Finding God’s Miracle
8. And there were in the same country shepherds abiding in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night.
9. And, lo the Angel of the Lord came upon them, and the Glory of the Lord shined round about them: and they were sore afraid.
10. And the Angel said to them, “Fear not, for behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all the people.”
11. “For unto you is born this day in the City of David, a Savior, which is Christ the Lord.”
12. “And this shall be a sign unto you; you shall find the Babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger.”
13. And suddenly there was, with the Angel, a multitude of the Heavenly Host praising God and saying,
14. “Glory to God in the Highest and on earth, Peace, Good Will toward men.”
15. And it came to pass, as the Angels were gone away from them into Heaven, the shepherds said to one another, “Let us go now, even to Bethlehem, and see this thing which has come to pass, which the Lord has made known to us.”
16. And they came with haste, and found Mary, and Joseph, and the Babe lying in the manger.
17. And when they had seen it, they made known abroad the saying which was told them concerning this Child.
20. And the shepherds returned, glorifying, and praising God for all the things that they had heard and seen, as it was told to them.
Luke 2:8-17, 20
Paying Attention to God
This may come as a surprise to some, but it is true that we are surrounded by an unlimited number of angels. When we read about or hear the Scriptures on angelic beings, we normally think of them as being powerful but few in number. This is not the case. According to the Book of Revelation, there are billions of angels. They carry out various assignments under God’s direction. The interesting point is that they are usually not visible to the human eye and when they do appear, it is to reveal something that God is doing or something that humans must do in response to God’s command.
The shepherds who were tending their sheep on the hillside outside of Bethlehem were fortunate in that they witnessed the appearance of a multitude of angels announcing the arrival of God’s Son on planet earth. The shepherds were by no means special, but they simply were paying attention. The shepherds, according to cultural and Biblical scholars, were a despised group of people. Yet God appeared to them. They were considered unclean by the religious leaders because they often traded among the Gentiles. They were poor due to their occupations so they were rejected by those who considered themselves the economically elite. Shepherds were not even allowed to testify in court because they were considered unreliable witnesses. So the question arises, why would God send a host of Angels to appear to such a group of outcasts? The answer is two-fold. First, it reveals the extent of God’s Mercy to show the impact of the Savior coming into the world. the Angel said to them, “Fear not, for behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all the people.” When God said, “all people,” that included shepherds. As a matter of fact, you might say that God started at the bottom of the list with the least likely to be saved.
There is another obvious reason why the shepherds witnessed the appearance of the Angelic host: they were paying attention. Bethlehem was a small town, but it was filled with people who were present for the Roman census. All the hotel rooms and boarding houses were filled with people. With that being said, someone else should have noticed when the Bethlehem hillside lit up with heavenly visitors. Why did no one else see the miraculous display? I believe that no one else was paying attention. Remember, this announcement of the Savior would be tidings of “great joy, which shall be to all the people.” The religious leaders of that day were not paying attention. The Romans were not paying attention. The innkeepers were not paying attention. To this day, there are millions of people who celebrate Christmas but they are not paying attention to the original announcement that God has brought us good tidings of great joy. To this day, we still have myriads of people who don’t understand, don’t want to know, and who ignore the announcement all together. Some are spiritually asleep. Others are mentally distracted. Many are more interested in their own life pursuits and would rather not be bothered by anything that would disrupt their way of life. The bottom line, Jesus Christ came into the world to save people but they were not paying attention. The good news is that there were some who got it. They were the lowly shepherds that no one thought would amount to anything. The same is true today. The people who get God’s Message and who receive God’s Miracle are those who are willing to pay attention.
Get It and Go With It.
There is something else that is critical to finding God’s Miracle that takes us past the discovery level. It is not enough to simply discover that God has a Message to give to mankind, people must respond to that message. If the Shepherds simply witnessed the appearance of Angels but took no action, they would have only witnessed a small portion of their Miracle. You see, the Miracle was not the theophany (appearance of God’s Angels) they witnessed on the hillside. The Miracle was the Christ who was lying in the manger in Bethlehem. “For unto you is born this day in the City of David, a Savior, which is Christ the Lord” … “And this shall be a sign unto you; you shall find the Babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger.” Had those Shepherds remained on the hillside and simply talked about their religious experience they would never have found the real relationship with the Christ.
