Passage: Luke 2:1-20

The Big Idea

You’d expect God’s Son to arrive in luxury, but Jesus was born in humility, laid in a manger because there was no room in the inn. God was willing to make accommodations to have fellowship with us. And the first people He told were shepherds: distrusted, overlooked men who may well have tended the lambs raised for temple sacrifice. The angel announced not a reformer or an advisor, but a Savior, Christ the Lord, and gave a sign: humility. The shepherds simply believed, said, “Let’s go,” found Jesus, told everyone and went back to their same stinky sheep completely changed. Let’s be simple shepherds and just go to Jesus.

A Humble Beginning (Luke 2:3-7)

Everyone went to register in his own town. Joseph went from Nazareth to Bethlehem, the city of David, with Mary, who was expecting. While they were there, she gave birth to her firstborn Son, wrapped Him in swaddling cloths and laid Him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn.

Jesus was sent by God to save us. You’d expect such an important visitor to stay at the finest hotel.
But Jesus came to show us God, and God is humble. He cares about people, not stuff. He isn’t impressed by five-star amenities.
It’s strange how hard we find it to be like God at Christmas, when He’s literally showing us how not to be consumed by possessions, and to be consumed instead with the Father’s purpose.
Jesus didn’t come rich. He didn’t come popular; He wasn’t in the “inn” crowd. He didn’t have nice clothes; you can’t buy swaddling cloths at the mall.

Think about how far God came so we could know Him:

He was rich, and set it aside.
Every angel, star and creature knew Him, and He set that aside.
He had glory, power and safety, and set them aside.

God was willing to make accommodations to have fellowship with us.

Picture a hospital patient who, after an accident, can only sense smell. Her mother wants her to know she’s there, so she wears a perfume her daughter will recognize. The perfume isn’t the mother herself, but it communicates her presence on her daughter’s level. God isn’t essentially a body, but He became human, extending Himself to our level so we could know Him and respond.

Where did this happen? The Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem is built over a cave that tradition identifies as the place. Many homes then had stables in caves or lower rooms.

Who Were These Shepherds? (Luke 2:8)

There were shepherds living out in the fields, keeping watch over their flock by night.

(Q: How do sheep greet each other at Christmas? A: “Merry Christmas to ewe!”)

Shepherds were generally distrusted in Jesus’ day, seen as a rough crowd.
James Montgomery Boice notes that these rural people were a looked-down-upon class, considered unreliable, and their testimony often wasn’t accepted in court.
Centuries earlier, every shepherd was an abomination to the Egyptians (Genesis 46:34).

So shepherds weren’t respected. But they spent a lot of time alone with their thoughts, under the stars, perhaps in conversation with God. And they spent a lot of time caring for sheep: watching, protecting, tending.

Many believe the shepherds near Bethlehem cared for flocks raised for temple sacrifice. God may have chosen them on purpose, because they, of all people, would understand a lamb born to die for sins.

They may have thought their lives were meaningless, but God had been preparing them for this moment.

The Announcement (Luke 2:9-14)

An angel of the Lord stood before them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified.

Quite different from their usual night with the sheep! It’s like calmly listening to the radio when the emergency alert suddenly blares.
The glory of the Lord shone around them. It had been absent for centuries. No one had seen it. But it’s unmistakable. Throughout Scripture, people who see God’s glory fall on their faces, and these shepherds were terrified too.

“Don’t be afraid, for behold, I bring you good news of great joy, which will be for all people.”

“Calm down. I’m not here to hurt you. I have good news!”
And it’s all about joy, for all people. Shepherds didn’t have much joy, and they weren’t known for caring about “all people.”

“For there is born to you this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord.”

The reason for the joy: a Savior is born. Not a reformer. Not a committee. Not an advisor. Not just a helper or an example. A Savior!

He is the Christ: the One promised to Adam, Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, David, Isaiah, Daniel, Ezekiel and so many others.
He is the Lord: He is divine. He is God. He didn’t earn His position; He has always been God.

