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Have you ever been reading the Bible and then you started thinking deeply about what you had just read? Our passage today might help you do just that. I recently came across the idea that Matthew tells the Christmas story from Joseph’s perspective while Luke tells it from Mary’s. In Matthew 1, Joseph was trying to figure out what to do after finding out that Mary was pregnant. At that point, an angel appeared to him in a dream to explain God’s plan. In Luke 1, Mary was surprised by the visit of an angel who announced that she would be the mother of Jesus. The idea makes sense.
When we get to Luke 2:8-20, we find two other perspectives. They are the perspectives of the angels and shepherds. With an attempt to organize our thoughts, we will first look at the message given by the angel, and then the response to that message.
- The Message (Luke 2:8-12)
What does it say?
Near the place where Jesus was born, there were shepherds living in the fields watching over their flocks at night. An angel of the Lord suddenly appeared next to them and God’s glory was shining so much that the shepherds were very frightened. The angel told them to not be afraid because he was bringing good news which would bring great joy to all people. He told them that a Savior was born that day in the city of David. He was Christ the Lord. And the sign to prove it was that they would find a baby wrapped in swaddling cloths and lying in a manger.
What does it mean?
God chose to announce the birth of Jesus to shepherds (Luke 2:8).
In the same area where Jesus was born, there were shepherds out in the fields with their sheep at night. At this time, “shepherds were despised people. They were suspected of not being very careful to distinguish ‘mine’ and ‘thine’; for this reason, too, they were debarred from giving evidence in court.'”1
You kind of get the idea that shepherds were the blue collar, uneducated people who were from the wrong side of the tracks. People didn’t have much respect for shepherds, but this didn’t stop God from sending the angel to them. “To shepherds—not to priests and rulers,—to shepherds—not to Scribes and Pharisees, an angel appeared… . The things of God are often hid from the great and noble, and revealed to the poor.”2
“The question is still asked skeptically as to why these shepherds should have been selected for the angel’s announcement. The answer is as simple to the believer as it ever was: because God found them the kind of people to whom he could communicate such news.”3 As we will later see from their response to the message, these shepherds were people who recognized the Lord, and who would rejoice at what God had done.
God chose to announce the birth by an angel (Luke 2:9).
We are not told the name of the angelic messenger. What we are told is that it was an angel of the Lord who arrived with the glory of the Lord all around him. Remember how Moses’ face shone after spending time with the Lord on the mountain? This was the case with this angel of the Lord. Having come from the presence of the Lord, he was still reflecting the glory of God.
Imagine being one of the shepherds at this point. It was night and all was dark except for the small fire. The stars were visible in the dark sky. All was quiet and uneventful when suddenly this angel appears with all the brightness of God’s glory! This severely frightened each one of them. They probably fell on their faces and wondered what was going on.
God chose to announce the birth’s significance (Luke 2:10-12).
Thankfully, the angel was aware of their fear as he told them that they shouldn’t be afraid. His message was not one to cause fear but rejoicing! In other words, he told them that something wonderful was going to make them joyful before even announcing what it was.
As the shepherds slowly raised their faces from the ground, they looked through squinted eyes at the angel and listened. What was it that would replace their fear with joy and bring joy to all people?
• The baby was a Savior.
The angel announced to the shepherds what Joseph had been told earlier. This was not a Savior from foreign rule; He was a Savior from sin (Matt. 1:21). “The spiritual darkness which had covered the earth for four thousand years, was about to be rolled away. The way to pardon and peace with God was about to be thrown open to all mankind.”4 Thankfully, Jesus came to save us from our sins and their dire consequences.
• The baby was Christ the Lord.
When we read these titles, they often go in one ear and out the other because we see them so often. But to the shepherds, this would have pointed out something special about this child. He was not just a Savior but was the Christ and the Lord. Christ is the Greek equivalent of Messiah and the Lord is God. The shepherds would have understood these titles as descriptions of who He was. Jesus was the promised Messiah and He would also be God.
• The baby would be found in a manger.
What the angel said next must have surprised the shepherds. He announced that the shepherds would find him wrapped in swaddling cloths and lying in a manger. “‘The sign’ is the very feature about this babe which the shepherds would least expect after the high titles they have heard from the angel. That is, however, what makes this feature ‘the sign.'”5
How does it apply?
The message was that the child born in Bethlehem was the Savior, Messiah, and Lord. He was the One whom they had been looking for all those years since the original prophecies in the Books of Isaiah and Micah. However, we mustn’t stop at just the facts. We need to apply who Jesus is to our own needs.
All of us have need of what Jesus came to be. We all need a Savior because all of us are sinners. The Bible says that we all have sinned and fall short of God’s glory (Rom. 3:23). It also says that the wages of sin is death (Rom. 6:23). All of us, despite our best efforts, have no ability to save ourselves from the penalty of our sins. Thankfully, God sent His Son to become a baby who would grow up, teach the truth, and eventually save us from our sins. Do you know how He accomplished this? Jesus shed His blood on the cross and died to pay for our sins. By this act, He paid the price once and for all for all of our sins. And because of what He did, all who put their faith in Him will be forgiven by God and made right with Him. This is the joyful message that the angel proclaimed to the shepherds.
- The Response (Luke 2:13-20)
What does it say?
Suddenly, a multitude of the heavenly host joined the angel. They praised God and said, “In the highest, give glory to God, and on earth, may there be peace and goodwill to men.” When the angels left and returned to heaven, the shepherds decided to go to Bethlehem to see what the Lord had revealed had already taken place. They quickly went there and found Mary and Joseph with the baby lying in a manger. After seeing the baby, they told everybody about what the angel had told them. All of the people who heard them were amazed at what the shepherds told them. But Mary had a different response. She noted all of the things that had happened and thought about them. The shepherds eventually returned to their sheep. They glorified and praised God for all that they had heard and seen as it had been told to them.
