THE PROCLAMATION OF THE GOOD NEWS (Luke 2:8-14)

The supernatural announcement that night near Bethlehem was truly the high point of redemptive history to that time. The angels’ message was nothing less than the good news—the gospel proclaimed with great joy. God’s messengers could not wait to proclaim to the shepherds and the world that at last the Savior was here, the One who would deliver His people from the curse of sin, death, and hell, and who would bring them the blessings of His kingdom and the glories of eternity in heaven.

8 Now there were in the same country shepherds living out in the fields, keeping watch over their flock by night. 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. 10 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. 11 For there is born to you this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. 12 And this will be the sign to you: You will find a Babe wrapped in swaddling cloths, 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, goodwill toward men!”

I. The Unlikeliness of the Shepherds.

A. Shepherds were the lowest people on the Jewish social ladder.

If you were a modern public relations agent in charge of getting out the news of Christ’s birth, the last group you would have picked to be the first to inform would have been a small band of shepherds. Instead, you likely would have targeted the influencers, the real movers and shakers.

You might have considered telling the high priest first, because he was the religious leader of the nation. On the other hand, you might have thought it smart to go tell the high priest first, because he was the religious leader of the nation or go first to the Sanhedrin, the body of seventy elders that was the theocratic leadership of Israel. Or you might have insisted on informing the Pharisees first. After all, they were the religious fundamentalists who were very strict about Old Testament prophecies and looked forward to the Messiah’s arrival.

B. God first took the special message to one of the unlikeliest classes of people imaginable, an obscure group of shepherds.

They were not so unlikely, however, if you consider Isaiah’s prophecy about Messiah’s mission: “The Spirit of the Lord GOD is upon Me, Because the LORD has anointed Me To preach good tidings to the poor; He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted, To proclaim liberty to the captives, And the opening of the prison to those who are bound; (61:1)

When Jesus came, He did not go first of all to the people of prestige, influence, and clout. He came first to the poor and lowly, the meek and afflicted—anyone who was outcast—and the shepherds fit that category.

C. God used the shepherds’ social and religious status to perfectly implement His plan for announcing the Savior’s arrival.

The Lord’s favor toward the shepherds aligned well with His historic disdain for the religious establishment’s hypocritical attempt to be right with Him through their own efforts. Thus the Lord effectively underscored the superiority of His grace over man’s works when He announced Messiah’s birth to a group of lowly shepherds.

All of this is a wonderful metaphor of God’s salvation sovereignly extended to the undeserving sinner. The apostle Paul understood this truth when he wrote to Timothy “that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am chief” (1 Tim. 1:15). The lower the sinner, the greater is God’s glory when He saves him.

II. God’s Glory Revealed to the Shepherds.

A. The angel revealed the greatness of God’s glory in a spectacular way to the shepherds

We can hardly even imagine what startled, frightened feelings the shepherds had when suddenly, with no warning whatsoever, the highest of all created beings showed up in blazing glory. In fact, it’s difficult to describe the dramatic significance of that moment.

The full impact of Luke’s portrayal hits home if we just consider what the glory of the Lord is. Simply defined, it is the presence of God revealed in light. That light is so powerful that if God revealed it fully to mortals, they would be incinerated at once. Here’s how the Lord dealt with Moses when he wanted to see the divine glory: But He said, “You cannot see My face; for no man shall see Me, and live.” (Exodus 33:20).

B. The glory of God appeared at other times to His people in the Old Testament.

When Moses and the people finished building and arranging the Tabernacle according to God’s instructions, “Then the cloud covered the tabernacle of meeting, and the glory of the Lord filled the tabernacle. And Moses was not able to enter the tabernacle of meeting, because the cloud rested above it, and the glory of the Lord filled the tabernacle” (Exod. 40:34–35). Centuries later, when Israel completed Solomon’s Temple, the same phenomenon occurred.

But God’s glory returned the night the angels confronted the shepherds near Bethlehem. This signifies the tremendous importance of that extraordinary night—the presence of God returned to earth, not in a tent or a building as before, but in human flesh in the person of the Messiah.

III. The Shepherds’ Initial Reaction.

A. The shepherds witnessed the momentous return to earth of God’s glory.

Understandably, they did so initially with a great deal of fright. They were absolutely awestruck, overwhelmed, and certainly intimidated by what they were seeing. But there’s nothing new about that reaction. In similar circumstances, other figures in the history of God’s program responded the same way.

When the prophet Isaiah saw God in a vision, he was so terrified that he pronounced a curse on himself and expected to die immediately (Isa. 6:5). When Ezekiel saw a similar vision of God’s glory, he fell on his face in a coma (Ezek. 1:28). When the angel Gabriel came to Zacharias and Mary, respectively, each of them was very fearful (Luke 1:12, 29). When Peter, James, and John saw Christ’s glory on the Mount of Transfiguration, they fell down on their faces in terror (Matt. 17:6–7). And at the end of the New Testament, when the apostle John saw the Shekhinah glory of the ascended Christ, he passed out from fear (Rev. 1:17).

B. “Do not be afraid”

That is exactly what the angel announced to the shepherds. It was not dread news of punishment or judgment, but very good news that would bring great joy in the hearts of those who looked for the Messiah.

The angel proclaimed the good news of a merciful God who had just sent a Savior who would die on the Cross and forgive forever the sins of all who believe. Anyone who genuinely receives the good news of the gospel cannot do so without rejoicing tremendously. The shepherds went from sheer terror to supreme glee when they heard the supernatural announcement. News of the gospel produces the highest joy for repentant sinners and ought to overshadow all other news in importance.