Pastor Scott Andrews | September 17, 2023
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Luke 2:8-20
As I mentioned recently, I’ve been at Alliance for 26 years, which means 26 Christmases. I looked it up – counting Christmas Eves, the Sundays before Christmas, and the few times I’ve covered the four Sundays of Advent leading to Christmas, I’ve preached 54 sermons on the topic of Christmas. I’m running out of material. I’ve covered everything from Mary to Joseph, from the annunciations to the nativity, from Bethlehem to the incarnation, from the angels to the shepherds, from the wise men to the animals, from Christmas Carols to the twelve days of Christmas, from St. Nick to the little drummer boy, and I’ve even covered the true meaning of Christmas. In fact, I looked through those sermons, and I’ve covered the text before us today in Luke 2 – five times – including last Christmas. In fact, last Christmas, 2022, was on a Sunday, and so I thought about just preaching the sermon again since many of you weren’t here.
But…as we’ve begun a verse-by-verse study of Luke…teaching about the birth of Jesus in the context of the gospel narrative has been unbelievable. We’ve discovered some incredibly important things. For example, first, the author – Luke – gives us the reason for writing this book and Acts to Theophilus. In the prologue in the first four verses of Luke, he says, I write this carefully investigated account for you Theophilus “so that you may know for certain the things you have been taught.” So, Luke is writing to a guy who has believed, but it is surmised with rising opposition, was struggling, doubting. Is it true? Is what I have believed and even committed my life to, is it true? Further, is it worth it?
Think about that. We just baptized 20 people today, which is great. The reason we baptize here – at this gathering is they are proclaiming to you they have believed in Jesus. The reason you clap is because you’re thankful they have believed the gospel and they are members of the family. But, do you know, if you do that, get baptized in many countries of the world, especially the Middle East – it could cost you significantly? To be baptized there is a conscious, sacrificial decision – because it could cost you your job, your friends, your family – it could even cost you your life. Is it worth it? In the midst of our culture, with rising opposition, which is really more the norm throughout church history and the world, I can’t think of a better book for us to study.
It’s easy to sit in the comfort of this room today and say yes, it’s worth it. But what about ten, twenty years from now. Would you have believed we would be where we are today, ten or twenty years ago? I wouldn’t have believed it. Who knows where we’ll be in twenty years. Will it be worth it, then? That is, if it cost you…everything?
We’ve also found that Luke was a brilliant writer – a careful historian and an excellent theologian. In other words, he writes history – this gospel – the story of the life of Christ, with theological intent – so that we can know for certain the things we have been taught.
And so, in these first couple of chapters, he begins with the births of two boys – related in some way, likely cousins. Two miraculous births to Elizabeth and Mary – one an older woman past childbearing years, and one a young girl – a teenager – a virgin. One too old to have a baby, one too young in that she’d never known a man – miraculous. And Luke interweaves their stories, because, their stories are in fact intertwined. One is the forerunner of the Messiah, the Christ, and one is the Christ.
And so, he goes from the announcements of the angel Gabriel, prophesying first the birth of John, and prophesying the birth of Jesus, to the birth of John, and now, the birth of Jesus. And by the way, don’t miss that these births were prophesied – not only by Gabriel, but in the OT. Meaning, there is a storyline – God’s story of redemption weaves throughout time – from creation, through the Fall, through the cross, to recreation. God is accomplishing His plan – His eternal purposes. There is a continuity from the beginning of time to the end of time – from the OT right through the New.
In these first couple of chapters, we’ve also found four songs – Christmas carols, if you will – woven through the story. The song of Mary when she’s told she will have a baby, the song of Zacharias when Elizabeth has his baby, the song of the angels when Jesus is born, and the song of Simeon when Jesus is presented at the Temple. They are Mary’s Magnificat, Zacharias’ Benedictus, the angels’ Gloria, and Simeon’s Nunc Dimittis – all Latin titles from the first few words of their respective songs. We’ve covered the first two, and we will cover the third one today – the Gloria – the song of the angels.
In 1741, George Handel composed a three-part oratorio called The Messiah. Part I of the work tells of the OT prophecies of the Messiah and the birth of Christ, using this third song – this annunciation to the shepherds – as a primary source. In Part II, Handel tells the story of the passion of the Christ through the resurrection, ending with the now very famous Hallelujah Chorus. Part III tells the story of His ascension and exaltation in heaven.
