The announcement of the arrival of the Messiah invites us to experience the relationship with God that we were created for...

At the church where I serve, we  spent Christmas Eve looking at what we often refer to as the Christmas message. And it is in the Christmas story that we discover a timeless truth when it comes to how we can respond to announcement of the arrival of Jesus as the Messiah that marks the Christmas season. So let’s do that together, beginning in Luke 2:1:

Now in those days a decree went out from Caesar Augustus, that a census be taken of all the inhabited earth. This was the first census taken while Quirinius was governor of Syria. And everyone was on his way to register for the census, each to his own city. Joseph also went up from Galilee, from the city of Nazareth, to Judea, to the city of David which is called Bethlehem, because he was of the house and family of David, in order to register along with Mary, who was engaged to him, and was with child.

Luke begins this section of his account of Jesus life by providing us the context for the event from history that we know as the Christmas story. At this time in history, the land that belonged to the Jewish people was under the control of the Roman Empire, which was the dominant military and political power in the world. And as part of their military and political dominance, the Roman Government required that every person who lived in the Roman Empire over the age of 20 pay a tax that was called the poll tax. 

So to make sure that they were receiving the maximum amount of taxes that they were able to gather, the Roman Empire called for a census. This census required every Jewish family to travel to their ancestral home town to register for the census so that they would be counted for tax purposes. Every Jewish person, in essence, needed to travel to the place where their family tree was planted. And for Joseph and Mary, that meant traveling to Bethlehem, as Joseph came from the family tree of David, who was the most famous king to ever ruler the Jewish nation. So Joseph and Mary left Nazareth and made the trip to Bethlehem.

Now to understand the significance of this trip, we first need to understand some things about this journey. First, the distance between Nazareth and Bethlehem was 80 miles. Second, there are no cars, buses, or airplanes. So Joseph and Mary walked 80 miles, which would take approximately five days for an average person to travel.

But as Luke tells us, Joseph and Mary are not average; Because Mary is with child. When Luke says that Mary is with child, she is with child. Delivery could occur at any moment. Most scholars believe that this trip would have taken at least one week to accomplish. And as we see next, however, Mary is not just with child:

While they were there, the days were completed for her to give birth. And she gave birth to her firstborn son; and she wrapped Him in cloths, and laid Him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn.

 After arriving in Bethlehem, Mary discovered that she was not just with child; it was time to have the child. There was a problem, however. You see, Bethlehem was not a bustling metropolis filled with hotels and motels; Bethlehem was a small rural community that was busting at the seams as a result of all the out of town visitors that were required to come to register for the census. Bethlehem was not a destination that up and coming people moved to in order to start their careers; Bethlehem was a departure point that people left as soon as they grew up. 

So there was no place for people to reside, unless there were close family that still lived in town. Bethlehem was so crowded that the only place that they could find for Mary to give birth and stay in was with domesticated animals. Most likely this was in a cave on the outskirts of town where animals where kept for their safety. Instead of a crib, all Mary could lay her newborn in was a manger, which was a feeding trough for animals.

 Now imagine yourself as Joseph and Mary. How would you be feeling right now? You are a teenage girl who is in a cave, 80 miles from home, where you have placed your firstborn son in a box that a few minutes ago, farm animals were slobbering in as they ate. And if that is not enough, your son is God in a bod. God, who has taken on flesh, is lying in a feeding trough. And where do you think they got the cloths to wrap baby Jesus in?

What would you be thinking? Do you think Mary thought that this is how the Messiah was going to enter into the world? Do you think Mary thought that this is how God was going to come to earth? And if that was not unexpected enough, let’s look together at what happens next:

In the same region there were some shepherds staying out in the fields and keeping watch over their flock by night. And an angel of the Lord suddenly stood before them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them; and they were terribly frightened.

You think? Of course they were frightened. Wouldn’t you be frightened? It’s not every day that the angel Gabriel, who was the Lord's personal messenger shows up. And if that was not frightening enough, Luke tells us that the glory of the Lord shown around them. When Luke refers to the glory of the Lord, he is referring to the awesome presence, splendor and radiance of God displayed for others to see. This is God in His greatness revealed.

Throughout the Bible, when we read about the glory of the Lord, we usually discover two things. First, we discover that humans usually cannot handle being in the presence of the glory of the Lord. Usually, people respond to being in the presence of the glory of the Lord by falling on their face or fleeing.

Second, when we read about the glory of the Lord, we usually read about God’s glory being revealed either in the tabernacle or the temple in Jerusalem, which was the only church in Mary and Joseph’s day. The glory of the Lord did not just show up in a field in the middle of nowhere. And the glory of the Lord did not show up around shepherds. The glory of the Lord may have been revealed to kings or priests, or to really religious people; but not to shepherds.

Shepherds were blue collar, lower class people who earned their living taking care of flocks of sheep. Shepherds were peasants who were located on the bottom of the scale of power and privilege. So of course the shepherds were frightened; this was most unexpected and frightening; “what’s going to happen to us now” was what they probably were thinking. Luke tells us what happens next:

But the angel said to them, "Do not be afraid;

To which the shepherds probably thought “easy for you to say”…

for behold, I bring you good news of great joy which will be for all the people; for today in the city of David there has been born for you a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. "This will be a sign for you: you will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger."

The angel Gabriel explains “I have announcement for you, which is for you to announce to all the people. Down the road from you has been born the savior; you know the promised one that you have heard about since you were a child that is coming to rescue you and your people from your selfish rebellion and sin. You know the Christ, the Messiah. And this Savior, Christ, that has been born, oh by the way, He is God. Now go and check it out for yourself. This is how you will know; Your God, your Savior, your Messiah, He’s in the cave on the edge of town, where He is wrapped up in clothes in a feeding trough”.

