The Shepherd’s Return

Luke chapter two. So what we’re doing is basically
a historical sweep, we’re trying to take these passages on the
birth accounts, the birth both of John the Baptist and of Christ,
we’re trying to take them in somewhat of a historical order. There are some just amazing tools
out there for God’s people. One of the one of my favorites
is a harmony of the Gospels, which seeks to kind of come up
with a blend of what takes place at what particular time. And
I just found those to be so enriching over the years, but a harmony
of the Gospels. That’s a book that should be
on the Saints shelf and even better yet in their lap. And
so, we’re coursing through these passages and we come to what
is arguably one of everybody’s favorite Christmas season passages. And along those lines, I just
wanted to basically prompt the thought that you might want to
begin working on your Christmas list. Most people have already,
they’re probably well underway. They picked out the style and
color and the brand, the quantity. They know exactly where the items
can be purchased so that anybody who asks, including, you know,
relatives and friends, they can be quick with a ready answer
of where they can purchase such an item. And then, of course,
we should, although The list of things that we want for ourselves
is always much easier to compile, isn’t it? Than the list of things
that we really need to find for our loved ones. That list should
also be well underway. We should be considering what
our loved ones might enjoy in the course of our gift giving.
And I realize there are different traditions and some people keep
that circle of gift giving very small, maybe just to their own
immediate family and others, you know, into the extended family
and they practically mortgage their future on purchasing gifts. I get that. But I wanted to pose
a question to God’s people this morning. I wonder what you would
get, God. I wonder what gift you would
give to God. What are you getting God for
Christmas? It’s kind of an absurd question.
I just ask you to bear with me, because I think what you’ll see.
From the example of the shepherds. Is. People that gave God what
he most desires. If you would look at look to.
Once again, but perhaps from a different perspective. Now, in those days, a decree
went out from Caesar Augustus that a census be taken of all
the inhabited earth. This was the first census taken
while Quirinius was governor of Syria, and everyone was on
his way to register for the census, each to his own city. Joseph
also went up from Galilee, from the city of Nazareth to Judea,
to the city of David, which is called Bethlehem. because he
was of the house and family of David in order to register along
with Mary, who was engaged to him and was with child. While
they were there, the days were completed for her to give birth.
She gave birth to her firstborn son and she wrapped him in cloths
and laid him in a manger because there was no room for them in
the end. The same region, there were some shepherds staying out
in the fields and keeping watch over their flock by night. And
an angel of the Lord suddenly stood before them, and the glory
of the Lord shone around them, and they were terribly frightened.
But the angel said to them, Do not be afraid, for behold, I
bring you good news of great joy, which will be for all the
people. For today in the city of David, there has been born
for you a Savior who is Christ the Lord. This will be a sign
for you will find the baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.
And suddenly there appeared with the angel 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. And
the angels had gone away from them into heaven. The shepherds
began saying to one another, Let us go straight to Bethlehem
then and see this thing which has happened, which the Lord
has made known to us. So, they came in a hurry and
found their way to Mary and Joseph and the baby as he lay in the
manger. When they had seen this, they made known the statement
which had been told them about this child. And all who heard
it wondered at the things which were told them by the shepherds.
But Mary treasured all these things, pondering them in her
heart. The shepherds went back, glorifying and praising God for
all that they had heard and seen. Justice had been told. I want
to go back to the historical backdrop of this passage back
in verse one. Where Luke is very careful to
give us some very particular details, he first of all says
in those days, this is simple. It takes into account the entire
context that not only Matthew, but because of our our plan this
time through. We can even encompass some of
the things that have already been communicated in Matthew’s
gospel, but it takes into account all that has transpired up to
this point. The conception and birth of John
the Baptist, Mary’s visit to Elizabeth, the rejoicing that
followed both on Elizabeth’s part and on Mary’s part. Here’s
the scene, and one author painted it very well. Throughout the
centuries, God had so led the course of history that everything
was now preparing for the coming of his son, the weary, longing
spirit of mankind was in dire need of his coming. The fullness
of time had arrived. And at last, the promised redeemer
whose coming had been looked forward to with much heartfelt
yearning is born. And so when Luke records that
in those days he’s he’s dialing it down, he’s taking us to a
specific time point in history when something so fantastic is
about to take place. But he further characterizes
it with kind of a political flavoring. He says a decree went out from
Caesar Augustus. that a census be taken of all
the inhabited Earth. Not unlike our own census, which,
you know, they’ve definitely gone. They’re much more limited in
the scope of our history than they were in those days. But
ultimately, these census, these nose countings that were done
throughout the land, were done ultimately for the purpose of
taxation. They wanted to know how many kids you had, because
in 10 years, they’re going to have that many more taxpayers. And they would take your name,
they would record your occupation, they would take note of your
property, what property you owned, who were your relatives. And
what this little word points to is a very detailed, very carefully
recorded set of data. And they would do this, ultimately,
as I said, for the purpose of taxation. And so there is a bit
of a political overtone to this. This is the context in which
not only Mary and Joseph were living, but Christ was to be
born into that setting and the Jews were living under that hostile
and overbearing regime. But it’s almost humorous the
way Luke characterizes And you know that he that this language
was out there and that this mentality was out there, that this decree
goes out from Caesar Augustus, that a census be taken, that
every nose be counted and get this in all the inhabited earth.
