1 John 4:13-16
We know that we live in him and he in
us, because he has given us of his Spirit. 14 And we
have seen and testify that the Father has sent his Son to be the Savior of the world. 15 If anyone
acknowledges that Jesus is the Son of God, God lives in him and he in God. 16 And so we know and rely on the love
God has for us.
Luke 2:8-20 (NIV)
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. 10 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." 15 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. 20
The shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things they had
heard and seen, which were just as they had been told.
When
in scripture do you see a multitude of angels announcing anything to a group of
people? We see the multitude of angels in heaven singing praise to God in
eternity. By eyewitness account when
else other than to announce God coming into the world have you heard of angels
announcing anything? I can’t think of
any – Angels, one or a few have appeared and usually to an individual – but a
multitude to a group – I can’t think of any.
Since
creation this was the most important event in the history of the world – and as
God spoke in the beginning, so God now speaks with a LOUD voice to announce
world redemption to the group of people he thought could best deliver His
message – shepherds.
Understanding by
having the mind of Christ
1 Corinthians 2:9-16 (The MESSAGE)
That's why we have this Scripture
text:
No one's ever seen or heard anything like this,
Never so much as imagined anything quite like it —
What God has arranged for those who love him.
10 But you've
seen and heard it because God by his Spirit has brought it all out into the
open before you. The Spirit, not content
to flit around on the surface, dives into the depths of God, and brings out
what God planned all along. Who ever knows what you're thinking and planning
except you yourself? The same with God — except that he not only knows what
he's thinking, but he lets us in on it. God offers a full report on the gifts
of life and salvation that he is giving us. We don't have to rely on the
world's guesses and opinions. We didn't learn this by reading books or going to
school; we learned it from God, who taught us person-to-person through Jesus,
and we're passing it on to you in the same firsthand, personal way.
14 The unspiritual self, just as it is
by nature, can't receive the gifts of God's Spirit. There's no capacity for
them. They seem like so much silliness. Spirit can be known only by spirit —
God's Spirit and our spirits in open communion. Spiritually alive, we have
access to everything God's Spirit is doing, and can't be judged by unspiritual
critics. 16 Isaiah's question,
"Is there anyone around who knows God's
Spirit, anyone who knows what he is doing?" has been answered:
Christ knows, and we have Christ's Spirit.
Every Christmas season we talk about
the shepherd’s low position on the societal totem pole. It is true. The shepherds were not held in
high esteem, they were not wealthy, they were not invited to the “in” parties.
Sheep
raised on the hillsides around Bethlehem may well have been destined for temple
sacrifices in Jerusalem, only six miles to the north. Jeremias describes a shepherd's life:
"The dryness of the ground made it necessary for the flocks of sheep to
move about and to stay for months at a time in isolated areas, far from the
owner's home. Hence, herding sheep was an independent and responsible job; in
view of the threat of wild beasts and robbers, it could even be dangerous.
Some
of Israel's great heroes were shepherds -- Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and David.
Both Psalm 23 and Jesus compare God's care to that of a Good Shepherd. But in
the First Century, it seems, shepherds had a rather unsavory reputation.
Shepherds were not allowed to fulfill a judicial office or be admitted in court
as witnesses. A midrash on Psalm 23:2
reads, "There is no more disreputable occupation than that of a
shepherd." Philo, a Hellenistic
Jewish philosopher of Alexandria (25 BC - 45 AD), wrote about looking after
sheep and goats, "Such pursuits are held mean and inglorious.”
The
shepherds to whom the angels appeared were from a despised class. "Keeping watch" is a combination of
two related Greek words. The verb is phulasso, "to carry out sentinel
functions, watch, guard.” The noun is phulake, "the act of guarding."
Together they carry the idea of "keep watch, do guard duty." The
shepherds made sure that the sheep were safe from wandering off and injuring
themselves, as well as dangers from thieves and wolves.
How
would the shepherds know that the angel's message is true?
"This will be a sign to you: You will find a
baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger." (2:12) "Sign" is the Greek noun semeion,
"a sign or distinguishing mark whereby something is known, sign, token,
indication." The sign consists of two elements. The baby is:
Wrapped in cloths, and
Lying in a manger. (Amber &
Sandy enter)
"Baby"
is the Greek noun brephos, "a very small child, baby, infant." The
phrase "wrapped in swaddling clothes" (KJV) or "cloths"
(NIV) translates the Greek verb sparganoo, "to wrap in pieces of cloth
used for swaddling infants, wrap up in cloths." These were "strips of
cloth like bandages, wrapped around young infants to keep their limbs
straight". There is
nothing unique about being a baby being wrapped this way. There were likely
other babies in Bethlehem wrapped in cloths that night. However, the
second sign was that the newborn would be found in a manger -- that was unique! The Greek noun
is phatne, "manger, crib, feeding-trough." A manager would indicate
the location in some kind of stable.
In
other words – this baby
was like any other baby ever born in the history of the world and this baby is unique among every
other baby born in the world – his bed is a feeding trough for animals.
1 John 4:13-16 (Music begin)
We know that we live in him and he in
us, because he has given us of his Spirit. 14 And we
have seen and testify that the Father has sent his Son to be the Savior of the world. 15 If anyone
acknowledges that Jesus is the Son of God, God lives in him and he in God. 16 And so we know and rely on the love
God has for us.
MUSIC: God with us
– Amber & Sandy
INVITATION
William
Dix wrote a poem called “The Manger Throne” over 100 years ago when Christmas
was barely celebrated even in churches. It was eventually added to a tune
hundreds of years older called Greensleeves. He wrote the poem from the point
of view of strangers walking up to this baby in a manger they had heard about
and asking themselves the question – which is now the title of the song: “What
child is this?” Do you know him?
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