Now you are a shepherd. What would you be thinking? What questions would be running through your mind? Here’s what I think was running through their mind. “Why would God send an angel to make this announcement of the Messiah to us? Why us? Why not make this announcement of the arrival of the Messiah to the priests in Jerusalem? Why not make this announcement of the arrival of the Messiah to the religious people like the Pharisees or Sadducees? Why not make this announcement of the arrival of the Messiah to those in positions of power or influence? Why not make this announcement of the arrival of the Messiah  to Joseph and Mary’s family who are in Nazareth?"

 Instead, the announcement of God fulfilling His promise of rescue and deliverance was made to lowly peasants who were viewed as outsiders. While the shepherds were frightened and were pondering this announcement, there were others who had a much different response:

And suddenly there appeared with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying, "Glory to God in the highest, And on earth peace among men with whom He is pleased."

Can you imagine what that must have looked like? Can you imagine what it must sound like to hear a multitude of angels worship God in one accord without anyone being off key? So what would you do if the angel of the Lord and the glory of the Lord showed up to announce the arrival of the Messiah to you? Probably what the shepherds did, which we read as Luke continues the Christmas story:

When the angels had gone away from them into heaven, the shepherds began saying to one another, "Let us go straight to Bethlehem then, and see this thing that has happened which the Lord has made known to us."

Notice the shepherd’s response here. There was no doubt that the shepherds believed that they had an encounter with God. The shepherds recognized that they were given an opportunity to participate in God’s activity in the world because God had chosen them to be the first to hear of the announcement of the arrival of the Messiah into the world.

And as they watched the angels return to Heaven, this unexpected announcement of the arrival of the Messiah to this unexpected group of people created an uncontainable passion to see God’s entry into the world that had been announced to them. This uncontainable passion to see the evidence of God’s activity and entry into the world caused them to go straight to Bethlehem. No time to find someone else to watch the sheep; not time to tell family and friends where they were going; just a desire that is focused on encountering God and experiencing and participating in His activity in the world.

And it is God’s activity in the world and in our lives that can change the desires, the focus, and even the trajectory of our lives. Luke then shows us how the announcement of the arrival of the Messiah's entry into the world to the shepherds changed the trajectory of their lives:

So they came in a hurry and found their way to Mary and Joseph, and the baby as He lay in the manger. When they had seen this, they made known the statement which had been told them about this Child. And all who heard it wondered at the things which were told them by the shepherds.

The shepherds hurried to Bethlehem and began to search for the baby wrapped is clothes in a feeding trough. This evening, can you imagine what that must have looked like? Can you imagine the shepherds going through town asking “have you seen him? Have you seen a baby in clothes in a manger? Is he here? Where do you keep the animals in town? Why are we looking for a baby in a manger? We are looking because this baby will be our rescuer, our deliverer. We are looking because this baby is the Lord God who entered into humanity”.

And all in Bethlehem who encountered these shepherds looking for a baby in a feeding trough were amazed and impacted by the shepherd’s uncontainable passion as they searched for a baby in a feeding trough. I mean how unexpected would it be for shepherds to be searching for the Messiah, instead of religious or political power players. And when they found the baby, in a cave, in a feeding trough, any hesitation or doubts were removed as to what they had seen and heard that night. For Mary, however, there was a different response:

But Mary treasured all these things, pondering them in her heart.

Mary responds to this unexpected arrival of shepherds announcing that arrival of the Messiah by making another page in the mental scrapbook that she was creating about the role that God had given her in His huge story.

Now, wouldn’t you like to look at that scrapbook? Can you imagine what Mary’s scrapbook would look like as she placed treasured moment after treasured moment of the evidence of God’s amazing activity in her life? Luke then reveals for us how the shepherds responded to all that they had heard and seen:

The shepherds went back, glorifying and praising God for all that they had heard and seen, just as had been told them.

The shepherds, after seeing God entry into humanity as a baby in a feeding trough, return to the sheep and to the field. The shepherds returned to their relatively mundane lives that most would view as being of little importance and as having little impact on the world. However, the shepherds were forever changed as a result of the announcement of the arrival of the Messiah.

Luke tells us that the shepherds went back glorifying God for all that they had heard and seen. And it was these shepherds who God gave the role to announce to the world the arrival of the Messiah throughout the world. Instead of announcing the arrival of Jesus as the Messiah through a prophet, priest, or king, God announced the arrival of the Messiah through a most unexpected announcer- a shepherd.

And for 2,000 years, God has continued to announce the arrival of Jesus as the Messiah and His offer of the forgiveness of sin and the relationship with God that we were created for by believing, trusting, and following Jesus through unexpected announcers. Announcers like a fisherman named Peter who denied Jesus three times. Announcers like a religious zealot named Paul who had earlier persecuted Jesus followers. Announcers who had flawed and scandalous pasts prior to meeting Jesus. Announcers who questioned how God could love them after they had stumbled and fallen in horrible ways. Announcers like me; Announcers like you.

And it is here in the Christmas story, that we see Luke reveal for us a timeless truth that is the point of the Christmas story. And that timeless truth is that the announcement of the arrival of the Messiah invites us to experience the relationship with God that we were created for. Just as it was for the shepherds, just as it has been throughout history, the announcement of the arrival of the Messiah invites us to experience the relationship with God that we were created for.

And because of that reality, here is a question to consider: how have you responded to announcement of the arrival of Jesus as the Messiah that makes up the Christmas story?