MORE ANGELS!

Luke 2: 8-10

And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night. An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified!

But the angel of the Lord said to them, “Do not be afraid. I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all people.”

NIV

I’m not going to lie~ this one seems hard to breakdown! I have heard the retelling of this event every year at Christmas and have sung the carols that declare the wonder of it so many times that I have not allowed myself to dive into the depth of its meaning!

This one we will definitely be doing together!

Context first!

Jesus was born in the city of Bethlehem. Caesar Augustus wanted a census taken of the entire Roman world, so all the citizens of his rule needed to return to their own town to be registered. Joseph, out of the ancestral line of King David, was from Bethlehem. Mary gave birth to Jesus while they were there.

This was a humble birth for a King as He was born in a stable and placed into a manger because they had no other place to stay while in Bethlehem.

We are told that NEARBY there were shepherds who were watching their sheep in a field. Shepherds were not considered to be much in the eyes of society. They lived outside in the wild. They ate and slept amongst their sheep. They most likely smelled like their sheep. They were rough and tough outsiders.

So, here is Mary and Joseph -strangers in a strange town- giving birth to their first born son (who THEY know was conceived through the power of the Holy Spirit) in a barn. The biggest news of their life has just occurred without any fanfare. They had NO ONE nearby to tell. They had NO ONE nearby who cared….if they did, they wouldn’t be in a barn would they??

The biggest news in the history of the world had just occurred and NO ONE KNEW about it.

Let’s read through the verses again, but this time put yourself into the role of the shepherd. I believe there is a Christmas carol that calls them “lowly”…You are a lowly, lonely, dirty, rough-around-the-edges, no one wants you at their dinner table shepherd.

What jumps out to you as you read through these three verses?

1. Keeping watch of their flocks at night…

I would imagine it was dark out. It had to be quiet. It was so dark it would be difficult to see the shadow of a sheep moving versus a predator creeping in. It was so quiet they could probably hear the sounds of the sheep breathing.

They were most likely on high alert for anything abnormal getting close to them as they lie vulnerable to attack under the open sky.

2. An angel appeared

That would wake you up, wouldn’t it?? Was he in the sky floating around or did he appear on the ground right in front of them??

3. The glory of the Lord shone around them…

There is this word – SHEKNINAH– that is Hebrew for the dwelling or settling of the divine presence of God.

Wherever the invisible God becomes visible, and whenever the omnipresence of God is localized, this is the Shekinah Glory. In Latin, it is described as brightness, brilliance, or splendor.

In Genesis, the glory of the Lord walked with Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden.

In Exodus, the glory of the Lord descended onto Mount Sinai three months after the exodus from Egypt when Moses was given the law (Ten Commandments).

In Exodus 33 we are told the glory of the Lord would descend upon the Tabernacle doorway when Moses went inside to speak with God.

When Moses would leave the presence of the glory of God, either from the Tabernacle or Mount Sinai, his face would shine radiantly . The people were scared by the change of his appearance so he would cover his face until it was time to be back in the Lord’s presence.

The presence of the glory of God – THE SHEKINAH OF GOD– was BRILLIANT, BRIGHT, and TRANSFORMING IN ITS RADIANCE.

4. They were terrified...”Do not be afraid“.

It was the dark of night, an angel just appeared, the GLORY OF GOD was shining all around them….yeah, they were scared.

Wouldn’t you be??

But the angel tells them DO NOT BE AFRAID.

The prophet Isaiah tells of a vision he had that changed his life forever. In Chapter 6, he describes a scene of the holiness of the Lord. God is seated on His throne with His robe’s train FILLING the temple. Winged seraphs, with their faces covered in God’s presence, continually cried, “HOLY, HOLY, HOLY IS THE LORD ALMIGHTY”.

At the sound of the declaration of His glory, the doorposts and ground would shake as the temple itself filled with smoke.

Isaiah fell to his knees in horror that he should be killed to be in the presence of God due to his state of uncleanliness. He declares that HE IS RUINED FOR HE HAS SEEN THE LORD!

In Exodus 3, Moses first encountered God at the Burning Bush. As he approached it, he was told by the Lord to take off his shoes as he approached for where he stood was HOLY GROUND.

The glory of God, the SHEKINAH OF GOD, is fearfully wonderful. It is HOLY. It is PURE. It IS the presence of Yahweh (one whose name could rarely be spoken out loud).

It is to be feared out of reverence, but not to be feared out of fright.

God is here….DO NOT BE AFRAID.

That is the message from the angel.

5. “I bring you GOOD news that is for ALL the people”.

The shepherds, the low of society, were chosen to receive the good news of Jesus’ birth that would be for everyone to hear. It did not matter who they were or what they did, they were chosen as worthy to receive this great joy.

In “normal” society, the news of the day filters down from the top (the most important or influential) to the bottom (those least consequential). In Christ’s Kingdom, the rules are flipped upside down!

Those who are last will now be first!

What is the take away from all this? Especially in the context of being UNAFRAID….

No matter who you are, no matter what you have done, no matter where you come from YOU ARE WELCOME IN THE PRESENCE OF GOD.

God desires to RADIANTLY TRANSFORM you with His holiness.

God desires to shine His glory into the dark areas of YOUR life.

You are worthy.

You matter.

The GOOD NEWS of GREAT JOY is for YOU.

He can purify your heart and make you new in His presence.

DO NOT BE AFRAID OF IT.

Let Him in.