What does it mean?
In this section, we will look at the response of three groups. Surprisingly, perhaps to us, is the fact that the shepherds were not the first to respond.
The angels celebrated what had happened (Luke 2:13-14).
While the shepherds were considering how to respond to the angel’s message, a huge multitude of angels appeared to praise God. Their response is recorded almost like a poem or the words of a song. However, Luke tells us that they spoke these words. Note that their words were pointed in two directions. The contrast is between “the highest” which refers to heaven and “on earth” which refers to the people on earth.
Their message for heaven was praise to God. They wanted God to receive the glory for what He had done that night. They could think of no other person deserving of the highest praise. Their message for the earth was that God had brought peace to men whom He favored. The angels, who were close to God, knew what kind of peace was needed on earth. While Jesus will eventually reign on the earth and produce a wonderful peace, I don’t think that is what they were talking about. They were talking about peace between God and man through Jesus (Col. 1:20).
Do you wonder why the angels were rejoicing about something that didn’t affect them? Here and in Luke 15:7, we find that those in heaven rejoice when someone repents of their sin and is saved by God. Apparently, the angels have gotten to know God so well that they rejoice in what God has done for mankind. That makes me feel good. The angels are rejoicing at God’s goodwill toward all who believe.
The shepherds celebrated what had happened (Luke 2:15-18, 20).
When the angels had returned to heaven, the shock wore off and the shepherds decided to go to Bethlehem. Their response to the angel’s message reveals several things about them.
• They believed the message (15).
Not one but all of the shepherds began suggesting the same thing. Let’s go see this thing that has come to pass. There was no doubt in their voices. They believed what God had revealed to them through the angel’s message. “Such an attitude contrasts sharply with that of the religious leaders who knew where the Baby was to be born but did not take the time or the effort to confirm it for themselves (Matt. 2:5).”6 Their faith in God’s message led them to hurry to Bethlehem where they discovered the Baby just as the angel had said.
• They told others what had happened (17-18).
After seeing the baby just as the angel had promised, the shepherds told everyone they met. Their story became widely known throughout the area. People were amazed by what the shepherds told them. Could it be true? Had a Savior been born? Was this the promised Messiah?
• They praised God (20).
The shepherds didn’t care what others thought about their experience. They knew it was true. And this caused them to glorify and praise God for all that they had seen and heard. As they returned to their flocks in the fields, they couldn’t stop praising God for what He had chosen to reveal to them.
Mary pondered what had happened (Luke 2:19).
Luke tells us that she pondered what had happened. “The idea … is that of throwing things together, comparing, letting one explain and add to another.”7Mary had heard from Gabriel (Luke 1:28-37). She had also heard from Joseph what the angel told him in a dream (Matt. 1:20-21). Now she had heard what the shepherds had heard from the angels. All of this must have been overwhelming to consider.
“Was Mary, then, a perfect being who immediately, perfectly and permanently grasped the full significance of the angels’ tidings, the supernatural conception, and so forth?”8 I would say, no. She was a normal human being who had to think through things and react to them just like we all do. Thankfully, she believed what God said, and was used by God as the mother of the promised Savior.
How does it apply?
Thank God for what He has revealed to you.
The shepherds were so happy that God chose to reveal to them the birth of Jesus. He had revealed that this Baby would be the Savior, the Christ, and the Lord. And after seeing the baby, they couldn’t stop talking about it and praising God for revealing these things to them.
When is the last time you thanked God for sending Jesus as the Savior to save you from your sins? Perhaps you do that often, but many people seem to forget what God has done for them. They become lukewarm in their relationship with God because they have forgotten what God has done. Don’t be like that. Take some time to thank God today.
Think about what God has revealed to you.
Mary had experienced a lot. She had heard from Gabriel himself. Her husband Joseph had heard from an angel. And now the shepherds came with a message about her newborn Baby. What did it all mean? Who was this Baby she held in her arms? She quietly thought about all that had happened and wondered.
When is that last time you pondered what God has done for you? This is different than thanking God for what He has done. It is pondering, thinking about what it all means. We are told that God had it all planned out before the foundation of the world. We have heard today that God sent Jesus to give peace and that He has favored people with this gift. Take some time to think about what God has done today.
Today we have looked at the joyful message given to the shepherds by the angel. The message was that a Savior had been born who was Christ the Lord. The responses to this message were wonderful. The angels praised God for extending His favor to mankind. The shepherds rejoiced that the message was given to them and that the Savior had been born. And, finally, Mary responded by thinking about all that had been said.
I wonder how people will respond to the birth of Jesus today? It seems as if the story has been forgotten or at least it has been replaced by other stories and traditions. Maybe it is time for some of us to be like the shepherds and retell the story so that others can hear and wonder for themselves.
Bibliography
Geldenhuys, Norval, The Gospel of Luke, Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, reprint. 1983, pp. 110-15.
Lenski, R. C. H., The Interpretation of St. Luke’s Gospel, Columbus: Wartburg, 1946, reprint 1951, p. 127-
Martin, John A., “Luke” in The Bible Knowledge Commentary New Testament, USA: SP Publications, 1983, p. 208.
Ryle, J. C., Ryle’s Expository Thoughts on the Gospels, Volume Two Luke, Grand Rapids: Baker, reprint 1977, pp. 55-61.
Footnotes
