SALVATION'S ANNOUNCEMENT

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In Christ, Mark

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The scriptures. May God bless the reading of His holy word.

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 that will cause great joy for all the people. Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; He is the Messiah, the Lord. This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.”

Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God and saying, “Glory to God in the highest heaven, and on earth peace to those on whom His favor rests.”

Luke 2:8-14

This ends today’s reading from God's holy word. Thanks be to God.

Think about the day Jesus was born. There wasn’t a great crown gathered around the manger, shouting and cheering as the newborn boy emerged from the womb and into the world. There wasn’t anyone standing by to run and spread the news of the birth.

No, there was no one at the manger except for Joseph and Mary, the young couple chosen to parent God’s only Son. No doubt still weary over the long journey from Nazareth to Bethlehem, Joseph and Mary celebrated the birth of Jesus alone, the only sounds outside of their expressed joy being the animals who were in the stable with them.

Outside of Bethlehem, it was also quiet, a silent night that found shepherds doing what shepherds do, watching over the flocks of sheep to protect them from straying, theft, or attack by wild animals. It was thankless work, hard work, lonely work but necessary nonetheless. Many of the sheep would be used for sacrifices in the town or elsewhere as God’s people followed the law to seek atonement for their sins.  Given this, you would think the shepherds were somewhat respected members of the Israelite society.

You would be wrong.

Shepherds were largely looked down upon in Israelite society, pushed to the fringes as second class citizens. They would have been the last people anyone would have chosen for any special recognition or selection. But as we find with God, He sees people in a completely different light, often defying worldly societal norms. This would be the case on a quiet, dark night outside of Bethlehem following Jesus’ birth. Look again at Luke’s account of what happened:

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 that will cause great joy for all the people. Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; He is the Messiah, the Lord. This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.”

Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God and saying, “Glory to God in the highest heaven, and on earth peace to those on whom His favor rests.”  Luke 2:8-14

Imagine being one of those shepherds in the fields nearby Bethlehem. It was business as usual. You are watching over the flocks like you do every single day and nothing is happening out of the ordinary. Put yourself in their shoes for a minute as the night sky suddenly burst into light and came to life, an angel appearing before them surrounded by the Lord’s glory. It would have been enough to first startle and then frighten anyone. We would have been terrified right along with the shepherds had we been there.

What was going to happen? The shepherds, already Israel’s downtrodden outcasts, must have feared the worst. After all, nothing of positive significance had ever happened to them before. Their sheep were their life.

But the angel did not come to judge or condemn them. Rather, the angel came to deliver the following good news after assuring the shepherds that they had no reason to be afraid:

“Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; He is the Messiah, the Lord. This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.”

The long awaited Messiah had come! This Savior of God’s people had been foretold for ages by the prophets and those predictions had now come true! Indeed, these words of great joy to the shepherds, who like the virgin Mary before had to be wondering why God would choose to bring this message to them. Salvation’s announcement did not come to any king or governor or any other ruler. It didn’t come by way of a prophet, chosen by God to spread the message to others. No, this honor was bestowed upon the lowly shepherds who were told the Messiah could be found wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger in Bethlehem, the town of David.

That alone would have been enough, right?

I mean, it was an amazing happening and would have been plenty for these shepherds who had never experiences a fraction of what they just saw. But God wasn’t finished yet on that glorious night. Salvation’s announcement had a second act:

Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God and saying, “Glory to God in the highest heaven, and on earth peace to those on whom His favor rests.” 

The angel that proclaimed the Savior’s coming was suddenly joined by a multitude of angels. We don’t know how many but it had to be an incredible sight as the company of the heavenly host raised their voices in praise to God giving Him all the glory while proclaiming peace on earth to those who had His favor. And the “those” they spoke of definitely included the shepherds who were eye and ear witnesses to one of the most remarkable events in biblical history.

Salvation’s announcement had come in a big way and it would lead to the shepherds going to Bethlehem to seek, find, and be amazed at seeing the Messiah of the world first hand. We’ll pick up there tomorrow.

PS: Of interest, during the classic Christmas hymn, Angels We Have Heard On High, we sing the words, “Gloria In Excelsis Deo”. These words are Latin which simply mean “Glory to God in the Highest”, echoing the words proclaimed by the company of the heavenly host. Next time you sing the hymn, picture yourself in their presence, glorifying and exclaiming God’s glory for sending His Son to save.

Amen

In Christ,

Mark
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