that was never there.”

In his exhaustion, he leaned back against the tree and something felt strange. The ground beneath him wasn’t level. There was a slight raise—barely noticeable. Curious, he brushed away the leaves and then some dirt dirt, and there it was. A rusted, metal corner. Right under the place where he had collapsed in defeat.

You could almost hear his heart stop. The treasure box was buried directly beneath the tree where he had been resting all these years. He had searched fields, hillsides, ravines, and gardens, but the treasure had been closest at the place he least expected. He had spent a lifetime digging for something that had been near him the entire time.

After all the noise, all the activity, all the effort, the treasure was found not in the dramatic places, but in the quiet place. Not in the far corners, but right beneath him. And the moment he opened it, the treasure became his—not because he was brilliant or skilled, but simply because he finally looked in the right place.

That treasure-box moment is exactly what happened to the shepherds on that hillside. All their lives they had lived in the fields—same routines, same scenery, same ordinary world. If anyone understood digging through the dirt of life, it was them. But when the angels appeared, God wasn’t inviting them to start another search. He wasn’t telling them to wander around the countryside hoping to stumble onto the Messiah. He gave them a revelation—a clear, unmistakable direction.

The treasure wasn’t “out there somewhere.” He was right there in Bethlehem. The shepherds knew immediately what to do with that revelation. They didn’t analyze it, debate it, or delay it. They didn’t stay in the field digging for meaning or waiting for more confirmation. Their hearts ignited, their spirits awakened, and their feet started moving. Scripture says they looked at one another and declared the most beautiful response to divine revelation:

When the angels went away from them into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, “Let us go over to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has made known to us.” 16 And they went with haste and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby lying in a manger. 17 And when they saw it, they made known the saying that had been told them concerning this child. 18 And all who heard it wondered at what the shepherds told them. 19 But Mary treasured up all these things, pondering them in her heart. 20 And the shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all they had heard and seen, as it had been told them. (Luke 2:15–20)

I. THE SHEPHERDS — A MODEL OF KNOWING JESUS

The shepherds show us what happens when God reveals Himself. When heaven’s glory broke into their ordinary world, they didn’t sit still—they moved. Revelation always demands a response. These simple men weren’t theologians, scholars, or priests. They had no formal training, no religious credentials, no spiritual résumé. But what they did have was a heart awakened by the glory of God. When the angels disappeared, the shepherds didn’t remain in the field discussing what they had seen. They didn’t analyze it, debate it, or wait for further confirmation. Scripture says they spoke to one another and said, “Let us go straight to Bethlehem now” (Luke 2:15). The glory of God stirs urgency. It kindles spiritual hunger. It creates holy restlessness. The shepherds didn’t merely hear about Jesus—they went to Him.