Declaration and Discovery (Luke 2:8-20)

Sometimes, when a major activity is planned, appropriate agents are lined up in order to promote the event. In this passage, we have a very important event that needs to be conveyed to others and those in charge put together what they regard as suitable agents to announce it. Who are the agents? Angels and shepherds. Who are the Owners of the business? The triune God. What is the business? The kingdom of God and its future.

Men at work

Luke mentions that the shepherds were employed looking after one flock. Evidently, it was a large flock since it required several shepherds to look after it and protect it from marauders, whether human or animal. The existence of such a flock near a smallish village like Bethlehem has raised questions about the reason for it being there. One suggestion is that the sheep were kept there before being taken to the temple for sacrifices, and if that is the case then there is something striking about the fact that the One who would remove the need for such sacrifices had just been born nearby.

The shepherds did not realise it, but they were about to experience a very unusual evening. Their experience is a reminder that we should be alert to the possibility of God doing something in our everyday affairs. While it is unlikely that the something will be very big, we are to remember that some people will be working at the time when Jesus comes the second time from heaven. His first coming brought a startling experience to men at their work, and so will his second coming. ‘Then two men will be in the field; one will be taken and one left. Two women will be grinding at the mill; one will be taken and one left’ (Matt. 24:40-41). In both scenarios, his coming was unexpected. And he comes in other ways as well before his second coming, so we should be ready for sudden visits.

Messenger from above

Suddenly the shepherds realised that this was not going to be an ordinary evening. Before their eyes, the night had become bright as day as the glory of the Lord shone in their presence. The glory seems to be connected to the presence of the angel. It is obvious from the biblical accounts that angels are able to adapt their appearance when they meet with humans. Sometimes they appear as similar to humans, at other times they appear in a majestic manner. In addition, sometimes they appear as divine agents to judge humans for their sins, whereas at other times they have messages of good news for the humans they meet.

Initially, the shepherds would have assumed that the angels had been sent by God to judge them. Most people at that time would not have been surprised by this possibility because shepherds were usually regarded as rogues and unreliable because of the way that they lived. Maybe the shepherds now regretted the unthinking way that they had looked after the animals that were going to be offered as sacrifices. Or maybe they just thought divine judgement was about to catch up with them for their lives in general. As one would expect, unholy sinners in the presence of a holy angel had valid reasons to be afraid.

Yet on this occasion they had no need to be afraid. Instead of divine judgement, they were given the great privilege of being the first group of people after Mary and Joseph to be informed of the birth of the Saviour and then to see him. It is striking to observe how often the word ‘you’ is used by the angelic messenger – four times. Heaven had a special message for them.

On the assumption that the angel only said what he would have been told to say by God, we can see that heaven was aware of the fact that they would be afraid. Obviously, God would know this would be their response because he is omniscient. Yet I suspect there is more to the awareness that bare knowledge. After all, I can go to the bank and its computer can tell me with exactness how much I am overdrawn. But the computer does not care that I am overdrawn or why I am overdrawn. But God cares about us even although our credit level in heaven is minus zero.

The heavenly messenger continued with his announcement. He has been given a message of great joy. No doubt, he was very happy as he made the announcement, but the joy he had in mind was not for him. Instead the joy was only for those who needed a Saviour. And the message of joy was for all of them.

The heart of the message concerned a person and his current location. He is both divine and human, he is the eternal Lord and he is also a baby, and he is both because he is the Messiah. He had to be both in order to complete the incredible task that had been given to him to perform by the heavenly Father.

Where would they find this amazing person? After all, Jerusalem with its palaces was only a few miles away. Surely it would be very fitting to find him in one of them. The answer to such a suggestion is that none would suit if we are going to focus on his greatness because since he is God the heaven of heavens cannot contain him. But the emphasis here is not just on his greatness, but on his great grace. Instead of a palace with a comfortable cot and beautiful clothes for him to wear, he is lying in a manger, the trough that animals use.

