In the Company of Shepherds.

Steve Gentry

[0:00] If you have your Bibles, go ahead and open them to Luke, chapter 2, of course. [0:05] This is the time of year.

[0:09] Let me explain something before we get into it. [0:12] The Gospel is this amazing story, and it’s this amazing news, according to the original language, [0:21] that God saw fit, even in light of the sin and the rebellion of mankind, [0:27] to actually step out of glory as God the Son in this great miracle, in this monumental act, [0:36] and He became a human being, which to me is far more amazing than even the fact that He died, [0:46] or even the fact that He rose from the dead.

[0:48] Is the fact that God made this willful decision, the Father sending His only Son, [0:58] and for those of you that are fathers and you have sons like I do, I can’t imagine that, [1:04] because we get our concept of love from God Himself, [1:08] and the love that I have for my Son would prevent me from doing anything like that. [1:14] But in this amazing act of love, God sent His Son, and the Son, joyfully according to the Scripture,

[1:24] stepped out of eternity, the eternal God who always existed. [1:28] The Scripture tells us in Colossians that nothing exists that was not spoken into existence by Jesus, [1:36] and what He does is He comes, and He doesn’t come as an adult.

[1:42] He’s conceived of the Holy Spirit in the Virgin Mary, and He comes as this little baby. [1:49] And C.S. Lewis writes about it so remarkably when he says, [1:53] in that manger lay a baby, but far more than a baby. [2:00] In this manger, in this amazing miracle, is the Creator of all that existed. [2:10] The designer of motherhood.

[2:16] The person who spoke, in everything that we see, the snow on the ground according to the book of Job, [2:25] only falls at His command.

[2:30] And so everything that we see in creation is created by God the Son, [2:35] spoken into existence, formulated by His wisdom.

[2:40] And what we sing about when we sing songs like, Oh Holy Night, [2:43] is that in this moment, on this night in Bethlehem, [2:47] what we have is God Himself being born of a human out of the line of King David.

[2:58] And God, in the book of Isaiah, just clearly points out His thoughts are not our thoughts, [3:04] His ways are not our ways. [3:06] And it’s just this remarkable event in which God says the greatest way in which He can show His love [3:11] is to defy genetics, defy logic, defy every order that He’s done, [3:18] and do the miraculous in which a virgin conceives through the power of the Holy Spirit, [3:22] and in which a virgin gives birth to God the Son right there.

[3:27] And what I want to talk about today is the effects that have rippled history, [3:33] but the effects that happened to just a group of men on that very night that we sang about just a few moments ago. [3:42] And how, as just a common person like you and I, [3:46] because I think sometimes we read the scriptures and we read the narratives, [3:49] and we read the Old Testament and the New Testament, [3:51] and we read it as if it’s a movie on a screen,

[3:53] as if these are fictional characters, people that are not like us, [3:57] but when we actually read the stories, [3:59] what I want you to do today is I want you to put yourself in this position and realize [4:04] these men were just like you and I, they were tradesmen, [4:09] they were working their craft, they were making a living, [4:12] they were walking just along a path,

[4:14] and then all of a sudden God intervenes in a special and miraculous way [4:19] that most of us have never seen and probably will never see, [4:23] and if you claim you’ve seen it, we may need to send you to a doctor, [4:26] but in an amazing way,

[4:31] God changes everything, every concept of reality that they’ve ever had, [4:37] and what we do here at this time of year of Christmas,

[4:42] is we have all these traditions and all these things that we’re going to be about, [4:47] and we have been about, and yesterday I was up at Short Pump, [4:49] and I saw everybody being about, a lot of them, [4:54] and we have all these traditions, and I have to ask myself, [4:58] do we ever slow down enough, [5:00] and don’t hear me saying traditions are wrong, I’ve got a lot of crazy ones,

[5:03] I like Christmas lights and trees, [5:06] but do we ever slow down enough to just look at what it is that we’re celebrating,

[5:13] you know, so often in this culture, and I hope this doesn’t offend you, [5:17] but we fight so much for just the way we word it, [5:21] we fight so much for two words, Merry Christmas, [5:24] and we offend people and we don’t offend people, [5:26] what’s the right thing to say, should I say the words, [5:28] and it’s like, just forget that stuff,

[5:32] let’s just spend a little time forgetting that stuff, [5:36] let’s just say, what are we doing, [5:39] why do we even celebrate this day as believers, [5:43] is there any difference that Jesus has made in my life, [5:46] to where I do anything different this time of year, [5:49] to the person who doesn’t believe in Jesus at all,

