Monday September 02
The First Public Announcement
Luke 2:8-14
8 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.
12 And this will be the sign to you: You will find a Babe wrapped in swaddling cloths, lying in a manger."
13 And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying:
14 "Glory to God in the highest, And on earth peace, goodwill toward men!"
The first public announcement that the Lord Jesus Christ has been born was given by an angel to some shepherds in Luke 2:8-14. First, can you imagine the amazement of the angels of heaven as they observe the Creator born as a creature. The Word, God Himself, being born as a speechless infant in a stable of animals in the little town of Bethlehem? No wonder Paul later wrote in 1 Timothy 3:16, “Great is the mystery of godliness: God was manifest in the flesh”.
It is also very important to point out that Luke’s account of the birth of Jesus is so different than Mathew’s. Matthew totally leaves out the story of “no room in the inn” and Jesus being born in a stable. He doesn’t mention the angels appearing to the shepherds either. In Matthew 2:1, he jumps ahead almost two years “now after Jesus was born”, and mentions a king, Herod, and the wise men from the east. We need to remember that the main purpose of Matthew’s Gospel was to present Jesus to the Jews as their King, whereas Luke’s Gospel was presenting the humanity of Jesus as the Son of Man.
The sign for the wise men was “a star in the East”, but the sign for the shepherds was “a Babe wrapped in swaddling cloths lying in a stable”. (Luke 2:12). In Matthew 2:11, the wise men come to a “house” and present Jesus with gifts fitting for a king, gold, frankincense, and myrrh. In Luke 2, Jesus is visited by lowly, smelly, dirty shepherds in a dirty stable the night of His birth! How amazing!!!! Jesus came to earth for everyone!
The first announcement of the Messiah's birth was given by an angel to some anonymous shepherds. Why shepherds? Why not to priests or scribes? By visiting the shepherds, the angel revealed the grace of God toward mankind. Shepherds were really outcasts in Israel. Their work not only made them ceremonially unclean, but it kept them away from the temple for weeks at a time so that they could not be made clean. God does not call the rich and mighty; He calls the poor and the lowly (Luke 1:51-53; 1 Cor. 1:26-29).
In 1 Samuel 16:1-3, when Samuel went to Jesse to anoint the next king of Israel to replace Saul, Jesse presented his first seven sons, but God told Samuel none of them was the one. When he asks Jesse if he has any other sons, Jesse suddenly remembers his youngest boy, David, who is watching the smelly sheep out in a field somewhere!
The Messiah came to be both the Good Shepherd (John 10), and the Lamb of God who would be sacrificed for the sins of the world (John 1:29). Perhaps these shepherds were caring for the flocks that would provide sacrifices for the temple services. It was fitting that the good news about God's Shepherd and Lamb be given first to humble shepherds.
Shepherds are not easily fooled. They are practical men of the world who have little to do with fantasy. If they said that they saw angels and went and found the Messiah, then you could believe them. God selected hardworking men to be the first witnesses that His Son had come into the world.
How amazing God chose shepherds to hear this first public announcement of the greatest birth of a baby in human history. God still chooses humble sinners to hear His good news of salvation. Are you listening?
God bless!
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