Christmas is far more than the birth of a baby. It is more than a holiday, or a celebration or a season of goodwill. It is the beginning, the beginning of the end, actually. Christmas is the final act in the redemptive story that began long ago, in eternity past. The first stop on our journey to Christmas was a beautiful garden. Next, we stopped in Nazareth. This week our journey takes us to the fields outside Bethlehem, where some shepherds were out with their sheep.
They were average, ordinary guys. None of their names are recorded. We don’t even know how many there were. They weren’t educated or popular. In fact, they were generally outcasts. They smelled bad, they were unclean and most people thought they were thieves.
The shepherds were the first to hear the good news.
And the angel said to them, “Fear not, for behold, I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. (Luke 2:10)
Good news, euangelizo, was not an unfamiliar word to the shepherds. A “gospel” was proclaimed whenever there was a great military victory. Or when a son was born to the emperor. But on this night, the angel proclaimed THE good news. And it was GOOD NEWS for everyone. You see, a military engagement has a victor and a vanquished. The birth of an emperor’s son means someone else will not rule. Those announcements are not good news to everyone.
But this ANNOUNCEMENT, this VICTORY, this BIRTH … well, it will take all of eternity to sort out just how amazingly good this news was.
Why shepherds?
When an emperor proclaimed a “gospel” it was first delivered to the Senate, to the powerful and well-connected, the prestigious and respected.
This most important announcement ever was first made to the shepherds. Why?
The good news really is for everyone: the outcasts (the shepherds in the fields), the humble, the marginalized as well as everyone else. We get a tipoff about who Jesus will focus on as He ministers and preaches the kingdom of God is at hand.
God sees Himself as the Shepherd of His people.
Then I will give you shepherds after my own heart, who will lead you with knowledge and understanding. In those days, when your numbers have increased greatly in the land,” declares the LORD, “men will no longer say, ‘The ark of the covenant of the LORD.’ It will never enter their minds or be remembered; it will not be missed, nor will another one be made. At that time they will call Jerusalem The Throne of the LORD, and all nations will gather in Jerusalem to honor the name of the LORD. No longer will they follow the stubbornness of their evil hearts. (Jeremiah 3:15-17)
Jesus will call Himself the Good Shepherd, the One who lays down His life for the sheep. He will set this kingdom vision of Jeremiah in motion.
Marvel that you, like the shepherds, have received the Good News that a Savior is born.
It is no less wondrous today when God makes known to us through the Holy Spirit that Jesus is the Savior, that through faith in Him we can be part of His eternal kingdom rather than be consigned to the depths of hell away from the presence of God. If you know Jesus, you have had your own “good news of great joy” moment. How did you respond? Did you rush to confirm, to claim it for your own? Did you, have you explained to everyone you meet the thrill you experienced?
This stop in the fields presents us with the fact that we are privileged beyond measure to have received the Good News. We are humble, undeserving outcasts. But God wants us. God loves us.
Linger here in the fields until that becomes real, as real as the blinding glory of God that split the night sky, as real as the armies of heaven, as real as the message. A Savior is born!
Next week: The Stable