Tuesday, December 15, 2015

What We Can Learn from the Shepherds
Luke 2:8-20
We have heard this story forever.  I remember my mother challenging as a young boy to be able to do what Linus did in the beloved “Charlie Brown Christmas” and recite from memory this great passage found in Luke 2 known as the Christmas Story.  Perhaps even you have heard and seen like I did for the first time this year that as Linus recites this passage and gets to the part we have already read where the angel says “Fear not,” then drops his security blanket.  There seems to have been a great buzz about this on Christian radio this year, so I watched it.  Sure enough, Linus starts his recitation and gets to “Fear Not” then drops his blanket.  But one thing I noticed, is that at the end of his great oration, he picks it back up and walks off the stage.  Sometimes you and I are like that and return to the familiar.  This morning I want to invite you to look at this story that you have heard over and over and listen for something new.  I invite you to hear the Revelation of Christ being born, the Realization of Christ being worshipped, and the Response of Christ being shared.
The Shepherds were outcasts.  They had a dirty job.  Their work made them ceremonially unclean and kept them away from the temple for weeks at a time which prevented them from being made clean.  Perhaps they even cared for the sheep that were to be used at the temple as sacrifices, yet they were forbidden to enter the gates of temple.  So they had to remain out in the fields.  The fields were open and dangerous.  As a shepherd, they were protect their sheep from danger so they had to be alert and wide awake.  They were men’s men.  They were practical and not easily persuaded to believe in things that could be mythical or fantasy.  It was their job and way of life to protect the sheep at all costs.  Then it happens.  An angel appears in a way that all of these shepherds see it.  The glory of the Lord is revealed and they are terrified.  Can you imagine what that was like?  Years ago, I had a friend from college that was driving a back road from the Blue Ridge Parkway back to Mars Hill.  On this particular road there was a church in one of the curves that had a very bright fluorescent lighted cross that would blind drivers coming down the mountain.  My friend had been drinking and partying and decided he could make his way home.  On the way home he lost control of his car, ran into ditch and the impact temporarily knocked him out.  When he came too, he was at the foot of that cross being blinded by the light.  In his drunken state, he thought he had died and was about to be judged for his actions and confessed his sin and vowed to never drink again.  He was afraid of that light and the seeming glory of that light.  It caused him great fear.  Have you ever seen the glory of God?  Scripture tells us in Exodus 40:34-35 that the glory of God was contained in the tabernacle.  “Then the cloud covered the Tent of Meeting, and glory of the Lord filled the tabernacle.  Moses could not enter the Tent of Meeting because the cloud had settled upon it, and the glory of the Lord filled the tabernacle.”  The people could perceive and experience the greatness of God when His glory was revealed.  2 Chronicles 7:1-3 also shows us something about the glory of God:  “When Solomon finished praying, fire came down from heaven and consumed the burnt offering and the sacrifices, and the glory of the Lord filled the temple.  The priests could not enter the temple of the Lord because of the glory of the Lord filled it.  When all the Israelites saw the fire coming down and the glory of the Lord above the temple, they knelt on the pavement with their faces to the ground, and they worshiped and gave thanks to the Lord saying, ‘He is good; His love endures forever.’”  Surely the shepherds had heard stories from their ancestors how God revealed His glory to Moses and Abraham and the prophets.  They recognized that this was not from this world and Luke shares with us here that they were terrified.  I bet they have the “pujoobies” scared out them.  These rugged, earthy men were afraid.  But notice what the angel does next, “Do not be afraid.”  The King James Version says “Fear not.”  He goes on to say “I have for you the greatest news of the history of the world!  I am giving you good news of great joy that will be for all the people.  Today, in the town of David, over there in Bethlehem, a Savior has been born.”  It was not the good news of a soldier being born nor a great judge being born, nor a reformer being born, but it was the good news of a savior being born!   It was a message of peace to the world that had known much war.  Even though the Pax Romana had been in place for many years, there was turmoil in the land.  People were taxed excessively, wages were hard to come by, and there were arguments in the religious community about how one should live.  Sounds like today doesn’t it?  One writer states “the absence of war does not guarantee the presence of peace.”  In fact, the Stoic Philosopher Epictetus said “while the emperor may give peace from war on land or sea, he is unable to give peace from passion, grief and envy.  He cannot give peace of heart for which man yearns more than ever for outward peace.”  This angel said I have good news and it is going to give you great joy.  Joy produces peace.  In fact, after the angel makes the pronouncement “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,” the one angel is joined with a great company of the heavenly host praising God and saying, “Glory to God in the highest and on earth peace to men on whom His favor rests.”  It is interesting here to note that the Hebrew word SHALOM means well-being, health, prosperity, security, soundness, and completeness.  It is more about character than circumstances.  This can only come from God!
