Key Verse: When they had seen Him, they spread the word
concerning what had been told them about this child, and all who heard it were
amazed at what the shepherds said to them.
Luke 2:17-18
"You who bring good tidings to Zion, go up on a high
mountain. You who bring good tidings to
Jerusalem, lift up your voice with a shout, lift it up, do not be afraid; say
to the towns of Judah, 'Here is your God!'" (Is. 40:9) and that's what the
shepherds did! How wonderful that the
Isaiah passage says God tends his flock like a shepherd, and then when He is
born into the world he calls shepherds to announce the good news!
These simple men did what should come naturally when
confronted with the glory of God. They
went to the stable and saw for themselves.
Then, they spread the news to anyone who would listen! They talked about the angels. They told about the baby, the simple parents
and the humble birthplace. They told
what they could about what they knew and had experienced.
They were the first witnesses to God's plan of salvation,
but they didn't keep it to themselves. How
could they? As far as they knew, all of
Bethlehem may have been awakened by that incredible sight of angels in the sky!
If some thought that they were crazy, or
making it up, too bad for them! They had
missed a miracle! The shepherds told of
their experience anyway because no one, no matter how skeptical, could take
away what they knew, that they had come face to face with God's glory and that
it was more than they could have ever hoped or imagined.
Then, there is Mary, with another amazing incident to add to
all the others. "Mary treasured up
all these things and pondered them in her heart." (Luke 2:19) She may have
had no one else to talk with about what she was experiencing. No one could help her figure it all out. What an amazing story this child was creating. It could only be a God thing.
The shepherds may not have understood, as the learned men
would, that prophecy was being fulfilled.
They may not have fully comprehended just what exactly they had become part
of. They knew that what they had
experienced was amazing. So they left
Mary in her wondering to talk to anyone they could. What if our experience with God effected us
that way?
It makes me wonder, why aren't we more like the shepherds? Why do we keep so much of what God has done
in our lives to ourselves? The shepherds
show us how to witness. Mary teaches us
how to drink it in and change us. One
thing is sure. The world can't take away
what we know and what we've experienced unless we let it.
Some will say, “The shepherds are an example of ‘seeing is
believing.’ They talked about what they
had seen with their own eyes. I have
been a Christian all my life and I believe it, but I haven’t seen anything as
spectacular as what the shepherds reported. Surely if I did I would report
it.”
Here is one response.
We can spend time pondering on God’s Word and pray with the psalmist:
“Open my eyes that I may see wonderful things in your law.” (Psalm 119:18). Then we will
have something to report as we are thrilled in our hearts by what we learn of
God. May we ponder like Mary and share like the shepherds.
Hymn: "Go Tell It On The Mountain"
& from The
Messiah, "O Thou That Tellest Good Tidings To Zion"
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