So how was God’s grace demonstrated to man in the birth of Jesus in
Bethlehem? The announcement of the birth
of Jesus was made to shepherds who were in the fields outside Bethlehem
watching over their sheep. Shepherds
were on the very lowest rung of the ladder of Jewish society. They were as despised as gypsies are in many
parts of the world because they were always on the move, always passing
through, and often suspected of stealing everything that went missing in towns
and villages they visited. They were
uneducated and uncultured people. They
were considered such liars that they were prohibited from being witnesses in
any legal case. Yet it was to some of
these very men that the herald angel came to announce the birth of the Son of
God. If the shepherds received justice,
many of them might have ended up in Bethlehem’s jail that night rather than in
the stable praising God! When we stop to
consider this truth we realize that God was demonstrating grace by revealing
this great event first to the poorest of the poor. It was this gracious act of God that forever
ennobled the poor, working classes of mankind!
The announcement itself was a
demonstration of God’s grace in many ways.
It was gracious of God to send an angel to these shepherds and to allow
them to see his glory. What a great
honor to be chosen to see an angel and to observe the glory of God, the same
glory that had once lighted the face of Moses and the glory that had departed
from the temple so many years before!
Had any other man alive ever seen the glory of God? Yet in his grace God tore through the
darkness of that night and poured out his glory upon these shepherds! What a magnificent picture of what had
transpired that night in the stable behind the inn in town! The holy God had transcended space and time
to be born on earth! The angel comforted
the terrorized shepherds! What grace
that they were not incinerated on the spot but rather comforted! Surely it is a sad state of affairs when men
who are created in the image of God would be terrified of another one of God’s
creatures! So far had man fallen! Yet God was gracious! The angel said, “I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people”
(Luke 2:10). Surely the shepherds
expected fire and destruction from the hand of God! Surely they expected to be incinerated at any
second. Yet God was gracious! The angel brought news of joy, not condemnation! The good news was brought to the shepherds
but it was meant for “all the people.”
What if the announcement had come to the rulers in Jerusalem? Would the shepherds have thought that such good
news was also meant for them? And who
had been born in the city of David? A Savior!
Not an executioner. Not a
judge. A Savior! What grace! And then the shepherds heard the angel say
that a Savior had been born “to you!” He
had been born to them, not to
everyone except them! Listen to the words the angel said to the
shepherds! “…You will find a baby…” (Luke 2:12). They were not sent on a hopeful quest but
they were given a revelation! They would find the baby themselves! Were they not astonished at the appearance of
the host of angels proclaiming, “Glory to
God in the highest, and on earth peace among men with whom he is pleased!”
(Luke 2:14). Could it be? Had God’s favor come to rest upon them?
Were they to be the recipients
of peace with God? How could this
be? Grace! Grace alone!
No comments:
Post a Comment