Great Joy.  Great Peace. Great God.
No doubt these shepherds had heard the prophets proclaim of a coming messiah.  They knew of the promised one.  Isn’t interesting that the first ones to hear about the birth of Christ were shepherds.  The Messiah came to be both the Good Shepherd and the Lamb of God!  They had a revelation that Christ is born!
With the revelation that Christ is born, the shepherds also had a realization.   Verse 15-16 states “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.”  They realized this was no dream.  They knew this was to be true.  They had just experienced the glory of God and they were ready to enter into the presence of Christ.  It was immediate:  “they hurried off.”  There was no delay.  They left their jobs and went in search of what they had been told.  The revelation led to a realization.  The realization was to pay reverent honor and homage to Christ the Lord.  By the way, if you look up the word worship on www.dictionary.com, the very first definition listed is “to pay reverent honor and homage to God,” Their realization was to WORSHIP.  Listen to this another way.  When you and I realize this Christmas that Christ, a Savior, was born to reconcile our sinful, filthy lives and give us access to a Holy, righteous God, we will worship!  The Glory of God was revealed to these dirty, nasty, hardworking men and they immediately go to find this Christ.  They didn’t get cleaned up.  They didn’t wait for the right moment.  They didn’t wait until the stars were properly aligned.  They didn’t wait until there was a better time.  They went immediately.  The use of the word found in this passage means they had a search to find this baby.  Perhaps they ran from door to door shouting and disturbing the whole town, “hey is there a baby here?” Then finally, they found him.  Do you think they said, “Oh cool, there he is, doesn’t he look like his daddy?”  Do you think they picked him up and held him?  That’s an awkward thought, or is it?  Or do you think that they bowed down and worshipped that baby?  I have tried to put myself in their sandals, having experienced what they did, I would think I would have come into that barn or cave or whatever it was, and just sat there in awe thinking of how a Mighty and Holy God just gave to me in the form of a baby, the greatest gift of all, that how through Him I could have life and have it abundantly.  My sins being forgiven and my relationship with God being restored.  Just the mere thought of that leads me to worship!  Hallelujah what a savior!
We don’t know for sure what happened there or how long they stayed.  The Revelation that Christ is born led to the realization and Christ was worshipped.  You know, the same happens to you and I if we think about it and are really honest.  When it is revealed to us that Christ is born for the redemption of our sins and we truly realize it, we are going to worship Him.  Verse 17-18 states “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.”  The revelation was that Christ is born.  The realization caused for Christ to be worshiped.  The response is that Christ must be shared.  The shepherds were the first missionaries if you will.  They shared the good news and joy of Christ coming to this world.  We know from the text that the shepherds left.  “Mary treasured up these things and pondered them in her heart.  The shepherds returned to their work glorifying and praising God for all the things they had heard and seen, which were just as they had been told.”
Now begs the question, what are you going to do with what you have been told?  My prayer for you is that you will have a revelation about Christ being born, a realization that will lead you worship Him, and by doing so, you will respond by telling others what you have heard and seen, which is just what you have been told.

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