What I want you to know is that at the end of Part II, after the story of His birth and passion are told, the Hallelujah Chorus is proclaimed. It is stunning, and tradition has you stand when it is sung. The tradition says that when The Messiah was performed in London in the 1740s, King George II was so overcome by the majesty of the story and the song, he stood to his feet. And when the king stands, all others are obliged to stand, hence the tradition.
So get that, when the story of the prophecies of the birth of Jesus, the fact of His birth, life, passion and resurrection were performed to the king, arguably one of the most powerful men on the planet, stood. And that’s what you’d expect, right? That the story of the Messiah – His birth and death and resurrection would be proclaimed in some hallowed halls of power and royalty. That people would be overcome by the coming the Messiah. Hallelujahs would ring out, and even kings and nobility would stand. That’s not what happened.
His birth was announced first not in hallowed halls, but in dark fields to shepherds. In fact, say the word shepherd, and the adjective that first comes to mind is lowly, lowly shepherds. Because we are already finding something else in this gospel – Jesus, the Son of God, the King of kings and Lord of lords, came in a way you would not expect to people you would never choose. This is not the way you would have done it. To be sure, there is coming a day when He comes with the clouds of heaven in great glory, and every eye will see Him. But not this time. Now, He comes in poverty and obscurity.
His cousin John – well, he was born to a priest and his wife – to a priestly family. That sounds about right. The Messiah, the Christ – the Son of God? The world’s savior? Well, you’d expect Him to be born in the royal and powerful halls of Augustus Caesar or Herod the Great. Or, in the hallowed halls of the High Priest, or some acclaimed Pharisee like Nicodemus or Gamaliel. Certainly, to some member of the Jewish high and ruling court called the Sanhedrin.
You would expect His birth in the surroundings of luxury, royalty, nobility, power, rank, or at least religious status. You would expect His birth to be in Rome, Alexandria or Jerusalem. And you would expect His birth to be widely proclaimed, resounding through the sacred corridors of the Temple or some other magnificent religious shrine. Official heralds, hear ye, hear ye, citizens of the earth, your King has been born. Yeah, that’s it. You’d expect something like what was written and proclaimed empire-wide when Augustus Caesar was born on September 23. It was proclaimed a most glorious day, a day that would be the beginning of the year with these words:
“…it is a day which we may justly account as equivalent to the beginning of everything—if not in itself and in its own nature, at any rate in the benefits it brings—inasmuch as it has restored the shape of everything that was failing and turning into misfortune, and has given a new look to the Universe at a time when it would gladly have welcomed destruction if Caesar had not been born to be a common blessing to all men.”
The decree goes on to talk about the “glad tidings” that Augustus has been born as “savior of the world.” That’s more like it. That’s what you would expect at the birth of Jesus – the true Savior of the world, is it not?
It’s not the way it happened. Jesus came in a way you would not expect to a people you would never pick. God chose a young, unknown, virgin, peasant woman from a nothing town in the middle of nowhere engaged to a carpenter – not a priest, not a Ceasar, not a king – to bear the Son of God – and name Him not Augustus – the majestic august one, but Jesus, because He would save His people from their sins. And there was an announcement made – to shepherds. What was God communicating in this inauspicious, humiliating birth? What indeed. Let’s read the text in its context to see what actually happened – Luke 2:8-20.
That’s what happened. Shepherds at this time in Israel were grouped with prostitutes, tax collectors and other sinners. The only ones lower than they were lepers. The nature of their occupation kept them from observing ceremonial law, and for religious people, unacceptable. Oh, it’s true, the sheep they tended right outside Bethlehem were likely for temple sacrifices, but they could not observe the sacrifices themselves. As a class, they had a bad reputation. They had few possessions, in fact, they had trouble keeping their sheep off other people’s lands. It was said of shepherds, their attitude is, what’s thine is mine. And so, many saw them as thieves. They were considered unreliable – they weren’t even allowed to testify in a court of law. They were indeed a despicable lot.
They were outcasts, dregs, lowlifes. But understand, as such they would welcome the news of a savior – because they, above all others, knew they needed a savior – their culture reminded them every day of their lives. It’s a common message in Luke – the gospel is for the broken of the world. Now, it’s for everyone, but not until you realize you’re broken, because everyone is. It started when Jesus was just a few hours old – in bed of hay, in a manger, in Bethlehem. The gospel is for broken people who know they’re broken and know they need a savior.
