Angels and Shepherds and Christmas

Luke 2:8-20

INTRODUCTION

A favorite Christmas picture is the scene of the shepherds sitting among their sheep on the hills at night and watching in amazement as a choir of angels appears to them in the distance, lighting up the sky as they sing “Glory to God in the highest” to the amazed shepherds.

I would like this afternoon to talk about that scene and to try to make it come off the Christmas card and into our hearts and lives, so that we can understand why what happened that night is such an important part of the gospel story.

Luke 2:8-20:

And in that 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 fear.

And the angel said to them, “Be not afraid; for behold, I bring you good news of a great joy which will come to all the people; for to 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 babe 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 men 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 babe lying in a manger. And when they saw it they made known the saying which had been told them concerning this child: and all who heard it wondered at what the shepherds told them.

But Mary kept 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.

I. It is remarkable that the people who were privileged to receive this stunning announcement were lowly shepherds.

A. Shepherds were not highly regarded in ancient Palestine.

It is true that King David had been a shepherd, And a favorite psalm said, “The Lord is my Shepherd.” And Jesus himself called himself “the Good Shepherd.”

But in reality, shepherds were among the least respected of the people. They had a hard job. They lived on the fringes of society. Their work kept them away from the temple rituals that were so important in the worship of the time.

We don’t read of any shepherds among Jesus’s disciples.

But I think that God chose these people to receive this glorious announcement exactly because they were humble people.

B. Let’s imagine the scene.

For some reason, on this night the sheep were spending the night in the field. They have not been brought into the sheepfold, as would have been usual.

The shepherds are watching them—guarding them from wolves and thieves, and watching to make sure none of them wander away.

Shepherding must have been a dull job. What would you do all night, except try to keep awake?

But this night was different; suddenly an angel appeared!

 I have never seen an angel—and actually I don’t want to; every time we read in scripture of an angel appearing to anyone, that person is filled with fear. Sometimes we read that they fall down like dead men. And the angel always says, “Fear not.”

In this story the angel gives the message about the Holy Child, and suddenly the sky is full of angels.

It seems to the shepherds that the stars all come trooping down as a great army of angels (that is what an “angelic host” means), and they say:

“Glory to God in the highest,

and on earth peace among men with whom he is pleased.”

(I know that isn’t the way you remember it. You remember the words: “Glory to God in the highest and on earth, Peace, goodwill to men.” But all the scholars agree that the original wording was, “Peace on earth to those with whom he is pleased.” The peace that was brought to earth on that first Christmas day was for God’s people—for those who responded to God’s love and welcomed the Savior.)

C. As soon as the angels departed, the excited shepherds headed to Bethlehem to see this thing that had been made known to them, and they found Mary and Joseph and the baby, and they told Mary and Joseph what they had been seen and told.

I suppose that Mary and Joseph were as surprised as could be to hear of what had happened.

Mary and Joseph knew this baby was special, and the message the shepherds told them from the angel gave them plenty to think about.

We read at the end of the story that “Mary kept all these things, pondering them in her heart.”

II. Now let’s consider what the story means.

A. After the angel told the shepherds, “Fear not,” he told them that his message was “Good news of great joy, which shall be to all people.”

Of all the good news that humankind has ever received, the most joyful news that ever came to earth was the announcement of the birth of the Christ.

I think of the good news that came to me in a letter from Charlotte agreeing to marry me.

I think of the good news that came when World War 2 ended.

But no good news was ever so good—or so joyful—as the good news that the Savior was born into our world.

And this was good news—not only for a lucky few—but for “all people.”

B. “For to you is born this day in the City of David a Savior, who is Christ, the Lord.”

This baby was announced to be a “Savior.”

The chapter began with these words: “In those days a decree went out from Caesar Augustus that all the world should be enrolled.”

Did you know that the emperor, Caesar Augustus, was known throughout the empire as “Savior” and “Son of God”?

So there are two “saviors” in this story—one who was famous and powerful, and one who nobody had heard of yet.

One point of the story is to show us that a confrontation was about to take place between the one the world called “savior” and “lord” (that is, Caesar Augustus) and the true “Savior” and “Lord” (who was Jesus).

“Savior” to the Jews was a word full of meaning.

A “savior” was one who saved people from the dangers of life—he was a preserver and protector.

A savior could be a heroic man. But more often in the Bible the savior was God himself.

But here the angel applies that title to Jesus.

“Savior” tells us that Jesus is the one who heals our souls from the sickness of sin.

“Savior” tells us that Jesus is the one who redeems us from the guilt and punishment of sin.

“Savior” tells us that Jesus is the one who frees us from the power of sin and evil in our lives.

“Savior” tells us that Jesus is the one who will bring us through all our troubles and trials of this life and welcome us to our home in glory.

The angel said, “…a Savior who is Christ the Lord.”

The name “Christ” means that Jesus was the promised Messiah—the long awaited King.

“Lord” tells us that Jesus is the Almighty God of the Universe—the God of history, and the God who deserves our obedience and trust.

C. And then the angel gave the shepherds a sign by which they could identify the child who was Savior and Lord.

The angel said, “And this will be a sign for you: you will find the babe wrapped in swaddling cloths and lying in a manger.”

When they got to Bethlehem they would look around and finally find a child that fit that description.

There would have been only one child in Bethlehem who was lying in a feeding trough for animals, and that would be Jesus.

D. The shepherds made the announcement throughout the neighborhood of the announcement of the angels and returned glorifying and praising God.

And that’s all we know of the shepherds. We don’t know whether any of them met Jesus again 30 years later when he began his ministry. We never read in the gospels that Jesus made any visits to his birthplace of Bethlehem, although I don’t see why he wouldn’t have.

If we take all we know of those three years of Jesus’s ministry, we really know only what happened on a few of the days of his public life.

CONCLUSION:

It is remarkable that when God sent his Son into the world, he chose for his parents insignificant people.

Jesus was born “on the road”—to homeless parents—not even in a proper house.

Only a few people in the world would have noticed.

God sent the big announcement to humble, lowly shepherds and let them get the word out.

Probably the first time anyone important heard about Jesus was when the wise men came to Jerusalem and told about the star.

And that was later—maybe as much as two years later—because we know that they arrived two years after they had seen the star, and by that time the holy family was living in a house.

And that event seems to have been quickly forgotten. We read no more about Bethlehem or the wise men in the gospels or in histories that were written of that time.

So what is God telling us?

He is telling us, “Blessed are you poor, for yours is the Kingdom of God.” (Those are the words of Jesus in Luke 6:20.)

He is telling us that God humbled himself to come to the lowliest of the low, and that tells us that Jesus is the Savior of everyone—not just the rich or powerful or privileged.

As we celebrate Christmas this year, let us put everything else in the background and think about the Christ who came into the world to be our Savior and Lord.

Let us remember that the baby is just the beginning. The important part comes at the end when our Savior ascends to the Cross and gives his life for the sins of the world.

And when he is laid in the tomb…and when he is raised from the grave…and is taken into heaven.

This is the great God whom we worship.

There is so much to distract us at Christmastime.

The world has made a spectacle of it.

The merchants have made it a thing to make money off of.

Sometimes amidst the family celebrations, Jesus is crowded out.

But Jesus belongs in the center of the celebration.

Let us bow down before our Great Savior and Lord and give him our life and our all.

Let us learn to trust him and to obey him and to follow him to the end.