“This will be the sign to you: you will find a Baby wrapped in swaddling cloths, lying in a manger.”

You wouldn’t recognize Him without a hint. The hint is humility.
If you’re ever looking for God’s direction, follow humility. God’s character is humble, and He always gives grace to the humble.

Suddenly a multitude of the heavenly host was with the angel, praising God: “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, goodwill toward men!”

Luke says they were praising and saying. Maybe they were simply overwhelmed that God would offer such peace and kindness to people!
The angels knew about the war: humanity’s rebellion against God, starting with Adam and continuing ever since.
Yet God pursued peace with us. He doesn’t want to fight us. (He’d win.) He loves us and wants fellowship.
Jesus is God’s peace treaty with rebellious people. He supplies everything we need for peace with God.

Peace through faith

Christmas doesn’t automatically bring peace to everyone. It brings peace to those who believe and come to the Savior. That’s faith: believing God’s promises.

May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, that you may abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit (Romans 15:13).

When God says, “Here is My Savior for you,” you can believe, or not.
If you believe, He promises to fill you with all joy and peace.
“But I believe, and I don’t have joy or peace.” Let me gently ask: Have you gone to Him? Have you heard who He is and sought Him out, through His Word, prayer and waiting on Him in faith? Those aren’t works; they’re simply faith.
It’s so simple a child can understand.

“Let’s Go!” (Luke 2:15-16)

When the angels had gone back into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, “Let’s go to Bethlehem and see this thing the Lord has made known to us.” And they came with haste and found Mary and Joseph, and the Baby lying in a manger.

How simple their faith is! They believed and said, “Let’s go see.”
They didn’t need a star. They didn’t consult Herod. They didn’t go gift shopping.
They went in faith, so they found Jesus. It’s that easy!
Jesus is there to be found, but He’s hidden from the world, because the door to Him is faith.
Simple people can trust God’s promises. It’s when we want to figure everything out that the way gets cloudy.

Isn’t it interesting that the wise men were guided by God, but ended up stopping in Jerusalem to ask for directions (Matthew 2:1-2)? The shepherds went straight to Him. Sometimes being wise isn’t as important as being trusting.

Sometimes “wisdom” says, “You can’t believe that promise.”
But faith says, “I’ll believe it, however illogical it seems, because I know and love and trust the Promiser.”

They Told Everyone (Luke 2:17-18)

When they had seen Him, they spread the word about what they’d been told about this Child, and all who heard it were amazed.

These shepherds, whom no one trusted, told everyone they could about Jesus, and people were amazed.
They had no reputation, no polished words and not all the answers. But they had faith. They had believed God’s promise and seen God’s glory.
God, who commanded light to shine out of darkness, has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ (2 Corinthians 4:6).

The shepherds saw the glory of God, and it led them to the face of Jesus, where they found even more of God’s glory.

Want to make a difference in this world? Come to Jesus by faith. The joy in your heart will amaze the people around you.

Back to the Sheep, Changed (Luke 2:19-20)

Mary treasured all these things, pondering them in her heart. The shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all they had heard and seen, just as they had been told.

They didn’t just go back to the grind.
They were filled with real joy, glorifying and praising God. No one taught them how. It overflowed from their hearts!
Their sheep were just as smelly. Their job was just as boring. But they were changed by God’s glory and the promises fulfilled in Jesus, which they believed.

Grace Takeaway

Jesus came to change you and to save you. Nothing needs to be cleaned up first. Just go to Him by faith. In your marriage, go to Him. In your parenting, your thought life, your days and nights, your sorrow and grief, your pleasures and treasures: go to Him. Bow to Him. Surrender to Him. His yoke is easy and His burden is light. If you do, you’ll be filled with God’s glory, you’ll be a witness to the world, and your life will never be the same. Let’s be simple shepherds and just go to Jesus.

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Simple Shepherds Finding Jesus