Oh, really? You’re going to take boats and
go down to New Guinea, they haven’t even discovered some of these
parts of the world yet. Australia points even unknown. And you’re going to count every
possible knows now really what it what it refers to, even in
the arrogant way that the Caesar must have stated it. Even he
knew that his kingdom was limited. He’s talking about the Roman
Empire. But this, too. Even this detail
that Luke provides works into the sovereign hand of God. that
a heathen ruler would call for the taxation of his people, necessitating
that a census be taken. But meanwhile, allowing for the
accommodation of the Jewish nation. Which just happened to have a
system that was perfect for taking such accounting. Tribes. Tribes, twelve of them in all,
that would all work together for the fulfillment of the greatest
prophecy of God’s plan of redemption, those prophecies pertaining to
the Messiah. One pastor said, let us ever
rest our souls on the thought that the times are in God’s hands. We need to hear that in our own
day, don’t we? The times are in God’s hands. He knows the
best season for sending help to his church and a new light
to the world. Let us beware of giving way to
anxiety about the course of events around us, as if we knew better
than the King of Kings what time relief should come. And so that
gives us a bit of the historical backdrop, but we come into the
family of David, the family of David. Look at verse four. Joseph
also went up from Galilee from the city of Nazareth to Judea
to the city of David, which is called Bethlehem, because he
was of the house and family of David. We have spent no little
time looking at the genealogies, looking at the implications of
involving not only Mary, but Joseph in Christ’s life. This was for the purpose of providing
a savior within the Davidic line to take the throne of David,
just as had been prophesied. But the question has to be. Birth is not such a big deal
for us men, it’s not that hard, right? We just show up, we take
our place in the waiting room or if, you know, we really have
to work at it, we go into the delivery room. But the question
has to be asked, and any woman reading this passage would ask
this question immediately. Why on earth would Mary make
this trip? Why would Mary have to travel? Because that’s exactly what verse
five points to. We know that Joseph had to go.
We know that this system that the Jews had for taking a census
was very simple. You would just go to your tribe
city. And you would register you would
register under your tribe that information that could be given
to the Roman government. But why on earth would merit
Mary wasn’t obligated to go as a female. And so one commentator suggested
that only a legal necessity would have made them willing to take
such a journey. But if you think about it what
about integrity. What about the fact that this
is the edict that the Caesar, the authority of the day, had
issued? And what about their own integrity?
What about submission to governing authorities? What about their
testimony? There are other reasons. What
an amazing example, if that’s the only reason that he had.
What an amazing example Joseph provides for us. That here he
is with a pregnant wife. And he’s mind you, he’s not just
having a baby, he’s having the Messiah. His wife is preparing
to give birth to the Messiah. If there was ever a day, if there
was ever a time in a moment for Joseph to disregard earthly authority,
this was it, isn’t it? You know, I don’t need to give
you my name. I don’t need to give you my taxes. My wife is carrying the Messiah
himself. But not Joseph. Joseph, before
Christ had ever even preached this truth, Joseph modeled rendering
to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s and the thing that are
God’s to God. Well. There might be another
reason why Mary would go. Mary would no doubt be anxious.
