Would you turn in your Bibles with me please to Luke chapter 2. Our reading this morning is from Luke 2 verses 8 through 20. So really the last half of the Christmas story as Luke records it. And before we read God's word, let us again bow to pray. We thank you, O Lord God, for your word recorded for us. And as we take it up now, would you speak to us by your Holy Spirit? that we will see and hear and rejoice in Christ, the newborn King, our Savior. And we pray in His name, Amen. Hear the Word of God, Luke 2, beginning at verse 8. Now there were in the same country shepherds living out in the fields, keeping watch over their flock by night. And behold, an angel of the Lord stood before them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were greatly afraid. 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. For there is born to you this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. And this will be the sign to you. You will find a babe wrapped in swaddling cloths, lying in a manger. And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host, praising God and saying, glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, goodwill toward men. 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. And they came with haste and found Mary and Joseph and the babe lying in a manger. Now when they had seen him, they made widely known the saying which was told them concerning this child. And all those who heard it marveled at those things which were told them by the shepherds. But Mary kept all these things and pondered them in her heart. Then the shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things that they had heard and seen as it was told them. much-loved congregation of the Lord Jesus Christ. Last Sunday we peeled away some of the sentimentality of the Christmas story to learn that Jesus wasn't born in a freestanding barn as we might picture it, but very likely at one end of a house. where the cattle and livestock were kept at night, wrapped in swaddling cloths and laid in a manger. We all know what that is. That was all normal stuff for that time and place. What wasn't normal and what we can't see is that Jesus was not an average baby. Although he was God, he made himself nothing, taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. And that humility is beyond our comprehension. And yet it is somehow not right, it seems to us, and certainly wasn't right in God's eyes, that our Savior's birth is only humility, even humiliation. Somehow it had to be celebrated, too. Celebrated and explained and proclaimed by angels, by shepherds, And that's where we come in this morning with a sermon theme that in his humble birth, Christ receives praise from angels and shepherds and from us. The passage before us this morning is in four stages and I want to use the poetic form ABBA. So there's shepherds, angel, angels, shepherds. We meet the shepherds first in verse 8, and then there's one angel who appears and speaks in verses 9 through 12, and then angels, plural, 13 and 14, and back to the shepherds in 15 through 20. They praise the newborn king, and we are called to do likewise. Christmas has passed, but the wonder of Jesus' birth never leaves us, and the praise for his saving grace is our song for all eternity. Let's meet the shepherds in verse eight. Now there were in the same country shepherds living out in the fields, keeping watch over their flock by night. Now shepherds are the good guys in this story, but they were not so in their culture. And we've probably heard that often, but do you know why? Well, one reason, maybe the main reason, is that the nature of their work, especially for Jewish shepherds, kept them from observing Jewish ceremonial laws. So they weren't always able to wash their hands at the right time. They weren't able to clean up and get into town soon enough to go to the temple on the holy days. And so they were considered unclean. Plus, they were regarded as liars. I don't know the background for that. Usually if someone has a rep as a liar, there's a reason for that. But the upshot is that their testimony was not admissible in a court of law. Plus, One commentator has written, more regrettable was their unfortunate habit of confusing mine with thine. In other words, they had sticky fingers. They stole. Now, if you had earth-shaking, world-changing, History-making news, would you tell it to those guys? But God did. Why do you think he did that? Well, there are clearly two reasons. One was to fulfill prophecy. King David was promised that one of his descendants would be the Messiah. And we have recorded genealogy that shows this is the baby. Jeremiah in chapter 33 prophesied that God would send the Messiah when shepherds were watching their flocks in Judea. No coincidence here. So fulfilling prophecy and clearly to display His grace. We tend to think that God is for the good people. Like us. I mean, we try hard. We come to church. We do right. God is for us, right? until you look into the mirror of God's Word and see, no, God is not for the good people, because it's a small, small crowd. God is for the needy people, like shepherds, like you, like me. When Mary says in chapter 1 verse 52, he has put down the mighty from their thrones and exalted the lowly, we see ourselves as those who must be put down because of our pride and exalted by Christ. moved again to wonder at the goodness and the kindness of God to the undeserving. Now here comes an angel, verse 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. Philip's translation says, the splendor of the Lord blazed around them. So there stands an angel and the glory of the Lord blazes around the shepherds. R.C. Sproul observes, almost every time the Bible records a theophany, that is an outward manifestation of the invisible God, It is accompanied by the Shekinah. That was the cloud of God in the Old Testament. The Shekinah was the blazing, blinding glory of God, end quote. So go back to Exodus 3. Moses meets God at the burning bush and hid his face for he was afraid to look at God. Shekinah. Exodus 33, Moses asked God to show him his glory, and the Lord says to him, I will put you in a cleft of the rock and cover you with my hand. You shall see my back, but my face shall not be seen. Because of the blazing, blinding glory, the Shekinah was too much for a man to bear. And here it is. Here's the glory of the Lord blazing, blinding around the shepherds. No wonder they were greatly afraid. Or as King James puts it, they were sore afraid. And then the angel says, do not be afraid. Did you know that's the most common negative command in the New Testament? Sometimes because of our tendency to fear, to worry. Sometimes because people have met God as here. In the Old Testament, Isaiah felt that fear when he saw the Lord sitting on his throne and he heard the angels. Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God Almighty. Isaiah's response was fear. Jesus' disciples felt it when they were in the boat together with Jesus and a storm came up and the master calmed the storm. And the men looked at each other and said, who is this that even the wind and the waves obey And now, don't be afraid, for I bring you glad tidings. That is good news, that is gospel, which became the title of Luke's book, The Gospel According to Luke. Good news of a birth, someday of miracles and feedings, later of death and resurrection. Good news today of a manger, someday of an empty grave. That's the good news of great joy to all who trust in him. But all of this would just be another healthy baby in a happy family if God had not revealed the meaning of it. There is born to you, the angel said. That's like the tag that some of us saw on rapt presents this past week. To, from. In this case, to the shepherds, from God. to everyone who receives God's grace by faith from the God who loves to display his grace in saving sinners. And then in verse 11, four important identifiers. First of all, in the city of David, that is Bethlehem, great David's greater son is born, a savior, a deliverer, a rescuer, which implies that we need rescuing, which we do, of course. Jesus came to deliver us from the grip of sin. He paid the guilt of our sin. He frees us from the accusations and the deceptions of Satan. He paid the price that the righteous wrath of God demanded. And then Christ, which is not a name, it's a title, and it means anointed one. This is the anointed one who is set apart by God as a priest, a priest who brings the needs of God's people to God, anointed as a king, ruling God's people with justice and love forever, as a prophet who brings the word of God to his people. Sometime we're gonna do a deep dive into that one word. Briefly, it is the Old Testament name of God, Yahweh. Lord is the name that drove the Jewish leaders absolutely bonkers in the years to come. because by calling him Lord, or in those future years, Jesus calling himself Lord, he is calling himself God. Yahweh, the God whom you have worshipped and served, choose I now stand before you. That's who we worship as our Savior. But where are the shepherds gonna find him? Verse 12, this will be the sign to you. You will find a babe wrapped in swaddling cloths, lying in a manger. Now there may have been other babies swaddled that night, Probably this is the only one in a manger. Surprising place to find a baby, even more surprising place to find a savior who is Christ the Lord. But for us, the surprising part is that God took on human flesh in such humility. So shepherds didn't recognize him by a royal crown, but by the swaddling cloths. He was laid in a manger and not a golden crib. Here is grace clothed in humility. And the surprising, if not shocking, news for us is that he didn't come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance, and that whoever believes on him shall not perish, but have everlasting life. So shepherds, an angel, and now look out, angels, plural, And I mean a lot of them. Verse 13, and suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host. If I may take my list of questions with me to heaven, that's really all I want to take along, just the list of questions. It was in studying for this sermon that I added another one to my list. God, how many angels were there that night? Were there a thousand? Were there 10,000? Were there 10,000 times 10,000? Were they shoulder to shoulder from horizon to horizon? These were angels whose normal day job, most days of the week, they stood before God praising him and serving him. But today, they surround the shepherds to praise God with glory to God in the highest and on earth peace, goodwill toward men. That's the next song in the Christmas story, if you're keeping track. We've heard Elizabeth's, Mary's, Zachariah's, and now the angels. Gloria in excelsis Deo. We sang just a few moments ago, Thus spake the seraph, and forthwith I'm gonna guess that this morning is the only time this week you're gonna say forthwith. And appeared a shining throng of angels praising God who thus address their joyful song. All glory be to God on high and to the earth be peace. Goodwill henceforth from heaven to men begin and never cease. This is the first time, this is the first time that song is sung. And how often since then has it been sung? God the Son has always received praise in heaven. But this time is different. Now God sent his son into the world where he would be despised and rejected of men, a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief. He would suffer the shame and torture of crucifixion and the unspeakable agony of hell for sins not his, and he would be buried in the ground he created. J.C. Ryle writes, now is come the highest degree of glory to God. By the appearing of his son Jesus Christ in the world, he by his life and death on the cross will glorify God's attributes, justice, holiness, mercy, and wisdom, as they never were glorified before. End quote. Glory to God in the highest and on earth peace. There was during Jesus' time what was called the Pax Romana, Roman peace. It was