Shepherds We Have Heard

Transcript

Well good morning. We are a week, a week away from Christmas. That went fast, huh? That’s amazing. Well if you have a Bible with you this morning, please open it up to Luke. We’re gonna read from, in chapter 2, from, starting in verse 8. We’re gonna hear about shepherds this morning and the birth of Christ and some really amazing, wonderful, miraculous stuff that happened. If you don’t have a Bible, there should be one in the seat in front of you and it’s page 805 in those Pew Bibles. So let me read this for us and then we’ll pray and get started. Hear now the word of the Lord to you.

And in the same 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 great fear.

— Luke 2

(ESV)

And the angel said to them, fear not, for behold, I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. For unto 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 baby 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 those 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 baby lying in a manger. And when they saw it, they

made known the saying that had been told them concerning this child. And all who heard it wondered at what the shepherds told them. But Mary treasured up 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. This is the word of the Lord. Thanks be to God. Let’s pray. Our Father and our God, help us see in this amazing story of the angel and the shepherds in the announcement of the birth of Jesus. And what a wonderful mystery it is that Jesus became Emmanuel, God with us. That he came to save his people from their sins and to live the perfect life for us. Use all of this by your Holy Spirit in our hearts and our minds to draw us into deeper worship of you, into a greater

The Gospel in Plain Sight

closeness to you, and that we might desire to walk in greater holiness as we consider all you have done for us. God, we love you and we praise you. And it is in Jesus’ holy name we pray. Amen. Well, during this time of year, dating back to the 1960s, there’s always a number of children’s Christmas specials. There’s Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer. There’s the Little Drummer Boy, who doesn’t like Dr. Seuss’s How the Grinch Stole Christmas. Frosty the Snowman, which I never cared much for, along with many others. But there is one program that is played every year since 1965 that quite literally has the gospel of Jesus Christ hiding in plain sight for all to see. It is the 1965 animated Christmas special, A Charlie Brown Christmas. Well, as the show unfolds, Charlie Brown, who is very frustrated with how the Christmas holiday isn’t living up to his expectations, he finds he’s just fed up. He’s had enough.

His friends won’t pay attention. And he just kind of yells out. He says, isn’t there anyone who knows what Christmas is all about? And his little friend Linus, who you see on the screen there, his little friend Linus steps forward and he says, sure, Charlie Brown, I can tell you what Christmas is all about. Linus walks to the middle of the stage there in the school where the kids have been practicing for their Christmas play. And he says, lights, he’s holding his blanket, and he recites from memory part of our text this morning from the King James Version of the Bible. It’s so sweet, the little boy’s voice saying this. He says, and there were in the same country shepherds abiding in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night. And lo, the angel of the Lord came upon them, and the glory of the Lord shone round about them, and they were sore afraid. And the angel said unto

them, fear not, for behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which will be to all people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, which is Christ the Lord. And this shall be a sign unto you. Ye shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes 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, goodwill toward men. He finishes that. He walks off the stage, goes back to his friend, and he says that’s what Christmas is all about, Charlie Brown. And I think it really is true. It really is true. Christmas is all about the good news of great joy in the coming of the King of Kings and Lord of Lords, a Savior who is Christ the Lord. Now, keep in mind Jesus was really

born through his mother’s painful labor. He was really wrapped up in cloths and placed in a feeding trough. As he grew, he had to teethe. He had to learn how to crawl. He had to learn how to walk. He had to be potty trained. He went through illnesses and injuries like every child. And as he grew, he had to learn like every other child. He had to learn language, had to learn math, manners, customs. He even had to learn carpentry from his earthly father Joseph. But the big difference between Jesus and all that he did growing up, he did all of this and he never once committed a sin. Never. Boggles the mind. This whole idea of the incarnation makes you want to sing out what Paul wrote to Timothy. He said, great indeed, we confess is the mystery of godliness. He was manifested in the flesh. Handel certainly

did a great job putting that into his Messiah. Now, I’d like you to know something that the author of the gospel of Luke was a physician. This was a smart guy. And he says something at the beginning of his gospel. If you want to turn there, it’s right at the beginning of Luke, literally Luke 1.1, just probably a page back from where you’re at. He says this, he says, inasmuch as many have undertaken to compile a narrative of the things that have been accomplished among us, just as those who from the beginning were eyewitnesses and ministers of the word have delivered them to us, it seemed good to me also having followed all things closely for some time past to write an orderly account for you, most excellent Theophilus, that you may have certainty concerning the things you have been taught. So you can know that this gospel contains the truth about Jesus and about his ministry, about his redemptive

The Appearance

work for us. And this certainly includes this narrative here about the shepherds, because everything was well-researched by Luke. And it is in our Bibles to point us to Jesus and to his gospel message, both at Christmas and any time we read it and study it. It is reliable. Now, I’ve broken up our text this morning into three sections. The first section we’ll see in verses 8 and 9 is going to be the appearance. Section 2 will be verses 10 through 14, the announcement. And then in the third section, verses 15 to 20, we’ll see the ascent. So let’s start with the appearance. Look with me at verse 8. And in the same 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 great fear. So here you have these shepherds.