[5:53] is going to do, alright,

[5:58] and so, Christmas oftentimes, [6:02] is a little more than a time of year where we have to see family, [6:06] and we hope that they’re not as annoying as they were last year, [6:09] where the in-laws come into town, [6:11] and we pray we don’t say the wrong thing, but I usually do, [6:15] and we drink eggnog and pretend it’s good,

[6:17] if it was that good, we’d drink it in May too, [6:21] where we make special cookies and gain about 10 pounds, [6:24] alright, at least I will, [6:28] I mean, let’s be honest, [6:30] but in Luke 2, what happened that first night, alright, [6:34] what happened that first time,

[6:36] and I’m not going to go through the whole narrative like we all have, [6:39] if you were in a Wann, as you can recite it in the King James, [6:42] what I’m going to do is I’m going to focus on just a few verses, [6:45] and I’m going to focus on a group of guys that we usually just look at in passing, [6:48] but what I really want to do is I want to see the types of people [6:51] that God brought together to celebrate with the birth of His Son,

[6:55] the types of people that God and His cosmic everlasting wisdom [6:58] brought together to actually see the baby Jesus face to face, alright, [7:05] and the type of people I want to talk about first this week, [7:07] and next week we’re going to talk about some wise men, [7:09] this week we’re going to talk about some shepherds, [7:11] which blows my mind out of all the people that exist,

[7:15] out of all the possible rulers, [7:17] and all the possible religious people of that time, [7:19] the priests, the Sadducees, the Pharisees, [7:22] all these people, God decides from eternity past [7:26] that He’s going to reveal at what apparently according to the text [7:30] is the moment of Jesus’ birth,

[7:32] He sends angels to give specific revelation [7:35] to a group of guys that are watching sheep,

[7:41] alright, and you know, but it’s the shepherds, [7:43] they came and it was beautiful, [7:45] and they probably brought a sheep or two, [7:46] it was just pretty, and they all sing songs, alright, [7:50] let’s actually unpack what a shepherd actually was, [7:53] in this day and age, a shepherd is a person that lives most of his life

[7:57] in isolation from other people, [8:00] history tells us the shepherds typically were rarely married, [8:04] they were sometimes, if you read the Old Testament, [8:06] you see the king David, before he was a king, [8:09] he was just a grunt, and he was the smallest kid, [8:11] he was the youngest kid, so he got the least responsibility,

[8:14] and they said, okay David, we’re going to find something [8:16] for you to go watch the sheep, [8:18] go off by yourself, watch the sheep, [8:20] because you’re not good for much else,

[8:23] and so what shepherds would do is, [8:24] they would rarely come into cities, [8:27] they would typically stay on the outskirts of cities, [8:30] and they would live in isolation, [8:32] and sometimes they would kind of lose their mind, [8:34] so they would carry on long conversations with sheep,

[8:38] and the sheep, for every shepherd there was about a hundred sheep, [8:42] and you have to understand the shepherd would never, [8:45] ever leave the flock, [8:47] because sheep are not to be trusted,

[8:51] they will wander off, [8:54] sheep had to be trained, [8:55] and he would have these long conversations, [8:57] because sheep are not very good at eyesight, [9:00] and they can’t really recognize the shepherd, [9:02] so what the shepherd would do,

[9:04] is he would either speak, or whistle, or yell, [9:07] in a certain way, [9:08] and over a period of time, [9:10] he would train about a hundred sheep, [9:12] to recognize the sound of his voice, [9:15] and his voice alone,

[9:17] and then he would constantly keep watch, [9:20] and he would constantly pin them in somehow, [9:23] and typically at night, [9:24] the only way he could get any sleep, [9:26] is that he would make his camp, [9:28] right outside of a pen,

[9:30] and at the one exit, [9:33] he would sleep at it, [9:34] so that if any sheep started to wander away, [9:35] they would step on him and wake him up, [9:39] 24 hours a day, [9:41] 7 days a week,

[9:43] he would have the sheep, [9:45] and then in the spring, [9:46] which is typically when the Christmas story, [9:49] the birth of Jesus probably took place, [9:50] and then in the summer, [9:52] it barely rained at all in this area,

[9:54] so the shepherds would have to move from place to place, [9:58] trying to find water, [10:00] for his sheep, [10:02] and if he couldn’t find still water, [10:05] he would have to fashion some type of bucket, [10:07] and in the running streams,

[10:08] he would have to fill it up, [10:10] and take it from sheep to sheep, [10:12] to let them drink, [10:13] so that they would not die of thirst, [10:15] because a sheep cannot drink out of a moving stream, [10:19] because they are just not smart enough,

[10:21] they will dunk their heads too far in, [10:23] their wool will get too weighty, [10:24] and they will fall in and drown, [10:27] and for the shepherd, [10:28] these sheep represent everything in his livelihood, [10:33] if he loses a sheep,

