Luke 2:8-20

December 25, 2016

Lord’s Day Worship

Sean Higgins

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The sermon starts at 15:53 in the audio file.

Or, The Great Christmas Blasphemy That Wasn’t

What is the right way to respond to Christmas? I’m not actually concerned with the holiday, with a day off of work on December 25. I mean what is the appropriate response to the birth of Jesus? To the extent that our global holiday appreciates the Word made flesh, that’s great. Jesus had a birthday, and it’s fine with me if we all agree to recognize the same day on the calendar every year. But if we really grasp the meaning, and therefore the importance of the incarnation of God, what will we do?

We can learn a lot by considering how a group of pastors responded. These were pastors in Latin; in English we would call them shepherds, and not the figurative kind. “There were shepherds out in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night.” This wasn’t an outdoor, late-night accountability group, it was a plurality of men guarding a group of sheep, either theirs or someone who hired them.

Perhaps no one else in the nativity story got it so good as these shepherds. Mary and Joseph both heard from angels, Joseph in a dream (Matthew 1:20) and Mary had a conversation with Gabriel who visited her (Luke 1:26-39), but the shepherds got a show.

“An angel of the Lord appeared to them and the glory of the Lord shone around them” (Luke 2:9). After the announcement, “suddenly there was with the angels a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying, ‘Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace among men with whom he is pleased’” (Luke 2:13-14). The earthly parents received some explanation beforehand, the shepherds received a same-day report of the birth from an angelic choir. The wise men, who came over a year later, learned about the birth from a star (Matthew 2:2). But the shepherds got a direct and divine announcement that included an invitation to go and see the baby.

The shepherds also had the least amount of distance to travel. They were “in the same region,” outside of Bethlehem. Mary and Joseph had to travel from Nazareth in Galilee to the city of David (Luke 2:4), a distance of almost 70 miles. Also, as far as we know, none of the shepherds were pregnant. They were also much closer than “the wise men from the east” (Matthew 2:1), a reference to astrologers in Persia or Babylon, a journey of around 900 miles.

So the shepherds got a personal invite accompanied by the heavenly host singing and they were relatively close. That’s a trifecta. They invested the least amount of effort in the story and arguably got the greatest return on Christmas. It’s actually astonishing. What had they done to deserve this? Why did God choose them, out of all the people anywhere?

Simeon, who was “righteous and devout, waiting for the consolation of Israel, and the Holy Spirit was upon him (Luke 2:25), knew “by the Holy Spirit that he would not see death before he had seen the Lord’s Christ” (Luke 2:26). Simeon did get to see Jesus, but not in the manger on His birth day. Anna the prophetess also got to see Jesus, since “she did not depart from the temple, worshipping with fasting and prayer night and day” (Luke 2:36-37). The shepherds weren’t noted for being especially righteous, devoted, prayerful, or eagerly “waiting for the redemption of Jerusalem” (Luke 2:38).

Yet think of what the shepherds got.

Think of the theology!

When the angel appeared and the glory—the bright, brilliant light—of the Lord shone around them, “they were filled with fear.” That’s appropriate: humble fear. Then hear what the angel said to them.

“Fear not, for behold, I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord.” (Luke 2:10–11)

This birth is without precedent, but not without prophecy. The shepherds must have picked up on some of the te[...]