Christmas 17 Two

Christmas 17

Part 2

“The Angels of Christmas”

Lk. 2:8-11 “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.”

__________________

This is a true, historical account of what happened on the night Jesus was born!

First, the Bible records that a group of shepherds experienced...

A heavenly VISITATION...

“And behold, an angel of the Lord stood before them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were greatly afraid” (2:9).

Notice how it describes the appearance of the angel as being surrounded by LIGHT—”The glory of the Lord SHONE...”

The word “shone” means “to illuminate all around, to permeate with light like a halo.”

There are all kinds of different kinds of light—candlelight, electric light, phosphorescent light, the light of stars, ultraviolet light, infrared light...

But human beings can only see one kind of light—VISIBLE...the kind of Light our eyes can perceive.

But the light that accompanied the appearance of these angels was not in any of these categories.

It was SPIRITUAL light—light from another world that we can’t see unless God chooses to let us see it...

And that’s what God did with these shepherds—He allowed them to see the light of His glory!

Paul the Apostle saw this light when Christ Jesus confronted him on the road to Damascus:

Acts 9:3 “As he journeyed he came near Damascus, and suddenly a light shone around him from heaven.”

Paul would later mention this light to Timothy, speaking of Jesus, “...the King of kings and Lord of lords, 16 who alone has immortality, dwelling in unapproachable light” (1 Tim.6:16).

It is this very light that will take the place of our sun in heaven,

“The city does not need the sun or the moon to shine on it, for the glory of God gives it light, and the Lamb is its lamp” (Rev. 21:23).

So, the introduction of Jesus Christ into the world began with a VISITATION from heaven, a brilliant, shining angel exuding God’s glory!

___________________

Secondly, the VISITATION was followed by...

II. A supernatural REVELATION

For me, the beauty of all this is how just ordinary people have an encounter with an extraordinary God!

And are given a REVELATION of what He was doing in the earth!

When we think of these shepherds, we have sort of a Hallmark card image of a group of kind, religious gentlemen singing “kum by yah” around a campfire.

But the picture of shepherds watching over their flocks, thrilled to see the sudden angelic visitation, is not the way it was...

nor the type of men they were!

__________________

In Jesus’s day, shepherding was a despised occupation.

Shepherds were generally scorned, and were viewed as lazy, dishonest people who grazed their flocks on other people’s lands.

So, notice who the angels first appeared to with their amazing news!

They didn’t appear to King Herod, or to Roman nobility, or to any of Roman societies’ who’s whos.

They appeared to lowly, imperfect, flawed men—the lower class, the marginalized of society.

At best they were just average, every day people going through the motions of just another day in their ordinary, routine, predictable life.

________________

And listen: that’s what the birth of Jesus is all about!

It's about God meeting us on ordinary days, in ordinary places, in an extraordinary way.

The birth of Jesus is about God entering our normal, everyday lives and saying, "Don't be afraid, for I’m here to give you some amazing good news."

The crux of Christmas is about God meeting us in our pain and loneliness.

It's about God coming alongside us in our anger and frustration.

It's about God walking with us on Monday, and Wednesday, and Friday, not just Sunday.

It's about God wanting to be a part of our every day lives, every day of our lives!

__________________

Now, at first the shepherds were scared to death.

“They were greatly afraid...”

The shepherds no doubt wondered if God was bringing His wrath upon them, if He was there to make them account for some sin.

To calm their fears, the angels quickly said,

“Do not be afraid, for behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy...Today a Savior is born!” (Lk 2:10)

At that very moment, the heavens opened up and the shepherds heard glorious music:

"Suddenly, the angel was joined by a vast host of others—the armies of heaven—praising God: 14 “Glory to God in the highest heaven,” they sang, “and on earth peace, goodwill toward men” (2:12-13).

In the midst of an ordinary night, ordinary shepherds encountered an extraordinary God!

You know, sometimes Jesus breaks into our own lives when we least expect it.

ILLUS:

_____________________

A divine Visitation led to supernatural Revelation, and supernatural Revelation produced...

III. Excited Proclamation

After this incredible vision of heavenly praise, the shepherds quickly ran to Bethlehem to see for themselves...

The Bible says that when they got to Bethlehem, "...they came with haste and found Mary and Joseph, and the Babe lying in a manger” (2:16).

And there He was, the baby Jesus wrapped in narrow strips of cloth known as swaddling clothes.

But the message of Christmas is far more than that!

The shepherds were actually beholding God wrapped in skin, God becoming one of us, God come down from heaven to earth, to carry us from earth to heaven!

________________

When the angel’s announcement was proven true, they could not keep it to themselves!

They went from lowly shepherds, living out their simple lives in a tough world, to the FIRST New Testament evangelists!

The Bible says, 17 “Now when they had seen Him, they made widely known the saying which was told them concerning this Child. 18 And all those who heard it marveled at those things which were told them by the shepherds” (Luke 2:17-18).

So what began with a VISITATION led to a REVELATION, which inspired the first New Testament PROCLAMATION of God sending His only begotten Son!

_________________

But praise God, it doesn’t even stop there, for the shepherds also experienced a TRANSFORMATION.

Look at how their lives were changed:

“Then the shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things that they had heard and seen" (v. 20).

They went to work that day as ordinary shepherds, they went to Bethlehem as earnest seekers, and returned as transformed worshippers!

From a VISITATION to a REVELATION, which brought PROCLAMATION, ending in TRANSFORMATION.

That is what Christmas is all about!