Christmas Eve

The last 4 weeks we have been asking the question, along with those in Luke, “How can this be?” How can this be that I am past child bearing years and will have a baby? How can this be that I am a virgin and will have a baby? How can this be that my son will be the Savior?

“How” is a question that is trying to understand the manner or extent/degree that something is possible. We have been looking at “by what means” are these things possible.

But today I want to ask the question “why?”. Those who are parents know that the one question your child is bound to ask you is why. Why is the sky blue? “Because God made it that way” “Why did God make it that way” “because He thought it looked beautiful” “Why did think it looked beautiful?” “I don’t know, you’ll have to ask Him”. Why is a question that asks the purpose or reason for something happening. I want to get at the purpose behind the story we are looking at tonight but also the purpose behind Why these shepherds, in Bethlehem, with this message? And the answer is that Jesus came to lowly people in lowly form to those waiting for a Savior.

We will start to see the answer to these questions as we look at this visitation that the shepherds get.

Why shepherds? - v. 8

Why did God decide that He would give this message of the Savior born to shepherds? Not a king, not a priest, not someone of high regard. But to shepherds.

When we often think of shepherds we see the positive way they are described in the OT. They care for their sheep, they lead those who follow them to good things, they search for those who are lost. But shepherds by the New Testament had a different connotations.

Do you remember when all of us were in quarantine and we all just stopped caring about what we looked like? We showered less often? Wore sweatpants and pajamas all the time? Every guy tried a beard? But we also got cynical and a little stir crazy. That’s what happens when we are isolated. Shepherds were often in their little group of other shepherds with very little contact with the rest of the world. And because they didn’t regularly spent time around people they received negative connotations. They were considered thieves and liars, they were considered unclean in the sight of God, and they were considered unreliable witnesses and unable to give testimony in court.

Yet God chose for these men to proclaim this incredible message to. To be the witnesses to the birth of Jesus. To be the ones who would tell everyone in the region that the Savior had been born. So why these shepherds?

Jesus came for the lowly

It says that the glory of the Lord was shone around these shepherds. What is the glory of the Lord? That is the glory that is shone to Moses that is so powerful even the back of God made His face glow. It is the glory that was present in the Holy of Holies that only the high priest could enter into. The glory that appears to the people of Israel just a few times and it described as a “consuming fire” that they couldn’t even look at. The glory of God that hadn’t appeared to Israel for 400 years. But here, on this night, to these gross, smelly, unclean, vulgar shepherds is the glory of the Lord. The presence of God wouldn’t be only to God’s special prophets.

Luke gives us a picture of a Savior who didn’t come to save the rich and the powerful, but the humbled in spirit, the poor and needy, the widowed. For the broken, the outcast, the sinner...any willing to humbly come to Him.

But all of us know that we are lowly as well. We know that we often feel like outcasts. That if Jesus really knew us that He wouldn’t want to spend time with us. But that is exactly who He came to search for. Because...

Jesus is the good shepherd who searches for the lost and lowly

In John 10:11 Jesus tells us ““I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep.”

We see that Jesus is the shepherd God had promised His people. That he does not abandon His people but he finds the lost and brings them to Himself. He seeks out the hurting and He gives them rest. He finds those stuck and He frees them.

Anyone can come and receive this good news, just like these outcast shepherds. Both Jew and Gentile. All people of every tribe, tongue, and nation. As of 2021 do you know what country had the fastest growing population of Christians? The country of Iran. China is also a growing country of Christians. We also see many in Ukraine coming to faith. Because Jesus finds us when we are lost, He doesn’t just find us when everything is going great. When everything is perfect.

Why Bethlehem? - v. 11-12, 16-17, 19

It was the city God said the Savior would come from.

The angel tells the shepherds that there will be a sign to find the Savior. A sign in the Bible is something that points to the truth, it is something God uses to tell His people about His character. It is the word of God confirming His promises. But when we think of a sign from God we think of some wondrous miracle, something that takes our breath away. But a child lying in a feeding trough in old rags was the most incredible miracle. It had been prophesied in Micah 5 that the Savior will be born in Bethlehem and set His people free from their exile and slavery. This is the child the people of Israel had been waiting for, the Savior has finally come. Bethlehem is also only 5 miles from Jerusalem. It meant that the sheep the shepherds were keeping watch over would have been set apart for sacrifice in the temple. These sheep were those appointed for the purpose of sacrifice to God for the sins of His people.

So when the shepherds visit Jesus in Bethlehem, they come and visit the one who will be our perfect lamb, who will take away our sins once and for all. To call this child Savior reveals to us that Jesus is the one who will make all things new and get rid of the sin and suffering they experienced and bring joy to His people. He would take away their sins and restore our relationship to God.

It reveals Him as the Messiah and Lord who came to be like us.

The angel says that in the city of David the “Messiah and Lord” would be born. The Messiah was always promised to be from the line of David. And now in the city of David, from the line of David, here He is. But this baby is not just Messiah but also “Lord”. Now that was a surprise to these shepherds. “Lord” is a title given to God alone. This child isn’t just the Messiah, but God come down to earth, the Word has been made flesh among us.

