december Sermon of the Month:
The Angel’s Message To The Shepherds
Luke 2:9-18

This morning I want to share with you a message that changed the lives of its recipients and rocked their world! The message first arrived via special delivery. It was a delivery that was so important that the job was not even given to UPS or FedEx! Instead, angels were dispatched from their activities in Heaven to provide the special delivery! The message that warranted such great attention was found in Luke 2:10-12. An angel said, “Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people. 11 For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord. 12 And this shall be a sign unto you; Ye shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger.”  You may wonder why it took heavenly messengers to deliver a message about a baby born in rags in, of all places, a manger. However, what made the baby special was the fact that this baby was the Son of God. This still didn’t add up. To be politically correct, the message should have come to someone of Kingly stature, or perhaps the Chief High Priest, or other such religious authorities. However, it was delivered to shepherds. Yes, of all people, shepherds!

If we looked at the order of importance among men, somewhere near the bottom, you would probably find a shepherd. Shepherds were not the kind of people you would find praising and worshipping God. As a result, they were never viewed as worshippers. They were never the ones to be invited to the large feasts or events of the day, because they were lowly at best, and they were either snubbed or ignored by the well to do, as well as the religious community. They were despised in the eyes of the religious community, for they would never show up for services – and only the Lord could tell you the last time they would have shown up for the ceremonial laws of washing and cleansing. Their job as shepherds was a 24-hour job that just simply kept them too busy to do much socializing. Too often, we look at people with all our self-righteousness and prejudices.  As a result, we often have preconceived notions and stereotypes, and so we write people off. But God looks beyond all our faults and sees our needs! He is not impressed or concerned about the cars we drive, the houses that we live in, or the jobs where we work. Shepherding was not a fancy job that afforded the ability to ride on the most expensive stallion or camel in town. They didn’t live in a palace or fine homes. And yet, the roofs of their dwelling places were a part of the beautiful blue sky highlighted by the sun during the day, and wonderfully decorated by the moon and stars at night! This was much of what was afforded by their humble jobs. They didn’t have 9-to-5 jobs, so there was not much time away from the job. The sheep that they cared for were high maintenance. That’s why we need the Lord to be our Good Shepherd! Like sheep, all of us are high maintenance! But how interesting, of all the people to deliver this message, God gave the first message of His Son to common shepherds, those looked upon as sinners! They were not the regular Sabbath day attendees, but those who spent most of their time in the fields. Their peers mistrusted them, and their testimony would not even be counted in a court of law. They were considered anything but people of importance. Nevertheless, God never looks at us as other men. The Bible reminds us in 1 Sam 16:7, that “the LORD seeth not as man seeth; for man looketh on the outward appearance, but the LORD looketh on the heart.”

When we translate the message, the angel began by telling them not to be afraid. You see, when the angels descended, we are told in verse 9 that the glory of the Lord shown round about the shepherds. God’s glory was reflected as a great light. The word even suggests, “a light of great intensity.” It was like nothing that they had ever seen before. As a result, this must have been a fearful experience. The angel perhaps realized that they were frightened, and so began his proclamation by saying, “Fear not,” or as our young people would say, “Chill!” Behold, I bring you good news of great joy! At this point, they probably wondered, What was the news that such a delivery service would be used? The angel then mentioned that the news was to all people, first to the Jews, and then to the world. On this very day in the city of David, a Savior, which was Christ, would be born. This, of course, was no ordinary Savior; He was Christ the Lord, the Son of God. Paul said He, Jesus Christ, took not upon Him the nature of angels, but the seed of Abraham, which included the nature of Abraham and his posterity!  This is simply to say that He took on human flesh and became like a man. Now, I’m sure just like today, there must have been many babies born in Bethlehem on the same day as Christ’s birth. As a result, the angel said to them, “This is how you will know him. You will find this wonderful baby wrapped, not in fine linen, not in the king’s robe; instead, he will be wrapped in swaddling clothes. And by the way, of all places, He will be lying in a stable.” And suddenly, there was a whole bunch of other angels who joined this angel and began to form an angelic choir. Luke 2:13-14 tells us, “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, good will toward men.” Now don’t miss this, the angels had told the shepherds that this baby was going to be the Savior of the world! This little baby boy was the Christ, the Messiah, and the One Whom the prophets had promised would come!