Don’t miss it – Luke the historical theologian wants us to see it. Despised by men, this class of people, though undeserving, was chosen to be the recipients of the good news of great joy that would be for all people. And by the way, the first to see His resurrection will be women, another class held in low esteem. Why? The whole setting of that first Christmas is a picture of the gospel, and to whom it would come. Because Jesus came, and still comes only to the lowly – He does not come to the arrogant, the self-sufficient, those who think they have need of nothing.
Jesus still comes to those who realize they need a savior and understand that they have nothing to offer but themselves – who bow at His feet and worship Him. That the only thing they bring to the table of salvation is the sin that made it necessary. Jesus, my only hope is you.
So, we’ll take the next few minutes in this very familiar text with the following outline:
- The Announcement to the Shepherds (8-14)
- The Response of the Shepherds (15-17)
- The Responses to the Good News of Great Joy (18-20)
Look at it with me again. “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.” Literally, they feared a great fear. The first emotion of this first Christmas was terror.
Why? Here’s the scene. It was night – and the shepherds were out keeping watch over their flocks. Earlier in the evening, they had led their sheep into a sheepfold. We don’t know if it was a permanent sheepfold, made of stone walls with thorn bushes on the top to keep out lions, jackals and bears. Or whether it was a more temporary structure – maybe just an outcropping of rocks, around which the shepherds would sleep. The traditional site of the shepherds’ field is about two miles from Bethlehem.
Either way, when the sheep were safe for the night, the shepherds had no doubt kindled a fire, reached into their leather scrips hanging on their shoulders for a crude meal of bread and wine. After an evening sharing stories about sheep and exploits long past, they settled down to sleep on the uneven ground, surrounded by their wool mantles. All but one would sleep – the watchman would stay awake, perhaps pacing back and forth by the gate to the sheepfold – listening, watching, waiting, protecting, until his watch was over and his time to sleep. Listen to the words of Paul Brand from his book, Jesus, Meet Him Again…for the First Time:
“He [the watchman – the shepherd on duty] had heard, or rather felt, the silence that surrounded him many times before. But this time was different. This seemed to be the silence of expectancy, as if all nature were holding its breath and every ear were turned upward in anticipation, waiting for a word—the Word—for which all creation had waited since the dawn of time. A chill ran through his body. He had the uncanny feeling he was not alone. Though he was no coward, he shuddered at the thought of an unseen enemy stalking him in the darkness. Instinctively backing toward the fire and the company of his friends, he suddenly cried out in terror, for there before him, in a place occupied by nothing more than a rocky outcropping only a moment earlier, stood a man—but such a man!”
You see, suddenly before him, an angel of the Lord appeared. Notice, when the angel stood before them, the glory of the Lord shone around them – that is, the shepherds. There was no electricity, no flood lights to explain this phenomenon – as if anything man-made could explain the Shekinah glory of God. The glory of the Lord, the evidence of His presence that caused Old Testament saints to quake with fear, suddenly shone around them. And they were terrified. Of course, they were. How could men, especially these men, stand before God or even an angel of God? And yet, listen to what the angel said to these shepherds (Read 2:10-12).
There is no need to fear, the angel brought good news. The word is euangelizo – gospel – I bring you the good news of the gospel. Today, on that first Christmas, in the city of David there was born for you a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. Don’t miss the three titles of this newborn child, put together only here in the Bible:
He is the savior – not Augustus – this One is the savior of the world. The one who would save us from our sin and it’s just consequences. He is Christ – the anointed one, promised to come. And He is the Lord. The wording is literally, who is Christ, Lord. The word Lord is used almost two dozen times in these first two chapters, and they speak of the Lord God. It was just used to speak of the angel of the Lord and the glory of the Lord. That is its meaning here. The child born is the Savior of the world, the promised anointed One of God, and the Lord God Himself.
The good news – the gospel – is that Jesus was born and was Emmanuel, God with us, and He was named Jesus because He would save His people from their sins. But don’t miss those words – In the city of David there has been born for you – stop right there. On Christmas morning, you gather around the trees and look at the tags to see which gifts are yours. It has your name on it. This tag reads, from God, to you. Are you listening this morning? This gift is for you – it has your name on it, if you’ll only take it – if you’ll only receive it by faith.