They’re out in the middle of the night keeping watch over their sheep. And to know something about shepherds is that they were despised. They were distrusted by most people. They were especially hated by the Jewish leaders. But shepherds were a necessary bother for the leaders because they raised the lambs that were used in the temple sacrifices. And many shepherds were actually known to be pretty rough characters. It wasn’t uncommon that shepherds would prey on weary travelers. One rabbi from that era said there was no more despised occupation in the world than that of shepherds. And these shepherds worked in shifts at night. They would often bring the sheep into crude shelters to protect the sheep from danger. I think it is really something worth noting that God has a real heart for shepherds. Abel was a shepherd. Abraham, Jacob, both shepherds. And David as a boy

was a shepherd. And God certainly used them in mighty ways. As a matter of fact, their faith is all spoken of in Hebrews 11, what we call the Faith Hall of Fame. I find this to be amazing. Jesus identifies as a shepherd. He said, I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep. He created the office of shepherd, pastor, elder. It says in Ephesians 4, he gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the shepherds and teachers, the people that he would entrust the care for his sheep, the church. And isn’t it really just like God to use simple people, to use common people, unimpressive people to the world to send forth his announcement that Christ had been born. God didn’t send an angel to soldiers or to Pharisees or to businessmen. He sent the angel to shepherds. And so these men were the very first people to receive the

announcement of the birth of Jesus. Notice in verse 9, the angel of the Lord appeared to them and the glory of the Lord shone all around them. Well, the angel of the Lord is an angelic servant sent by God who performs specific tasks on God’s behalf. And in this case it was this announcement that the Son of God had been born. Now try to picture this for yourselves. It would have been very dark and it would have been mostly very quiet except for maybe, oh, the bleating of some sheep or the howling of a wolf in the distance. Maybe a cough from one of the shepherds fighting a cold. It wouldn’t have been a lot of noise. It would have been very, very dark. And then all of a sudden this glory appears with this angel and this is God’s very glory being manifested over a dark field and a bunch

of shepherds and their sheep. Now normally the glory of the Lord was reserved for the temple and it is also what God used to lead Israel in the wilderness. But now he had come to announce the birth of the King of Kings and he came to a field of shepherds, people who he loved and people who he knew would go and spread this news. What was the immediate response of the shepherds? Well, like most people in Scripture when they come face to face with God they are gripped with fear. It is the most common reaction when people come in contact, especially when sinners come in contact with God’s glory. I mean try to imagine yourself in that field, I mean how frightened you would be. We see a few instances of this throughout the Scripture. Moses saw the angel of the Lord in a burning

bush. King David saw the angel of the Lord standing between heaven and earth with a sword stretched out over Jerusalem. And it is said that he and the elders fell on their faces. A few weeks ago Jan preached for us about Luke 1 where Zechariah receives a visit from the angel of the Lord inside the Holy of Holies and it is said that he was gripped with fear. So we see this amazing and beautiful angelic visitation manifesting God’s glory in a bright light, not to the temple, not to important people, but to common people. The kinds of people that God would use and choose to spread the news of his son’s birth and the kinds of people that God would later use to spread the good news of his son’s saving death on a cross for sinners. Think of fishermen, tax collectors, zealots. Paul

The Announcement

said in 1 Corinthians 1, he said, consider your calling brothers, not many of you were wise according to worldly standards, not many were powerful, not many were of noble birth, but God chose what is foolish in the world to shame the wise. God chose what is weak in the world to shame the strong. These are the people God chose to give this angelic appearance to and these are the types of people that God seems to love to use, common people. I’d like to think people a lot like all of us. Now let’s look at the second section, the announcement. We’ll see this in verses 10 to 14. Starting in verse 10, and the angel said to them, fear not for behold, I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. For unto 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 baby 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 those with whom he is pleased. So what is the very first thing the angel says to them? He tells them not to fear, no reason to be afraid here. And then he tells them why they don’t need to be afraid. He says, I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. I mean people had good reason to fear God and especially to come in close proximity to God’s glory. But now the day has arrived when joy can prevail because the Messiah has been born, the one who will grow up to be the mediator between God and man.