[10:34] he loses money, [10:36] he is raising these sheep, [10:38] to sell for wool, [10:39] or to sell for profit, [10:41] and if he loses any sheep, [10:42] he loses part of his financial gain in this life,

[10:46] so these sheep represent everything to a shepherd,

[10:53] and he has to tend to them, [10:54] day after day, [10:56] night after night, [10:57] watching to make sure no one comes in, [11:00] to steal his sheep, [11:01] he has a staff in which he can bring in the sheep,

[11:04] or turn and beat off a wolf, [11:06] or an attacker,

[11:11] and so what we have to understand, [11:13] is that God loves metaphors,

[11:17] and Jesus throughout the book of John, [11:19] and throughout the book of Psalms, [11:21] he is called the great shepherd,

[11:24] and so Jesus is going to call this group of men in, [11:27] to show he is calling his flock in, [11:31] they are coming because they hear the sound of his voice, [11:33] and in John chapter 6, [11:34] and then in John chapter 9, [11:36] when Jesus says,

[11:37] I am the great shepherd, [11:38] and the sheep hear my voice, [11:40] and when I call they come, [11:41] he is talking to a group that knows what sheep herding is all about, [11:44] they know that a sheep will only come to the shepherd that he follows, [11:48] and so what God the Father is doing,

[11:51] at the birth of God the Son, [11:52] [11:52] is what he is saying, [11:54] I am calling some of my sheep, [11:56] you think they are shepherds, [11:57] but they are actually sheep,

[11:59] and quite often we think of ourselves as shepherds, [12:01] but we are actually the sheep of God, [12:03] that he is going to call to come to him, [12:05] or he is not going to call at all,

[12:08] and so in Luke 2, [12:09] let’s jump in, [12:12] jump in in verse 8, [12:15] and in the same region, [12:18] there were shepherds out in the field, [12:20] so we have Jesus,

[12:22] and I think you know verses 1-7, [12:24] Jesus is born, he is laid in a manger, [12:26] there is no room in the inn, [12:27] they have been called to Bethlehem, [12:29] outside of Bethlehem in the field, [12:31] are a bunch of shepherds who come together,

[12:33] and you say, how can all the shepherds come together, [12:35] won’t their sheep get mixed up, [12:36] remember they trained the sheep to follow their voice, [12:39] so at the daytime when they are going to move, [12:40] they just start whistling, hooping, and hollering, [12:42] the sheep go to the right place,

[12:46] keeping watch over their flock by night, [12:48] and an angel of the Lord appeared to them, [12:50] and the glory of the Lord shone round about them, [12:52] and they were filled with fear, [12:55] me too, I would be, [12:57] and the angel said to them,

[12:58] fear not, for behold I bring you good news of great joy, [13:02] that will be for all people, [13:04] for unto you is born this day, [13:07] in the city of David, a savior, [13:09] who is Christ the Lord, [13:11] and this will be a sign for you,

[13:13] you will find the baby, [13:15] wrapped in swaddling clothes, [13:16] and lying in a manger, [13:19] so what we see right here, [13:21] is that in this specific moment, [13:23] these men, who are not rabbis,

[13:26] they are not Pharisees, [13:28] they are not members of the moral majority, [13:30] or the religious right, [13:31] these are not men that go and lobby on Capitol Hill, [13:34] these are just shepherds, [13:36] the blue collar guys of that day,

[13:38] and then all of a sudden, [13:40] they look up when they are trying to get a little sleep, [13:42] and there is an angel hovering in the sky over them, [13:46] and they are trying to get a little sleep, [13:46] and the scripture says they are terrified, [13:49] and you would be too,

[13:51] and then suddenly, [13:53] the angel begins to speak, [13:55] and he says to them, [13:56] I bring you good news of great joy,

[14:01] Christ the Lord has been born, [14:04] and there is something significant in the terminology, [14:07] Christ the Lord, [14:08] it is the only place in the New Testament, [14:09] especially in the book of Luke, [14:10] where you see that exact combination,

[14:12] because what he is doing, [14:14] he is revealing to these Jewish men, [14:17] he is saying, [14:18] your Messiah, the one that has been promised, [14:21] the one you were raised, [14:22] and failed out of Rabbi school to learn about,

[14:25] he has come, [14:26] he is born,

[14:30] and when he says I bring you good news of great joy, [14:33] [14:34] the terminology there is a verb, [14:36] which means, [14:38] I come to preach the gospel,

[14:42] and so what we see is God, [14:43] in this exact moment, [14:44] privileging these angels to come, [14:47] to be the first person, [14:49] this angel is the first one, [14:51] that gets to physically,