Rome's golden age, peace and prosperity, but it was superficial and short-lived. You've heard the Hebrew word shalom. This is that in the New Testament. The wholeness, the completeness, the perfection of relationship with God, first of all. Sin separates us from him That's removed. That dividing wall of hostility is removed by Christ and we are reconciled to God. And then peace with others. Peace with ourselves. Peace with our circumstances. Not all of that is perfect, of course. We still live under the cross. We live in a sinful world and we do battle, as Paul writes in Romans 7, with the sin that's in me. But Christ is victor, as Corrie Tenboom loved to say, and as we do well to remember. And then goodwill toward men, which does not teach universal salvation, Peace on earth and goodwill toward men is not, tragically, for everyone. Goodwill toward men, unfortunately, this translation omits an important word that Luke included of the angel's song. It's just one word in Greek that translates into five in English. With whom he is pleased. So, on earth peace, goodwill toward men with whom he is pleased. That word or that phrase is used in Jesus' time to speak of God's elect. Another translation puts it, those on whom his favor rests. Those on whom God has poured out his favor. Peace of God, from God, with God, by his sovereign pleasure. And the shepherds are a perfect example of that. Unworthy men who didn't choose to meet with God's angel this night, but he chose to meet with them. He chose that they would be the first to sing this song of praise to his son. You never knew that the angel's song teaches the doctrine of election, but there it is. Praise be to God. "'Tis not that I did choose thee, for Lord, that could not be. This heart would still refuse thee, hadst thou not chosen me. Thou, from the sin that stained me, hast cleansed and set me free. Of old thou hast ordained me, that I should live to thee. Thanks be to God." Shepherds, angel, Angels, shepherds. Let's look at verses 15 to 18 in one piece. 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. And they came with haste and found Mary and Joseph and the babe lying in a manger. Now when they had seen him, they made widely known the saying which was told them concerning this child. And all those who heard it marveled at those things which were told them by the shepherds." There's a sense of urgency in verse 15 that we get a little taste of in verse 16. but a lot of it is lost. The angels have gone back to heaven and the shepherds say, come on, let's go. We gotta see this. And they find Mary and Jesus and Joseph. Remember from last week that the manger that they saw Jesus in was at one end of a house. People were at one end, livestock at the other. That's interesting. But don't miss what's important. The shepherds were welcome at the cradle of the king. Outcasts became honored guests. And that begins in Bethlehem and it carries through all the way to Calvary. God made him who knew no sin to be sin for us that we, whatever your past, whatever your problems, that we might become the righteousness of God. Isn't grace amazing? The shepherds leave and they tell everyone they meet. Here's another Christmas carol that stars the shepherds. While shepherds kept their watching o'er silent flocks by night, behold, throughout the heavens there shone a holy light. The shepherds feared and trembled when low above the earth rang out the angel chorus that hailed our Savior's birth. Go tell it on the mountain, over the hills and everywhere. Go tell it on the mountain that Jesus Christ is born. Verse 19, but Mary kept all these things and pondered them in her heart. That is, she thought about them and she tried to make sense of all that has happened. It has been a wild nine months for this girl. She has a lot to think about, and she will, eight days later, when she and Joseph take Jesus to the temple for circumcision. We can imagine she pondered all these things when she tucked her little boy into bed at night. When Jesus was 12 years old, he amazed the religious teachers with his questions. That follows in Luke 2. And then verse 51, then he went down with them. That is, he went back home with Mary and Joseph and came to Nazareth and was subject to them. But his mother kept all these things in her heart, pondering. Maybe when the family gathered together after supper to read scripture and pray, did she ponder when Jesus prayed, Abba, Father? When she stood at the foot of his cross and her heart breaking, did she ponder all these things? her life pondering, right up until Sunday morning when he arose, not in humility and shame, but in victory and glory. Then the shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things that they had heard and seen as it was told them. The shepherds do in verse 20 what the angel did in verse 13. The gospel does that to a person by the work of the Holy Spirit. He brings us to faith in Jesus Christ who moves us to worship and witness. Come and see, go and tell. What do we say in worship? And what do we tell in witness? Well, here's a place to start. Revelation 5 verse 12, paraphrased with Christmas in mind, worthy is the lamb who was conceived in the womb of a virgin, born in a peasant home and laid in a manger. Worthy is he to receive thanksgiving and praise. And then, worthy is the lamb who was slain. to receive power and wealth and wisdom and might and honor and glory and blessing. All glory to God, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, now and forevermore. Let us pray. O triune God, we give you heartfelt thanks. for the blessing of a Redeemer. Jesus, the newborn King, our Savior and Lord. Thank you for the working of your Holy Spirit, that as we read this story, it's not merely a nice story. It doesn't make us just feel warm and cozy. Because of your work in us, creating faith in him, we rejoice in Christ. Sins forgiven, barriers broken down, relationship restored. Blessed be your name. and Holy Spirit now and forevermore, and all your people said.