I want you to notice this good news of the Messiah’s arrival is for all the people, even lowly shepherds. And this is why Jesus gave the church its mission to go into all the world and proclaim the gospel to the whole creation. We preach the gospel to everyone because today in the city of David there has been born for you a savior who is Christ the Lord. Interesting that out of the four gospels it is only here and once in John’s gospel that Jesus is ever referred to as a savior. And then of course John also used savior as a title for Jesus in his first letter. He said in that letter, he said, we have seen and testified that the father has sent his son to be the savior of the world. And this is really what John 3.16 is all about. If you ever get nervous about sharing the gospel

and you’re in a situation where I don’t know what to say, give somebody John 3.16. It’s kind of corny but I love these guys that go to football games and hold up signs that say John 3.16. For God so loved the world that he gave his only son that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. That is the good news. That is the greatest need of all people everywhere throughout every age has been met. There is now a savior and God has fulfilled his long awaited promise with the birth of Jesus. Well the next thing the angel tells them, he says this is a sign for you. Go into town, see for yourselves. You will find a baby wrapped in cloths lying in a manger. But before these shepherds could even respond to that, it is said that a multitude of angelic beings appear with the angel. The

heavenly host. And they are praising God and they are saying glory to God in the highest. And on earth peace among those with whom he is pleased. Nothing is going to happen until this good news is celebrated. So much so that this multitude of angels appears praising God. Some commentators believe that it may have been every one of God’s angels left heaven to go praise this announcement of the birth of Jesus. Can you imagine the scene and the noise, how loud it would have been? I recently read a story about what may be the loudest sound ever made on earth. This is fascinating. It was August 27, 1883 and it was the eruption of the volcano Krakatoa in Indonesia. On that day scientists believed that the earth let out a noise louder than it has ever made since. It was heard 3,000 miles away in the Indian

Ocean and the people on the island of Rodriguez that heard it said that it sounded to them like the distant roar of heavy guns. 3,000 miles away. Mind boggling. In all it was heard by people in over 50 different geographical locations together spanning an area that covered a 13th of the globe. Makes me wonder if the praise from that multitude was heard that far away. Glory to God. And on earth peace is now going to be possible because the Savior has come. Now for God to be pleased with anyone in this sense can only come by divine favor and can only come by being in Christ. And that only happens because God has chosen people before the foundation of the world. We see this very clearly in Ephesians 1. Paul writes, even as he, God, chose us in him, Christ, before the foundation of the world that we

should be holy and blameless before him. In love he predestined us for adoption to himself as sons through Jesus Christ according to the purpose of his will. To the praise of his glorious grace with which he has blessed us in the beloved. That’s in Jesus. This is truly what it means to be able to say that now on earth there will be peace between God and human beings because God is pleased to choose and to save a multitude of people. John writes in Revelation 7, he says, after this I looked and behold a great multitude that no one could number from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and languages standing before the throne and before the lamb clothed in white robes with palm branches in their hands. That is a scene right out of heaven because God is in the business of saving a multitude

of people. Now Luke doesn’t record the shepherds being afraid a second time. They encounter this multitude and it seems like they’ve listened to the angel, they’ve believed, fear not. And as these shepherds on this night sat in darkness that was supernaturally brightened by the angel of the Lord and as they saw the multitude of the heavenly host, the good news was proclaimed that meant the world that had been in darkness from sin would now receive the light of Christ making way for the reconciliation between God and sinners. Now there could truly

The Ascent

be peace on the earth. That was the great announcement. It is the echo of Isaiah 9, the people who walked in darkness have seen a great light. Those who dwell in a land of deep darkness, on them has light shown. Now let’s look at the last section, the ascent, starting in verse 15. 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. So notice the shepherds after this interaction with the angel of the Lord and being scared half to death seeing what must have been thousands upon thousands of angels, what do they do? They receive the truth of God’s word about the Messiah’s birth. They heed the comfort of God’s messenger telling them they don’t need to be afraid and they go straight to Bethlehem believing what they’ve been told from the angel of the Lord as a word of the Lord from the Lord. They went with haste and they found Mary and Joseph and the baby lying

in a manger. Everything was exactly as the angel of the Lord had told them it would be. There’s this little baby wrapped up in cloths lying in a feeding trough and there are these guys standing there staring at this baby and realizing this is the long awaited Messiah,

Christ the Lord. What do they do? Look at verse 17, and when they saw it they made known the saying that had been told them concerning this child. They start telling people what they just saw. We just saw the brightest thing ever. We heard these angels proclaiming this to come here and to see this baby and this is the Messiah. This is our long awaited Savior.

