A FIRST REPORT

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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 this reading from God's holy word. Thanks be to God.

Every aspect of the Christmas story is built upon the foundation of humility that ushers in majesty.

Out of all the women in the world, God chose a young virgin who was living in relative obscurity in the Galilean town of Nazareth to first conceive by the Holy Spirit and then give birth to His one and only Son.

That Son, who was to be named Jesus eight days after birth, was the long prophesied Messiah and King and yet He was delivered into the world inside a Bethlehem stable, not receiving an ounce of fanfare or honor in the town.

And then there were the shepherds, a subset of the Jewish culture often looked down upon and shunned by others. These shepherds lived in the fields near Bethlehem as this was where they kept “watch over their flocks at night”. It wasn’t a necessarily exciting job but a valuable one as there was great commerce involved with sheep, many of which would be used for atonement sacrifices in Jerusalem.

On the night of Jesus’ birth, an event unbeknownst to the shepherds at first, it had to seem like any other chilly December evening. But then the scriptures tell is that “an angel of the Lord appeared to them” as well as “the glory of the Lord” that “shone around them”. Having never witnessed such a thing, the shepherds were naturally “terrified”.

Sensing their great fear, the angel quickly sought to put them at ease saying:

“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.”

Up to the day of Jesus’ birth, the prophets Jeremiah, Isaiah, and Micah all foretold of a coming Messiah and Lord who would come to rule and reign, a divine Deliverer who would be from the stump of Jesse, King David’s father, and be born of a virgin in Bethlehem.

Now that day had come and God chose to proclaim the first report of “good news” that would “cause great joy” to the shepherds, certainly not something anyone would have predicted as shepherds would probably be one of the last people anyone would deem worthy of the honor.

Note that the angel didn’t just tell the shepherds that the Savior had been born in the “town of David” but he shared the location as well. They could find the newborn child “wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger. The latter part would have helped narrow things down as a manger would only be found in a stable and there would have been fewer stables in Bethlehem than residences. Soon the shepherds would commit to go and find this Savior baby that had been long promised by God.

All this had to be an incredible experience for the shepherds but it was just the appetizer for what happened next.

For we read where the skies suddenly illuminated brightly with “a great company of the heavenly host” who “appeared with the angel” while “praising God” and proclaiming:

“Glory to God in the highest Heaven, and on earth peace to those on whom His favor rests.”

The angels were simply instruments used by God to pronounce the birth of His Son in Bethlehem, a happening that was His doing from the very beginning. And so we find them giving God all the praise and glory for what had happened while declaring peace on earth to all who His favor rested. We know this would be all people who would later place their belief in His Son Jesus as Savior as only Jesus could bring peace between God and the Christian believer.

The first report of the birth of Jesus was delivered by a holy angel and his magnificent heavenly host to a group of humble shepherds. Later, Jesus in His ministry would say:

“For those who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted.” Matthew 23:12

As we go through life every day, let us remember that humility isn’t a weakness like the world would have us believe. Rather, it’s a great strength and one that God expects from every single believer, a strength that was perfectly practiced and modeled by Jesus in His adult years, a strength that God honors.

Just look to Mary or the shepherds in the Christmas story to see this truth.

Amen.

In Christ,

Mark

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