Joy: The Shepherds Candle Luke 2:8 20

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1 CORNERSTONE BIBLE CHURCH December 14, 2014 Joy: The Shepherds Candle Luke 2:8 20 Introduction: Birth Announcements This past Monday night, we received news that some of our good friends from our church back in Kansas gave birth to their first baby. A little girl. Samantha Jane Clabaugh was born at 5:13 pm on Monday, December 8 th. She weighed in at 7lbs, 3oz and was 19.5 inches long. When we received the word that she was born, my wife and I were extremely joyful. We were excited for the new life God has given to our friends as they now begin this new phase of their life. If you think about it, the way we have come to announce these things has changed over the years. For many years, the doctor would come out into a waiting room filled with family and friends letting them know that it s a boy or it s a girl. And then the word would begin to spread. For my friends on Monday night, I was overjoyed to be included in a 30 person group text at about 11:30 pm EST. Yep, for the next hour or so, everyone responded with great joy at the birth of this baby girl. This morning, I want to talk about another night, long ago, when some very common people didn t get much sleep because of another birth announcement. A little over 2,000 years ago, there was a group of shepherds out in a field tending to their flocks when an angel appears to them announcing the birth of the Messiah, Jesus Christ, who would be their Lord. In Luke 2, we get to learn all about this announcement and see how it changes these shepherds. In fact, for the next two weeks, we are going to be looking at this birth announcement. This week, we want to focus our time particularly on the shepherds and the joy they experience as a result of this announcement. And then next week, we are going to look in more detail at these angels and the message of love they bring to the shepherds and to us as well. BIG IDEA: THE JOY THAT COMES FROM FINDING JESUS IS AVAILABLE TO ANYONE WHO SEEKS AFTER HIM. Nobody is ever the same once they seek after Jesus. This isn t a game of hide and seek in which you get bored and never find Him. When someone truly and honestly seeks after Jesus, they find what their heart has been missing their entire life. There are going to be many things you are going to seek after in the coming weeks. Some people are going to seek after toys and games; some will seek after family; some will seek happiness in the giving of gifts; some will seek solidarity and peace of mind; some are going to seek after rest and relaxation; some are going to seek after friendship... and all of these things can be good. But all of these things will leave you empty if they are all you seek after. But if you seek after Jesus, He will change you like He changed these lowly 1

2 shepherds a few thousand years ago. We have said it before, but Jesus doesn t care what kind of person you are. He accepts anyone. Nobody has to clean up their life before running to Him. He accepts you where you are at, but He is never content to leave you where you are. He wants to give you a joy that will revolutionize the way you think of life. That s what I want to talk about this morning as we see it in the life of these shepherds. Vs These shepherds are in the same region of Bethlehem where Mary has just given birth to baby Jesus. We don t know for certain, but they are probably a few miles outside of the village and they are watching their sheep by night. The occupation of shepherd was, at best, a common occupation. What I mean by this is that most people see the shepherds as the lower people in the society. They are outcasts. Sinners. Many of them are dishonest. They are not considered special in any way. And it is to these men that God chooses to come announcing the birth of His Son. These ordinary men are the first to hear the announcement of Jesus birth. God doesn t go first to the wealthiest person in Israel so that they could begin the process of funding the ministry Jesus would begin 30 years later. He doesn t go to the most religious Scribe or Pharisee who has studied the OT more than anyone else. He doesn t take the message of the birth of the King of all kings to King Herod or to any other political leader. He takes the message to lowly, humble, crooked, ordinary blue-collar workers out in the field. He takes the message first to these shepherds. And so, let s connect the dots. We learned last week that Jesus is born in the most unlikely of places. A dumpy, rural town. He isn t born in the most visible and most prominent place in Israel. He isn t born in Jerusalem, but in Bethlehem. And now, we learn that the first announcement of His birth comes to the most unlikely of people. Shepherds. Ordinary, common men. I hope this is just another reminder to us that God doesn t work the way we would or the way we think He should. God often uses the weak of the world to make a point that He is the strong one. His followers have nothing to boast about other than that they have a mighty God. As Paul says in 2 Corinthians, we are nothing but ordinary, clay pots. These ordinary, common men are simply out doing their job of watching sheep at night. These were the men God wanted to hear the gospel: working-class sinners. Like everything else about the birth of Christ, this upsets our expectations. We tend to think that God is for the good people, when in fact he is for needy sinners who are desperate for grace. As Mary sang in her Magnificat, Jesus came to bring down the thrones of the mighty and exalt those of humble estate (Luke 1:52). Who better to exalt than lowly shepherds? We do not even know 2