Now it would seem to me impossible that the people in Bethlehem in such a close proximity to where these shepherds were that they would not have not only heard the heavenly host but that they would not have seen the reflective light. It is likely that it was a lot more than just Mary and Joseph there because in the next verse it says, verse 18, and all who heard it wondered at what the shepherds told them. I imagine the whole town is awake at this point and no doubt the reactions of people hearing this would have been widely varied. I imagine people, some of them were incredulous. I am sure some of them it probably scared them. They were probably apprehensive. I imagine some people had some wonder and amazement. I would like to think that for some of the people it gave them hope. They

had hope. But the shepherds, they have faith. They had believed. They saw multiple miracles that night and they were no longer fearful and they now had everything confirmed for them just as they were told it would be. And verse 19 is interestingly placed here by Luke. Look at it with me. But Mary treasured up all these things pondering them in her heart. After birth comes joy. And I just wonder how much this reminded Mary of what she had already been told. Nothing will be impossible for God. He will provide for all your needs even

if you have to give birth in an animal stable. He will protect your baby from Herod. He will bring gifts from the Magi to help to support you. He will strengthen you and He will comfort you as you raise your family amidst the rumors and the innuendos that you were immoral. He

will comfort you as you bear the crushing weight of seeing the nails driven into His hands and feet. And greatest of all, He will save you from your sins. Nothing will be impossible for God. Mary ponders these things that she has heard and seen in her heart. In this visit from the shepherds, these people were a lot like her. They were people of humble estate. God’s way of sending her comfort for her pain and her fears being a young mother who had just given birth to Jesus. Being uncertain about the future. Interesting note is that many scholars believe that Mary in her later years related this entire story to Luke himself. And that Luke actually received much of the details for the first two chapters of his gospel. Either directly from Mary or from someone who was in a pretty intimate relationship with Mary. Now the text doesn’t tell us how long the shepherds stayed there at the bedside

Imitating the Shepherds

of Jesus. But it tells us this. They returned glorifying and praising God for all they had seen and heard as it had been told them. They went back to work. Sheep have to be cared for. These shepherds had just experienced the first Christmas. And they saw and they heard what Luke recorded in his gospel. They saw what Linus so unashamedly told Charlie Brown and his friends. That Christmas is about the good news. Of great joy in the coming of the King of Kings. And the Lord of Lords. A Savior who is Christ the Lord. I’d like to leave you with four ways that you can imitate the shepherds. Not just at Christmas but every day as you seek to live out the Christian life. First of all they listened to God’s word. They received what God had for them in the message about Christ. That’s often where we need to start. We need to listen better to God’s word. As

we read it or as we hear it preached. And of course that starts with opening it up. Some of you know where I’m going. I’d like to encourage you that as the new year dawns here in just two weeks. Commit to reading your Bible daily. There’s a lot of help out there if you want to do this. There are phone apps that will help you track it. Programs you can listen to it being read. I guarantee you it will be very good for your walk with Jesus. It will be very good for your soul to be in the word daily. I’ve actually placed on the foyer outside on the book table out there some read through the Bible plans that are printed out. And I’d love for as many of you that are willing in the new year to join together as a congregation and read through the Bible. Second thing is that the shepherds didn’t

fear. They’d been given assurance that reconciliation was coming. How much more for us? I mean we are already reconciled now through Christ’s blood it says. And we need not to fear man. We need not to fear the condemnation. Any condemnation from God for our sin. As Paul wrote, There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. Paul told Timothy he said God gave us a spirit not of fear but of power and love

and self control. Thirdly the shepherds went to see Jesus and they told others about Jesus. They made known the statement which had been told them about this child. And you have to wonder if growing up so near to Bethlehem after pondering what they’d seen and heard that night if they ever had in mind Micah 5 2. But you oh Bethlehem Ephrathah who are too little to be among the clans of Judah from you shall come forth for me one who is to be ruler in Israel whose coming forth is from of old from ancient days. This one will be our peace. Here again God uses a little clan not a big tribe. He uses a little clan to be the place of Jesus’s birth. Can you imagine the stories that these shepherds years later might have told about that night. Love to be a fly on the wall hearing one of these

guys sitting around with his family telling his grandchildren about seeing the baby Jesus and about the angelic proclamation that he had seen and heard all those years ago. We need to do this. Tell stories about God’s faithfulness to you. Tell stories about how God saved you. About the things that you’ve seen God do. We need to share with our kids our grandkids our neighbors with anyone who will listen. People love stories and people

