The Wonder Of Christmas Series

But the Bible says that despite such a tumultuous evening, Joseph and Mary experienced the peace that comes from being in the presence of Jesus Christ. Their 80 mile journey had been hectic and nerve racking but all that ended when Jesus arrived. Joseph’s panic about finding a place to stay had turned to peace. Mary’s labor pains were transformed to joy. Joseph and Mary had experienced the life changing wonder that came when Jesus came. They were no longer two scared kids, they now were the proud parents of most important child in history. That first Christmas, despite its trouble was a life changing event for them.

Now Luke 2:8 switches scenes from the manger to a field outside of Bethlehem. This night Jesus would not only change Mary and Joseph, he would bring a change to the lives of shepherds. Verse 8, “And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night. An angel of the Lord appeared to them and the glory of the Lord shone around them and they were terrified. 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. Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you, he is Christ the Lord. This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.” Shepherds in those days were the scum of the earth. They were usually very dirty people, spending a lot of their time alone with sheep. It would make anyone a little weird. Shepherds were considered to be shady characters, nomads, who wandered the countryside aimless and often participated in criminal activity. In fact, shepherds were so mistrusted that their testimony did not count in a court of law. Shepherd’s were on the bottom rung of society. They were anything but important.

But in God’s economy of things, the first shall be last and the last shall be first. And so God chose to announce the coming of his son not to kings in a palace but to shepherds in a field. Not to Caesar Augustus or Quirinius the governor but to a few lowly wanderers the world had forgotten. And the message of the angel to the shepherds that night is the promise of Christmas many of us are so familiar with. “Today a Savior is born, he is Christ the Lord.”

The angels told the shepherds that this baby would be the savior of the world. He would save the world from its fateful condition. This infant was the Christ, the Messiah, the one the prophets had talked about for generations. He had arrived to free them from sin. And verse 15 says, “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 had told us about.” And so the shepherds hurried off in the middle of the night and found Mary and Joseph and the baby. And verse 17 says, “When they had seen him, they spread the word concerning what had been told them about this child. And the shepherds returned glorifying and praising God for all the things they had heard and seen, which were just as they had been told.”