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INTRODUCTION

One of the more obvious things about the Christmas story as Scripture records it would be prevalence of angels in it. The angel Gabriel appears to Zechariah to tell him about the birth of the forerunner of the Christ (Luke 1:11). Six months later Gabriel again appears to Mary, to tell her that she will give birth to the Son of the Highest (Luke 1:26-27). An angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream in order to tell him that Mary had not been unfaithful to him (Matt. 1:20). The angel of the Lord appeared to the shepherds, and then the entire heavenly host appeared as well (Luke 2:9,13). An angel in the form of a star summons the wise men to come to Jerusalem in the first place, and that same angel identifies the right house in Bethlehem for them (Matt. 2:2,10). And Joseph was warned in a dream by an angel to flee down to Egypt, in order to escape from Herod’s wrath (Matt. 2:13). Angels all over the place. What is the significance of this for us?

THE TEXT

“And in the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent from God unto a city of Galilee, named Nazareth, To a virgin espoused to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David; and the virgin’s name was Mary. And the angel came in unto her, and said, Hail, thou that art highly favoured, the Lord is with thee: blessed art thou among women. And when she saw him, she was troubled at his saying, and cast in her mind what manner of salutation this should be. And the angel said unto her, Fear not, Mary: for thou hast found favour with God. And, behold, thou shalt conceive in thy womb, and bring forth a son, and shalt call his name JESUS. He shall be great, and shall be called the Son of the Highest: and the Lord God shall give unto him the throne of his father David: And he shall reign over the house of Jacob for ever; and of his kingdom there shall be no end. Then said Mary unto the angel, How shall this be, seeing I know not a man? And the angel answered and said unto her, The Holy Ghost shall come upon thee, and the power of the Highest shall overshadow thee: therefore also that holy thing which shall be born of thee shall be called the Son of God” (Luke 1:26–35).

SUMMARY OF THE TEXT

In the sixth month of Elizabeth’s pregnancy, the angel Gabriel, who had appeared to Zechariah, also came to Mary, who was in Nazareth at the time (v. 26). She was betrothed to a man named Joseph, who was of the line of David (v. 27). He greets her with a general blessing, but one that was also very high (v. 28). She was troubled by it, and tried to figure it out (v. 29). Gabriel reassures her, telling her that she had found favor with God (v. 30). He then said she was going to conceive a son, and He would be named Jesus (v. 31). He was going to be very great, the Son of the Highest, and He was going to inherit the throne of His father David (v. 32). He was going to reign over the house of Jacob, and His kingdom would be a never-ending one (v. 33). Mary asked, reasonably enough, how this was possible, given that she was a virgin (v. 34). Gabriel answered that it would be because the Holy Spirit would come upon her, that the power of the Highest would cover her, such that her Son would be called the Son of God (v. 35).

A FEW RANDOM THINGS

In the next verse, Elizabeth is called Mary’s cousin (v. 36), but the word might better be rendered as kinswoman. This is interesting because Elizabeth and Zechariah were both from the tribe of Levi, but the Lord was from the line of Judah. There are different ways this could work, but it is suggestive. Because Elizabeth was elderly and Mary was not, I think it is likely that she was something like Mary’s aunt.

Second, in the Old Testament, angels do not go by their names. In fact, when the father of Samson asks an angel’s name, he is rebuffed. “And the angel of the Lord said unto him, Why askest thou thus after my name, seeing it is secret?” (Judges 13:18). But in the inter-testamental period, it became more common to identify angels by their various names. But still, in the Scriptures, we are given the names of only two angels, Gabriel and Michael.

And then third, what are we to make of all these angels? Remember that the primary job description of angels is that they are messengers. The word angelosmeans messenger, and does not necessarily entail a celestial being. Humans are called angels at various times, depending on the task they have. John the Baptist is called an angel (Mark 1:2). He was a messenger, preparing the way of the Lord. And the pastors of the seven churches of Asia are called angels (Rev. 2:1,8,12,18;3:1,7,14). They had a message to deliver.

