Love - The Chosen
Notes
Transcript
Love
Love
Although we are now past Christmas, for the last few weeks we have been celebrating the coming of Jesus by looking at the four themes of advent. Traditionally, the season of advent happens on the four Sundays leading up to Christmas where we look forward to the birth of Jesus. In fact, the word “advent” means “coming.” It is a time for us to reflect on one holy night in Bethlehem. Jesus’ coming on that night caused a great turning for the world toward hope, peace, joy, and love.
We have been exploring each of these themes in the words and phrases that show up in the messages that were passed along by angels. Some passed along in the days leading up to the holy night of Jesus’ birth, and some passed along on the holy night itself. We have already looked at hope, peace and joy. For the last two weeks we have focused on the messages to the shepherds on the night of Jesus’ birth. Today we are going to look at the shepherds again as we focus on the final theme, love. The coming of Jesus brings a turning toward love.
In exploring the theme of love, there are two different directions we could focus on. We could focus on God’s love for us, like we have done with the other themes. We looked at the hope we have in God, the peace we have in God, and the joy God gives us. In many ways, I think we have covered that ground quite well. Today I want to shift a little bit and explore the love we are to have for others. More specifically, today we are going to explore a particular way that we can show love to others. A way shown to us through the example of those shepherds we’ve met in our time together.
Let’s pray and then we will dive into the theme of love.
Pray
Throughout this series we have been watching scenes from The Chosen’s Christmas episode, called “Holy Night.” One of the scenes we are about to watch is a variation of a scene we have watched before. To set the stage a bit, the angels’ visit has come and gone, and we are back at the moment when the shepherds are rushing to Bethlehem to see the child who has been born on that holy night. They are rushing to Bethlehem, they see the baby Jesus, and then? They rush off! Let’s watch…
Show Clip “People must know”
Let’s read our driving passage from chapter 2 of Luke one more time. Luke 2:8-18
8 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, 10 but 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.” 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,
One minute the shepherds are rushing TO Bethlehem, and then? They are rushing OFF! Off into different corners of the town of Bethlehem, off to the townspeople who haven’t had a chance to hear the good news. In many ways, these shepherds are the first evangelists of the Bible. Long before there were twelve apostles, there was a small circle of lowly shepherds who told people about Jesus. They were explaining that in His coming there was now great reason for turning toward hope, peace, and joy.
He came. They went.
He came. They went.
These shepherds had been prepped for this work in the angels’ message to them. The angel said to them, “I bring you good news that will bring great joy to all people.” While it was quite special for the shepherds to hear this message, the ‘all’ clearly indicates that the message is for ALL. The good news is for everyone. The angels solidify this to the shepherds by calling the child “the Messiah.”
While we can’t be sure of the shepherd’s level of education, they surely would have been educated in the Hebrew scriptures in their youth. They surely know of the promise of the Messiah and how He would come to rescue mankind, not just a small circle of shepherds. The reference to ‘all’ and the reference to ‘Messiah’ would have prepped them for GOING. Even before they rushed to Bethlehem, they knew they would eventually need to RUSH OFF into Bethlehem to tell the townspeople the good news.
Interestingly, the shepherds were particularly and uniquely well-suited for the role of the first evangelists. It was in their very nature, their personality, their posture, and their skill to provide care. That’s what shepherds do. A couple of weeks ago we asked, “Of all people, why shepherds?” They were awkward, people didn’t like them, the religious people looked down on them. Maybe it was because even though they work with sheep, there are skills they can employ to help with people.
They know how to direct and protect others. They have the tender but firm voice to call out directions and warnings. Their heart beats to pull the hurting from thickets. The shepherd imagery in Scripture is enormous! According to Genesis, this is one of the first professions that God applauded. Before David became a beloved king, he was a shepherd. God is even referred to as a shepherd, such as in Psalm 23.
1 The Lord is my shepherd, I lack nothing. 2 He makes me lie down in green pastures, he leads me beside quiet waters, 3 he refreshes my soul. He guides me along the right paths for his name’s sake. 4 Even though I walk through the darkest valley, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me.
According to Jesus, He is the good shepherd who lays down his life for the sheep.
11 I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep.
This was their transformative moment where God turned them into something more than shepherds. Just as Jesus saw a few men fishing and turned them from fishermen into fishers of men in Matthew 4:19, God turned these men from shepherds into shepherds of men.