3 their names! If God had grace for them, he has grace for any poor sinner who will come to Jesus in faith. 1 Even in this announcement, it should bring hope and joy to our souls. When God comes to this earth, the first people He wants to tell are those that are looked at as desperate sinners. Does that resonate with anyone? Can anyone put yourself in their place? You see, if God wants to announce that He has sent His son to be the savior, and He first takes the message to the worst of sinners, how great news is that to me, a great sinner? This puts a smile on my face because it says that this message is for me. And you. And so as I read this, I become more and more attentive and alert to what is going to happen. When Luke tells us that they are keeping watch of their sheep out in the field at night, this is not an insignificant detail. There are some who take this to mean that Jesus couldn t have been born on December 25 th. We have no way of either affirming nor denying that Joseph and Mary made their journey to Bethlehem in December and Jesus was actually born on the 25 th. It is true that in Israel, the normal months shepherds are out in the fields with their sheep from March until November. After this, they are brought inside because of the winter months. But this is not a hard and fast rule. There are some winters that are mild enough that shepherds keep their sheep outside. That may be the interesting part of them keeping their flock by night, but the important part that helps us walk in their shoes is to picture ourselves outside at night; in the dark of the night; where some are sleeping, some are watching, and all of a sudden an angel shows up. These ordinary, common men are simply out doing their job of watching sheep at night when the most amazing thing happens to them. And angle appears to them and the glory of the Lord shines around them. And how do the shepherds respond? They are scared. And I can imagine why. They are out going about their business, in the middle of the night, and all of a sudden an angel appears to them. And if that is not enough, this angel has the Shekinah glory of God radiating from him and surrounding these shepherds. Imagine a dark night and all of a sudden you are completely surrounded by bright lights. This is before headlights in cars. This is before any portable lighting systems. Before light bulbs. Their source of light at night was fire and all of a sudden they are surrounded by bright lights. And so when we are told they are filled with great fear, I can well imagine why. The angel s response is to tell them not to fear. We will get into detail next week on this message of good news that is for great joy for all people. But just note the basics of what the angel tells them. This is the birth announcement. Today, in the city of David, is born a savior who is Christ the Lord. And this will be the sign for you, you will find a baby wrapped in swaddling clothes 1 Ryken, Philip Graham. Luke, Volume 1: Chapters (Phillipsburg, NJ: P & R Publishing, 2009), 77. 3

4 and lying in a manger. Did you see what is not included here? A command to go to Bethlehem and look for the child. The angel never tells the shepherds what to do. They are never commanded to seek out this savior who is born on this day. They are simply told of how they can find Him. If they are curious enough to seek out the Savior, they will find Him in the city of David (Bethlehem) and He will be the baby that is swaddled in clothes, lying where animals normally feed. How would you have responded? Put yourself in that situation, what would you have done? You are just going about your business one day and all of a sudden an angel shows up telling you about the birth of some baby who is the long-awaited Messiah and King. What are you going to do? You are simply going about your business and someone at work begins telling you about what he calls the good news that Jesus has come, what are you going to do? You are just going about an ordinary day and someone invites you to church to hear some good news of great joy, what are you going to do? These shepherds, even though they are scared, they run towards the good news instead of away from it. Vs As soon as the angels leave, the shepherds begin talking among themselves and their first thought is to go and investigate. They were in such awe at the message shared to them that they left what they were doing in order to go seek out the good news, which was just shared with them. The angel simply share the good news and these shepherds go running to see more. And I think a very important statement is made to us in vs. 15. Who do they say told them the good news? They want to go see this thing that the Lord has made known to them. And yet, who was it that shared the message to them? The angels. You see, they quickly connected the angels to God. They feel privileged that God has brought this message of good news and great joy to them, so they go running after it. We are told they run with haste. At once. They don t delay. When the message of the gospel is told to them, they respond immediately. And when they get to Bethlehem, they find Mary & Joseph and the baby lying in the manger, exactly how it was described to them. The sign that they are told to look for is found in the baby wrapped in cloths lying in a manger. I have to wonder what it would have been like to walk into that stable or cave and look at this baby for the first time for these men? I highly doubt there was a golden crown floating over Jesus head. I highly doubt no crying He makes describes Jesus in those first few days. I doubt they are simply in awe at the cuteness of a newborn baby. At that moment, when they walk in and find a baby swaddled in clothes and lying in a manger, the place where animals normally feed, they know at once that this message that is told to them is true. When they meet Jesus, they know He is the Messiah. They know He is the Lord of all. They look past the cuteness of an infant to witness the 4

