Luke 2:8–16
8 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.
I believe the detail of the shepherds at this part of the Christmas story is to point out that average people were doing what they usually did on an ordinary night. The proverbial “same ‘ol same ‘ol,” certainly nothing amazing about this night . . . until the angel of the Lord showed up and the glory of the Lord shone around them! Their response was understandable . . . “they were terrified.”
I can see them now. Fighting sleep as they are out in the darkness of their fields, perhaps their minds wandering as they attempt to train their eyes on all their sheep, then wham! An actual angel in front of them and the glory of the Lord shining brightly around them. They had never experienced this type of being or the brightness like this in their lives!
Maybe the angel came so boldly to ensure the shepherds would be awake and alert to receive his message. What he’s about to announce is “good news of great joy” for everyone. He tells the shepherds that a Savior has been born to you. This Savior is Christ the Lord. Christ is the Greek word for the Hebrew word Messiah. Even shepherds knew about a Messiah that was promised to come to Israel. But this Messiah, this Christ would be for all the people, the whole world.
This supernatural experience wasn’t over yet, out of nowhere, a large number, maybe too many to count, of heavenly beings appeared with the angel to celebrate giving God glory. It could be that as fast as they came, they left. I wonder if there were a few moments of silence before the first shepherd said, “Did you see what I just saw?” After high-fiving each other they said we’ve got to get to Bethlehem and see this baby!”
Just as the shepherds looked for Jesus and found Him you too will find Him when you seek Him with all your heart. May we all be just as excited to see Jesus as the reason for the season and everyday!
Merry Christmas,
Corporate Chaplain
Mike Bynum
941-297-9467