This reminds me of something I learned from a fellow believer when I first came to know God. I was more interested in the celebration, the singing, the praising because that was considered exciting. Yes, I was one of those who wanted to have a “good time in the Lord,” but was not really interested in growing in the Lord. Having a good time in Church only requires showing up and enjoying what’s going on. Growing in the Lord means studying God’s Word, listening to the Message in order to put it into practice, and devoting time to prayer to further understand God’s Will. Of course, there is nothing wrong with enjoying God. But if that is all you are seeking, you will not grow in your faith. The goal of living for God is not simply “to get” but to “go with it.” So, the fellow believer helped me to understand that I needed to be a seeker of God. The only way for my faith to grow was by actively obeying God’s Word and walking with Christ on a daily basis. He assured me that there would be days when I would not have that feeling of excitement, but also assured me that God would be with me every step of the way. That is what it takes. Like the shepherds, we must obey what we have heard.
After the Angels went back into Heaven, the Shepherds were faced with the question of what’s next. And it came to pass, as the Angels were gone away from them into Heaven, the shepherds said to one another, “Let us go now, even to Bethlehem, and see this thing which 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 the manger. It didn’t take them long to realize that their lives would be missing the Miracle if they did not respond to God’s Message. This involved a three-fold sacrifice but included a three-fold blessing.
First, they sacrificed their sheep. No, they did not kill the sheep, but they left their sheep on the hillside. They literally gave up their occupation, at least temporarily, to find the Savior. Which was more important, the sheep or Jesus? They chose Jesus over their livelihood. The good news is that they came and they found what they were seeking. We too must be willing to give up something in order to follow Christ.
The Shepherds also sacrificed their time. They put the time in. Similar to the wise men who came from the East, the Shepherds searched Bethlehem until they found the right stable to find the manger where the Savior was born. The wise men traveled a great distance until they found what they had been seeking: the King of the Jews. Your life will never be complete until you conduct your own search and find Jesus for yourself.
The Shepherds not only sacrificed their sheep and their time, but they also sacrificed their way of life. You might say, “they didn’t have one.” Well, with what lifestyle they had, they were willing to give that up. If you notice, something changed about their lives. The Scripture speaks of that change. And the shepherds returned, glorifying, and praising God for all the things that they had heard and seen, as it was told to them. Here, you have the first group of people who responded to the Gospel Message. The Angels told them what to do. The Shepherds did what they were told and found the Savior of the World.
In exchange for their sacrifice, God gave the Shepherds something that we all need if we are to find God’s Miracle for our lives. First, when we listen to the Lord, we will find information for the soul. “Behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all the people.” We still need Heaven’s information in this world that is filled with lies and half-truths. We need God to speak to us and tell us what is right. Plainly, we need God to tell us what to do. The Shepherds received the best information that could ever be told and it is eternal information. It was good then and it is good now. The Apostle Paul tells us that the Gospel is the Power of God unto Salvation to all who believe. Romans 1:16. There are messengers of God still delivering that information today.
The Shepherds also received inspiration. God not only tells us what is right and completely accurate, but He also inspires us to do. The Shepherds had seen so much that night, but their actions tell that they not only saw something, but they also did something. And they came with haste, and found Mary, and Joseph, and the Babe lying in the manger. Every time I worship God, I am inspired. Worship energizes our hearts and minds to act on God’s Word. You don’t always need a host of Angels. Sometimes the simple gathering of fellow believers together is enough to inspire you to live for God.
There was another benefit that the Shepherds received. They were informed; they were inspired; and they got involved. When someone really meets the Lord, it is a joy to get involved in sharing what Christ has done. No one has to twist your arm, offer a reward, or coax you into letting others know what the Lord has done. That is the true Miracle of meeting Christ. When someone has found the Miracle Worker, the joy just flows out of your life. And when they had seen it, they made known abroad the saying which was told them concerning this Child. The Shepherds rejoiced and they also repeated everything that they had experienced.
This Christmas season gives us the amazing opportunity to tell others about our Miracle. Your story will be different but it can be just as powerful when you share the Joy of Jesus. Go ahead, spread the Joy, and let others know what Jesus has done for you.