She didn’t want to be alone at this time. As she was drawing
near to give birth. That’s true. I think there’s
another very plain, very clear reason why Mary would accompany
her husband in the state that she was in. To Bethlehem. Bethlehem was this tiny little
town. Six miles from Jerusalem. And there was biblical history
to look at Genesis 35. This is where Rachel died. The story of Ruth is oriented
there. Certainly the life of David courses
through Bethlehem. It was called the House of Bread.
That’s what the word Bethlehem means. One of the most ancient
towns in all of Palestine. And even the fact that they were
headed towards Bethlehem was a fulfillment of scripture, remember? Luke is writing for a more general
audience, and so he doesn’t even take acknowledgment of it. He
doesn’t cite Old Testament prophecy, but it’s there. Matthew does. But the prophecy standing behind
this entire passage is Mike applied to, you know, the passage, but
as for you, Bethlehem at Pratha, too little among the clans of
Judah. From you will go forth for me to be a ruler in Israel. His goings forth are from long
ago, from the days of eternity. Any Jew, any Jew who knew their
Old Testament scriptures knew that this passage spoke of the
Messiah and that he was going to come from these humble beginnings. that he was going to have a glorious
reign and that he was going to have an eternal existence. They
knew that this passage spoke of the Messiah. They knew it. So the fact that the Messiah
was to be born in Bethlehem. That would be that would be plain.
To Joseph and Mary. Remember this, that Mary had
already been brought in on the news. by the angel who had already
announced to her that her son, Jesus, would be great, that he
would be called the son of the Most High. The Lord God will
give him the throne of his father, David, and his reign will he
will reign over the house of Jacob forever. His kingdom will
have no end. She knew that she bore the Messiah. What about Joseph? Well, Joseph
had been let on it. We saw that last Lord’s Day.
Joseph had been led on it, as we saw in Matthew chapter one. Matthew was, Matthew records
that Joseph was ready to do away, send Mary away because he discovered
that she was with child. The angel came to him and let
Joseph in on the news. Joseph, son of David, do not
be afraid to take Mary as your wife, for the child is who has
been conceived in her is of the Holy Spirit. Even right there,
Joseph would know this is a very special child. Miraculous. She
will bear a sign. You will call his name Jesus.
The one who saves. For he will save his people from
their sins. Joseph knew. Joseph knew that
this was the Messiah. Mary knew that this was the Messiah.
And if they knew, as they I’m certain that they did, that the
Messiah was to be born in Bethlehem. Then they saw this as just the
providential hand of God at work. And their duty coincided with
the sovereignty of God to go and register for the census was
no problem to them. And probably done even with a
special joy in their heart. Look at the Messiah’s birth in
verse six. While they were there, the days were completed for her
to give birth. She gave birth to her firstborn son and she
wrapped him in cloths and laid him in a manger because there
was no room for them at the end. There were some people that there’s
some people that do some fanciful things with that. No room at
the end business. It doesn’t have to indicate that
there’s already a hostility towards the Savior, a hostility towards
Christ. and a hostility towards his parents.
It just means the hotel was full. No vacancy sign was up and the
only place for them. Mind you, anybody aware of it
could have given up their room. But they were rare. There are
probably more people that were just completely ignorant of the
situation. It isn’t due to lack of hospitality. It just means the town was full.
Remember, they’re taking a census and everybody was obligated to
come and to bring these numbers. What it’s what it reminds us
of, though. Is of the humble conditions that
Christ came. Not only did he come and take
on human flesh, but he was born essentially into poverty. JC
Ryle said, had Christ chosen to dwell in a palace? With power
and great authority, we should have had reason enough to wonder
if God came down and took on the greatest kingdom of the world
and took the throne, we should say, well, that’s just well deserved.
