Reading Plan:
Luke 2:8-20
Our Thoughts:
In yesterday’s reading, we walked Joseph and Mary through their difficult journey to Bethlehem where Mary gave birth. The pressing weight of their calling had marked the past nine months, but Mary finally held Jesus. She swaddled him in the same strips of cloth that the shepherds in the field used to swaddle their newborn sheep (Luke 2:7).
While we do not know the exact date of Jesus’s birth, clues in Scripture give us an idea of the season. Scholars guestimate His birth is during the Feast of Trumpets between 6 and 4 B.C.E. at the end of Herod’s reign but before his death. The interesting historical significance of Jesus’s birth during the Feast of Trumpets is that Jewish tradition reserves this day for announcing “kings” with a series of blows from ram horns. How appropriate to announce the birth of King Jesus during the Feast of Trumpets!
In today’s reading, we find Levite shepherds watching the sacrificial lambs in the field at night. As the shepherds watch their flock, Gabriel delivers the good tidings—the Gospel—and announces their long-awaited Messiah has been born.
Once again, God proves his love for the despised marginalized poor. Of all the priests and royalty on hand to receive the news of our King’s birth, he chose the lowly shepherds considered unclean by Jewish priests to receive the news first.
The angel instructs the shepherds to go to Bethlehem to find their proof: Jesus is in a manger (Luke 2:11-12). A heavenly choir of angels surround the men singing and praising, “Glory to God in the highest heaven, and on earth peace to those on whom his favor rests” (Luke 2:14). Talk about a worship experience! These ordinary shepherds who raise and care for the lambs sacrificed at the temple immediately rush to worship our Sacrificial Lamb at the stables where sacrificial lambs had been born. Nothing God does is happenstance. Every detail of Jesus’s birth has significance.
As Mary is recovering from giving birth, these shepherds arrive to see the Messiah for themselves. When the shepherds left the stable to tell others the Good News, Mary quietly treasures the events of the past nine months in her heart (Luke 2:19).
She catalogs evidence from God that He chose her for this difficult journey that would include the pressure of raising the Savior. Her collection of treasures began with remembering when God chose her to carry the Messiah through the Holy Spirit (Luke 1:30). The account of her riches grew with the memory of how God gave her companionship and encouragement in her cousin Elizabeth who not only carried a miracle child but also recognized and celebrated that Mary was pregnant with the Son of God (Luke 1:32-42). Mary’s wonder grew when thinking about how Gabriel reassured Joseph (Matthew 1:20-21). In a situation that could have meant divorce and death, Joseph chose to love and care for Mary in what must have been one of the most trying times of both of their lives. And as she held Jesus in her arms, the shepherds returned to worship the Child who God chose her to raise. In a matter of months, God reveals Himself to Mary over and over which prepares her for the task ahead.
Just as Mary took account of the treasures of her heart, we can also look at our lives and take an inventory of the evidence of His goodness, His unmerited favor, and His presence in our lives. A catalog of these miraculous encounters will give a new perspective to the pressure we are under as believers and reassure us that we never walk alone.
More Questions:
• When God speaks to you and shows you his will, do you treasure his words quietly, like Mary, and think about them often in your heart?
• How can you be more like the shepherds and respond to God’s commands with hurried obedience?
Prayer:
Thank you, Father, for your son Jesus. His birth broke through 400 years of darkness. We ask during this season that you help us recall your goodness so that we can re-energize our faith for the coming pressures this next year. In Jesus' name, Amen.
Author: Nikki Payton