On December 21,
2015, the following headline appeared in the International Business Times:
“Bethlehem Christmas 2015 Cancelled”. To be fully accurate, religious
celebrations of Jesus’ birth went forward last year in Bethlehem, but many of
the secular celebrations of Christmas that usually surround it were toned down
due to instability in the area. Looking back a decade, there was even one year
when Christian Arabs canceled community celebrations of Christmas in support of
the Palestinian uprising. However, the Jewish government would have no part of
that, so the Israeli military sponsored its own holiday celebrations in the
area.
It is also
interesting to note who celebrated the first Christmas and who didn’t. The
first Christmas was not celebrated by the emperor Caesar Augustus, nor
Quirinius, the governor of Syria, nor was it celebrated by the lowly innkeeper.
But Christmas was celebrated by a few lonely shepherds along with Joseph and
Mary and the angels of heaven.
How amazing that
the Lord would announce the birth of his Son, not to the emperor, nor to the
governor, but rather to simple shepherds. Shepherds were nobodies in the social
structure of the ancient near-east. They were not able to testify in courts of
law because their testimony was considered unreliable. Shepherds were thought
to be crafty and dishonest, something akin to gypsies, vagrants, and con-men
all rolled into one. Shepherds were among “the people of the land”. They had no
formal education, and thus could not even read the Scriptures. No work in
Palestine paid less than shepherding. Even manual laborers earned more.
It was to such
people as this that God announced the birth of his only begotten Son. Let’s
read the story of Jesus’ birth from the perspective of the shepherds as it is
written for us in Luke 2:8-20….
In that region there were shepherds living in the fields,
keeping watch over their flock by night. Then an angel of the Lord stood before
them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. But
the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid; for see—I am bringing you good news
of great joy for all the people: to you is born this day in the city of David a
Savior, who is the Messiah, the Lord. This will be a sign for you: you will
find a child wrapped in bands of cloth 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 heaven,
and on earth peace among
those whom he favors!”
When the angels had left them and gone into heaven, the
shepherds said to one another, “Let us go now to Bethlehem and see this thing
that has taken place, which the Lord has made known to us.” So they went with
haste and found Mary and Joseph, and the child lying in the manger. When they saw
this, they made known what had been told them about this child; and all who
heard it were amazed at what the shepherds told them. But Mary treasured all
these words and pondered them in her heart. The shepherds returned, glorifying
and praising God for all they had heard and seen, as it had been told them.
What was the shepherds’ perspective on
Christmas? First, they received the good news that a child was born. I can hardly think of anything more
wonderful than the birth of a child. I was present for the births of each of my
sons. I would not have missed that experience for anything. I never thought
babies were particularly good looking … until our first child was born. But
that birth changed my perspective!
Echoing the
words of the prophet Isaiah, the angel said to the shepherds: “A Savior has
been born to you.” The shepherds must have been struck with amazement. “Unto
us?!”
This child was
not born simply for Mary and Joseph. This child was born for the shepherds, and
for us. This child was born to be the Messiah, the King who would inherit the
throne of David and reign forever. This child was and is the Lord. Once we
recognize that this child was born for us, to be our Savior, that can change
our perspective, not only on Christmas, but on life itself.
Secondly, we see here that the shepherds
responded immediately to the good news. The shepherds didn’t say “ho hum” and go back to watching
their flocks by night. They didn’t debate the reality of angels and put off
going to Bethlehem. The shepherds didn’t conclude that this Savior was born for
others and not for them. They didn’t say, “We aren’t dressed for the occasion.
We have nothing to bring. Who will care for the sheep?”
Many people
around the world since the time of the shepherds have heard the good news about
the birth of Jesus, but not all have responded. Will we be like the shepherds?
Or will we put off our response, or not respond at all?
Perhaps we are
inclined to treat the good news about Jesus sort of like a sweepstakes letter
in the mail. You know those letters from Publishers Clearing House announcing
that you may have just won 5 million dollars. I haven’t received one of those
in a long time. But when they used to come in the mail on a regular basis, I
would just throw them out. Becky, when she saw them in the mail, reacted
differently. Her response was: “Somebody is going to win that money; maybe it
will be me.” And she was right in a way. If you don’t send in your response to
Publishers Clearing House, then you don’t win anything. If you do send in your
response, then you have a chance.
The good news
about Jesus is even better than a sweepstakes letter in the mail. Everyone who
sends in a response wins! Jesus says: “Anyone who comes to me, I will never
drive away.” (John 6:37) The benefits of responding to the good news about
Jesus are far greater than any monetary reward. If we respond with our “yes” to
the good news about Jesus, we receive eternal life. So why not be like the
shepherds and respond immediately?
You may wonder:
how do I respond to this good news? We can respond in a way like the shepherds.
They ran to the Savior. Luke tells
us “they hurried off and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby, who was lying in
the manger.” No one had to tell the shepherds to run to the Savior. No one had
to invite them to respond this way. It was their natural response once they
heard the good news. This announcement from the angels was the most amazing
thing that had ever happened to them and so they ran to the Savior and found
him just as the angel said they would—lying in a manger.
