Luke: Part 7 – The Shepherds Hear the Gospel
Luke tells us what happened on the night Christ was born, “That night there were shepherds staying in the fields nearby, guarding their flocks of sheep. Suddenly, an angel of the Lord appeared among them, and the radiance of the Lord’s glory surrounded them. They were terrified, Luke tells us. Almost every time the Bible records an appearance of God, an outward visible manifestation of the invisible God, it is accompanied by the shekinah. The shekinah was the blazing, brilliant, blinding glory of God. When that glory was visible, people hid their eyes from it, driven to their knees, because there was nothing in nature that could compare to the shekinah glory of God. No wonder the shepherds were terrified. But soon they would be full of rejoicing. The Angel of the Lord had come to share the Gospel—the good news—the Saviour was born in Bethlehem. The angel armies of heaven sing the fourth song of Christ’s birth, The Gloria in excelsis Deo: “Glory to God in highest heaven, and peace on earth to those with whom God is pleased.” After seeing Jesus, the shepherds became evangelists, telling everyone what had happened and what the angel had said to them about this child. And like anyone who has ever met Jesus, the shepherds went back to their flocks, glorifying and praising God for all they had heard and seen. It was just as the angel had told them.