SIGNS AND MESSAGES

Now throughout Scripture, angels do remarkable things. But they are not called wonder-workers. They are called messengers. The signs that they give are the seal on the message. The contents of their messages are the important thing; the seal on the letter simply says that the message is authentic. “But if I do, though ye believe not me, believe the works: that ye may know, and believe, that the Father is in me, and I in him” (John 10:38).

It was the same way with the prophets. Foretelling the future was not their main vocation. That was simply their authentication for what was their main purpose, which was forthtelling the truth.

“And if thou say in thine heart, How shall we know the word which the Lordhath not spoken? When a prophet speaketh in the name of the Lord, if the thing follow not, nor come to pass, that is the thing which the Lord hath not spoken, but the prophet hath spoken it presumptuously: thou shalt not be afraid of him” (Deut. 18:21–22).

“Shew the things that are to come hereafter, that we may know that ye are gods: Yea, do good, or do evil, that we may be dismayed, and behold it together” (Isaiah 41:23).

The main thing is to believe the message, as Mary did and Zechariah did not.

It is noteworthy that in Scripture, there are three periods of clustered miracles—the time of Moses, the time of Elijah/Elisha, and the time of Christ and the apostles. This is because these were also times when revelation was being given in bulk (law, prophets, gospel). We should note the miracles because we are bent on accepting the message they authenticate—whether the law, the prophets, or the gospel.

BECOMING HIS MESSENGERS

The angels declared the message to astonished shepherds. The shepherds declared the message to astonished passers-by. This is a metaphor that can indicate to us how that particular torch has been passed from angels to men.

“For He has not put the world to come, of which we speak, in subjection to angels” (Hebrews 2:5, NKJV).

No, that world has been given to the sons of men, those who are in Christ, and so we have been charged to be the central messengers of this peace on earth, good will to men (Matt. 28:18-20). We are the angels being sent out to gather God’s elect from the four corners of the world (Matt. 24:31).

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INTRODUCTION

We sometimes glide over the stupefying doctrines that are entailed by the Christmas miracle. We are accustomed to the story, and so we simply nod our heads at the familiar words and phrases. But if we are listening, actually listening, the whole thing should bring us up short. “Wait, what?”

THE TEXT

“And it came to pass, as the angels were gone away from them into heaven, the shepherds said one to another, Let us now go even unto Beth-lehem, and see this thing which is come to pass, which the Lord hath made known unto us. And they came with haste, and found Mary, and Joseph, and the babe lying in a manger. And when they had seen it, they made known abroad the saying which was told them concerning this child. And all they that heard it wondered at those things which were told them by the shepherds. But Mary kept all these things, and pondered them in her heart. And the shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things that they had heard and seen, as it was told unto them” (Luke 2:15–20).

SUMMARY OF THE TEXT

This story is one of the familiar ones, and so we all could probably tell it again ourselves without any prompting. But there are a few things that perhaps we have not noticed.

The shepherds at Bethlehem were keeping watch over their flocks by night (v. 8). One of the things that Bethlehem was known for was as the place where sacrificial sheep were raised. The Temple was only a few miles away, and all the sheep that were sacrificed there had to come from somewhere, and one of those places was Bethlehem. And how fitting it was for the Lamb of God (John 1:29), slain before the foundations of the world (Rev. 13:8), to be born there in Bethlehem—the place where sacrifices came into the world.

When the angels appeared, the shepherds were terrified (v. 9). After the angels had delivered their glorious message, the shepherds looked at one another and said that they needed to go and see this thing (v. 15). And then it says that they came with haste (v. 16). They hurried, they ran, like disciples running toward an empty tomb. They found Mary, and Joseph, and the baby in a manger (v. 16), and then went out telling everybody what the angels had told them (v. 17). Everyone who heard their account wondered (v. 18). They marveled. They were astonished (thaumazo). Mary pondered on all of it (v. 19), and the shepherds returned to their flocks, glorifying and praising God for all of it (v. 20).

