Joy, Great Joy

Introduction

Over the past two weeks we have been celebrating “Advent” or “the Coming.”

So far we have celebrated the candle of “Prophecy” which we called the Candle of Hope! We learned that today we can have hope, because from the very beginning, Jesus has been working to redeem mankind back to God.

Then we celebrated the candle of “Bethlehem” which we called the Candle of Love. We saw that it was God the Father’s love that sent His Son into the world as a baby in a manger, but it was the love of the Son that kept him on the cross!

This morning we celebrated the Candle of “Shepherds.” Or as we will call it, the Candle of Joy!

The shepherds’ story is told in . If you have your Bibles, I want to encourage you to turn to the passage, or look on with someone close by.

Luke 2:8–20 NIV84

And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night. An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid. I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is Christ the Lord. This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.” Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God and saying, “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace to men on whom his favor rests.” When the angels had left them and gone into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, “Let’s go to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has told us about.” So they hurried off and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby, who was lying in the manger. When they had seen him, they spread the word concerning what had been told them about this child, and all who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds said to them. But Mary treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart. The shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things they had heard and seen, which were just as they had been told.

Why Shepherds?

This is a great question to ask! We have a tendency to romanticize the shepherd idea! Camp out at night, raising weak defenseless creatures You see, most of us don’t understand the low standing that shepherds occupied.

When Samuel is going to anoint the second king of Israel, Jesse forgets to call his youngest son, the shepherd boy, David.

In Jesus’ day, shepherds were despised. One reason they were despised was that their work made them ceremonially “unclean.”

Most people considered them to be untrustworthy, and that was enough of a reason to despise them.

Finally, shepherds spent all their time with sheep (and goats) which stink. So shepherds were people who did not ascribe to the hygiene practices of the day.

Yet to God these shepherds represented the down and out people that Jesus came to seek and to save!

So there they were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night.

An Angel of the Lord

An angel of the Lord appeared to them! You know, if you’re like me, you have read or heard this passage so many times that it is easy to pass right over the passage.

So, let me ask you a question: When was the last time you had an angel of the Lord appear to you?

Oh yes, and when was the last time you saw the glory of the Lord showing around you?

That’s what I thought. You’ve never had that happen! Neither have I.

But in the last part of verse 9, it says, they were terrified. The Greek word actually emphasizes the intensity of the fear. They were beyond terrified!

The angel said to them, Do not be afraid. I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all people.

There are a couple of points that I want you to see. First, the angel is bring them good news. The Messiah is born! This Messiah is the savior of the WORLD!

This good news, brings great joy. The Greek word used here is “chara” and when Luke uses this word in the Gospel of Luke, he is generally referring to “salvation.”

Finally, I want you to notice that this good news of great joy will be for ALL the people. It is possible that Luke was only referring to Israel, or he could have been more prophetic. I believe “all” means “ALL.”

Off to Bethlehem

Luke 2:15–17 NIV84

When the angels had left them and gone into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, “Let’s go to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has told us about.” So they hurried off and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby, who was lying in the manger. When they had seen him, they spread the word concerning what had been told them about this child,

Luke 2:15-17

They didn’t think about the sheep. They didn’t think about their jobs.

When the angels left, they hurried off. . .they didn’t waste any time. And what they find is Mary and Joseph, and of course the baby Jesus, lying in the manger.

Now notice, they found EVERYTHING just as the Angel said it would be.

And these shepherds experienced the joy of the Lord! When you experience the joy that comes from God, you want to pass it on, and that is exactly what these shepherds did!

When they had see him [Jesus], they spread the word concerning what they had been told them about this child, and all who heard it were amazed at what the shepherd said to them. . .The shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things they had heard and seen, which were just as they had been told.