When Heaven Met Earth - Luke 2:8-20

Copyright December 15, 2024, by Rev. Bruce Goettsche

If you were to read the biographies of some of the great preachers of the world, you would discover that many of them allude to some experience in their life where they met God in a profound way . . . in fact, for many, it was so profound, and such a holy moment, that they never got into specifics.

I’ve had a couple of those holy moments in my life, and I don’t talk about them much either because it was so personal, unique, and powerful that words fail to adequately describe what happened. Besides, it sounds too incredible to be true.

Perhaps that is what Paul was talking about when he talked about a vision he had in 2 Corinthians 12 where he wrote,

I will reluctantly tell about visions and revelations from the Lord. 2 I was caught up to the third heaven fourteen years ago. Whether I was in my body or out of my body, I don’t know—only God knows. 3 Yes, only God knows whether I was in my body or outside my body. But I do know 4 that I was caught up to paradise and heard things so astounding that they cannot be expressed in words, things no human is allowed to tell.

I suspect the Shepherds in the field, when the angels appeared to them the night Jesus was born, would say their experience was very much like this.

The account in Luke 2:8-20 is told fairly simply and straightforwardly, but I am sure it was anything but this to those involved.

That night there were shepherds staying in the fields nearby, guarding their flocks of sheep. 9 Suddenly, an angel of the Lord appeared among them, and the radiance of the Lord’s glory surrounded them. They were terrified, (Luke 2:8-9)

The Shepherds

The simple statement, “Shepherds were staying in the field nearby, guarding their flocks of sheep,” makes us unprepared for what follows. Shepherds were common. Sometimes, they were guarding their own sheep, and sometimes, they were hired to guard sheep for someone else. We get the impression that these guys were like farmhands; they did their job faithfully but did not own the property they protected.

Sheep needed to be protected at night from thieves and wild animals. They were pretty helpless on their own, so to keep them safe, shepherds would often keep them in a walled enclosure made of anything from a permanent wall to branches twisted together, or they might even use a cave. If a wild animal (wolves, especially) came towards the sheep, the Shepherd would put themselves between the sheep and the wolf and fight the wolf off.

From their location, it is possible that these men were guarding sheep raised for the temple sacrificial rites. That would mean that they had to be extra careful because the sheep had to be without spot or blemish to be offered to the Lord.

Shepherds were viewed as pagans. They were rarely in the synagogue or at the Temple because they seemed to be perpetually unclean because of their work, which disqualified them as a worshipper. They were not social because they didn’t spend much time with people other than other shepherds or sheep! We all know that those who don’t fit in as “normal” are often ostracized or ignored. That was what happened to most Shepherds.

This is what makes what happened so unexpected and shocking. I picture these guys sitting around a campfire, minding their own business. It was a normal night. And what happened terrified the shepherds.

The angel reassured them. “Don’t be afraid!” he said. “I bring you good news that will bring great joy to all people. 11 The Savior—yes, the Messiah, the Lord—has been born today in Bethlehem, the city of David! 12 And you will recognize him by this sign: You will find a baby wrapped snugly in strips of cloth, lying in a manger.”

13 Suddenly, the angel was joined by a vast host of others—the armies of heaven—praising God and saying,

14 “Glory to God in highest heaven,

and peace on earth to those with whom God is pleased.”

So, it is a quiet night around the campfire, and suddenly, you are engulfed in light and see an angel. I’m just guessing here, but I don’t think it was a “sitting on your shoulder” kind of angel. This, I believe, was an angel that left no doubt that you were in the presence of an angel!

Throughout the Bible, people who saw angels usually believed they were going to be judged. In other words, when an angel appeared, it was assumed to be very bad news. Some suggest that the radiant light of the angel was a holy light that made people aware of their sin before a Holy God.

Of course, by the time the angel tells them not to be afraid, it is already too late! And then they are told something so wonderful they can hardly comprehend it! The long-awaited Messiah had been born and was lying in a manger in Bethlehem. They were to go and see the fulfillment of the promise the Jewish nation had waited so long to see fulfilled. It was the best news a Jewish person could have imagined.