5 glory of the King of the Universe. And this is when they tell their story. When they see the situation as described by the angels, they begin telling everyone what happened to them out in the field by their flock. I have to imagine that Joseph and Mary are a bit shocked on one hand, but also not really surprised when these guys show up. After all, let s not forget what has just happened to them. They are engaged to be married when Mary gets pregnant. She is not pregnant because of any ordinary means as we are told that she is still a virgin. The angel tells her and then Joseph that this child is the work of God. She is going to be the one to carry the Son of God. Nine months pass and a decree is given that each family must register in the hometown of their family. So they make the long journey from Nazareth to Bethlehem when she is nine months pregnant. And while they are there, the labor pains begin. They travel to this city and now they have no place to stay. They find room out back of an inn (please don t think Hampton Inn or even the Motel 8). It is probably in a stable or some sort of cave. And there, she gives birth to this baby they have heard much about already. No doubt, while they are alone, they had help with the birth of this baby. No way do I believe that Joseph handles this birth himself. I mean, let s not forget how full the town is at this moment that there isn t even a bed for a very pregnant woman. And so she gives birth to baby Jesus and then these shepherds show up unannounced. No twitter message. They didn t post any pictures on Facebook or Instagram. They just show up and begin telling everyone about how they found out that this baby has been born. I hope you see the connection that those who first hear the good news of the birth of Jesus are the first ones to share the message of good news with others. I m sure that most of the people who are in Bethlehem at the time of this birth have no idea who Mary is and what has just happened to her. And so these guys show up and tell the message of the good news that was shared with them. They hear the message, investigated the message, and now begin sharing the message. And the people who hear their story wonder at what they say. They are amazed. They marvel. But it doesn t say they believe. Mary treasures this message up in her heart. I m sure it only reaffirms to her what she remembers the angel telling her about nine months before this, but we are also told she ponders them. Could this be true? Did this really happen to me? These shepherds, through their actions, not only hear the message and share the message, they are also used by God to encourage Mary during what must have been one of the most frightening times in her life. The way different people in this story respond to the message of the good news only reminds me how different people are going to respond to the message of Jesus during this coming Christmas season. Different people 5

6 respond to the good news in different ways. Some people are going to dismiss this message. While we do not see this response in this particular event, we do know from the rest of the Scriptures that many people will dismiss Jesus. They ignore Him. Some even hate Him. They may not hate the child, but they hate what the child represents. It is not too long after this that we read about Herod, the king, who sends his henchmen to kill all baby boys two years and younger in this region. He hates the fact that there is a baby born that some are calling the new king. He hates the thought that someone other than himself could be ruler. There are very few people who want to kill baby Jesus, there are thousands upon thousands that shout to kill the man the baby becomes. Why? Well, there are many who hate the fact that Jesus demands that you give up running your own life. There are many who despise the implication that they need a savior. During this season, we are tempted to dismiss this message of the good news of Jesus when Christmas becomes more about our life and our toys and our list than it becomes about what He came to accomplish on our behalf. Some dismiss this message when it becomes the pomp and circumstance of decorations and cookies and Santa instead of the baby Jesus. I pray you are not numbered among those that dismiss the message of the good news of Jesus birth. But there are others. Some people are going to appreciate this message. This seems to be the response of the people who hear the message of the shepherds of what God has done for them. These are people who like the story of Christmas, they like the story of the baby, but they wonder if it is really true. Is Jesus really the Savior? Is He really Lord? Or is it just a little too much like a good storybook? There are some who are going to hear the message of baby Jesus this year and really appreciate it, but it will go no further. They love the story. They love the thought of a baby King being born. It s nostalgic. It would make a good movie. But their appreciation stops before it leads them to love the baby. They have little desire to go deeper. They don t seek Him out. And because of this, they never experience the joy that comes with knowing Jesus Christ. Jesus doesn t want to be appreciated; He wants to be worshipped! Some people are going to investigate this message. This is what we initially see the shepherds do in traveling to Bethlehem. They hear this message from the angels and they seek it out. They want to know further. They want to see it firsthand. They want more information. They want to know if it is true. And then, we even see this thought of investigation in the heart of Mary. One commentator makes the point about Mary s reaction in vs The word treasure indicates that she was holding on to the words of the gospel by faith. But the word ponder shows that she still had some things to 6