will listen to stories and I think that it is often one of the ways that God opens up gospel conversations with unbelievers. So I’ll ask you the question who do you need to tell the story of Christmas to. Let me encourage you share the gospel with people even if it’s John 3 16. It is the only message that will bring great joy to anyone who will believe in him for the forgiveness of their sins. You share what you know and you leave the rest that results to God and to his spirit which must work in the human heart to affect faith anyway. Lastly these shepherds worshiped. They returned glorifying and praising God

for all they had heard and seen. Oh that we might worship as they did and take in all that we’ve seen in this story the first announcement of the birth of Jesus as we celebrate Christmas in just one week. And we know how the story ends don’t we. We know that the story ends with Jesus dying on a cross ensuring the forgiveness of our sins and how he was buried in a tomb

and how a huge rock was rolled away on the third day because he was raised back to life. He who was delivered up for our trespasses and raised for our justification. We know that he went out to a hill with his disciples. He was lifted up and taken back to heaven where he is now ruling and reigning and where he will someday return to bring us into our glorification and to judge the world in righteousness. It all started with his birth to a young Jewish woman and a faithful Jewish carpenter on a cold night in Bethlehem in an animal stable where the baby Jesus was born and laid in a feeding trough. This should elicit worship

from your very soul, from your mind, from your body that the Lamb of God came to bring peace on earth by defeating sin and destroying the works of the devil. And we are the beneficiaries of God’s favor and we now have peace. The kids in Charlie Brown Christmas at the end of the show they go out at the end of the program and they sing Hark the Herald Angels Sing. It is the very hymn Charles Wesley wrote about our text this morning. It is an amazing gospel hymn and it is so theologically rich it amazes me. We listen to some of the words. Hark the Herald Angels Sing. Glory to the newborn king. Peace on earth and mercy mild. God and sinners reconciled. Later in the third verse Wesley closes with this. Mild he

lay his glory by. Born that we no more may die. Born to raise us from the earth. Born to give us second birth. So let me ask you this morning have you been reconciled to God through his son the Lord Jesus? If not let me encourage you to start by turning away from your sins. Stop going your own way and instead turn to Jesus and start going his way. That is what it means to repent. Admit that you have sinned against a holy God and seek forgiveness from his son the Lord Jesus. You can pray. You can ask Jesus to forgive you. To come into your life. This is what Christians mean when we say a person is saved. A person is saved from the wrath that your sins deserve from a holy God. That is what we are saved from. And once you are saved. Once you are in Christ your life will literally just be beginning

again. And while it will still be filled with struggles, trials, temptations that are common to all Christians. You will never walk alone. And you will have the assurance of eternal life. Jesus said in John 6 he said for this is the will of my father that everyone who looks on the son and believes in him should have eternal life. And I will raise him up on the last day. That is what Christians long for. The coming of Christ. The last day. Jesus came the first time as a baby meek and mild. Wrapped in swaddling clothes laid in a manger.

When he comes the next time Revelation 19 says he will come clothed in a robe dipped in blood. And the name by which he is called is the word of God. He will come to strike down the nations to execute justice for God the almighty on those who do not know him. That is sobering. But it is truth. And it is our great hope and our great prayer that no one will leave this building this morning still unreconciled to God. Believe in the Lord Jesus today. I’m going to close with this. The wonder of Christmas is captured so beautifully in one little sentence that C.S. Lewis wrote in the last book of the Chronicles of Narnia. The last battle. Through the words of a little character named Lucy. And she said this. She said in our world too a stable once had something inside it that was bigger

than our whole world. Think of that one day the Lord Jesus the creator of the whole universe came into the world that he had made. And yet he was so small he could be held in your arms. May your Christmas be filled with worship and joy and amazement. And may you remember that Christmas really is about the good news of great joy in the coming of the

king of kings and the Lord of lords our savior who is Christ the Lord. Let’s pray. Our father and our God. We are simply in awe of your love for us God. Your grace and your mercy toward us that you sent Jesus to save us. God we thank you that you chose us. We thank you that you choose and use common people like us. And like shepherds, fishermen, tax

collectors, and zealots. Father we cannot but worship and adore you and your greatness. God today please if there might be anyone in here this morning who is not yet saved we pray that you would save today God we pray you will save our children God every one of them. Father we want to see our children carry the gospel and serve the church into the future. And oh how we long for the second advent of Jesus. And we say with Paul Maranatha come quickly Lord Jesus. We pray all this in his name. Amen.