[14:52] while Jesus is on earth, [14:54] preach the gospel to a group of people, [14:56] about the king that is laying in a manger crying,

[15:01] so the first thing I want you to know, [15:02] this morning about this text, [15:04] we are going to look at four things, [15:05] it is a good sermon, [15:07] Baptist sermon this morning, [15:08] four things out of the text,

[15:11] because I want you to know, [15:12] revelation,

[15:15] generates response,

[15:18] the sheep at this time, [15:20] at this point, [15:21] they have really two options, [15:24] option number one, [15:27] chalk it up to burritos, [15:29] and say man,

[15:30] what is going on up here, [15:32] and just say, [15:33] how could we possibly leave our sheep, [15:36] we can’t leave,

[15:39] or number two, [15:41] they can risk their entire livelihood,

[15:45] and leave the sheep right there, [15:47] and go into the city, [15:48] where they typically avoid, [15:50] and risk wolves coming in and eating their sheep, [15:53] and risk people coming in and stealing their sheep, [15:56] and go and respond to this revelation,

[15:59] to see if the messiah, [16:01] has really been born,

[16:04] but either way, [16:05] you have to understand, [16:07] revelation generates a response, [16:09] one way or the other, [16:10] [16:10] and when God reveals himself,

[16:13] we have the same option, [16:15] we can either respond with a yes, [16:17] God I will go, [16:19] or no God that’s too much, [16:22] or no God I don’t have time, [16:24] or no God this is too important,

[16:26] what I’m doing right now, [16:27] to actually leverage my livelihood, [16:29] for a revelation that you’ve brought into my life, [16:31] at this point in time,

[16:34] and so the shepherds have this choice, [16:36] right here, [16:37] to see what God is actually doing, [16:40] or to protect everything, [16:42] that they have built their lives around, [16:44] and when we read this story,

[16:46] we rarely see it like that, [16:48] we just see these shepherds get this good news, [16:50] and they get to leave, [16:51] but what we don’t understand is, [16:53] they are risking their livelihood, [16:54] even if they had an assistant,

[16:56] they would never trust an assistant, [16:59] to watch their sheep, [17:00] because the sheep are only trained, [17:02] to follow one voice, [17:04] because more than one voice, [17:05] causes too much confusion,

[17:06] because they are not rocket scientists, [17:09] they are sheep,

[17:13] and the shepherds make this life altering decision, [17:18] we are going to go,

[17:21] because this news is good enough, [17:24] to risk our livelihood, [17:27] for,

[17:29] in John chapter 1, [17:31] John writes from this perspective, [17:33] in which he sees the world, [17:35] he sees a little bit more, [17:38] of the God sized revelation, [17:40] that was actually born that day,

[17:42] in verse 1, it says, [17:43] in the beginning was the word, [17:44] and the word was with God, [17:45] and the word was God, [17:46] he was in the beginning with God, [17:49] and if we skip down to verse 9,

[17:51] we see the true light, [17:54] which enlightens everyone, [17:55] was coming into the world, [17:57] he was in the world, [17:58] and the world was made through him, [17:59] and yet the world did not know him,

[18:01] he came to his own, [18:03] and his own people, [18:04] did not receive him, [18:07] so what we see here, [18:09] is this revelation that is coming, [18:11] in the form of a child,

[18:16] you are going to respond, [18:17] one way or the other,

[18:21] but then he says, [18:23] but to all who did receive him, [18:25] who believed in his name, [18:26] he gave the right to become children of God, [18:29] who were born not of blood, [18:31] nor of the will of flesh,

[18:32] nor of the will of man, [18:33] but of God, and the word became flesh, [18:36] and dwelt among us, [18:38] and we have seen his glory, [18:39] glory as of the only son from the Father, [18:42] full of grace and truth,

[18:46] their choice reveals a change, [18:50] brought about by the revelation of God, [18:53] Jesus is using these shepherds, [18:55] to show us, [18:56] to show what the news of him coming, [18:59] is going to generate,

[19:01] inside of those who believe, [19:04] this is more than just a choice, [19:06] we are going to leave for 20 minutes, [19:07] and then we are going to come back, [19:08] this is a choice of is Jesus, [19:12] is the fact that the Messiah has come,

[19:14] is this miracle, [19:15] that God has actually become man, [19:18] and he is coming to redeem his people, [19:20] is it worth leveraging my life for?

