"Suddenly, the angel was joined by a vast host of others- the armies of heaven- praising God and saying, 'Glory to God in the highest heaven, and peace on earth to those with whom God is pleased.'"
Luke 2:13-14
It was one angel that appeared to the shepherds, followed by a chorus of angels singing praise to God on the day that Jesus was born. In my imagination, I can hear this beautiful anthem of praise rising up from the earth, as well as descending from the angelic choir in heaven. In this stunning moment of time, Jesus' song echoed throughout heaven and earth, and reverberated rhythmically as it pierced through the darkness.
As the glad announcement was given, the song rang out and the glory of God returned to the earth. This had not happened for centuries, but this was no ordinary day. This was the day that the Prince of heaven came to earth to bring salvation to mankind.
It was curious that God would choose the shepherds to be the first witnesses of His glory. Yet, immediately God's grace toward men was demonstrated in a tangible way. The shepherds were known as the outcasts in Israel. This is because their work made them ceremonially unclean, which kept them away from the temple for weeks at a time.
However, the message of the Gospel is that God comes to the poor and lowly. The book of 1 Corinthians emphasizes this point when it says, "Remember, dear brothers and sisters, that few of you were wise in the world's eyes or powerful or wealthy when God called you. Instead, God chose things the world considers foolish in order to shame those who think they are wise. And He chose things that are powerless to shame those wo are powerful. God chose things despised by the world, things counted as nothing at all, and used them to bring to nothing what the world considers important" (1 Corinthians 1:26-28).
The symbolism of appearing to the shepherd first is astounding. Jesus came to be both the Good Shepherd (John 10) and the Lamb of God (John 1:29), perhaps the shepherds were the most appropriate people to be first to hear the Good News. Additionally, these were hard-working men, humble in heart, who were extremely practical in their thinking. Also, it was possible that God would even draw from their flocks to be sacrifices for the temple services. Whatever God's reasoning happened to be, the shepherds were the first to hear the Christmas song.
This begs the question as to whether this song and seeing the throng of angels brought peace or fear to their hearts? Throughout the Christmas story, the words "Fear not!" are used (Luke 1:13,30,74 and Matthew 1:20). The Good News that was being proclaimed was a message of peace to a world who had known much war. Even though, at this exact moment, Israel was not at war, that still did not bring the assurance that these men had peace.
All men long for true peace in their hearts, but I wonder how many actually have it? Did these shepherds? Did the wise men? Did Mary and Joseph? Do you?
The Hebrew word for peace is shalom. This word means much more than an absence of battles or conflict. It means "peace, harmony, wholeness, completeness, prosperity, welfare, and tranquility". It represents a peace that is complete and brings with it a feeling of contentment and overall well-being.
Shalom can be experienced even in the midst of adversity. This is because it has more to do with who we are than what circumstances we are experiencing. It is the person of Jesus that brings shalom in our lives because He is the Prince of Peace.
Throughout Scripture, songs erupt from a heart of praise or worship or to commemorate a joyful occurrence. When God created the world, the angels sang. The book of Job describes it as follows, "all the angels shouted for joy" (Job 38:7).
Once again, the angels sing at the birth of Jesus because of the new creation He would bring to mankind. The lowly manger became a Holy of Holies because Jesus was the One who occupied it. The glory that had departed from the earth because of sin was returning in the form of a newborn babe.
The shepherds received by faith what the angels had told them. This is how Luke tells their story,
"When the angels had returned to heaven, the shepherds said to each other, 'Let's go to Bethlehem! Let's see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has told us about.' They hurried to the village and found Mary and Joseph. And there was the baby, lying in a manger. After seeing Him, the shepherds told everyone what had happened and what the angel had said to them about this child. All who heard the shepherds story were astonished, but Mary kept all these things in her heart and thought about them often. The shepherds went back to their flocks, glorifying and praising God for all they had heard and seen. It was just as the angel had told them" (Luke 2:15-20).
The shepherds response to what they had heard was immediate obedience. They left their flocks to go and search for Jesus. Once they had found Him, they responded by sharing the Good News with others.
This is when the Christmas song rose in their hearts and they began glorifying and praising Jesus. He is the only One who gives us peace and puts a song in our hearts. Nothing or no one else can provide the melodious chords or the words to sing our own personalized, meaningful, and intimate Christmas song!
MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!
"The Lord bless you and watch, guard, and keep you; The Lord make His face to shine upon and enlighten you and be gracious (kind, merciful, and giving favor) to you; The Lord lift up His [approving] countenance upon you and give you peace (tranquility of heart and life continually)."
Numbers 6:24-26
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