SEEKING AND FINDING - THE SHEPHERDS

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In Christ, Mark

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

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 has told us about.”

So they hurried off and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby, who was lying in the manger. When they had seen Him, they spread the word concerning what had been told them about this child, and all who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds said to them.

The shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things they had heard and seen, which were just as they had been told. 

Luke 2:15-18, 20

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

The shepherds had spent many, many a night in the fields outside of Bethlehem, tending to their flocks, but none of those nights came close to what happened on the night after Jesus was born.

For out of nowhere, a divine angel of the Lord appeared and proclaimed “good news” that would “cause great joy for all the people”, good news that came from the birth of “the Messiah, the Lord” in Bethlehem. The angel then told the shepherds, the very first to be informed of Jesus’ coming, where they could find the long promised newborn King, telling them he would be “wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger”.

Then, as if they hadn’t already been amazed enough, a “great company of the Heavenly host burst onto the scene, lighting up the night sky while “praising God” and proclaiming:

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

And then, it was over just as quickly as it had happened, the shepherds left in the wake of everything that had just occurred. It had to be an amazing moment, one that had them looking at each other with wonder in their eyes and maybe one simple question:

“Now what?”

Well, the answer to that question is satisfied in the next verses as we continue to look at the story surrounding the birth of Jesus. Look again at these words from the second chapter of Luke’s gospel:

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 has told us about.”

So they hurried off and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby, who was lying in the manger. When they had seen Him, they spread the word concerning what had been told them about this child, and all who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds said to them.  Vv. 15-18

Here we find the shepherds wanting to see first-hand what the angel had told them about. And so they “hurried off” to Bethlehem so to “see this thing” that had happened. They were set on seeking to find the baby Messiah, the One who had come to same all mankind from their sins.

Now, we don’t know how long the shepherds searched but we do know that they were successful in finding Joseph, Mary, and Jesus who was “lying in the manger” just as the angel had said. It had to be just one more amazing experience in a day they would never forget for the rest of their lives.

In fact, after seeking and finding Jesus, the shepherds couldn’t keep the good news to themselves. We read where they “spread the word concerning” what they had been told about the child and when they shared this with others, “all who heard it were amazed” over what they heard. And although we don’t know for sure, I am certain many of those hearing the good news felt impelled to seek and find Jesus themselves.

Today, as we move past the celebration of Jesus’ birth, we, like the shepherds, have the opportunity to share the good news of His coming with others with the hope that they too will want to seek and find Him for themselves. This sharing of the Gospel is at the heart of every Christian’s Great Commission responsibility as they seek to carry out Jesus’ call to make disciples of all nations.

With this, who will you share the good news with today?

For Jesus Christ, the Savior of the world, was born in Bethlehem as was the hope that is only found in Him. As the old Christmas carol exhorts, go tell this on the mountain, over the hills, and everywhere.

Amen.

In Christ,

Mark

PS: Feel free to leave a comment and please share this with anyone you feel might be blessed by it. Send any prayer requests to TheChristianWalkPrayers@gmail.com.