But that’s still condescension to come down and take on human
flesh and be an earthly king. But to become poor. as of the
very poorest of mankind and lowly as the very lowest. This is a
love that passes knowledge. And that’s the whole point of
the birth in the manger. Just simply records that Mary
wrapped him in cloths. She had no attendant, she had
no nurse, she had no midwife, she had no friends about her,
and she physically took the child and wrapped him as only a mother
and her care would and laid him in the only place there was for
him. This manger, this feeding trough for cattle. A lot of times I shy away from
some of the things that pastors say in the course of some of
the become so fantastic in their application that I don’t see
it there, but I do see this. What the inhabitants of Bethlehem
did in their ignorance is done by many today in willful indifference. You see what he says, he says
that Bethlehem, they weren’t hostile towards Christ. Most
of them didn’t even know. I’d say the great, great majority
of them didn’t even know that Mary was out in this barn. And if they had, I mean, which
of us, which of us, if we saw a pregnant woman, you know, preparing
to give birth, in a city park, which of us wouldn’t either take
her directly to the hospital, or at least make accommodations
for her in her own home. The people of that day were no
different. They were ignorant. They just
didn’t know. But his point is that what the
people of Bethlehem did in their ignorance is done by many today
in willful indifference. And we see this every day, don’t
we? They refuse to make room for the son of God. They give
no place to him in their feelings, in their affections, their thoughts,
their views of life, their wishes, their decisions, their actions
or their daily conduct. We see that, don’t we? So before
we looked in our nose and criticized the ignorance of the people of
Bethlehem. We might check our own heart
in our own reception of Christ. Look at the shepherds and the
angel. This is where we begin to see the shepherds were introduced
to them. And then, as I said, we will
have from them a great example. On what to give God for Christmas. Pick it up in verse eight in
the same regions, there were some shepherds staying out in
the fields, keeping watch over their flock by night and an angel
of the Lord suddenly stood before them and the glory of the Lord
shone around them and they were terribly frightened. But the
angel said to them, Do not be afraid for behold, I bring you
good news of a great joy, which will be for all the people for
today in the city of David. There has been born for you a
savior who is Christ the Lord. This was just the greatest announcement
that’s ever been made. Shepherds at this point in time,
they were despised, they were hated, they were considered thieves,
they you know, They were smelly. They didn’t abide by all the
rules and regulations of the Jewish system. They couldn’t.
All the hand washing and all the rituals and all the attendance,
the details, they couldn’t. Here they are out there taking
care of sheep, the unblemished among them that would be offered
as sacrifice, and yet they couldn’t even usually partake of those
things. But it just records that an angel
of the Lord suddenly stood before them and it records their fear
ultimately that this would be regardless of who you are. This would be a shocking scene.
Quite a surprise. An angel suddenly stood before
them. The glory of the Lord shined around them. The Shekinah glory
of God, blinding light that it was, just suddenly burst onto
the scene. And in this context of despair
and sorrow and longing and waiting that the entire world was in
longing and desperately needing a Savior. You think of your own
life, think of your own life before you came to know the Savior.
Remember how bleak it was? Remember how hopeless it was?
That’s what the Bible says, and we know it to be true because
we were there. Without God and without hope. Yep, that pretty
much summarizes it. That’s the entire world, the
entire world is longing for the Savior. And all of a sudden,
this scene unfolds before these simple shepherds that a Savior
has come, a Savior has come to the earth to save us from all
the dangers and all the difficulties, but most of all, from sin. He’s
not a political ruler. He’s Savior of our souls, even
though the way that he’s characterized Christ, the Lord, the anointed
one, the Messiah. And he’s called Lord, the equivalent
of the Hebrew Jehovah. Well, the angels had to have
been just stunned and surprised, and in the course of this message,
the message is just given and the shepherds probably are just
standing there awestruck, middle of a sudden out of the
heavens. And we don’t even know how it
happens to the heavens part and the angels burst through. I don’t
know, but it just says in verse 13, this angelic host shows up,
bursts onto the scene. Suddenly there appeared with
the angel, a multitude of the heavenly host, not all of them
didn’t need all of them. A multitude of the heavenly host
praising God and saying glory to God in the highest and under
peace among men with whom he is pleased. And there’s essentially these
three elements for both parties. There’s there’s a blessing to
God and there’s a blessing to mankind glory to God that’s praise
you know gracious gratitude to God based on the birth of the
Messiah. The God is glorified that all
of creation should praise God for what he has done. That’s
what the angels essentially saying, praise God, may all glory be
to God in the highest heaven who has done this thing. The
angels basically testify that God is worthy, God is worthy
of all our praise for this one great thing that he’s done in
the plan of redemption. And he’s the only recipient.
He’s the only worthy recipient. Glory to God in the highest.
The reference to wherever it is that God resides. We pray
that our praise would reach that glorious height. Charles Spurgeon
said it so well. What a beautiful thing he said.
He said God is glorified in every dew drop that twinkles in the
morning sun. In other words, in a sense, he doesn’t need us.
