The Shepherds and the Angels (Luke 2:8-20)

This sermon was preached on 22/12/2013

It is possible that this event was prophesied in Jeremiah 33. In that chapter the prophet is told that God would yet restore shepherds and flocks to the areas around Bethlehem and that later the promised Deliverer would appear. We know that there was a long period of time between the restoration of shepherds and their flocks and the arrival of the Saviour. Yet the fulfillment of the first should have encouraged the people regarding the coming of the Messiah. After all, the restoration of shepherds to that area proved that God could keep his promises about defeating the most powerful of earthly kingdoms at that time – Babylon. And since he accomplished that, he could also do the other. But it looks as if those who read Jeremiah 33 made no connection between the two promises.

The regular activity (v. 8)

Clearly the shepherds were engaged in their everyday employment of looking after sheep. Probably they did this night after night, and nothing unusual happened. So they would not be anticipating any interruption to their tasks. But this night was going to be different. This is a reminder that we do not know when God will intervene in our lives.

It was the case that shepherds in Palestine could be rough characters, capable of causing trouble. Nobody would usually want to pay them a visit, at least no one on earth would. Yet the God of heaven chose to send heavenly visitors to the shepherds, a reminder that he reveals his grace to the undeserving.

The messenger with wonderful news (vv. 9-12)

Luke tells us that a heavenly inhabitant appeared to the shepherds, the presence of the Lord encircled them, and the effect it had on them was great fear. We can think about these details briefly. With regard to the angel, we are not told what he looked like. I suppose a reason for that is that the messenger is not as important as the message.

The reference to the glory of the Lord concerns the brightness that lit up the night sky in Bethlehem. It was as bright as day. We cannot tell whether it was a manifestation of divine glory separate from the angel or whether the angel was reflecting the glory of the God in whose heavenly presence he had just been.

Luke informs us that the effect of the appearing of this supernatural being terrified the shepherds. They were not used to being afraid and together they had protected their flocks from wild animals and rustlers. But what they were now experiencing was very different from such potential threats.

What did the messenger have to say? If we take the words as they appear, we can see first an effect his message would have, which was the removal of fear. No doubt the main reason for their fear was the appearance of one angel. Yet within a few moments there would be thousands of them, and yet when they appeared the shepherds were not afraid. This is a picture of how the gospel can remove our fears very quickly if we listen to what it has to say.

Second, the angel tells the shepherds about the kind of message he had – it is good news of great joy. He means that there is great joy in the Sender of the message and there will be great joy in the recipients when they believe it for themselves. The joy is also great because it never becomes irrelevant. Indeed the opposite will be the case as people discover more and more about it.

Third, the angel speaks about the extent of those who can be blessed through this good news, and it can be everyone who hears it. It will be for all the peoples everywhere and in every subsequent period of time. Yet it is not be regarded only in a general sense because the angel then specifies it and says that it was for them, the shepherds.

Fourth, the content of the angel’s message is all about Jesus. The angel mentions at least four things about him. First, there is his humanity – he was born (at this stage, the shepherds could not have comprehended the virgin birth of Jesus). Second, there is his work – he would be the Saviour who would rescue them from their sins. Third, there is his role – he is the Christ, the promised Messiah, who would function as the Ruler of God’s kingdom. Fourth, there is his deity – he is the Lord.

Fifth, the angel gives directions as to where they could find the baby and identify him. They discovered that the baby had come to a place that they could easily find – after all they of all people would know where the manger was because it would be where they would feed their animals. And when they would see him, they would see his humility as he lay wrapped in a non-expensive cloth.

The army that sings

Immediately the heavenly spokesman was joined by a large number of other angels. By calling them a host Luke describes their formation and order. But they had not come to make war or inflict judgement. Instead they had come there in order to sing to God.

Apparently it was a Jewish custom for friends to gather outside the home in which a male child had been born and sing songs of rejoicing. In doing this, they would have informed others of the happy event that had taken place. There were no groups of friends to gather outside the place where Jesus was born to announce his arrival. But God sent friends from heaven and how they sang about the birth of Jesus.

As we think of this angelic choir our minds should go to the other occasions when the heavenly host is described as singing. They sang at the beginning when God made the earth. The Lord asked Job concerning his lack of knowledge about what happened at the time of creation and said to him, ‘On what were its bases sunk, or who laid its cornerstone, when the morning stars sang together and all the sons of God shouted for joy’ (Job 38:6-8). On that occasion, they celebrated the abilities of their Creator.

We also know that they sang at the ascension of Jesus, which was the beginning of the new creation, of God’s great new kingdom. ‘And between the throne and the four living creatures and among the elders I saw a Lamb standing, as though it had been slain, with seven horns and with seven eyes, which are the seven spirits of God sent out into all the earth. And he went and took the scroll from the right hand of him who was seated on the throne. And when he had taken the scroll, the four living creatures and the twenty-four elders fell down before the Lamb, each holding a harp, and golden bowls full of incense, which are the prayers of the saints. And they sang a new song, saying, “Worthy are you to take the scroll and to open its seals,
for you were slain, and by your blood you ransomed people for God from every tribe and language and people and nation, and you have made them a kingdom and priests to our God, and they shall reign on the earth.”

‘Then I looked, and I heard around the throne and the living creatures and the elders the voice of many angels, numbering myriads of myriads and thousands of thousands, saying with a loud voice, “Worthy is the Lamb who was slain, to receive power and wealth and wisdom and might and honour and glory and blessing!’ (Rev. 5:6-12).

On this occasion, as with what they sang at the ascension, they combined heaven and earth in their song of praise. They gave God glory because he had begun a peace mission on earth. What that mission would involve for the infant as he later made peace by his blood would be unfolded later. But here was the onset of a divine mission that will yet climax in the peaceful environment of the new heavens and new earth.

The response of the shepherds

One consistent feature of angels is that they will not do for us what we can do for ourselves. On another occasion, when an angel was sent from heaven to deliver Peter from prison, he woke the apostle and told him to put his shoes on, an action he did not need an angel to do. Here in the story of the shepherds, the angels did not carry them to Bethlehem.

The shepherds went immediately to find the family. Such haste should always be our response to the revealed will of God. When Joseph was told by God to marry Mary he did so immediately (Matt. 2) and discovered it was a good path to be on. God gives us information so that we will do something with it. The shepherds rushed to Bethlehem and soon located Mary and Joseph and the baby lying in the manger.

The shepherds shared with Mary and Joseph what the angel had said about the child. Mary, who treasured such things in her heart, is probably the one who later told Luke about the angels and the shepherds. We can understand why they would have done so. Later on, others such as the wise men would come and worship the infant. But here on the night of his birth unexpected people came to confess that he was the divine Saviour.

The shepherds also told everyone else they met that night in Bethlehem. Probably, on previous occasions, the inhabitants of Bethlehem dreaded a visit from the unruly shepherds and had little interest in what they had to say. But on this evening their behaviour was so different and their words were so kind. They showed by behaviour and by word that they had come to trust in Jesus. So although the residents of Bethlehem had not heard the angels they did hear about what the angels said. There is an interesting principle here, which is that new converts should first witness to those who know them best.

The shepherds then went back to looking after their sheep (v. 20). But they did through the rest of the night what the angels had done for a short time – they glorified and praised God for what they had heard and seen. It is very likely that most of these shepherds would have died before Jesus began his public ministry thirty years later. But they saw enough that night to keep them praising God throughout life and throughout eternity.