Great News for everyone
The Passage
This week we are going to look at the shepherds so let’s read the passage, “And in the same region there were shepherds out in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night. And an angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were filled with great fear. And the angel said to them, “Fear not, for behold, I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. And this will be a sign for you: you will find a baby wrapped in swaddling cloths and lying in a manger.” And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying, “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace among those with whom he is pleased!” 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.” And they went with haste and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby lying in a manger. And when they saw it, they made known the saying that had been told them concerning this child. And all who heard it wondered at what the shepherds told them. But Mary treasured up all these things, pondering them in her heart. And the shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all they had heard and seen, as it had been told them. And at the end of eight days, when he was circumcised, he was called Jesus, the name given by the angel before he was conceived in the womb.” Luke 2:8-21
The Great News for everyone
In this passage, we see that in the same region where Jesus was born (Judea) there were shepherds keeping watch over their flock by night. Then we see that an angel of the Lord appeared to them. Many surmise that the angel was likely Gabriel since he had been the one who appeared to others to announce Jesus’ birth. He told them to fear not, which is a phrase used in most angelic encounters recorded in the Bible. We see that the angel brings good news of great joy which will be for all people. This is showing that even at Jesus’ birth the angels knew that Jesus did not only come to save the Jews, but He also came to save anyone who would accept Him as their Savior. The angel then tells them this good news, “For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord.” Notice how the angel does not say unto Mary and Joseph, he said unto you. Because He was born unto you to save you from your sins because the penalty for sin is death (Romans 6:23). He did not only come for you but all, because all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God and only He could pay our penalty (Romans 3:23). If you would like to accept Him as your Lord and Savior all you have to do is to admit that you are a sinner, repent of your sins, believe that Jesus died on the cross for your sins, and confess Him as Lord of your life (Romans 10:9).
The Multitude
The angel goes on to tell them where they can find Him. He told them to look for a baby wrapped in swaddling clothes and lying in a manger. It then says that suddenly there was a multitude of angels praising God. That would be awesome to see. The angels were praising “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace among those with whom he is pleased!” As soon as the angels returned to Heaven the shepherds said, let’s go to Bethlehem and see what has been told to us. See it is not bad when we go to see if what has been revealed to us is correct because that builds our faith. Notice how they leave immediately when something is revealed to us by God especially when it is that clear we should go quickly to see what was revealed or to do what was revealed. They went quickly and found Mary and Joseph. There are two opinions: some think that the angel told them exactly where to go, but others think that because Bethlehem was so small it was not hard for them to find them just based on what the angel is recorded saying (Micah 5:2).
Treasuring Up
It says that all who heard wondered at what the shepherds recounted about their angelic experience. But yet, we only see that the shepherds are recorded as coming to worship Jesus, even though it was told to many people by the shepherds, they heard but did nothing about it or thought they would go look for Him later. Too many of us do the same today, we read about God, feel God moving once or twice, we see friends who are on fire for Him, but we do nothing about it. We just sit there and think, I’ll do it later, I went to church or read my Bible this year, isn’t that enough? We also may think that Christianity is just for Sundays. Know that Christianity is not just for Sundays or just something for when we die, it is for every second of our lives, it is about a relationship with the one and only living God. The passage then goes on to tell us that Mary treasured all these things in her heart. See when God does something in our lives we should keep those things close to our hearts. Because I find that more often than not He builds on top of the last thing and when you treasure up what God is doing, then you are ready for what He does next. Looking back and dwelling on our sins causes heartache and pain, but dwelling on what God is doing for us and through us causes our faith to grow and encourages us to draw closer to Him.
Born to Fulfill The Law
The shepherds then left praising God for what they had seen. It then tells us that on the eighth day that He was circumcised showing that He was under the law that He was submitting Himself to the Law (Romans 8:3-4). He obeyed it perfectly, the only one to ever perfectly fulfill the law (Matthew 5:17-20, Romans 3:23). The only one to never sin, making Him the spotless lamb of God (1 Peter 1:19). At His circumcision, He poured His blood out in drops which foreshadowed that He would later pour it all out for us (Matthew Henry Commentary). He is the one who created everything, but yet He submitted Himself to a human body and died so that we could be with Him forever. That is the beauty and meaning of Christmas. So this week if Jesus is not Lord of your life, what better time than Christmas to give your heart and life to Him. Also, this week celebrate Jesus and tell everyone you encounter about Him. You can also help us reach others by sharing this. Remember as you go throughout this week to treasure up all that He is doing in and through you.