Paul tells the Philippians that the Son of God, when he came into the world, made himself of no reputation, even although in coming he had performed an amazing miracle and become a man without ceasing to be God. In essence, the angel informed the shepherd that the great God of heaven had humbled himself. We may wonder that he was not in a palace; the reality was that he was probably not even in a building because often mangers were outside.

Military have something to say

As the messenger closes, he is joined by a multitude of the heavenly host, that is by other angels. Maybe they had been there already but had remained invisible, or perhaps they travelled from heaven in a very short time. Usually, when angels are described in this way, the emphasis is not on their number but on the fact that they are an army on a mission, perhaps to protect God’s people or to judge his enemies. Yet on this occasion, they are here to sing to humans, and not to slay them. No doubt, they had sung many an item of praise in heaven and done so in a perfect environment of peace. Now they were praising God for his mission of peace to a rebellious race, and to human samples that showed they were sinners.

Meeting with the Saviour

We are not surprised that the shepherds wanted to see what had taken place in Bethlehem. Their response is a good one for us to follow. In their response, we can identify four details. First, they recognised that the Lord had spoken to them – they did not focus on the messenger (the angel) but on the message he conveyed. That is what we are to do with messages we hear from the Bible. Don’t praise the messenger too much; instead follow the message to where it takes us.

Second, they encouraged one another to obey the divine instructions they had received through the angel. If they all had remained silent about their hearts’ desire, none of them would have gone to Bethlehem because they would assume the silence meant lack of interest. But when they engaged in mutual encouragement, they discovered the truth of the situation and this made it easy for them to go to Bethlehem.

Third, they travelled rapidly to Bethlehem. The angelic messenger had told them where to go – to a manger. We have no way of knowing how many mangers there were in Bethlehem. Perhaps there was only one. Even if there was more than one, they went quickly to meet the family although it might involve a brief search. What about the sheep they left behind in the fields? Since the Lord had instructed them to go to Bethlehem, they could leave the sheep in his care. They had to balance priorities by faith. Our priority is to let nothing come in the way of meeting with the Lord, not even our work.

Fourth, because they recognised the authority of God’s message, encouraged one another to go, and made meeting Jesus the priority of that moment, they had an encounter with him and Mary and Joseph, which must have filled the shepherds with great joy. They became witnesses to who Jesus was – others were present and heard about the angelic testimony concerning the birth of the promised Saviour. Wondered does not mean that they were a bit bemused about what they were told. Rather, they were astonished and filled with awe.

Outcome

Luke tells his readers about two other responses in addition to those who wondered at the words of the shepherds. The first response he mentions is that Mary and her response highlights how we should regard information that the Lord gives about his beloved Son. She treasured the information – we could say that her heart became a safe in which she often handled her valuable assets. In a manner similar to how a wealthy person can go to his safe and consider what his riches are, so Mary often mused over the words of the shepherds about her new-born Son. She is a model for showing to us how to treat biblical descriptions of Jesus and his work. They are the most valuable possessions that we can have.

The second response is that of the shepherds. Having seen the Saviour they returned to their sheep full of praise to God. If one of those sheep could speak, he might say about the shepherds, ‘They did not engage in much praise when hearing the angel’s wonderful promise, but having tested what he said, they discovered his words to be true and they realised that they had been a great privilege in being able to see the One who would yet take them to heaven. Surely, the Lord wants us to be like that, to test his Word to see that it is true, and to rejoice in the knowledge that he has brought salvation to us.

No doubt, the best response we can make to the coming of Jesus is to combine the responses of the unknown listeners, of Mary, and of the shepherds. His appearance as an infant commencing the most important human life that there has been should fill us with wonder, cause us to treat details about him as a great treasure to delight in, and to return to where we work and live full of great joy.

As we close, we can remind ourselves that the angels and the shepherds are singing together in heaven. Mary and Joseph too are with them. Things have moved a long way since that evening in Bethlehem. The One in whose presence they are is no longer in a manger, nor is he now an infant. He is on the heavenly throne, glorified, but bearing on his body the marks of his crucifixion. In his presence, angels, shepherds and Joseph and Mary wonder about, treasure and praise him.