The Good News!
“When they had seen him, they spread the word concerning what had
been told them about this child.”
Luke 2:17
In Luke’s gospel (gospel means Good News) we read the real
Christmas story in 2:1-20. The part of the story that seems to get lost is the
part about the shepherds. An angel of
the LORD did not appear to the High Priest, the members of the Jewish High Counsel, to King Herod, or to Caesar (King) Augustus. God’s appointed angel
appeared to a group of ‘lowly’ shepherds.
Quite frankly, and quite literally,
shepherds stink. When I let our dog out in our maintained and manicured back yard for 2
minutes to take care of business… he comes in smelling funky. These shepherds LIVED
outdoors with large flocks of sheep that do little more than eat, sleep,
and… yeah – that. It's not a mystery as to 'WHY' shepherds weren't the social elite of Roman or Jewish society.
It was God’s design and plan to
appear to some of the lowest people on society’s totem-pole. In 2:8-9 we read, “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.”
Society’s
bottom-feeders, marginalized, cast-aways, rejects and disposable are the very
people whom God typically and repeatedly uses to fulfil His mission - "All the families on earth will be blessed through you" (Gen 12:3).
This angel of the
LORD said to these shepherds, “Do not be afraid. I bring you good news that will cause great joy for all the people.” The
word for “good news” in biblical Greek is εὐαγγελίζω,
which is where we get the term evangelism – to bring the Good News, or the gospel
message, of Jesus Christ. He is humanity's universal, unmerited, and gracious blessing.
After the shepherds had
gone to the animal pens and found Jesus in a feeding trough (manger) we read in
verse 17, “When they had seen him, they spread the word
concerning what had been told them about this child.”
These shepherds,
who were social-rejects of their time, they went about spreading the Good News
because they believed it would indeed “cause great joy for all the people.”
When people truly
encounter King Jesus it is not a matter of religious formalism or ceremony – it
rocks your world to its very foundation – then they say something about it
vocally and publicly.
Before the
shepherds saw Jesus, God, dwelling in a manger they were terrified. After the shepherds saw Jesus they were
ecstatic and overflowing with great joy that erupted into words of praise and Good News that is contagious and causes "great
joy for all the people."
So if you’re at a
place in life where you feel lowly, despised, rejected, marginalized, excluded, and
unworthy… know that you are EXACTLY the kind of person God loves to use to spread the
Good News of King Jesus' birth, i.e. the real Christmas story that brings joy to the world!
Like the shepherds, I hope you share the Good News
of King Jesus and cause great joy for all the people in your life this Christmas season.
Merry Christmas!
-Kevin
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