The Joy of Advent
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A survey was done to see which characters from the advent account most people identify with.
How many of you think its Mary?
Joseph?
The wise guys?
Anyone for Herod?
Not surprisingly, the shepherds came out on top by far.
I recently read a story about a pastor who said, “When I was young I always wanted to play a shepherd but was usually cast to the role of a rock or I was told to just stand still and act like a palm tree.” He said, “I can’t imagine why I was never given a more important part!”
Most of us are pretty comfortable with the Christmas story. Maybe we’re so familiar with it that it’s become part fable and part legend in our minds.
Some have sentimentalized it so much that they skim along on a superficial level, counting down the remaining shopping days, stressing about all the things to do, while neglecting the Nativity.
It reminds me of the little girl who misquoted John 3:16: “For God so loved the world that He gave His only forgotten Son.”
The music this morning has helped us remember that the baby who was born in Bethlehem is Jesus, the Son of God, who brings great joy.
Lets read our focused text this moring, Luke 2
8 Now there were in the same country shepherds living out in the fields, keeping watch over their flock by night.
9 And behold, an angel of the Lord stood before them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were greatly afraid.
10 Then the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid, for behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy which will be to all people.
11 For there is born to you this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord.
12 And this will be the sign to you: You will find a Babe wrapped in swaddling cloths, lying in a manger.”
13 And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying:
14 “Glory to God in the highest, And on earth peace, goodwill toward men!”
15 So it was, when the angels had gone away from them into heaven, that the shepherds said to one another, “Let us now go to Bethlehem and see this thing that has come to pass, which the Lord has made known to us.”
16 And they came with haste and found Mary and Joseph, and the Babe lying in a manger.
17 Now when they had seen Him, they made widely known the saying which was told them concerning this Child.
18 And all those who heard it marveled at those things which were told them by the shepherds.
19 But Mary kept all these things and pondered them in her heart.
20 Then the shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things that they had heard and seen, as it was told them.
I find it very interesting that God chose to send the birth announcement about His Son to shepherds.
Throughout the history of Israel, shepherding was a noble profession.
Abel was the first to have this job, followed by Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Moses and of course, David.
God calls Himself a shepherd and we’re compared to sheep, which is anything but a compliment, BTW.
By the time we come to the first century however, shepherding has lost its luster.
Shepherds made up the lowest class of people, coming in just ahead of the lepers.
In the Talmud, which is a collection of interpretations and insight from the rabbis, we read these words:
“No help is to be given to heathen or shepherds.”
In order to understand how unusual it was to have the angels appear to these lowly shepherds, let’s learn a bit about them:
(Don’t need to read this part) Shepherds in the first century where considered as follows...
• Shepherds where Considered ceremonially unclean. Because of the nature of their work they were unable to attend any religious services.
• Shepherds where Isolated and forgotten. Because their flocks needed to move around to find new grass and fresh water, they never stayed in one place for long.
• Shepherds where Treated with contempt and mistrust. They were suspected of stealing from others and would often confuse “thine” with “mine.” Their testimony was never allowed in court because they were so unreliable.
• Shepherds where Known to be bold. Living out in the fields away from society made them unappealing to most people. Most of them had foul mouths and were ready to fight at the drop of a hat.
God entrusted the greatest message ever sent from heaven to a bunch of smelly shepherds.
Actually, this isn’t so unusual, is it?
God has always worked wonders for the forgotten, for the despised, and for the lowly. From the very beginning of his time on earth, Jesus came to those who felt horrible and were humble.
12 When Jesus heard that, He said to them, “Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick.
Jesus reached out to sinners like Zacchaeus and Levi, prostitutes and the demon possessed, strangers and Samaritans.
He did in His ministry what the Father did in a borrowed stable when the lowly shepherds looked at the Lord as the cattle were lowing.
Mary captured this when she said in Luke 1:52:
52 He has put down the mighty from their thrones, And exalted the lowly.
Paul said it this way in 1 Corinthians 1:26-29:
26 For you see your calling, brethren, that not many wise according to the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble, are called.
27 But God has chosen the foolish things of the world to put to shame the wise, and God has chosen the weak things of the world to put to shame the things which are mighty;
28 and the base things of the world and the things which are despised God has chosen, and the things which are not, to bring to nothing the things that are,
29 that no flesh should glory in His presence.
It doesn’t say, “Now there were in the same region scribes keeping watch over their scrolls.”
The Lord comes to the lowly, to the most undeserving, to the neglected and marginalized in order to show His power.
And so the only announcement of Christ’s birth goes out to a bunch of uneducated outcasts.
As we briefly look at the shepherds’ response, we’ll see some lessons that we can apply to our lives.
1. Awed.
We see that the shepherds are suddenly awed by an angelic announcement in Luke 2:9: “An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified.”
God meets us where we are but then he brings us to our knees.
God’s Shekinah glory lights up the sky and causes them to quake in their sandals.
Whenever we come face-to-face with God’s holiness, we fall apart because of our sinfulness.
Peter had this response in Luke 5:8 and said to Jesus:
8 When Simon Peter saw it, he fell down at Jesus’ knees, saying, “Depart from me, for I am a sinful man, O Lord!”
I wonder, when’s the last time you were in awe? Do you marvel at the Messiah? Has it been awhile since you hit your knees before Him?