I imagine these guys listening to the angel with their mouths open and their hearts racing with excitement. And then the intensity hit its crescendo. A Heavenly choir appeared and together said, “Glory to God in the Highest and peace on earth to those with whom God is pleased.”

Wow! That had to be something to behold. And the sky was again dark as quickly as the angel came. I imagine a time of holy silence with the men looking at each other with that look that asked, “Did you just see what I saw? Was that real?”

15 When the angels had returned to heaven, the shepherds said to each other, “Let’s go to Bethlehem! Let’s see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has told us about.”

16 They hurried to the village and found Mary and Joseph. And there was the baby, lying in the manger. 17 After seeing him, the shepherds told everyone what had happened and what the angel had said to them about this child. 18 All who heard the shepherds’ story were astonished, 19 but Mary kept all these things in her heart and thought about them often. 20 The shepherds went back to their flocks, glorifying and praising God for all they had heard and seen. It was just as the angel had told them. (15-20)

It appears the guys didn’t spend time de-briefing. Instead they decided they should go, as instructed by the angels and find this child and bow in worship before Him. I suspect a shepherd might have drawn the short straw that night and had to remain with the sheep.

We don’t know how the shepherds found Mary, Joseph, and baby Jesus. Nothing is said about them following a star. Perhaps they asked around about a baby being born in a barn. Were they tentative in entering, knowing they were considered to be unworthy of such an honor? Or did they barge into the stable out of excitement? After all, they were not trained in social protocol.

I am sure their first action was to silently worship as they realized the hope of all Israel was in front of them. But indeed they had to give some explanation for them being there. Can you imagine what their story meant to Mary and to Joseph? They had not heard from God for more than nine months. Any doubts they might have had in their heads were erased with the entry of these Shepherds. They verified that this was indeed the Messiah who had been promised as the One who would save His people from their sin.

We don’t know how long they stayed at the manger. Did they pepper Mary and Joseph with questions? Were the Shepherds examined with questions from the earthly parents of the Messiah? We don’t know. What we do know is that these guys were excited when they left the stable and even though they weren’t very social, they couldn’t help but share their story with everyone with whom they came into contact. And just imagine the faces of people who encountered these Shepherds! They had to be in shock. Not only about what they heard, but also by who delivered the message. It was Shepherds tho announced such a dramatic event!!

This is the powerful message of Christmas: The glories of Heaven have come down to connect with even the most overlooked and forgotten people of this world. Jesus was not born for the elite of the world. He was born for all mankind, for every human being, because each one, staggeringly, is considered worth saving by God.

Philippians 2

Philippians 2 underscores the incredible reality of what took place that night in Bethlehem.

6 Though he was God,

he did not think of equality with God

as something to cling to.

7 Instead, he gave up his divine privileges;

he took the humble position of a slave

and was born as a human being.

When he appeared in human form,

8 he humbled himself in obedience to God

and died a criminal’s death on a cross.

9 Therefore, God elevated him to the place of highest honor

and gave him the name above all other names,

10 that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow,

in heaven and on earth and under the earth,

11 and every tongue declare that Jesus Christ is Lord,

to the glory of God the Father.

This is the mystery of the Incarnation. The word means one who is inhabited by God Himself. But the Christian doctrine of Incarnation is even more. This human being is not “inhabited by God” but IS God. Heaven touches earth. The eternal enters the temporal. The Holy reaches out to the profane. It is truly a night like no other night. The divine has come seeking the very ones who have ignored Him and rebelled against Him.

Of course, there is more to the story than just what took place in Bethlehem. The baby that was born in that manger grew up. He somehow lived a sinless life and taught us about this God who loves us. He wants a relationship with us. He wants to give us new life. He wants to set us free from the sinful life that we felt was our only option. He showed us His power in the miracles He did. He showed us His wisdom in the words that He taught. He was God among us to show us God’s heart in the most human possible way.

And then . . . He was arrested and put to death on a cross, the punishment for the worst of criminals. He did not fight but gave Himself willingly and even purposefully to those who sought to eliminate Him. Three days later He rose from the dead and explained all to His followers. He died because God is just and must punish sin or it would be a compromise with His Holiness. As the Son of God, He traded His life for all of our lives.