So consider the emotional tilt-a-whirl that the shepherds experienced that night. First terror, which is why they had to be told not to fear (v. 10). Then whatever emotion accompanies excitement and haste (v. 16). Then they told everybody about it (v. 17), and the recipients of their news were astonished (v. 18). And then the finale for the shepherds was giving glory and praise to God (v. 20).

THE CENTRAL MIRACLE

But angels in the sky, as remarkable as that is, were nothing compared to what dawned on the people of God later on. The signs and portents that accompanied the birth of the Christ were of course appropriate, which is why God sent them. But they were all pointing to the central miracle of all history, which was the miracle of the Incarnation.

FULLY GOD, FULLY MAN

When we talk about this miracle, we cannot draw pictures of it, or reduce it to a formula that we can understand. We can describe what the exact miracle is, but we cannot do the math, we cannot “show our work.”

Veiled in flesh, the Godhead see,
Hail the incarnate Deity . . .

Jesus was born into the world, just like the rest of us. He was a baby boy, who needed to be carried down into Egypt. All the faithful accounts we have of Him include descriptions of his genuine humanity. He was no apparition. He had fingernails. Jesus walked places (John 1:36). Jesus got exhausted (Matt. 8:24). Jesus ate meals (Mk. 14:18). Jesus put clothes on in the morning (Matt. 9:20). Jesus sang songs (Matt. 26:30).

Jesus lived this manifestly human life among the Jews, who were the most fiercely monotheistic people ever. But after His ministry was apparently ended by His agonizing death on the cross, He was declared, with power, to be the Son of God by His resurrection from the dead (Rom. 1:4).

And so this band of faithful Jews began worshiping their late rabbi as if He were God. But this is not a distortion of the Lord’s teaching because He plainly anticipated it. “Before Abraham was, I am” (John 8:58). Thomas confesses it when his doubts were removed. “My Lord and my God” (John 20:28). The fundamental Christian confession is that Jesus is Lord (Rom. 10:9), and so we are to call upon Him. And why? Because, Paul says, quoting Joel 2:32, whoever calls on the name of Jehovah, YHWH, shall be saved. That is why we call upon Jesus.

Two natures, human and divine, united in one person, Jesus of Nazareth. What is predicated of either nature can be predicated of the person also, but what is predicated of one nature cannot be predicated of the other. And they are brought together in what theologians call the hypostatic union, which is the great miracle.

If seeing the miracle of the fish made Peter sink in fear (Luke 5:8), what should contemplation of this miracle do in us?

CHRISTMAS FEAR AND ASTONISHMENT

We all know that there is a kind of religious fear that is negative. It holds people captive to the devil through fear of death (Heb. 2:15). We know that perfect love casts out fear because fear has to do with punishment (1 John 4:18).

But there is a kind of fear that is wholesome, and which is the clean source of many graces. “Sanctify the Lord of hosts himself; And let him be your fear, and let him be your dread” (Isaiah 8:13). Jesus Himself feared, and this is why His prayers were answered (Heb. 5:7). The fear of the Lord is clean, enduring forever (Ps. 19:9). We are told to work out our salvation with fear and trembling (Phil. 2:12). It is the grace of God which enables us to fear Him (Heb. 12:28). The Lord takes pleasure in those who fear Him (Ps. 147:11). We are forgiven by the Lord, so that we might fear Him (Ps. 130:4). It was the fear of the Lord that made Cornelius so generous (Acts 10:22, 31). The fear of the Lord, in other words, is the source of all kinds of goodness.

Like the wise men, kings shall come to the brightness of our rising (Is. 60:3). And we will see, and flow together, and our hearts will fear and be enlarged (Is. 60:5).

If you are thinking rightly, you should want this season to be filled with forgiveness and generosity. You shall call His name Jesus, for He will save His people from their sins (Matt. 1:21). And God so loved the world that He gave . . . (John 3:16). This is the God we love, serve, and fear. Imitate the shepherds. Make haste.

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