Advent 2006
The Shepherds

Bethlehem is only a short distance from Jerusalem. The announcement of the Messiah was made to lowly shepherds in the field. The birth of Christ was the culmination of Old Testament prophecy, but there was not formal acknowledgement of that to the religious folks in Jerusalem. When God sends His messengers, the angelic host to the shepherds, we have an endorsement of faith over works. Jerusalem was where the temple was located, where the sacrifices were made and where the pious religious leaders resided. But, God sent no messenger to Jerusalem to proclaim the miraculous event of God incarnate. The shepherds were unlikely recipients of the Christmas message. They had no status, no money, no authority in Jewish society. The proclamation to the shepherds was a harbinger of things to come. During His ministry, Jesus always sought out the humble, weak and unpretentious. Jesus was, and still is, not interested in religious ceremony or ritual but in faithfulness and obedience to Him. Make no mistake about it, the religious folk of Jerusalem were worshipping God. While doing so they missed Him. The birth of Jesus is not about religion. It is not about pageants, cantatas, advent wreaths and candles, midnight services, singing of Christmas carols and liturgical recitations of the Christmas story. Christmas is the unrepeatable, miraculous incarnation of the perfect God-Man once and for all in history and the beginning of His earthly life, death, resurrection and ascension which is the basis for our faith in Him. So fall on your knees as those shepherds who first received the message of His birth and believe on Him by faith, not just today, but every day of your life.