2. Accepted.
The shepherds are filled with awe and now they accept the message of good news of great joy in Luke 2:10:
10 Then the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid, for behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy which will be to all people.
The angel calms them down, telling them that he is bringing good news of acceptance, forgiveness and hope.
This is literally the word from which we get “evangelize.” This is good news of great joy. The Greek word here is “mega” which means exceedingly, large, loud and mighty.
Wycliffe translates it this way: “I evangelize to you a great joy.”
This message is for “all the people” but I want you to notice the word “you” as well. It’s for the whole world but it must also become deeply personal.
We know that they accepted this personal message because in verse 15 we read, “Let’s go to Bethlehem and see…”
13 For this reason we also thank God without ceasing, because when you received the word of God which you heard from us, you welcomed it not as the word of men, but as it is in truth, the word of God, which also effectively works in you who believe.
Have you accepted the message and allowed the word of God to work in you? God’s good news is a gift that must be received if you want it to be activated in your life.
3. Acted.
These shepherds didn’t just accept and enjoy the message they received, they acted upon it.
Look at Luke 2:16:
16 And they came with haste and found Mary and Joseph, and the Babe lying in a manger.
The word “haste” means they left in haste. (LOL)
The idea is “come on, hurry up, let’s go!” This is pretty amazing in itself because shepherds normally did nothing quickly. They were patient men, accustomed to moving slowly through the pastures.
The Bible is clear that acceptance must lead to action, or as James 2:17 says:
17 In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead.
They could have doubted or delayed but instead they decided to act and they moved.
• They went and saw.
The first thing they did was bounce to Bethlehem. They wanted to see the baby with their own eyes. A baby born in a smelly stable would not have been a problem to men who were used to the scent of sheep.
Check out this irony. Unclean shepherds came to a smelly stable to see the Holy of Holies lying on a bed of hay.
Many commentators point out the possibility that they were taking care of sheep that were going to be sacrificed in Jerusalem’s Temple. If that was the case, it’s no accident that they leave their sheep behind to visit the Lamb of God.
A millennium earlier, David kept watch over his father’s sheep in this same pasture and now they see the Son of David born in the City of David.
• They left and shared.
It’s striking that they don’t pull up a bale of straw and make themselves comfortable. They didn’t hang around the manger because they knew that they were now Messengers of the manager.
Notice that the message they shared had nothing to do with seeing the amazing angels and there’s no reference to Mary’s magnificence or Joseph’s job.
They came to see Him and now they head out to share the good news. Look at verse 17:
17 Now when they had seen Him, they made widely known the saying which was told them concerning this Child.
The word “known” means to “make known in such a way that people can understand.”
We’re here today because people who have recieved the good news about Christ couldn’t keep quiet.
In what area is God calling you to some action? It’s not enough to just say you have faith, or to feel good about something; there comes a time that after seeing and recieving, we must be involved in sharing.
4. Adored.
What’s cool here is that the shepherds went back to their same boring jobs but they weren’t the same on the inside.
They returned to where they started and were attentive again.
Notice that they didn’t write a book or go on a speaking tour or launch a ministry called “A Shepherd’s Story.”
After recieving with faith the message of Christmas (Christ is Born, Christ is Dead, Christ has Risen) we have to go back to the same routine but now we can do so with rejoicing. We are to rejoice right where we are. Yes, it’s possible to have joy in our jobs even if they’re that job stinks.
Look at Luke 2:20:
20 Then the shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things that they had heard and seen, as it was told them.
They don’t just wonder about what they saw, they worship Him who they saw.
A clear evidence of conversion is always adoration.
Someone has observed that many of us worship our work, work at our play and play at our worship.
When a person is genuinely converted he or she will praise God.
Allow yourself this Advent Season to adore Immanuel as you glorify and praise Him for all you have seen and heard.
You can return to the same place tomorrow but not as the same person.
The shepherds were changed forever by what they saw and you can be as well if you follow their example:
• Be awed by God’s message to you
• Accept the gift of good news
• Act on what you know to be true
• Adore Immanuel 24/7
Christmas is real history but it must become your story.
11 For there is born to you this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord.
I close with three questions:
• Is He “Savior” to you?
• Is He “Christ” to you?
• Is He “Lord” to you?
I love what Corrie Ten Boom once said: “If Jesus were born one thousand times in Bethlehem and not in me, then I would still be lost.” It’s time today to make sure that Jesus is born in you. You can do that right now by praying this prayer:
“I’m in awe of you. Thank you for loving me. I don’t understand how you can accept me when I don’t measure up. I confess that I am a sinner and I want to turn from the way I’ve been living and turn toward you, I repent of my sins, change my heart and my mind. I need you to be my Savior.
You are the Christ, the Son of the Living God. I desire to live under your lordship for the rest of my life. Thank you for not only being born but for dying in my place and rising again so that I can be born again. I now receive the gift of salvation and forgiveness by asking you to come into my life. Make me into the person you want me to be. Thank you for saving me. I pray this prayer, in the name that can only save me, Jesus Christ, Amen”