15 When the angels had left them and gone into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, “Let’s go to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has told us about.” 16 So they hurried off and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby, who was lying in the manger. 17 When they had seen him, they spread the word concerning what had been told them about this child, 18 and all who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds said to them. 19 But Mary treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart. 20 The shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things they had heard and seen, which were just as they had been told. ~ Luke 2:15-20
When the angel told Mary that she would give birth to the Messiah, she said “let it be to me according to your word.” And now, the shepherds have heard the same message that the Messiah will be born in Bethlehem. The message spoken to Mary is confirmed by the shepherds.
According to v.15-16, after the shepherds heard the news of the birth of the Lord Jesus, the first thing they did was come and see Him for themselves. They found their way to the baby Jesus lying in a trough. No pomp and circumstance. No lights and music. Nothing extravagant at all.
And yet somehow, according to v.17, the shepherds were compelled by what they saw. They went and told everyone about what they had seen and heard. This response of the shepherds confirms the message of the angel. These, first to get the news of Messiah’s birth is the model that God uses to build His church.
Now, when I think about how I first came to hear about the Lord Jesus, a dear friend came and saw the Lord Jesus for himself. Then, he went and told me about his experience with the Lord. The pattern is: come and see; go and tell. And then I came to see the Lord Jesus for myself. Experiencing a personal encounter with the Lord, then I went about telling others about my story with Him. This is how God spreads the Good News, the very same news that the angels announced to the shepherds.
But, something happens between come and see and go and tell. Something happens that moves us from coming to see the Lord Jesus to actually going out to tell others about Him. The key is discovered in v.18, it is discovered in what it means to be amazed, in what it means to be captivated.
One of the most mind-blowing things about the incarnation is that the baby that lay there in that trough was the all-powerful God of heaven and earth. He was a baby who is the very same God who spoke the stars into existence. He is the very same God who breathed, and life began. He is the same God who holds the universe together, who keeps the laws of physics operating as they do, who keeps our hearts beating. This is the same God who dwells within you and me.
In Psalm 27:4 David wrote: "One thing, I have desired of the LORD, that will I seek: That I may dwell in the house of the LORD all the days of my life, to behold the beauty of the LORD, and to inquire in His temple." An encounter God is nothing new in this world. Since the LORD was in the house of the LORD, David went there to experience a personal encounter with Him.
Some people go about seeking God as if He is elusive, but the presence of God through the abiding Holy Spirit, is a given. With this in mind, we must approach each day with the anticipation of encountering God. We must expect Him to not only be in our lives, but that He is interacting with us through the normal experiences that we have in a day. He is closer to us than we are to ourselves.
The birth of the Lord Jesus highlights the humility of God. It wasn’t accidental that the all-powerful God became a defenseless baby. It was intentional. In 1 Peter 1:20 we learn this was God’s plan before the foundation of the world.
He is the Creator of the heavens and the earth, and He chose to put Himself in a situation where someone changed his diaper. That’s humility! But that was just the start of His humility. This baby grew to be a man who was a servant to all. He hung out with dirty, smelly people, some of whom had infectious diseases. He was friends with people that no one else would even look in the eye, with no regard for His own reputation.
When his enemies rose up against Him, He didn’t defend himself. Rather, He chose to make himself vulnerable. He took the beatings. He took the insults. He willingly gave up His life on the cross. He bore the very wrath of God though He had done nothing to deserve it. That’s humility. Unimaginable power and unimaginable humility, all wrapped up in this one little child.
He chose to create you because He loves you and wants a relationship with you. He chose to become one of us because He wanted to know us and be with us. He gave up His life for us because that’s what it took to save us.
The writer of Hebrews tells us that "it was for the joy set before him that Jesus endured the cross" (Hebrews 12:2). That joy is joy in us. It’s joy because of the chance to be in a loving relationship with us for all of eternity.
So come, come and behold him. Let the Lord Jesus captivate you today. Let Him amaze you. Let Him overwhelm you with His power, with His humility. Then go and tell others all that you have seen and heard. Invite them to come and see for themselves.
Earlier, when the angel greeted Mary, she “tried to discern” the meaning of the greeting. Now, when she hears the shepherds convey what the angel has told them, according to v.19, "Mary treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart." She valued the happenings, tucking them away in her heart for ongoing reflection. The time will come when she will need those words in her heart because, according to Simeon, a sword will pierce her soul (Luke 2:35).
Like Mary, we must ponder what we have experienced in our hearts. We must be in the practice of tucking God's truth away in our souls for safekeeping, because we’ll need the insight later, when a sword pierces our souls.
In v.20, we read, "The shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things they had heard and seen, which were just as they had been told." Like these shepherds, once we have experienced an encounter with the God of the universe, the only natural response is praise and worship. The evidence of our encounter is obvious when we share it with others.
The amazing thing is what the shepherds heard and saw in the fields was confirmed by what they had seen in Bethlehem: the Christ had been born. The shepherds return to their fields, doing what the heavenly host did before them, “glorifying and praising God.” In so doing, they confirmed the message from the angels. And, they were never the same because they had experienced an encounter with God.