Notice, I bring you good news of great joy. They had been terrified – no need to be. I bring you good news of great joy. From terror to joy. You can actually avoid the terror of coming face to face with God while you’re wrapped in sin, because of a baby wrapped in strips of cloth, and lying in a manger. With the knowledge of sins forgiven, we can stand before God clean, clothed in the righteousness of Christ, and with great joy.
And it goes beyond that. Not only can we have joy, we can have peace. After this one angel spoke, a whole multitude of the heavenly host – that means army – an angelic army began praising God, “Glory to God in the highest, And on earth peace among men with whom He is pleased.” God’s army came to proclaim…peace. We’re supposed to notice. Luke, the careful theologian started this chapter mentioning Augustus, who was known for his Pax Romana – the Roman Peace. Oh, to be clear, it was bought by his armies through the bloodshed of his enemies. It was a forced peace, with the might of Rome hanging over your heads. But this peace – God’s peace – made possible by the shedding of His own blood.
Making us to be at peace with God. Paul said it this way in Romans 5:1, “Therefore having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ…” It is through our faith in Jesus Christ – this baby who was born who would die for the sins of humanity – that we can have peace with God.
The idea is that anyone and everyone can know joy; anyone and everyone can know peace. It wasn’t just for the shepherds. It wasn’t just for the Jews. And it isn’t just the momentary joy that comes at Christmas and is gone when the bills come due. It’s for all people for all time. It’s for anyone and everyone who understands and accepts by faith that Jesus came to be the Savior of the world – that Jesus came to be your Savior.
Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace among men, with whom He is pleased. God gets the glory for what He has done, and we get the peace. Interesting phrasing – on earth peace among men, with whom He is pleased. It’s not peace to all people without exception – but peace to all with whom He is pleased to give it. God gives to peace to whom He chooses.
Look quickly at the response of the shepherds. When the angels returned to heaven, the shepherds said to one another, “let us go straight to Bethlehem” – the wording speak of immediacy, hurry. Let’s go right away to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened which the Lord has made known to us.
So they left in a hurry and found their way to Mary and Jospeh and the baby as He lay in the manger. How did they find Him so quickly? Well, Bethlehem was a small town, and few babies would have been born that night. Any that were would have been wrapped in strips of cloth – but only one would be found lying in a feeding trough – that was the sign.
Upon arriving and finding the fulfillment of the sign, they made known the statement that had been told them about this child. To whom did they make this known? Well, certainly Mary and Joseph, but the next verse indicates they told others. Which brings us to our last point and our conclusion – the responses of the good news of great joy as told by the shepherds. And I see three responses here:
First is the response of the people who heard the news. They wondered. They heard it, and the story seemed incredible – so they wondered, or marveled at it. But to be clear, this was not saving faith. They were amazed, but there is no indication the news became good news to them. After hearing it, they went on their way. Not unlike many today, who can hear the good news of the gospel, wonder about it, but do nothing about it. They might even believe the story is true, but it does not change their lives.
The second response is the response of Mary. She treasured what she heard, and pondered these things in her heart. She thought about it. Yes, she had received the news from both Gabriel and now the shepherds. And she treasured what she heard. But even later, in Mark 3, she with her other sons came to get Jesus because He seemed out of His mind. Hers was not yet saving faith. But it was close – she treasured, she pondered. To be clear, nothing wrong with her response. She didn’t dismiss it – she pondered it. And later, we find her at the foot of the cross. We find her in the upper room with the disciples. She eventually believed.
And maybe that’s where you are. You’ve heard the good news. You haven’t dismissed it, but you haven’t fully accepted it yet either. And maybe today would be a good day to believe the gospel and commit your life to it.
You see, that seems to be the response of the shepherds. They told everyone who would listen – because that’s what believers do – they want others to hear and believe the good news. Which is actually quite ironic – remember, shepherds were considered so untrustworthy they were not allowed to testify in a court of law. But here, they were chosen by God to give the first testimony to the birth of the Christ – the first evangelists. Just like the women would be the first to speak of His resurrection. Remember – in His coming, Jesus is turning the world upside down. Look at verse 20 – and the shepherds went back, glorifying and praising God for all that they had heard and seen. This is the response of faith – to hear, believe and glorify and praise God for what He has done.