As I have said over the years, I think this makes sense when you think of how every secret service agent would give their life to protect the President of the United States. So would soldiers who were called in for protection. This is not because the man is so much more valuable than those people who give their lives. It is the OFFICE that makes the one life more valuable than the others.

How much more valuable would the Office of “Son of God” be? This is why Jesus can give His life as a payment for the sin of anyone who embraces Him as Savior and Lord. That one life serves as a ransom payment for all of us.

The Apostle John wrote,

10 He came into the very world he created, but the world didn’t recognize him. 11 He came to his own people, and even they rejected him. 12 But to all who believed him and accepted him, he gave the right to become children of God. 13 They are reborn—not with a physical birth resulting from human passion or plan, but a birth that comes from God. (John 2:10-13)

The eternal God entered into the world of sinful men to make it possible for those sinful men to be forgiven of their sin and become reborn children of God!

Conclusions

So what does all this mean to us this morning? First, it means that Christmas is about far more than gifts, gatherings, and good times. It’s more than Christmas carols and Children’s dreams coming true like magic. It is a divine event. It is Heaven reaching down to earth. It is God inviting us to become what we were created to be: children of God. It is God making the impossible possible. It is Heaven coming to earth.

Second, it is a message meant for every individual. This year, the book The Best Christmas Pageant Ever was released as a wonderful movie. It is a story about the most despised family in town: the Herdmans. The Herdmans want to be in the Church Christmas Pageant, and everyone thinks it is a bad idea. But then it is pointed out that the Herdmans are the very people Christmas was about.

Maybe you feel unworthy of what God has done for us. We are all unworthy. Yet, every unworthy person is invited to come to Jesus and let Him wash away our sin, rebellion, and unworthiness so that anyone can become a child of God. We are all invited to allow the Holy Spirit to enter into us and guide us from life to eternity—God in us.

Isn’t that why God chose to reach out to the Shepherds? Today it would be the immigrants or those who live on the street, or those who ask for money at intersections who would be invited to the manger first. It would be the poor, the struggling, the mentally challenged who would get that first message of hope and life.

Isn’t this why He chose Mary and Joseph instead of the daughter or son of a King? This message is: He means to reach out to YOU! He sees you as valuable as anyone else. You are not only not overlooked . . . you are spotlighted. If you take Christmas personally and understand that the baby born in Bethlehem was born to make YOU new; to make you a child of God; then embrace Him today. Don’t toss His invitation into the garbage as if you were someone who had received it by mistake. Respond be embracing Him as your Savior and following Him as your Lord.

Finally, as we read this account, we should be motivated to do as they did: tell everyone that God has come and wants us all to belong to Him. The Shepherds didn’t care what people thought of them; they had good news and had to share it with anyone who would listen. They were like new parents with a new set of baby pictures. They will show those pictures to anyone who is willing to see them. . . whether they know the people or not. And that’s the way we should be with the good news of the gospel. We should look for any opening that might allow us to point to Jesus.

You don’t have to preach a sermon or argue the merits of the gospel. You can share the truth in simple ways.

· When you meet someone stressed by their list of gifts to buy, make a simple statement such as, “Too bad we have forgotten the real message of Christmas.” Don’t be surprised if they say, “And what is the real message of Christmas?” Be prepared to tell them this story, and hopefully your story.

· Listen to the words of some good Christmas carols, and when you hear them play or hear someone humming that tune, tell them that you love the lyrics of that song and then recite them. I don’t know what response you will get, but it is a good way to make people think.

· Or you can always say, “I’m looking for the perfect gift, but I know it has already been given when Jesus was born.” If there is a question on their face, explain the real message of Christmas. If they smile and nod, you have just met a brother or sister in Christ, and you have more in common than you realize.

· And finally, sing, hum, or whistle a Christmas Carol wherever you are. Someone is bound to say, “You sure seem to be in the Christmas Spirit.” Or maybe, “You seem happy.” And then you can say, “I have good reason to be happy. God has invited me and you to be part of His family! And it all started in Bethlehem. The least I can do is sing “Joy to the Word!”

Yes, Christmas is when Heaven touched Earth, when angels gathered with Shepherds, and when a poor young woman and her husband were granted the privilege of witnessing the moment when Heaven touched Earth and God became man. It was a holy moment and an experience like no other.