Husbands, the question must be asked: “Did you unconditionally love your wife last week?” Enough of that subject :). I thought I would take a Christmas detour to the night that Jesus Christ was born. Let’s read from Luke Chapter 2:
“And she (Mary) gave birth to her first-born son (Jesus); and she wrapped Him in cloths, and laid Him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn. And in the same region there were some shepherds staying out in the fields, and keeping watch over their flock by night. And an angel of the Lord suddenly stood before them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them; and they were terribly frightened. And the angel said to them, ‘Do not be afraid; for behold, I bring you good news of a great joy which shall be for all the people; for today in the city of David there has been born for you a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. And this will be a sign for you: you will find a baby wrapped in cloths, and lying in a manger.’ And suddenly there appeared with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God, and saying, ‘Glory to God in the highest, And on earth peace among men with whom He is pleased.’ And it came about when the angels had gone away from them into heaven, that the shepherds began saying to one another, ‘Let us go straight to Bethlehem then, and see this thing that has happened which the Lord has made known to us.’ And they came in haste and found their way to Mary and Joseph, and the baby as He lay in the manger. And when they had seen this, they made known the statement which had been told them about this Child. And all who heard it wondered at the things which were told them by the shepherds. But Mary treasured up all these things, pondering them in her heart. And the shepherds went back, glorifying and praising God for all that they had heard and seen, just as had been told them.” (Luke 2:7-20)
So, Jesus is born. God’s eternal plan was finally set into motion. The prophets of Israel had been declaring that the Messiah, the anointed one, was coming. However, for 400 plus years prior to Jesus’ birth, there was complete silence from the prophets. God wasn’t speaking to his people through the prophets. And then one night in the small town of Bethlehem, the Savior of the world, Jesus Christ, is born in a manger because there was no room in the inn (there is some debate about whether this was a manger or the first floor of a house where animals would stay at night – doesn’t really matter). The creator of the world, Jesus, the Son of God, takes upon flesh and becomes the Godman. Do you see the irony in this scene – the creation that He created had no room for the creator.
And the first people that were told about the birth of our Savior were shepherds. You know who were the lowest of the low in Israel at that time? Shepherds! Shepherds were outcasts. One author said if you were having a party in Bethlehem, the last people you would invite to the party would be shepherds. And here in this passage we have some lowly shepherds of the region of Bethlehem, watching over their sheep during the dark night watch. They are interrupted by an angel who pronounces “Do not be afraid, for behold, I bring you good news of a great joy which shall be for all the people. For today in the city of David there has been born for you a Savior, who is Christ the Lord.” Although the shepherds would be the last people that the people of Israel would invite to a party, they were the first people that God the Father would invite to see the greatest gift He has given to the world. And in verse 13, we see all heaven worshipping! “And suddenly they appeared a multitude of the heavenly host praising God!” Over 400 years of silence from God turned into the greatest worship event ever recorded when the Godman, Jesus Christ, was born! I wish I could have been in that field that night! Heaven had been waiting for this event!
So, how did the shepherds respond? First, they responded in obedience and went straight to Bethlehem to find Jesus. Scripture tells us they left in haste. They were no longer worried about protecting their sheep because they were on the way to see their Good Shepherd! And when the shepherds arrived in Bethlehem, to that manger on that first Christmas night, they saw not only a baby; but they saw the radiance of God’s glory, the exact representation of God’s nature. They saw the Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Eternal Father, and Prince of Peace. They saw Immanuel, God with us. They saw the Messiah of God, who we know as Jesus. The shepherds were in the presence of the glory of God. And sometimes friends, in order to see the glory of God, you need to be obedient to the plans of God in your life. The shepherds were obedient and they saw the glory of God. May this story never be just a story! Merry Christmas! May we be so thankful and so full of worship as we ponder God’s greatest gift to us this Christmas morning.