God is glorified in the sparkling of the snow and the beauty of
it on the mountains, the sunrise. Spurgeon goes on, he is magnified
in every flower that blossoms in the field, even though it
lives to blush unseen and wastes its sweetness in the forest there.
Even a flower that’s never even seen by human eye glorifies God. He goes on. God is glorified
in every bird that warbles on the spray, in every land that
skips the meadow, the fishes from the tiny minnow to the huge
leviathan, all created things, the stars, the lightning, the
thunder, all things exalt him from the least even to the greatest. There’s more in creation, more
melody in Jesus and the manger than there is in the worlds on
worlds rolling ground around the throne of the most high,
he says. of all the things that glorify
God most. The birth of his son. That was
the apex. That was it. That was the most
glorious and glorifying thing that could have ever. Happened
on Earth. And that’s the blessing to God
that the angels saying, but they also say that there’s a blessing
to humanity. Peace among men on Earth with
whom he is pleased. Now we’ve we’ve dealt with this
before and I’m going to do just a rapid fire treatment. Some people say that. Peace among men with whom God
is pleased, which is a troubling translation. Because the point
of it is that God really isn’t pleased with any human. Not pleased
with our effort, not pleased with our efforts towards righteousness.
Not he’s certainly not pleased with our sin and sinfulness. The whole point of the angels
message here is that God’s good pleasure. Pleasure doesn’t rest
on men. Because of them. We don’t call
down God’s goodness into our lives because of how good we
are. Better translation of that little
passages. Peace among men on whom his favor
rests. Oh, how very blessed you are
if God in His goodness has blessed you. The fact that Jesus came
and took on human flesh and paid the penalty on the cross for
sinners is all due to the goodwill and kind intention of God and
God alone. He didn’t owe us any of that.
When it comes to our salvation, pleasing God, that’s already
been accomplished, hasn’t it? We don’t earn our salvation.
We don’t add to it. We don’t pay God back. It’s all
been accomplished on the cross, and so there’s no attempt. There’s
no need to attempt in working our way to pleasing God as the
mistranslation has it. That part of it has already been
done. So what was the shepherds response
to all this? There’s the context standing
in the field. hundreds of thousands of people
migrating to various cities to make a census so they could pay
their taxes. Even Mary and Joseph in her pregnant
state now having given birth. And all of a sudden an angel
burst onto the scene. Frightening these poor shepherds
half to death. The coming with the greatest
announcement that’s ever been given to mankind. And that’s why I would have us
consider the shepherds return. What did the shepherds return
to God? What did the shepherds give God for Christmas? I want
to look at, as we close this morning, just at three gifts
given in response to grace. I want to consider that question. What does God want for Christmas?
Years ago, I read a commentary on Luke Chapter
two that. At first, and I don’t want to
say that everything the guy says is incorrect, but there was something
that he said that grabbed my attention. He said this. Even if the angel
had not announced the great birth, the shepherds would have gone
to the stable to see the son of a stranger woman. Well, that’s
just I should have stopped right there. I didn’t. Shepherds live almost always
alone and far away. Get your tissues handy, would
you? They are moved by whatever happens near them, even today
in our own mountains, when one finds the last dying traces of
hospitality and fellow feeling. As soon as a wife is delivered
of child, the sisters, wives and daughters of the shepherds
come hurrying to her and not one of them empty handed. The
shepherds offered what little they had. What little was so great when
it was offered in love. They carried the white offerings
of their craft. Milk. Cheese. Wool. The lamb. One even went so far as to suggest
that they brought woolen blankets that had been woven for such
an occasion. There’s only one problem. You know what it is.
Scripture doesn’t say any of that. In fact, that’s the point. They didn’t bring anything, at
least that Scripture records, and I don’t think that it forbids
that maybe they gathered up something to bring to the bedside of this
child, but it doesn’t record it because that’s not the point. What does God want for Christmas?
Let’s look at the shepherds. First of all, an enthusiastic
reaction. It’s it is shocking to me, and
I love the way my brother put it today, if we can sing the
words of the songs that we sang today without enthusiasm. There’s
nothing in there. Look at verse 15, when the angels
had gone away from them, the shepherds began saying, and it’s
not like they had to call a meeting. It’s not like they had to say,
you know what, we need to form a committee, a visitation committee
to the bedside of the child who would like to go and who would
like to stay and keep the wolves away. They didn’t say that at
all. Let us go straight to Bethlehem. And see this thing which has
happened, which the Lord has made known to us. Verse 16 says
they did, they came in a hurry. See these astonished shepherds.
