The Greatest Announcement

Luke 2:8-9: “Now there were in the same country shepherds living out in the fields, keeping watch over their flock by night. And behold, an angel of the Lord stood before them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were greatly afraid.“

Of all the people in the Christmas story, other than the Lord, I have always seemed to enjoy the shepherds. It might be because all of life growing up, I wanted to be a wise man in the Christmas play but every time I got demoted to a shepherd. There I would be in my bath robe that I hated, with towel wrapped around my head.   

But the truth is, I believe that shepherds are some of the most interesting characters in the Christmas story. I wonder how many people can identify with the shepherds. The most revered man in Israel’s history was King David. One would think because he was a shepherd he would be one that people would have looked upon differently.   

The truth is, Shepherds were looked down upon. In fact, they were considered to be unclean and dirty. Sheep give off a substance called lanolin that could probably be used for glue. So, if you were a shepherd, you were not allowed in the temple to worship, and yet these were those who kept the most valuable thing to the Jews, and that would be the sacrificial lamb.   

So, that wonderful night, and it was a night like hundreds of nights before. It had been four hundred years since they had heard the voice of God. But this night, this night like no other night before the sky would open up and the angel of the Lord would make the greatest announcement that this world had ever heard. 

And who was it made to? A group of lowly shepherds, the outcast, those who were not welcomed in the temple. Those the Pharisees and Sadducees looked down upon. It was to this group of lowly shepherds the greatest announcement that things would never be the same and it was made to a group of humble shepherds. 

Now, what does that say to you and I about who our Father in Heaven is? It says that He is looking for you. Yes, you who are not rich or even have little to no money. You who have screwed up and done things that have kept you away from church and the Bible and even prayer. This says to us that Lord Jesus is looking for every one of us that have desire to come to Him. No one is excluded who will come and come in repentance. Did you at one time start for the Kingdom but turned back? The Lord will not turn you away if you mean business. 

In the book of Isaiah 55:1: “Ho! Everyone who thirsts, Come to the waters; And you who have no money, Come, buy and eat. Yes, come, buy wine and milk without money and without price. “

Pastor Lee Cruse If you think that today your life is a mess, then maybe it’s time for you to turn it over to the Lord and let Him drive for a while. I have found that when you trust Him, He won’t run your life over in the ditch.