Luke 2:8-20
On Dec. 17, 1903, Orville and Wilbur Wright made
their first flight of an airplane at Kitty Hawk, North
Carolina. On their fifth attempt, the plane under the
control of Orville, embarked on a 12-second flight.
Wilbur rushed to the local telegraph office and sent
the following message: WE HAVE FLOWN FOR 12
SECONDS—WE WILL BE HOME FOR CHRISTMAS!
Upon receiving the telegram, their sister,
Katherine, went to the newspaper office, told the
editor of her brothers’ new flying machine and
informed him they would be home for Christmas if
he would like to set up an interview. He told her
that was nice, and he would be sure to put
something in the paper regarding the boys.
On Dec. 19, the local paper placed the following
headline on the sixth page of the paper: “Wright
Brothers Home for Christmas.”
The most important story of the year—man’s first
flight—and the editor missed it!
Today we are going to talk about something more
important than the first flight – the birth of a Savior.
So far this month we have looked at the miracle of
Christmas, from both Mary and Joseph’s perspective. We
have also talked about how we can find meaning in
Christmas. Today we are going to discuss the message of
Christmas.
My hope is to show you how God delivered this Good
News on the very first Christmas and how the Shepherds
responded and how God expects us to respond today.
Let’s begin by reading our text which is found in:
Luke 2:8-20
What do we know about shepherds?
Shepherds were considered ceremonially unclean
because they couldn’t adhere to the washing and
cleansing laws that the Pharisees made.
They had to be in the fields 7 days a week so they
couldn’t observe the Sabbath.
They couldn’t testify in court.
The only people with a lower social standing were lepers.
Why did God send His angels to the lowly shepherds
first?
Let’s answer that question by looking at Paul’s words to
the church at Corinth,
“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;” I Corinthians 1:27
What an amazing picture of God’s grace. The
shepherds had not done anything to deserve this
announcement.
Just like we haven’t done anything to deserve God’s
grace and forgiveness.
It’s also a display of humility.
God didn’t send the angel to the priests and scribes, or
even kings. He sent the angel to the most unsuspecting
group imaginable.
The world viewed shepherds with contempt, yet Jesus
called Himself the good shepherd in John 10:11,14
He cares for his sheep, He feeds us, He watches over us.
Not only was Jesus the good shepherd, He became the
passover lamb. John the Baptist said this about Him in
John 1:29 “Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes
away the sin of the world!”
Today we are going to focus our attention on the
shepherds’ involvement in the Christmas story.
Let’s read verses 8-14 where we will see how God
delivered this good news.
Luke 2:8-14
God sent an angel to deliver the message to the
shepherds.
This is now the fourth appearance of the angel in the
Christmas story. God sent an angel to both Joseph and
Mary. God also sent Gabriel to appear to Zechariah to tell
him that his elderly wife was going to have a son. Now
God sends an angel to the shepherds.
God sent an angel;
To deliver the message to the shepherds.
This is now the fourth appearance of the angel in the
Christmas story. God sent an angel to both Joseph and
Mary. God also sent Gabriel to appear to Zechariah to tell
him that his elderly wife was going to have a son. Now
God sends an angel to the shepherds.
God sent His Glory with the angel;
This is the shekinah glory. The phrase in verse 9 shone
around is only used here and in Acts 26:13 which describes
the glory of theLord that shone around Paul as he was met
by the Lord as he was travelling to Damascus.
God sent reassurance;
The angel was there to bring good news of great joy.
There was nothing to be afraid of. Notice the similarities
between this and when the angel appeared to Joseph and Mary.
The angel told Joseph notto be afraid to take Mary as his wife.
The angel told Mary not to be afraid because she had found
favor with God.
Back to the good news of great joy.
The good news is that the Savior has been born.
Jesus has come to save the people from their sins. Matt
1:21
He is the Messiah that the Jews have been waiting on for
years.
He has finally been born!
Psalm 27:1 “The Lord is my light and my salvation;
whom shall I fear? The Lord is the stronghold of my
life; of whom shall I be afraid?”
And the thing that should cause joy is that He has come
for all people. Galatians 3:28 “There is neither Jew
nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is
no male and female, for you are all one in Christ
Jesus.”
None of us deserve it or have earned it. It’s simply by His
grace that He saves us. Jesus came to save all who
believe in Him.
God sent a Sign;
A sign to the shepherds. He told them that
that baby would be wrapped in swaddling cloths and lying
in a manger. This would make Him easier to find than if He was in
some private suite at the Holiday Inn Bethlehem.
I’m guessing there weren’t a lot of women having babies
where the animals were fed.
God sent a heavenly host of angels;
To join with the angel that had first appeared to the shepherd
in the field. Luke mentions a multitude which indicates a large
number. Some commentators believe that ALL the angels
were there giving glory to God who created them.
The point is not how many, but that they were praising
the baby that was born because of His significance.
Jesus will save the people from their sins.
Angels rejoice when a sinner is saved.
The Savior has been born and they are rejoicing.
Now let’s look at how the shepherds responded to this
good news.
Luke 2:15-20
The shepherds responded with urgency
As soon as the angels had ascended back into heaven,
the shepherds began making plans to see the Savior that
had been born. Let us go over to Bethlehem and see this
thing that has happened. v. 15
They understood that the Lord was the one who sent the
angels to deliver the good news and to set the standard
of worship.
They went away with haste.
The shepherds responded with evangelism.
They told Mary and Joseph how things happened in the field
that silent night. They told them about the angel and then the
multitude of the heavenly host.
They also went back to work in the fields and told
everyone they met about Jesus.
This always reminds me of the song Go tell it on the
mountain.
The shepherds responded with praise
They had seen the heavenly host praising God for
sending His Son the Savior to be born of a virgin.
They imitated that praise and showed gratitude for what
had happened to them.
Don’t you imagine they felt similar to how Isaiah did
when he had the vision of the Lord in the temple?
“Woe is me! For I am lost; for I am a man of
unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of
unclean lips; for my eyes have seen the King, the
Lord of hosts!”
Isaiah 6:5
APPLICATION
For our application this morning we are going to discuss
how God wants us to respond to the good news of Jesus.
Share the Good News with Urgency
When should we go?
The answer is now. The world needs Jesus badly.
Like the shepherds who went with haste to find the baby
Jesus, we too must go and share the Good News about
Christmas with the unbelieving world.
Where should we go?
We should go wherever God tells us to go.
Some may go to their families
Some may go to their friends
Some may go to their co-workers
Some may go to another city
Some may go to another state
Some may go to another country
But we all must go wherever God directs us.
How else can we help?
We can pray for our missionaries who are sharing the
good news and taking the gospel to the ends of the
earth.
We can give to the Lottie Moon Christmas offering.
There are two more Sunday’s left that you can give your
gift.
Make sure to set aside some time to pray and ask God
how much He would have you give.