God became man so that He could be tempted like us in every way. So He could relate to the loneliness, sorrow, and pain of lowly people as He himself became lowly. So we could know that the God who had given up everything for us. He came to be like us so that one day we could be like Him.

Why this good news? - v. 10, 13-14, 17-18, 20

The question some of you might ask tonight is “why does this matter?” Why do we need this good news? Well here we have that answer.

Brings great joy

A few weeks ago I said that Hope is joy not yet fully realized. And here the news they give is that our greatest joys have come true, joy for the lowly people. God has given us the greatest gift we could imagine.

Mary is filled with joy, treasuring it up in her heart. If you are a parent you know that when you have a baby you treasure up every moment.

But we find our joy in treasuring up Jesus as well. On just how incredible it is that Jesus came to earth. We sing hymns, we share with one another, and we know that one day Jesus will return and give us an even better joy. We store all of these things in our heart and it brings us joy.

It brings peace on earth

After the one angel give his message. Then we see something incredible, a literal army of angels come and they praise God in the highest. Thousands upon thousands. And they come suddenly! Out of nowhere.

They are praising God, focused on His glory, and His authority over heaven and earth. They says that anyone who is found in God will be given peace, that they will receive the heavenly kingdom.

This is the peace God promised to Isaiah

Isaiah 52:7 (CSB)

How beautiful on the mountains

are the feet of the herald,

who proclaims peace,

who brings news of good things,

who proclaims salvation,

who says to Zion, “Your God reigns!”

An army usually has the purpose of going to war, of fighting and using violence to bring peace. But here we have this ordered, prepared army not here for the purpose of war but for praising God who gives a peace that they, nor the world, could give these shepherds. This child would be the one who gives us peace. Peace is that we don’t fight the spiritual battle on our own but we have a Savior who fights for us. Who would take on the power of sin and death and bring us victory over it. Like Jesus says in John 14:27 ““Peace I leave with you. My peace I give to you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Don’t let your heart be troubled or fearful.”

This peace isn’t a wish. It isn’t “hopefully God will give you peace.” It is proclaiming “the earth WILL have peace” Peace here is our reconciliation to God, it is our body, soul, and spirit saved by the work of Jesus, peace is love for one another, peace is rest from our fears.

It is true

Notice what it says in v. 20. The news was “just as it had been told to them.”

Caesar would often provide “news” to the people of Rome. That he would bring peace and prosperity to his people, that he would be their savior. That wasn’t news that was true, it was propaganda.

But the news the shepherds heard was not a lie, it wasn’t propaganda, it wasn’t inaccurate. They found everything exactly the way they had been told.

The world will give us many messages, stories that it wants to tell us. About how we should live, what we should experience, what will satisfy us. Stories that sound really good, stories we want to believe. Sort of like a vacation. We all enjoy going to the beach, on a cruise, to the mountains, to Disney world! And we get this idea built up in our heads about what we will experience, how much fun it will be, what we will do. But the experience isn't exactly like the brochure, it is a little less, it isn't exactly as we have been told. They are false stories. Like missing details in the news, deception from advertising, manipulation and lies from those we often trust. But the news we have of Jesus has no detail incorrect and nothing important missing. When we come away from hearing this incredible news of this baby that was born and who brought us eternal life all we can do is come away glorifying and praising God because what we experience is exactly like we have been told.

See, tomorrow will be a day of great joy for many of us. But then December 26th will come and we will be missing the joy of Christmas. But in Jesus that joy never leaves, every day we find hope that we have been saved and He will one day come again.

We will be like the shepherds who, after seeing Jesus, can’t stop telling people about this incredible child! The shepherds take the heaven that had been given to them by the angels and they give it to the world. And every person who hear this story is amazed.

Isn’t that how we are supposed to live? Telling others about this Savior who came for lowly people. To be a light in the dark world, so that they can see through the darkness. Sometimes we feel like “well I don’t know how to share that message. I don’t know all the details.” But don’t we all have something got has done in our lives that we can’t forget? That we don’t miss a single detail about? That brings light to our hearts and may be a light to someone else?

When I was younger, I remember during Christmas the story of Jesus was always told that He came when the world was dark. And I remember my young brain taking that imagery in a sort of literal way. That everywhere was darkness and the sun was dimmed from giving off light. And even though that is not true, obviously. That is the reality of the world without Jesus. A world without hope, a world without the joy of knowing that God has come to save them. But Jesus is the light, a light that can’t be contained! Kids, have you ever tried to put your hand over a flashlight? What happens? You can’t contain the light! It will burst from somewhere. This news about Jesus will burst out, and when it does it warms our hearts and brings us hope. Jesus is the answer our hearts is looking for. And just like the shepherds, we share that light with those around us. With our neighbors, with friends, with family. Because all of us are lowly And so we will pass around these candles and they will serve as a reminder of what it looks like when there are believers gathered together in amazement of our wonderful Savior as we invite others to be amazed with us.