They rejoice. They were enthusiastic about
the good news. And they’re so I think so often
we begin to just take our salvation for granted and we lose the excitement
and the enthusiasm of the fact of what has transpired. That
we were dead in our trespasses and sins. And that God, for no
cause outside of himself, sent his love. He sent his son to
pay for our sin while we were yet sinners. But in these shepherds, there’s
no doubts, there’s no questioning, there’s no hesitation. As one
said, strange and improbable as this news might seem, they
at once acted upon it. May we ever believe implicitly,
act properly and wait for nothing when the path of duty is clear. These shepherds weren’t even
commanded to go. If you go back and look at the angel’s message,
they weren’t dispatched. The angel essentially presumes
that they will go now that you’ve been given the greatest announcement
that mankind has ever received, and you’re the only ones to whom
it has come. It’s only reasonable for the angel to assume that
they would pack up and go immediately, and they did. He just says in verse 12, you
will find a baby wrapped in cloths. The angel knows they’re going
to go. He knows they’re going to go looking for the Christ
child. And so it says it’s recorded that they came and they found
their way to Mary and Joseph. They did exactly what the angel
knew they would do. Which implies a discovery and
a search. And what a contrast. You talk
about a contrast. Here are these shepherds. were
mired in the desire and longing that the entire humanity. And
now the announcement is made to them in the most glorious
fashion and they return and they find the Christ child and they
come to him. And you talk about a contrast. Here, this miraculous,
glorious announcement made by the angels and the heavenly host,
whatever that must have looked like the glory of God blinding
them. They come to a barn. Is he a baby laying in a trough?
That’s the Messiah? Didn’t calm their enthusiasm. Didn’t make their excitement
in the salvation that had come to the earth any less strong. And so what does God want for
Christmas? First and foremost, he wants our hearts. He wants
our passion. He wants our enthusiasm about
the glorious truth of our redemption in Christ. Somebody pointed out
one time, and this is not a boast, this is just how I feel. They
noticed that almost every time I pray, I thank God for salvation,
not in some general fashion, but that God had mercy on me. Would God’s people try that for
a month? Every time you pray. I challenge you every time you
pray, doesn’t matter whether you’re with people, if you bow
at lunch. Thank God for your salvation,
thank him for what he has done to make that salvation possible. We can’t forget that we can’t
lose our enthusiasm over what God has done in the giving of
his son, it’s the greatest element of redemption in the entire course
of our existence. What does God want for Christmas?
There’s a second thing that shepherds did. These gifts that were given
in response to grace, not only an enthusiastic reaction, but
an emphatic proclamation. Verse 17, when they had seen
this, they made known the statement which had been told them. About
this child, we read that. We read that in our minds, it’s
almost monotone. We don’t even acknowledge it,
really. The shepherds made known the statement, you know what
they did? The shepherds were among the first Christian preachers.
These were among the first to proclaim the gospel. Zacharias, he had testified,
but he testified only to his neighbors and friends, not to
complete strangers. And I’ll tell you, if you look
at it, it just says they made known We almost presume that
the shepherds whispered it as it were in Mary and Joseph’s
ear. Look at the passages that follow. All who heard it wondered,
which means that it was more than just Mary and Joseph. We’re not told that Mary testified
to anybody but Elizabeth. And there’s nothing wrong, and
I’m just saying that the shepherds did. The shepherds proclaimed
Christ, the shepherds preached the gospel. They became, in a
very real sense, the very first witnesses of Christ. Because
they were so convinced. Of the truth of this occurrence,
the miraculous way that it had been communicated to them that
the Messiah had now come. They couldn’t wait to tell people. What about us? It’s like we have
to be motivated, we have to do classes, we got to, you know.
We shared with the people in the class last time. You don’t need a class, you don’t
need a tract, you know what you need? Whatever little testimony
you have, little paragraph, couple of sentences, keep it short,
keep it sweet. I even challenged them. Jesus
loves me. This I know, for the Bible tells
me that’s a testimony. If that’s all you have, use it.
And if you look at it, that’s what the shepherds did. They
didn’t have to go, they didn’t have time to go to the evangelism
training class. What they did was they heard,
they went and they told. Look at what they proclaimed.