How can we run
to the Savior today?
The story is
told of a ten-year-old girl who went with family and friends to see the
Christmas light displays around town. At one church, they stopped and got out
to look more closely at a beautiful nativity scene.
“Isn’t that
lovely?” asked the grandmother. “Look at all the animals, Mary, Joseph, and the
baby Jesus.”
“Yes Grandma,”
the girl replied, “It’s really nice. But there’s one thing that bothers me.
Isn’t baby Jesus ever going to grow up? He’s the same size he was last year.”
Well of course
Jesus has grown up. He’s no longer a baby in a manger. He is no longer walking
this earth. He lived for us, died for us, and rose again for us. And for the
last 2000 years he has been reigning in heaven. We cannot run to Jesus
physically today, but we can run to him spiritually through prayer. Paul says,
“Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.” (Romans 10:13)
We can also run
to Jesus and learn more about him through reading the Gospels. Some people find
reading the Bible to be rather challenging. I understand. If that’s true for
you I suggest doing something like this. Set aside some time each day. Seven
minutes is good for starters. Open your Bible to one of the Gospels and just
start reading through it, for just a few minutes each day. But before you read,
say something to God like: “If you are really there, please reveal yourself to
me as I read the Bible.” If you approach the Bible with that attitude, I
believe God will reveal himself to you. And as we catch a glimpse of Jesus from
the Scriptures, we can be transformed just as the shepherds were long ago.
Luke tells us,
“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. But Mary treasured up all these things and pondered them in her
heart.”
Once the
shepherds caught a glimpse of Jesus, their lives were transformed because they
knew Jesus had come for them, to rescue them. So they went out and relayed the word that had been told
them about this child.
We don’t get the
picture that the shepherds were particularly concerned about what others
thought of them. They were so excited about Jesus that they could not contain
themselves. Just as no one had to tell them to run to the Savior, neither did
anyone need to tell the shepherds that they should to tell others about Jesus.
It was natural for them to do so. They had just received the greatest news ever
to be told in the history of humanity. They could not help but relay that word
to others.
Are we like the
shepherds? Are we so filled with the good news about Jesus that it naturally
bubbles forth from us? What better time to share that news than Advent? This is
the season when everyone is singing our song—in restaurants, in shops, even at
the gas station! I was sitting in the doctor’s office the other day and what
was coming over the speakers? Christmas music! What could be more natural than
to invite someone to join us for one of our Advent or Christmas services when
the message about our Savior is already playing everywhere at this time of year?
The story is
told of a man who laid a piece of chocolate candy on a table. Then, picking up
an ant, he put it near the delicious bon-bon. He was surprised to see the ant
take one bite and then hurry away. But a few minutes later, the creature
returned, followed by a long trail of other ants who soon enjoyed the treat
with him.
I wonder: have
you, as the psalmist talks about it, tasted and seen that the Lord is good? If
so, it is as natural to share that experience with others, as it is to tell of
a delicious chocolate you have discovered.
That is the way
it was with the shepherds. They went to Bethlehem, which means “house of
bread”, and they saw Jesus who later called himself the bread of life. Then the
shepherds went forth to tell other beggars where they too could find this bread
from heaven.
Luke tells us
one more thing about the shepherds’ perspective on Christmas. He tells us that
the shepherds returned praising God.
The shepherds didn’t give up their jobs or their families to become
missionaries to some remote part of the world. They went back to their normal
lives, back to their daily routines, back to the responsibilities God had given
them of shepherding and raising their families. But the shepherds went back as
changed men. Where before their lives were dull and uninteresting, now their lives
were filled with praise to God.
An artist once
made a sketch of a wintry twilight. The trees were laden with snow, and a
dreary looking house, lonely and desolate, stood amidst a field of drifted snow.
It was a bleak and depressing picture. But then the artist took some yellow
chalk and with a few quick strokes put a light in one window of that house. The
effect was almost magical. The entire scene was transformed into a vision of
comfort and cheer.
Likewise, the
birth of Jesus brought light to the dark and dreary lives of a group of
shepherds who lived long ago. Where before their lives had been drudgery, now
they had direction. Where before their lives seemed meaningless, now they had
purpose. They had come to realize that the God of the universe had planted them
there in Bethlehem to receive his message and pass it on to others.
We too can find
purpose in life. We can return to our jobs and our families, even after
Christmas is past, and we can return praising God. The shepherds’ perspective
can become our perspective if we would but receive the good news, respond
immediately, and run to the Savior. We can discover what the shepherds
discovered—that we are “a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a
people belonging to God, that we may declare the praises of him who called us
out of darkness into his wonderful light.” (1 Peter 2:9)
What was the shepherds’ perspective on
Christmas? It can be summed up in one word: JOY! They received good news of a great joy.
They responded with joy, ran with joy, relayed the word with joy, and returned
with joy, praising God.
As the Czech
Reformer Jan Hus urged centuries ago, “Rejoice, that the immortal God is born,
so that mortal men may live in eternity. Rejoice, because the rich Lord of the
universe became poor, that he may enrich us needy ones.”
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