[19:27] And by the response of the shepherds, [19:30] we see that they at least, [19:34] believe,

[19:37] and they trust,

[19:40] and they say Jesus has more value, [19:43] than not just a bunch of sheep, [19:45] because I think that is the temptation, [19:47] for us to think about this, [19:49] they say I trust you God enough, [19:53] to risk my livelihood,

[19:55] because what we see is this amazing, [19:58] shift in values, [19:59] that happens all throughout the scriptures,

[20:03] we see this shift happen, [20:05] even as Jesus grows older, [20:08] and we see him as he is an adult, [20:09] what does he say to his 12 disciples? [20:11] He just looks at them, [20:12] and he says come and follow me,

[20:15] and what do they do? [20:17] They follow him,

[20:20] some of them are fishermen, [20:21] and they drop their nets and follow him, [20:23] some of them are in the family business, [20:25] and two of them, [20:26] they are brothers, James and John, [20:27] and they are holding the nets with their dad,

[20:30] Jesus comes and looks at them, [20:31] and says James, John, you guys follow me, [20:33] and it says they drop the nets, [20:34] and in the view of their father, [20:36] they walk away from the family business, [20:38] to follow Jesus,

[20:41] we see them not only walk away from the family business, [20:43] but we then see them becoming people, [20:46] who risk their very physical lives, [20:49] in order to follow this man, [20:53] who was born in a manger, [20:56] and visited by a few shepherds,

[20:59] and it is seen in the way that God, [21:01] calls his church to respond, [21:03] in light of reflecting, [21:06] on what he has already done,

[21:12] you see we live in a different time period, [21:15] we look back in light of what Jesus has completely done, [21:18] what he has completely finished, [21:20] the fact that he has already died on the cross, [21:21] the fact that he has already risen from the dead, [21:23] the angels do not tell these shepherds that,

[21:26] the angels just say a baby is born, [21:28] and he is a sign of the messiah, [21:30] go see him, [21:32] they are not even living in light, [21:34] of all that we know from God’s word, [21:36] and all of the revelation that we have been given,

[21:39] we are on the outside of this event, [21:41] of the entire life of Jesus, [21:44] of the entire death, [21:45] in which scripture draws out, [21:47] that his death was for our atonement, [21:48] for our sins,

[21:49] that his resurrection was so that we could have new life in Christ, [21:52] and we look at God, and we say, [21:54] God give me one more son, because I don’t know if that is enough for me to live for,

[21:59] and the shepherds say, [22:00] just the fact that the baby has been born is enough, [22:03] just the fact that God has become man, [22:05] that is enough, we are going,

[22:12] revelation generates response,

[22:15] so my question to you is, [22:16] how are you responding?

[22:21] because he has given us his word, [22:23] but more than that, he has given us the ultimate revelation,

[22:28] the birth, life, death, and resurrection of the son of God, [22:32] for the sins of man, and for new life of the church,

[22:39] so what we are going to see now, [22:41] is that in this response, [22:43] it is going to generate lives of worship, [22:47] because the angel of the Lord, [22:47] [22:47] the angels have come, and they said,

[22:49] we bring you the gospel, it is for great joy, [22:52] but then look at what the angels do, [22:54] when they proclaim the gospel, [22:55] look back in Luke chapter 2,

[23:00] verse 13, [23:00] and suddenly there was with the angel,

[23:03] a multitude of heavenly hosts, [23:06] praising God, and saying, [23:08] glory to God in the highest and on earth peace, [23:12] among those with whom he is pleased, [23:15] when the angels went away from them, [23:18] into heaven the shepherds said to one another,

[23:20] let us go to Bethlehem, [23:22] and see this thing that has happened, [23:24] which the Lord has made known to us, [23:26] notice, what do the angels do? [23:28] first they say, we bring you good news of great joy, [23:32] then they give the news,

[23:34] and then their response, [23:36] to having the privilege of being the people that bring this news, [23:40] is that a multitude joins them, [23:42] so the angels have all been watching, [23:44] this one guy get this amazing privilege, [23:47] and that they have been waiting,

[23:49] throughout the history of man, [23:50] for a few thousand years, [23:52] watching man rebel against God, [23:54] and God has been saying, don’t worry, [23:56] my plan is going to happen, [23:57] and the angels look over,

[23:58] and they say it is happening, [24:00] Jesus is born, [24:01] and they say, we get to go proclaim it, [24:03] and then they sing in jubilation, [24:05] this good news is of great joy, [24:08] and look at what this joy is causing inside of us,

[24:12] they say, glory to God in the highest, [24:15] and peace among men whom God is pleased,

[24:24] the gospel, [24:26] causes worship,

[24:30] understand, that the first thing, [24:33] these angels do, [24:34] after getting the privilege of doing this, [24:38] is turning to God, [24:39] and saying, oh God, thank you so much, [24:43] you have allowed us to be a part of your story,

