For Christians, Christmas Day is a special day, one of the happiest days of the year. There is gladness and singing. Often there is a special meal and a visit from relatives and friends. But Christmas means a lot more than gifts and decorations and family gatherings. Christmas should be observed specifically in memory of the birth of Jesus Christ. Any other reason for celebrating Christmas is false and even sacrilegious. In the book of Luke we learn about the most important night in history–the night when Jesus was born.
1. THE AUDIENCE (LUKE 2:8)
“Now there were in the same country shepherds living out in the fields, keeping watch over their flock by night.”
The audience at the time of the first Christmas announcement was comprised of a group of common, hardworking shepherds. The life of the shepherd was not an easy one. Their work demanded long hours. It meant cold nights and separation from their families. Many shepherds did not even own the sheep they tended. Some were lowly hired hands, working for the religious leaders who raised animals for the sacrifices in the Temple.
Those who first received the news of the advent of the Savior were not the pious Levities or the scholarly religious leaders, or members of the Roman government. Rather, the news came first to the shepherds working in the rugged fills. It seems that God chose to bring the message to the lowly shepherds because they were humble men of simple origin.
2. THE PREACHER (LUKE 2:9)
“And behold, an angel of the Lord stood before them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were greatly afraid.”
The preacher at the first Christmas service was the angel of the Lord. When the angel spoke the shepherds sensed that they were in the presence of God. The “glory of the Lord” shining around them signified the presence of God. During the wilderness journeys, a symbolic light, known as the Shekinah glory guided the Children of Israel.
When the shepherds became aware of the presence of God, they were terrified. They were overcome with fear because their sinfulness became very obvious in the pure light of God’s glory. Job said, “I have heard of You by the hearing of the ear. But now my eye sees You. Therefore I abhor myself, and repent in dust and ashes” (Job 42:5-6). In the presence of God’s holiness, human beings stand in awe. Sometimes it is a very difficult day for those who have recently experienced the death of a loved one, the loss of a job, disappointment because of the conduct of others, etc.
3. THE MESSAGE (LUKE 2:10-11)
‘Then the angel said to them, ‘Do not be afraid, for behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy which will be to all people, for there is born to you this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord.” Luke describes the message delivered at the first Christmas service. At the very time when the shepherds were terrified, the joyous message of Christmas was proclaimed to them.
An element of fear is a normal reaction in life. In fact, fear sometimes protects us from danger; but on the other hand, a cringing fear destroys peace and drains energy. Doctors sometimes say that many of their patients could be cured without medications if they could get rid of their fears. We are to have an appropriate fear in the sense of awe, but not in the sense, of cowardice. Christians are not to fear man, or death, or the future—because the God who created us is our shield and defender.
After naming the negative, “Fear not,” the angel announced the positive words of the Christmas message: “Behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy which shall be to all people.”
4. THE RESPONSE (LUKE 2:16)
“And they came with haste and found Mary and Joseph, and the Babe lying in a manger.”
The common shepherds had to act upon what they had heard on that special night long ago. The shepherds “came with haste” and found Mary and Joseph and the baby Jesus; there was not a shadow of doubt in their minds about what they had been told. They returned from the humble scene and “made widely known” (Luke 2:17) what they had heard and learned about the Christ child. The shepherds thus became the first evangelists of the new age of grace.
Perhaps you have heard the Christmas message many times, but you never made a decision to follow Jesus. You may be ignoring His invitation because of your job, or what some of your friends might say–but in light of Christ’s saving message, it is imperative that those who are not committed to Him, come with haste to Jesus today.
November/December 2007