Luke 2:8-14 - The Christman Story - Part 2

Luke 2:8–14 “And there were in the same country shepherds abiding in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night. And, lo, the angel of the Lord came upon them, and the glory of the Lord shone round about them: and they were sore afraid. And the angel said unto them, Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord. And this shall be a sign unto you; Ye shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger. And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God, and saying, Glory to God in the highest, And on earth peace, Good will toward men.”

Introduction

Last week, I preached on the Original Christmas Story - Part 1. Jesus was born in Bethlehem’s manger.

JM - That very day, in the fulness of time, history’s most significant birth had taken place.

The Shepherds

Luke 2:8 “And there were in the same country shepherds abiding in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night.”

Abiding in the field

Living out in the field

Keeping watch

Protecting the sheep

Bethlehem Shepherds were known to take care for the Temple flock and Lambs for Temple sacrifices.

Their flock

Reputation

JM - The good news of the Savior’s birth came first to a most unlikely group of people. Shepherds were near the bottom of the social ladder. They were uneducated and unskilled, increasingly viewed in the post-New Testament era as dishonest, unreliable, unsavory characters, so much so that they were not allowed to testify in court. Because sheep required care seven days a week, shepherds were unable to fully comply with the man-made Sabbath regulations developed by the Pharisees. As a result, they were viewed as being in continual violation of the religious laws, and hence ceremonially unclean.

KH: They were regarded as thieves. At this point in Jewish history the only people group lower than them was the Leper.

CHS: These men were probably poor and illiterate, but that did not hinder God from revealing himself to them, nor prevent the coming of his Son to them.

Even though these shepherds appear to be devout followers of Jehovah, they came from a despised class.

The Gospel is not dependent upon class but God’s superseding love for all classes of humanity.

The irony is that shepherds with no name given were to hear the announcement of the coming of the Chief Shepherd Whose Name would be above every name.

Brian Bell - Q: Who do you think were… (1) The 1st Hearers of the Christmas Gospel! (2). The 1st Believers of the Christmas Gospel! (3). The 1st Preachers of the Christmas Gospel!  Answer =  The Shepherds!

Why did God select these shepherds, with all their baggage? The answer is as simple to the believer as it ever was: because God found them the kind of people to whom he could communicate such news."

The Angel of the Lord

Luke 2:9–12 “And, lo, the angel of the Lord came upon them, and the glory of the Lord shone round about them: and they were sore afraid. And the angel said unto them, Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord. And this shall be a sign unto you; Ye shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger.”

Gene Brooks - The glory (doxa) of the Lord shone round about them. This is the same Glory that appeared to Abraham in Ur (Acts 7:2), the same Glory as Moses encountered on Mount Sinai (Exod. 31), the same Glory as in the Tabernacle (Exod. 40:34-35), the same Glory as appeared at the dedication of Solomon’s Temple (1 Kings 8:11), the same Glory as Ezekiel saw depart the Temple (Ezek 10:4, 18-19; 11:22-23). Now for more than 500 years the nation of Israel had been without a visible sign of God’s presence among His people. Now the Glory for which Israel had so long waited had been revealed to humble, believing shepherds in the field, not unbelieving priests in the temple.

Glory (1391)(doxa rom dokeo = to think) in simple terms means to give a proper opinion or estimate of something and thus the glory of God expresses all that He is in His Being and in His nature, character, power and acts. He is glorified when He is allowed to be seen as He really is which is exactly what this angel did!

The Christmas Story should not produce fear - WW - “Fear not” is one of the key themes to the Christmas story.

Luke 1:13 “But the angel said unto him, Fear not, Zacharias: for thy prayer is heard; and thy wife Elisabeth shall bear thee a son, and thou shalt call his name John.”

Luke 1:30 “And the angel said unto her, Fear not, Mary: for thou hast found favour with God.”

Luke 2:10 “And the angel said unto them, Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people.”

The Christmas story is not a fear based message because Jesus did not come to condemn but save.

John 3:17 “For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved.”

Luke 5:31–32 “And Jesus answering said unto them, They that are whole need not a physician; but they that are sick. I came not to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance.”

The angel told them to not be afraid. What a blessing it is to be told to not be afraid. However, the comfort of that news depends upon the source of the person who is making this statement. Men often tell us to not be afraid, when we, in fact, have plenty to fear. For example, Franklin Delano Roosevelt in his first inaugural address as President of the United States made the famous statement, "We have nothing to fear but fear itself." Even today people quote this sentence and think this was a great statement, but it was phony, for at that time in world history we had plenty to fear in the United States.     • In Germany, Adolph Hitler and the Nazis were coming into power.      • In Russia, Joseph Stalin and communism were gaining much power.      • In Japan, Hideki Tojo was moving up the ranks.      • Mussolini had a grip on Italy. 

Millions of Americans and people of other nations, would die as a result of these four men, but Roosevelt said that we had nothing to fear but fear itself. So you cannot always trust men when they tell you to not be afraid, but you can trust Heaven. (Ron Mattoon)

Why does not the Christmas story produce fear?

Good tidings - The Gospel to us

Before PBS ever came into existence, we have the first Public announcement regarding the birth of Jesus.

The word for good is where is later translated as the gospel.

Luke used the word more than any other New Testament writer.

The Shepherds were the first to hear the Gospel story

Great Joy

A Savior is born

D. G. - We do not need another advisor, reformer, committee but a Savior.

Luke 1:77–79 “To give knowledge of salvation unto his people By the remission of their sins, Through the tender mercy of our God; Whereby the dayspring from on high hath visited us, To give light to them that sit in darkness and in the shadow of death, To guide our feet into the way of peace.”