[24:45] you have allowed us to be a part of your work of redemption, [24:48] and then the shepherds look at each other, [24:50] and they say, I want some of that, we are out of here,

[24:55] the shepherds don’t simply have to go, [24:57] in light of a command, [25:00] they don’t have to go in response to the law, [25:04] they have had that, [25:06] but rather what they do is, [25:08] is they see the joy,

[25:09] and the glory of God, [25:11] in the lives of these angels, [25:13] and they say, we need some of that, [25:15] we are going, the scripture is actually going to tell us in a second, [25:18] it says that they made haste, [25:20] to leave,

[25:21] in other words, they didn’t even have time to close the gate, [25:24] on the sheet pin, [25:26] they just dropped their stabs, [25:27] and ran into Bethlehem, [25:29] saying, I got to see it,

[25:39] then in verse 16,

[25:43] I should back up a little bit, [25:45] verse 15, towards the end, [25:47] they say, let us go over to Bethlehem, [25:49] and see this thing that has happened, [25:51] which the Lord has made known to us, [25:55] you see the glory that they are taking,

[25:58] and the fact that God has seen them, [26:00] as being loved, [26:01] [26:01] [26:01] [26:01]

[26:01] [26:01] enough in which he can have, [26:04] some compassion, [26:05] and they say, God has made known to us, [26:08] something special,

[26:13] and when we look, when I look, [26:14] and consider how much God has made known to us,

[26:19] how much then does he love us,

[26:23] and they went with haste, [26:24] and found Mary and Joseph and the baby, [26:27] lying in a manger, [26:28] the manger being mom and dad, [26:29] and a bunch of shepherds show up, [26:32] and when they saw it,

[26:34] they made known the saying, [26:35] that had been told them, [26:37] concerning the child, [26:39] so what happens is, [26:40] they go and they are obedient, [26:43] and they see this worship,

[26:44] they see the gospel producing worship, [26:46] and they say, I want a part of that, [26:48] so what they do is, [26:50] is that they live out the reality of scripture, [26:52] and that worship is the source of obedience, [26:56] they do not go in reluctance,

[26:59] they do not go in drudgery, [27:02] they do not go and say, [27:04] well if I have to,

[27:09] rather they make haste,

[27:12] and they run headlong into the revelation of God,

[27:17] and then they come, [27:18] and the baby is there, [27:20] how exciting must that have been, [27:23] it’s kind of like going to the store on Black Friday, [27:25] for that TV that you want that is so cheap, [27:27] and they are all sold out,

[27:28] how disappointed would you be, [27:31] if you saw an angel, [27:32] and he said something to you, [27:33] and you showed up and it wasn’t there,

[27:37] but the shepherd show up, [27:39] and the baby is there, [27:41] I can’t even wrap my mind around what that must have been like, [27:45] but when they leave, [27:47] notice their response,

[27:50] notice that they continue this life, [27:53] of transformed obedience, [27:55] through the gospel, [27:56] that has been proclaimed to them, [27:58] through the birth of the Messiah, [28:00] and it says that when they left,

[28:02] they made known, [28:06] the saying that had been told them concerning the child, [28:10] and all who heard it, [28:12] wondered at what the shepherds told them, [28:17] the shepherds run out of this manger, [28:20] I mean, Jesus has been born,

[28:22] and you notice the response isn’t the same response, [28:25] because the disciples will have a little bit later, [28:28] on the mountain of transfiguration, [28:29] the disciples, three of them, [28:30] Peter, James, and John, [28:32] see Jesus in his glorified body,

[28:35] talking to dead prophets, [28:37] and they say, Jesus, let’s erect an altar here, [28:40] let’s build a temple, [28:41] and let’s just live up here like this, [28:43] we’ve seen your glory, [28:45] the shepherds do not respond that way,

[28:48] these are not men that have been to seminary, [28:50] these are not rabbis, [28:52] these are not Pharisees, [28:53] these are shepherds, they clean up poop,

[28:57] and they are transformed, [28:59] and spirit filled enough, [29:00] to the point,

[29:03] where they say, [29:04] they don’t look at him and say, wow, the baby is here, [29:07] let’s build something,

[29:10] they turn, [29:12] and leave,

[29:16] what is God doing? [29:18] to where they wouldn’t stay, [29:21] and meditate, [29:22] and the presence of the new born king,

[29:27] they turn around, [29:30] and they say, [29:31] guys, you gotta hear this,

[29:35] the messiah has been born,

[29:39] angels revealed it to us, [29:43] you’ll never believe, [29:45] we’ve seen worship, [29:47] by a host of angels, [29:49] and we’ve been allowed to take part, [29:51] in the story of redemption,