7 think about. This word refers to a person who is puzzled by what they have heard but keeps it in mind in order to understand, often with divine help, its meaning. It is an indication of an extended period of sustained reflection by someone trying to make sense and plumb the depths of all that she had experienced. Mary had a faith that was seeking understanding. 2 We see this investigation and conflict continue in the life of Mary through much of her life. There are times when she is confused and doesn t really believe that Jesus is who He claims to be, even to the point of opposing His calling. In Mark 3, we are told that the family of Jesus tries to stop Him in His ministry because they think He is out of His mind. Mary shows up and tries to get in to talk to Him about it and Jesus says that His family are those that do the will of God. It sure seems as thought there are times when she doesn t fully understand who it is that she has given birth to on this night. But she keeps processing it and in the end, we see her coming to faith in her own son. This is true of many of us. There is a level of understanding and faith, but it isn t fully there. Keep investigating. Keep praying and plumbing the depths of the reality of who the Bible says this baby is. The thing to do is to believe as much as we can and to keep thinking about the gospel, asking God to make us more certain of our salvation in Christ. 3 This then leads us to the last response people have of this good news of great joy! Some people are going to believe this message. This is what we see in the shepherds. When they walk into that stable and see the baby as described by the angels, it solidifies their thinking. They come investigating; they leave worshipping. We are told in vs. 20 that they return back to their sheep different men. They are not fearful or seeking; they are glorifying and praising God for all they heard and saw as it confirmed the message preached to them by the angels. Their process toward faith begins when God reveals the message of good news of great joy to them through the angels. Maybe for some of you, you first heard this message when you were a child through your parents. Maybe you heard it through a friend who told you the true meaning of Christmas. Maybe you are hearing it for the first time this morning. But at some point, the message of the gospel is revealed to you by God through His Word. And then you investigate it. I hope you run towards it just like the shepherds. And when they see that the message is correct, faith takes root in their life. This is when you and I come to the point of having eyes to see and believe that Jesus is indeed much more than simply a cute baby on a grand holiday. And we believe and are changed forever. This is our main thought this morning: THE JOY THAT COMES FROM FINDING JESUS IS AVAILABLE TO ANYONE WHO SEEKS AFTER HIM. 2 Ryken, Ryken, 86. 7

8 Salvation comes from hearing and believing the message of Jesus who was born in a manger, grows to become a man who dies on the cross to pay the penalty of our sins, and who is raised from the dead to overcome sin and death once for all. That s the message I want you to hear this morning. And all of this is done to the glory of God. That is why these guys leave glorifying and praising God. Please, I beg of you, please don t make this Christmas season about you. Jesus was not born in a dumpy rural town so that you could make this celebration a thing about you. The message didn t go to the shepherds so that everything could revolve around your little world. He didn t grow up and go to the cross so that you could take pride in your life. He did it so that you could be freed from your life. He did it so that you could look beyond yourself and glorify Him and praise God forever. He did it so that you could one day experience the joy that comes with finding Him! As JC. Ryle has said, The journey that is begun in faith will generally end in praise. The shepherds, these most unlikely of people, hear the message of the good news. They respond with curiosity and investigation. This then leads to transformation and they are never the same again. The good news received by faith in the heart of anyone leads to joyful obedience in running toward Christ. I hope that describes you this Christmas season. 8