JM - Too often Jesus is presented as the One who will rescue people from unfulfillment in their marriages, families of jobs; from a debilitating habit they cannot overcome on their own; or from a sense of purposelessness in life. But while relief in those areas may be a by-product of salvation, it is not its primary intent. Mankind’s true problem, of which those issues are only symptoms, is sin.

Michael Wilcock - Jesus alone can rescue mankind from its predicament of sin, misery and mortality, and bring the blessings which will meet all possible needs of men.

Christ the Lord

Christ - Messiah, anointed. The Baby born in Bethlehem’s manger was anointed to be the Savior!

Christ the Lord - 16X in Luke 1 Lord is used in reference to God the Father, and here in Luke 2 the Lord us used in reference to the babe in the manger.

Lord is not merely a name that composes a title, but signifies a call to action so that every saint should willingly, reverently bow down to Jesus Christ as Lord. If Christ is our Lord, we are to live under Him, consciously, continually submitting our wills to him as His loyal, loving bondservants ("love slaves"), always seeking first His Kingdom and His righteousness (Mt 6:33+).

Context is important - Luke wrote to Theophilus - A Roman official - Romans believed the Caesar was the anointed one to be the Savior. Yet, here in the opening scenes to the life of Jesus - Luke announces that Jesus is anointed to be the Savior.

We anoint people to be Saviors in politics, sports, industry and military - Jesus is the kind of Savior that delivers us from the Kingdom of darkness to Light, from spiritual death to spiritual life, from hopelessness to hope, from Hell to Heaven, from a father who lies and murders to the Father who loves and cares.

He is the Lord. The Romans believed that Caesar was Lord of lords; he was the Imperial Lord. The angle of the Lord announced that Jesus is the Imperial Lord of lords. There is no higher authority than Jesus.

Leon Morris - Christ the Lord describes the child in the highest possible terms.

Sign

Babe wrapped in swaddling clothes

lying in a manger

The opposite of what you expect - Notice the sign was not a palace, or a throne or a halo over His head or a glow from His body, for Jesus was born as would be any baby. It was nothing mystical - no halo over His head, etc.

The shepherds were not told to look in a palace or in a wealthy home—indeed, they would not have gotten past the gates if they had. But they could go to the poor stable, receive acceptance from a poor couple, and discover the miracle baby

In Bethlehem that night there might be one or two babies wrapped in swaddling clothes, but surely only one lying in a manger. (ED: WHY? BECAUSE GOD SAID IT WOULD A SIGN AND NOT A "MULTIPLE CHOICE!" GOD IS NOT THE GOD OF CONFUSION!

The star of the sign was not Joseph, Mary or the farm animals but the Savior which is Christ the Lord!

Philippians 2:7 “But made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men:”

Heavenly Host

Luke 2:13–14 “And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God, and saying, Glory to God in the highest, And on earth peace, Good will toward men.”

Host - Army - There was an army of heavenly beings

Multitude - an innumerable amount of angels - Kent Hughes believes all the angels host were there becasue this was the most amazing event that had happened in human history.

What is fascinating was these soldiers of Heaven were not declaring war but peace on earth!

Praising God

These heavenly beings were doing what Heavenly beings do - Praise God

Revelation 5:11–12 “And I beheld, and I heard the voice of many angels round about the throne and the beasts and the elders: and the number of them was ten thousand times ten thousand, and thousands of thousands; Saying with a loud voice, Worthy is the Lamb that was slain to receive power, and riches, and wisdom, and strength, and honour, and glory, and blessing.”

All of Heaven praised God at the birth of Jesus Christ.

Saying

Glory to God in the highest

Glory - honor, fame and majesty.

The highest was Heaven - The lowest was earth.

Earth peace, good will toward men

The phrase that has caused much consternation is “good will.”

Meaning - is satisfaction and delight.

It is clear and obvious that God is not satisfied or has delighted in all mankind.

Luke 1:50–52 “And his mercy is on them that fear him From generation to generation. He hath shewed strength with his arm; He hath scattered the proud in the imagination of their hearts. He hath put down the mighty from their seats, And exalted them of low degree.”

Psalm 5:12 “For thou, Lord, wilt bless the righteous; With favour wilt thou compass him as with a shield.”

In v. 14 the two main thoughts are glory and peace. These 2 thoughts carry the verse. Both of these subjects are the subjects of the verse. Peace is a state of existence. Those whom God delights in are at peace with God!

Jesus’ birth makes peace possible between God and us.

Illustration: Peace Child.

The hero for them was Judas

Peace -child

Acts 10:36 “The word which God sent unto the children of Israel, preaching peace by Jesus Christ: (he is Lord of all:)”

Even the pagans of the first century world sensed this need for peace and a savior. Epictetus, a first century pagan writer, expressed this: “While the emperor may give peace from war on land and sea, he is unable to give peace from passion, grief, and envy; he cannot give peace of heart, for which man yearns for more than even outward peace.”

John Trapp, an English Puritan: “Let God have all the glory, so we may have the peace.”

The angels message was first upward then outward.

Conclusion

When Christians first started practicing it in the fourth century, they viewed it not only as preparation for celebrating Jesus’ birth but also as a time of looking forward to His second coming. They found hope and cheer in the sure promise of His return.

The gospel of Luke describes “the glory of the Lord” that shone around the shepherds when the angel announced the Savior’s birth (2:9). Luke also records Jesus’ promise that He will return “with power and great glory” (21:27). These two events frame the purpose for which the Son of God came into the world.

In Latin advent means “a coming.” The weeks before Christmas can be a wonderful season of repentance and expectation as we celebrate our Lord’s first advent in Bethlehem and anticipate His second advent when He returns in glory. Christ has come! Christ is coming again!