[29:53] that God is writing, [29:55] you’ve got to know about this, [29:57] you’ve got to believe,

[30:02] and the scriptures say that the townspeople,

[30:07] they wondered, [30:08] at what the shepherds told them, [30:11] fanatics,

[30:15] the same language that is used in Luke chapter 1, [30:18] to describe, [30:19] what happened when Mary found herself to be born, [30:23] the scriptures actually tell us, [30:24] that word spread, [30:25] around her little town,

[30:27] of an illegitimate conception, [30:30] and it was scandalous, [30:33] it was the same language, [30:34] that Luke uses here, [30:35] and I don’t think it’s an accident, [30:36] Luke uses the same language to describe,

[30:38] what the shepherds started doing around town, [30:41] so what God is doing, [30:42] is turning gossip to the gospel,

[30:46] and they’re going to, [30:47] some people who may have actually heard, [30:50] what’s going on with this girl, [30:52] you claim a virgin, [30:54] you claim a piece of toast, [30:56] in this day and age,

[30:56] has the face of Jesus on it, [30:58] and it’s on Inside Edition the next day, [31:01] well, you know you watch that show sometimes, [31:03] and then in the scriptures here, [31:06] we have a woman that’s claiming, [31:09] to be bearing a child,

[31:11] that was conceived by the Holy Spirit, [31:12] so word has to travel around Israel, [31:15] they didn’t even have cables, [31:16] they had to do something to occupy their time, [31:18] these are probably a lot of women we’re talking about here, [31:20] and we know what happens when they get together,

[31:24] so it says in Luke chapter 1, [31:25] that word spread, [31:28] and here we see the shepherds, [31:29] are spreading a different word, [31:31] and they’re saying, [31:32] remember that girl,

[31:34] when she had the baby, [31:35] and we saw some angels, [31:36] and they said she’s telling the truth, [31:38] and we believe it, [31:41] and then everybody’s like, [31:41] why would God tell shepherds, that’s weird,

[31:44] don’t they just stay out in the fields, [31:45] and talk to sheep all day?

[31:48] Because God is showing them, [31:51] that the good shepherd, [31:52] the great shepherd, [31:54] the ultimate shepherd, [31:55] the ultimate revelation of himself, [31:57] has come to earth to redeem mankind,

[32:00] and these Jews were not illiterate atheists, [32:04] they were people who knew, [32:06] the story of the gospel, [32:08] that was prophesied to come, [32:09] and they knew it was coming, [32:11] and the shepherds were saying, it’s here!

[32:15] And it says the people wondered,

[32:21] but the scriptures continue,

[32:27] and it says, [32:28] but Mary treasured up all these things, [32:29] pondering them in her heart, [32:31] some commentators say that Mary didn’t know, [32:33] the fullness of revelation, [32:34] that’s why she stored these things up in her heart,

[32:37] I struggle with that, [32:39] when you read her praise song, [32:41] just elsewhere, [32:44] and the fact that God chose her for this, [32:46] I believe that she’s just treasuring, [32:48] and worshiping God,

[32:49] and saying, I can’t believe you’re allowing me to be part of your gospel,

[32:55] but then it says, and the shepherds returned, [32:57] look at this, [32:58] people are like, what are you talking about? [33:00] but look, the shepherds returned, [33:03] glorifying and praising God, [33:06] for all they had heard,

[33:07] and seen, as it had been told them,

[33:14] the shepherds do not care, [33:17] at least in my view, [33:18] what anyone wonders about what they’re saying, [33:21] they’ve just so been overcome, [33:24] by the presence of God in their lives, [33:26] and the reality of Jesus being born,

[33:29] that they cannot help,

[33:33] but to make it the centerpiece, [33:36] and to make it the centerpiece, [33:37] [33:37] [33:37] of their lives,

[33:41] because worshipful obedience, [33:43] leads to a life of mission,

[33:48] notice, they did not go with reluctance, [33:50] to see Jesus, [33:51] they ran to see Jesus, [33:53] and then when they emerge from seeing Jesus, [33:56] what do we see?

[34:01] we don’t see them going about life as usual,

[34:06] we don’t see them living, [34:08] for the same things that they lived with before, [34:11] shepherds, [34:12] history tells us National Geographic did a study, [34:15] on the ancient shepherds, [34:17] and what it says is,

[34:18] that shepherds would rarely go into cities, [34:22] and talk to townspeople, [34:24] they were so paranoid about their sheep,

[34:28] so they would live in isolation,

[34:30] and so what the gospel has done, [34:32] it’s changed their personality, [34:33] [34:33]

[34:35] they’ve gone from people that found joy in isolation, [34:39] to people that are gathering others for a party,

[34:43] people that are saying, [34:44] you got to come see this, [34:46] everything’s changed,

[34:50] and so when we come, [34:52] to this season of year, [34:54] that we since, [34:55] really the year like 340 or so, [34:59] as Christians, [35:01] have set aside,

[35:03] the idea of a life of mission, [35:03] [35:03] [35:03] in order just to spend time, [35:07] reflecting on the birth of the Son of God, [35:09] okay?