It wasn’t the frightening visit by the angel when he suddenly
stood before them. It doesn’t record that. It wasn’t
the glory of the Lord was shown around them, and I believe that
they that wasn’t the main point of their testimony. It wasn’t
the extraordinary appearance of the multitude of the heavenly
host, though all of those things might have motivated them. We
saw an angel and God’s glory and this heavenly host at the
end that Luke here under the direction of the Holy Spirit
tells us. He makes it very clear. It was
the statement which had been told them about this child. That’s
what their testimony was, and that narrows it down. But the
question remains, there were really three statements, which
one? Look at the first statement, look back at verse 10. Here’s
the first statement, if this is all you have for a gospel
material, a gospel presentation, use it. I mean, Charlie Brown is this
right? Do not be afraid, for behold, I bring you good news
of great joy, which will be for all the people. For today in
the city of David, there has been born for you a Savior who
is Christ the Lord. That’s a witness. It’s a testimony. It was at least
that statement that the shepherds brought. Guess what we heard? There was a second. Second, one
was the testimony, the sign that the angel again, this will be
a sign you will find a baby wrapped in cloths lying in a manger.
The angel told us about this, and now look, here it is. And
the heavenly host, glory to God in the highest on earth, peace
among men with whom he is pleased. What a glorious witness is that? Could be that this was good news
of great joy that the child would be wrapped in claws, but the
main point of their testimony clearly. Was that God had provided
a savior? Who is Christ the Lord? He’s
here. It’s the Messiah. And they could add those other
details, but it records that all who heard it wondered at
the things, plural, which were told them by the shepherds. Main point of their testimony. Was the gospel. That God had
provided a savior. Who is Christ the Lord? What
does God want for Christmas? He wants you to open your mouth.
He wants you to tell somebody. He wants you to proclaim the
good news of salvation, and if you don’t have an enhanced gospel
testimony presentation, what have you, if you’re not able
to walk through the gospel on the five fingers of your hand,
forget about it. Tell them about the birth of
the Savior. Tell them about what God has
done. Tell them what he’s done in your
own life. He wants us to proclaim salvation
because that’s why he sent Christ. Nothing would make God more happy. But there’s a third. What does
God want for Christmas? What are the gifts that were
given in response to grace, not only an enthusiastic reaction
and an emphatic proclamation, but an elated worship. It should
affect us. And we shouldn’t just go about
with enthusiasm that every time we pray, every time we sing,
every time we hear the Word of God, there should be elation
at what God has done. Look at what happened to the
shepherds. The shepherds went back. They went back to their
flock. They had a calling. God needed them in that capacity. Can you imagine? Can you imagine
the traditionalist, the Orthodox Jew going to get a sheep the
following day? So that he could sacrifice. Can
you imagine coming across those shepherds? You don’t need it. Christ has already Christ is
the Lamb of God and he’s already paid for your sins. The Messiah
has come. These guys, I’m sure. There are
a lot of people who go around their pen for a couple of weeks. Shepherds went back glorifying
and praising God for all that they had heard and seen, just
as had been told them. They heard it, they believed
it, they went, they testified, and now their entire life is
one of enthusiastic worship. They were glorifying God for
the greatness of what they had seen. What does God want for
Christmas? He wants our worship. He doesn’t want blankets. He
doesn’t need cheese. He longs for the praise and the
worship of his people. He wants to be loved for the
love that he has bestowed upon us. He has sent his own beloved son
to pay for our sinful condition, and that ought to prompt our
hearts to enthusiastic worship every day of our life. What does God want for Christmas?
He wants an enthusiastic reaction to the gospel. He wants an emphatic
proclamation. And he wants an elated worship.
Let’s go before him and check our hearts. Our merciful King, we humble
ourselves before you. And we thank you so much for
this simple story that we’ve overlooked in so many different
ways. We’ve taken so much for granted
and considered these shepherds as so many bumbling fools. But Lord, we thank you that their
response A response that would please you is recorded for all
time. Their humble attendance to the
Savior’s bedside. Their clear testimony of what
God had done in sending a Savior. And their heartfelt worship.
Could you desire anything more from us? Lord, grant us the grace
that in this season we do begin to acknowledge each time that
we pray. Thank you for the salvation that
you bestowed upon us because of what Christ accomplished.
We thank you and we praise you in Jesus name. Amen.