Subj: Luke 2:8-20
Date: 12/25/98 9:41:01 AM Pacific Standard Time
From: knys@teleport.com (Karen Nys)
Reply-to: cinbiblst@cin.org
To: cinbiblst@cin.org
"Let us go to Bethlehem to see this thing that has taken place."
Luke 2:15
Read Luke, chapter 2, verses 8 to 20
The earthly power of Caesar Augustus, ordering a census of the whole world,
had served God's purpose to set Mary and Joseph on the road to their
ancestral city. It was a heavenly herald who set the shepherds on their way
to Bethlehem.
Though fearfully overwhelmed by the multitude of angels who broke the quiet
normalcy of their night watch with an incredible message, the shepherds had
no doubt about the authenticity of what they had received. In agreement,
they rushed from their fields into David's city to look for a child lying
in a manger. Throughout the ages many artists have portrayed these
shepherds running and even jubilantly jumping and tripping over one
another, filled with excitement as they sought him whose birth the angels
had announced with hymns of glory.
These men were privileged to be the first to greet the incarnate God, and
to testify to others (verse 18) of the good news the angel had proclaimed
to them: "A savior has been born to you!" (verse 11). How bewildered yet
reassured Mary and Joseph must have been by this surprising visit! Now they
were no longer the only ones to have been visited by angels foretelling
awesome things about their child.
Those shepherds were changed men as they returned to their flocks: the dull
monotony of their lives had been transformed and they followed the pathway
across the fields back to their everyday work "praising and glorifying God"
(verse 20) for what they had experienced. New hope was born in them along
with the birth of this child! The memory of this extraordinary night must
have remained with the shepherds throughout their lives, giving them hope
and comfort to know that a child was growing up to be their Savior. The
long-promised Messiah had at last entered the world!
For reflection: Imagine yourself in the place of the shepherds returning
from Bethlehem,"glorifying and praising God for all they had seen and heard."
Prayer starter: Pray the "Gloria," the song of the angels, and add your own
prayer of praise.
***
Copyright God's Word Today, 1998
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