The Shepherds
Luke 2:8 And there were in the same country shepherds abiding in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night.
9 And, lo, the angel of the Lord came upon them, and the glory of the Lord shone round about them: and they were sore afraid.
10 And the angel said unto them, Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people.
11 For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord.
12 And this shall be a sign unto you; Ye shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger.
13 And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God, and saying,
14 Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men.
15 And it came to pass, as the angels were gone away from them into heaven, the shepherds said one to another, Let us now go even unto Bethlehem, and see this thing which is come to pass, which the Lord hath made known unto us.
16 And they came with haste, and found Mary, and Joseph, and the babe lying in a manger.
17 And when they had seen it, they made known abroad the saying which was told them concerning this child.
18 And all they that heard it wondered at those things which were told them by the shepherds.
19 But Mary kept all these things, and pondered them in her heart.
20 And the shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things that they had heard and seen, as it was told unto them.
Makes you want to bust out singing:
The First Noel, the Angels did say
Was to certain poor shepherds in fields as they lay
In fields where they lay keeping their sheep
On a cold winter's night that was so deep.
Noel, Noel, Noel, Noel
Born is the King of Israel!
How blessed were these men, going about their everyday job, when an angel shows up! An angel? A whole host of them! And what a message these heavenly messengers bring - For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord.
O the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! how unsearchable are his judgments, and his ways past finding out! We would have arranged a press conference with media outlets all over the world, or gone straight to the political powers of the world, but God makes the official birth announcement to a bunch of nobodies, in the middle of the night, while everyone important was asleep. We don’t even know the name of a single one of these guys. And yet they get the birth announcement from an angel, and then they are treated to an angelic chorus:
Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men.
You may be thinking, that’s great and all, but where’s the faith? Right here,
And it came to pass, as the angels were gone away from them into heaven, the shepherds said one to another, Let us now go even unto Bethlehem, and see this thing which is come to pass, which the Lord hath made known unto us. And they came with haste, and found Mary, and Joseph, and the babe lying in a manger.
Let us now go and see this thing - They had faith to seek the Lord. They were told Christ had been born in Bethlehem and they went looking for him. Actually, they came with haste. They didn’t waste any time atall.
And they found Mary, and Joseph, and the babe lying in a manger. Ever wonder how they did that? I said not, Seek ye me in vain for ye shall seek me, and find me, when ye shall search for me with all your heart. Amen.
And when they had seen it, they made known abroad the saying which was told them concerning this child. – They believed, they sought, they found, and then they made known abroad the saying which was told them.
What kind of faith did the shepherds have? Faith to seek Christ; and by that faith they found him!
Now let us all, with gladsome cheer,
Follow the shepherds, and draw near
To see this wondrous gift of God,
Who hath his own dear Son bestowed.
from Von Himmel hoch da komm ich her (From Heaven Above To Earth I come)
Martin Luther, 1534 (Translation by Catherine Winkworth, 1855)
Sung to a tune from 1539, also written by Luther
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