Daily Devotions
Luke
Luke 2 : 8-20 "BEHOLD, AN ANGEL OF THE LORD STOOD BEFORE THEM..." Luke 2:8"
Day 33 – Luke 2
Text: Luke 2 : 8-20
“BEHOLD, AN ANGEL OF THE LORD STOOD BEFORE THEM…” Luke 2:8
Once again, Luke mentioned angelic visitors! At first, only one angel spoke to a group of shepherds on night duty. The startled shepherds were astonished at the glory of the Lord that shone around them! The angel of the Lord then joyously announced the birth of Jesus…
“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 Saviour, 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.” Luke 2:10-12
Soon after this announcement , 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!” Luke 2:13-14
Are you astonished by what you are reading? On the one hand, God allowed Jesus to be born in a manger. On the other hand, He sent a multitude of His angels to sing an anthem on the occasion of the birth of the Lord Jesus Christ. We are reminded of the words found in Isaiah…
“For My thoughts are NOT your thoughts,
NOR are your ways My ways, says the Lord.
For as the heavens are higher than the earth,
So are My ways higher than your ways,
And my thoughts than your thoughts.” Isaiah 55:8-9
We can only be in awe, as the shepherds must have been, when they had an unexpected visit from Heaven’s angels! They were but humble and poor shepherds! They would not have merited a visit from a multitude of angels! But if they could believe their ears, then what they had heard were things that must be checked out!
A Saviour born! Christ, the Anointed One Himself! Could this be true? Did not the angel mention a sign of a Babe wrapped in swaddling cloths? They must check it out!
“LET US NOW GO TO BETHLEHEM AND SEE THIS THING THAT HAS COME TO PASS…” Luke 2:15
It was night time. There were no street lamps in those days. What would you do if you were among the shepherds who heard the announcement of the angel, and the anthem of the heavenly choir? Would you dismiss it as mere hallucination? Would you at least check it? The Shepherds came to a decision, and their words tell us much about them. They said,
“Let us now go to Bethlehem and see this thing that has come to pass,
which the Lord has made known to us.” Luke 2:15
Their response was far more positive than that of Zacharias! They concluded that they did have a special angelic visit. More than that, they concluded that the Lord Himself had spoken to them. The very idea – “The Lord had made known to us…!”
What would they lose if they made an effort to check out the news announced to them? They had nothing to lose, and everything to gain! Their “haste” speaks well of them! They were excited by the news that their long-awaited-for Messiah had finally come!
Bethlehem was quite close to Jerusalem. These Shepherds would most likely be people employed to look after the sheep that were used for Temple sacrifice! Lambs were used as part of the Temple worship! Presumably, these Shepherds employed by the Temple would have a fair bit of knowledge about their faith in God! What if this God of theirs had indeed spoken to them and revealed to them that the Messiah had been born! It would be their special privilege to have been among those who had received such glorious news!
“NOW WHEN THEY HAD SEEN HIM…”
The Shepherds searched for the “Babe wrapped in swaddling cloths, lying in a manger! How many babies would be born that night? How many inns were there in little Bethlehem? How difficult would it be to locate the Babe in a small city like Bethlehem?
It did not take very long for the Shepherds to “find Him” (Luke 2:17). What did they see? Was it only a physical Baby that they saw? The words of the angel were true. But of course they were! These were angelic beings!
As they made their way back to the fields where they had left their flock, you can imagine that they could scarcely contain what they must have felt deep in their hearts.
“They made widely known the saying which was told them concerning this Child” (Luke 2:17). They were the first witnesses for the Lord Jesus.
What about those who heard the witness of the Shepherds? We read this response recorded by Luke,
“And all those who heard it marveled at those things which were told them by the Shepherds.” Luke 2:18
The lives of these Shepherds had been deeply touched. They would no longer be the same. These words speak much about the change that had taken place,
“Then the Shepherds returned, GLORIFYING AND PRAISING GOD for all the things that they had heard and seen, as it was told them.” Luke 2:20
It did not matter if others believed them. They believed now! They believed that their Messiah – Saviour had been born and had come to bring them redemption! That was reason enough to be “glorifying and praising God”, even though it was late in the night!