3rd Sunday of Advent
Scripture Luke 2:8-20
And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night.
9 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. 11 Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is Christ the Lord. 12 This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger."
13 Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God and saying, 14 "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." 16 So they hurried off and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby, who was lying in the manger. 17 When they had seen him, they spread the word concerning what had been told them about this child, 18 and all who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds said to them. 19 But Mary treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart. 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.
THE text to tell the story of Jesus birth is where? Luke 2:1-20. What, or who, is that story most about? Jesus? Yes, but largest content of the story focuses on the shepherds…vs 8-20.
Very odd part of the story - The story is told in the past tense but from the perspective of “as it is happening now.” Except verses 17 & 18 - They are future but have already happened.
17 When they had seen him, they spread the word concerning what had been told them about this child, 18 and all who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds said to them.
It appears they went on an immediate short-term mission trip and told everyone about what had happened. What I would love to see is at least one of these shepherds showing up somewhere in the rest of the gospels or even better in the book of acts.
Something like this: Paul and Barnabas came to Philippi and were amazed that there were already a group of fellow Jews who had put their faith in Jesus. They enjoyed worship and fellowship with one another and had recently been welcoming some gentile converts among them. Several were traveling to nearby cities and sharing the good news of Jesus Christ and how they too could find salvation in him alone. As Paul and Barnabas asked how the church in this city began, several people mentioned a man named Joseph and they could find him at work in the fields outside the city. Paul and Barnabas went at once and found Joseph who was on a hillside tending to his sheep. When they asked him how he came to faith, Joseph shared how he was a young shepherd just beginning to follow in his father’s footsteps as a shepherd and was still living with him out in the fields near Bethlehem when one night the sky turned brighter than the brightest day and it scared the sheep and terrified every last one of us who were on the hillside that night. I am sure this would be hard for you to understand Paul, but the light was so bright we nearly went blind. Out of that great light God spoke to us through an angel who told us not to be afraid. It was a little late for that warning but all we could do was listen. He went on to tell us that God’s messiah, the one we had all been waiting for according to the scriptures, had been born. He told us we could know he was telling the truth by looking for a sign - that we would find this baby messiah wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger in our own town of Bethlehem. Then it really happened -the entire sky was lit up as far as the eye could see and angels sang the glories of God. As fast as they had come, they were gone. My dad stayed to watch all the sheep and the rest of us ran into town and searched all over till we found Mary and Joseph and their baby lying in a manger exactly as the angel had said. After sharing our story with the parents, they then told us about how they had each been visited by an angel and were convinced this baby was God’s messiah as Mary had never been with a man but had been conceived by the Holy Spirit of God. After hearing their story and seeing baby Jesus, we returned to my father in the fields, singing and praising God as we ran, and told him that everything was exactly as the angel described it. Since then I have been telling the story of how Jesus came into my life, and all about the things Jesus did and said throughout Galilee, Samaria and Jerusalem and how he gave his life as a ransom for our sins and though he died, God raised him from the dead after three days, that he returned to heaven and has promised to return for us one day.
That is the story I want to read in the scriptures, but it is not there. The shepherds drop out of sight. However, we do know according to Luke’s testimony, that the shepherds did go around telling people about Jesus, and those who heard them were amazed at what the shepherds said to them.
Outside of Mary, Joseph, Zachariah, Elizabeth and their families, these shepherds were the very first to hear about and then see God’s salvation. Then, they were the first to tell others this good news. They were the first to know and the first to go.
LUKE 2:8-20
And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night. Shepherds took turns keeping the night watch. The job was that of protection: to lie across the sheep fold opening “the gate” or watch for predator animals. The exact people God planned for were on that night watch. The timing was not accidental.
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. 11 Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is Christ the Lord. 12 This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger." When the angel appeared bringing terror, they may have considered running but had nowhere to hide - the glory shone around them. They were a captive audience. They were assured there was no reason to fear and every reason to rejoice: Near by a Savior has been born. Not a baby who will grow up and become a savior, rather the baby born is already a savior. This was the one promised they had been waiting for but would have never expected to be the first to hear and see him. Winning the recent billion-dollar lottery would have been nothing compared to what was happening to them. They were given a sign - something that distinguishes one thing from another. As Jews they were familiar with God using signs to distinguish one thing form another - even Jewish circumcision was a sign of the covenant between God and the Jews. The sign was specific - a babe wrapped in cloths lying in a manger in Bethlehem. What if the Romans hadn’t controlled Israel? What if both Mary and Joseph were not in the lineage of David? What if David hadn’t been from Bethlehem? What if Augustus hadn’t required a census? The Romans were ok with your current address for the census, the Jews required a return to your ancestral home. God orchestrated centuries of activities to be certain that when Mary was 9 months pregnant she would make a difficult journey and had a window of only a few days for her to give birth as they would have returned to Nazareth had Mary been pregnant a week longer.
The Savior has been born for them - then for Israel “all the people” - then for the whole world 13 Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God and saying, 14 "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." 16 So they hurried off and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby, who was lying in the manger. (17-18) 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. 19 But Mary treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart.
17 When they had seen him, they spread the word concerning what had been told them about this child, 18 and all who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds said to them.
This is where we learn they are not only the first to know but also the first to go!
We are back to that odd part of the story: In the midst of this story, we are told what they would later do - spread the word concerning the savior. But we never hear of these shepherds again. But the savior himself is not done with the shepherd motif being of vital importance in spreading his word. He even calls himself the good shepherd who lays down his life for the sheep. (John 10:11) And after his resurrection…we see this scene:
FEED MY SHEEP
Do you know about Peter’s final conversation with Jesus? He no longer told him to be a fisher of men. He asked Peter 3 times if he truly loved him. Each time Peter answered yes, you know that I love you. Jesus’ expected response (especially after he had just given them another miracle catch of fish) would have been - go fish for men. Instead Jesus said to him - “Feed my lambs, take care of and feed my sheep.” Arguably the greatest of the disciples was commissioned to GO and share God’s story of salvation, not as a fisherman, but as a shepherd. When you know, it’s time to go!
SEPARATE SHEEP FROM GOATS
Matt 25:31-46
When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, he will sit on his throne in heavenly glory. All the nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate the people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. He will put the sheep on his right and the goats on his left.
Then the King will say to those on his right, 'Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world. For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.' Then the righteous will answer him, 'Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?' "The King will reply, 'I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me.'
Then he will say to those on his left, 'Depart from me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. For I was hungry and you gave me nothing to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me nothing to drink, I was a stranger and you did not invite me in, I needed clothes and you did not clothe me, I was sick and in prison and you did not look after me.' They also will answer, 'Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or needing clothes or sick or in prison, and did not help you?' He will reply, 'I tell you the truth, whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for me.' Then they will go away to eternal punishment, but the righteous to eternal life.
It was no accident that the shepherds were the first to know that the savior had come into the world for all people or that they were the first to go and spread this good news. The fisherman has now become a shepherd to spread that good news through caring. Jesus became the good shepherd to spread the good news through his words and actions. We are called, now that we know this good news, to become like the shepherds and spread the word that a savior has come into the world and wants to come into each person’s heart and life.
Spreading that good news begins with what we do here today - we worship him. We bring an offering of worship to our King. No one on earth deserves the praises that we sing. Jesus, may You receive the honor that You're due. O Lord, I bring an offering to You.
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