[35:13] When we do that, [35:15] we must also reflect, [35:17] on the effect of the coming of the gospel, [35:21] on the lives of those that God gathered to hear it, [35:25] they were changed forever, [35:28] they went from men who had no mission,

[35:31] to men who are now living the mission of Jesus, [35:33] [35:33] [35:33] [35:33] before Jesus even said this is the mission, [35:37] it was just natural,

[35:39] that’s why the word gospel, [35:41] it just simply means good news, [35:44] of great joy,

[35:48] and so the shepherds, [35:49] they don’t do it in reluctance, [35:50] they just go and they say, [35:52] I’m telling everyone, [35:53] and my question to you, [35:54] is what are you doing with this good news of great joy,

[35:59] have you responded to the revelation, [36:02] and my question is, [36:03] [36:03] what has the response been?

[36:06] Has it been worship? [36:08] Has the gospel created a life of worship? [36:11] Or has it just created a life of agreement? [36:15] Sure, I hope I don’t go to hell.

[36:19] Do you see the shepherds ever once talking about heaven or hell? [36:23] No, they’re just glorifying in the fact they know Jesus.

[36:29] And when they come out of it, [36:31] do they just go about life as you do? [36:33] [36:33] [36:33] [36:33]

[36:33] [36:33] Are they just as usual or are they obviously changed?

[36:38] If the revelation of God through Jesus Christ, [36:42] in the fact that the gospel has happened, [36:44] if it has not changed you, [36:47] if it has not transformed your values, [36:50] if it has not created a new life, [36:53] in which your goals have been changed,

[36:56] in which something is different, [36:58] about the life that you live, [36:59] not just this time of year, [37:03] but forever.

[37:06] If there’s no change, there’s no Jesus. [37:09] He doesn’t want you just to sing a couple of songs [37:11] about a baby being born a few years ago. [37:14] No, he is interested in the very life that you have [37:17] to be lived in light of the truth, [37:20] of the fact that he loves us enough

[37:22] to reveal himself to us at all. [37:26] What are you doing with the revelation of God? [37:29] Next Saturday, [37:31] I’m going to be in the church. [37:31] I’m going to be in the church. [37:31]

[37:31] [37:31] Gather with your family. [37:33] Open gifts. [37:35] Drink eggnog. [37:36] You don’t like it, but do it anyway.

[37:40] But I want you to ask yourself a question.

[37:44] Is there going to be anything else?

[37:48] What’s your response to this revelation?

[37:53] Because for most of us, [37:56] it’s to continue to watch our sheep. [37:59] It’s to continue through life as usual.

[38:04] But the shepherds had a far different response. [38:09] So right now, when we move into this time of response,

[38:13] as is our custom every week, [38:15] we’re going to respond through reflection and communion. [38:19] But as we do this, I want you to know [38:21] that we’re in a period of history [38:22] where we’re looking back, [38:25] not at a baby,

[38:27] but at a great God and King [38:29] who died on the cross for our sins. [38:32] Who took our sin and gave his righteousness [38:36] to all who believe, [38:37] and then he rose again, bringing new life. [38:41] Not just in heaven, but also here.

[38:45] As we eat of the bread and drink of the cup, [38:48] his body and his blood, [38:50] what this is signifying

[38:53] is the fact that we look at death [38:57] and see the life that has been earned [39:00] on our behalf by Jesus Christ.

[39:04] And when you come up this morning, [39:05] understand that you’re proclaiming [39:09] that this birth [39:11] and this life [39:12] has changed you. [39:15] And that your values are different now.

[39:18] And that you live for the King of Kings [39:20] and the Lord of Lords [39:22] in this age.

[39:27] Let’s pray. [39:29] Father, [39:31] we praise you. [39:32] We thank you. [39:35] Lord, as we go through the [39:38] traditions and the activities

[39:39] of Christmas, as we gather [39:41] and work parties and family parties, [39:45] Lord, may people see a hope in us [39:48] that only comes from you. [39:51] May they see a wonder in us [39:53] that they can’t comprehend.

[39:56] May they see a love in us [39:59] and wonder at what’s different.

[40:03] And may we tell them [40:04] Jesus has come.