The night Jesus was born and laid to sleep in a manger in Bethlehem, there were shepherds in the country not far away, watching their flocks, when a very great event took place: “Lo, the angel of the Lord came upon them, and the glory of the Lord shone about them: and they were sore afraid. And the angel said unto them, Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people. For unto you is born this day in the City of David, a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord. . . .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, good will toward men.’”
Shepherds and Angels
This was the most wonderful message ever told to men: a Saviour had come! All had sinned, and had no right to God’s blessing, but because of this Saviour, God had good will toward all, and offered peace to all. The angel’s messages to Zacharias, to Mary, and to Joseph, told of blessing, not for one nation only, but this was for all. The shepherds were meant to tell others.
If only the one angel had come, it would have been a wondrous sight, but “a multitude” came, as though not only for men to have the message, but in praise to God for His gift to men, and in praise to the One Who had come, as it is written, “Let all the angels of God worship Him” (Hebrews 1:66And again, when he bringeth in the firstbegotten into the world, he saith, And let all the angels of God worship him. (Hebrews 1:6)).
The shepherds did not wait until some other day to go to see the Saviour who had come to earth: they went “with haste” to the village of Bethlehem to see that little Baby, which the angel told them would be in a manger. They found the place where Joseph and Mary were, and the Baby lying in a manger. Then they told others the message of the angel, and that they had seen the Child, born to be the Saviour, Who was Christ the Lord.
Seeing for Ourselves
The people of that land who believed the writings of the prophets in their scriptures, expected the Messiah, or the Christ, to come, but many looked for Him to come as a Great King, but they thought much about what the shepherds told them, and no doubt many went to see the newborn child.
God had sent His Son at first as a poor humble child; it is not told that there was a circle of light about His head as shown in many pictures, yet the shepherds were not disappointed. They were certain they had seen the Christ. They returned to the flocks “glorifying and praising God for all ... they had heard and seen, as it was told them.”
The message brought from God by the angels that night with its offer of peace to men, has never been withdrawn. He will give peace to all who believe in His Son. We know He is not now in the manger, but we can be “in haste to go and see” for ourselves, as the shepherds did, that God’s message is true.
Further Meditation
1. How did the Lord receive praise at His birth?
2. We often doubt what we are told until we have checked it out for ourselves. What did the shepherds do that showed they had accepted what God had to say to them? Why did God invite shepherds to worship the newly born Messiah?
3. If you’ve been thinking about the faith of those who truly believed that the Messiah had come you might find Faith: Bible Questions and Answers by H. P. Barker as a nice way to continue your meditations and learn more about this important subject.