They rushed TO Bethlehem, and then they rushed OFF into Bethlehem. He came, and so of course they went. Tot the people. To tell them about everything. It’s just who they were as shepherds. It’s what they did. They cared and provided care for those in need. This is what it meant for them to love others. I love the way the shepherds put it in the scene we just watched. They said, “People must know! People must know!”
We have been focusing most of our time in this series in the Gospel of Luke, but Luke isn’t the only one who shows the pattern of His coming and people going that is set at the very start of Jesus’ arrival on earth. Mark and John begin with an emphasis on John the Baptist, one who “went” in light of Jesus having come. Matthew tells the story of the Magi, or the wise men. His coming inspired their going in that they stop in Jerusalem to spread the news of Jesus’ arrival.
Jesus sent out the twelve apostles to announce that the Kingdom of Heaven is near. In chapter 10 of Luke, Jesus sends out the 72. All four gospel accounts show a Resurrected Jesus urging the disciples to ‘go.’ We’ve been focused in on the gospel account of Luke. Luke is the author of Acts. The book of Acts is the record of the evangelistic efforts of the Early Church. From the opening chapters the pattern is there…
He came. They went.
He came. They went.
At the start of the Gospel story, the pattern is set for God’s people and embraced by God’s people to GO in light of His Son’s coming. The pattern is set and embraced in the middle of the Gospel story. The pattern is set and embraced at the end of the Gospel story. The pattern is set and embraced all throughout the Early Church’s story. Maybe it’s also a pattern that is set to be embraced by us as well…
He came. WE go.
He came. WE go.
Two weeks ago we talked about all the surprising things we have in common with the shepherds. Is this one of them? Is the Church still going? That is the question that Jesus’ coming causes us to wrestle with.
Are we still going? Am I going? If you do a quick Google search about evangelism you will find that sharing the Good News with people is on the decline. You will even find an increasing belief that it is wrong to do so! According to recent studies, less than half of Christ followers talk about their faith to loved ones. Is the Church still going? Yes… but also, no. He came. We go.
This is where the story of the shepherds really speaks to me. This is the scope of their initial work. They immediately went to the townspeople of Bethlehem. They started there, with the people right in front of them. This is often part of the ‘going’ pattern of the New Testament. It always seems to start with the ones who are near. My neighbor is literally the person who is nearest to me.
Even in the most famous verse about evangelism, it starts in the place they were at and moves outward…
8 But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.”
Who is just one person or one family closest to you who needs to know of His coming? His coming can mean a great turning for them toward hope, peace, and joy. He came; we go to the ones nearest us. His coming can also mean a great turning for the world toward hope, peace, and joy. He came; we go to the ones at the ends of the earth.
He came. We go to the ones nearest us.
He came. We go to the ones at the ends of the earth.
Jesus’ coming fuels our calling to go to our neighbors, as well as those who are far from our front door. This is the ‘going’ pattern of the New Testament. It always seems to start with the ones who are near, but then grows ever expansively. Jesus sent His disciples first to Israel, but also pushed outward into predominantly Gentile regions. In Jesus’ great commission to the disciples in the final verses of Matthew He told them to, “go and make disciples of all the nations.”
In the verse in Acts that we just read, Luke shows us the flow of the pattern of starting with the ones who are near, but then moving outward. Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria, and to the ends of the earth. When we go in love with the news of Divine love, we go first to ‘the ones nearest you,’ but then we push ever outward, outward, outward. This has always been our call.
The thought of hoping on a plane and flying across the world sounds expensive and stressful, but we live in a time where you can be on the other side of the planet by the simple click of a button. Not only can we utilize technology and social media, but we can also support people who are physically helping people and sharing the Good News all over the world. Even though we are a super small group, we can even support other local churches and groups who do these things by volunteering our time, money, and even ourselves to helping and praying.
Start small and start local. Start with your neighbor. He came; we go. I want to close this week with one final clip from The Chosen. This clip shows what it looked like for the shepherds to know their calling. My prayer for us is that we too well be as excited to share the hope, peace, joy, and love that Jesus brought to transform the world around us. I’ll pray, then we will watch the short clip and you will be free to go.
Pray
