Luke 2:8-20

Transcript

00:00:00:50 – 00:00:28:10
Clint Loveall
Hey, everybody. Welcome back. Thanks for joining us on this Tuesday. As we continue through the second chapter of Luke, the Christmas narrative, the birth narrative we saw yesterday, the rather simplified version of the birth story. Luke’s kind of scaled down telling. And interestingly enough, Luke now spends much more time telling us about some of the people who attend the newborn Messiah.

00:00:28:10 – 00:00:46:42
Clint Loveall
And again, you know. Matthew we get the wise men. Luke We get the shepherds. Not surprising given their their, their bent or their emphases, but this is a story, you know, I mean, if you’ve made it through any Christmas at all near a church.

00:00:46:44 – 00:00:47:15
Michael Gewecke
Add on.

00:00:47:42 – 00:01:13:53
Clint Loveall
You’ve heard this story. So I’ll read it quickly and then we’ll see what might be in it. In the region, there were shepherds living in the fields, keeping watch over the flocks by night, and the Angel of the Lord shown before them, stood before them, and the glory shown around them. And they were terrified. But the angel said to them, Do not be afraid for see, I am bringing good news of a great joy for all people to you.

00:01:13:53 – 00:01:35:04
Clint Loveall
As born this day in the city of David, a Savior who is the Messiah, the Lord, this will be a sign for you. You’ll find the child wrapped in cloth, lying in a manger. And suddenly there was with the angel, a multitude of heavenly host, praising God and saying, Glory to God in the highest heaven and on earth, peace among those whom He favors.

00:01:35:31 – 00:02:08:00
Clint Loveall
So the the Annunciation or the announcement of the birth to the shepherds, You know, I don’t want to we don’t need to overdo this, Michael, But, Luke, clearly we’ve said this. Luke is concerned about those at the bottom of the ladder and shepherds certainly fall into that mix. The idea that it would be shepherds to whom the announcement is made is strange.

00:02:08:18 – 00:02:38:49
Clint Loveall
It’s out of context. It makes really no sense. And yet for Luke, it is the thing that he wants us to know that God sent angels, which are messengers to a field to tell some shepherds. We’re not told anything about these shepherds. We’re not told that they’re particularly righteous. We’re not told that anything. You know, in in another chapter, we see Simon Simeon and and we get told some things about them here.

00:02:38:52 – 00:03:01:51
Clint Loveall
These are just shepherds. And I think the fact that they’re anonymous, the fact that we’re not told anything sort of heightens Luke’s point that this is for everyone. In fact, that’s the words of the angel of great joy, good news of great joy for all people. And Luke sort of plays that out in having the Angels seek the shepherds.

00:03:02:38 – 00:03:22:53
Michael Gewecke
I think that this is a fascinating part of the Christmas story because I think we so often find this to be some version of that Christmas play that we participated in. And this is actually the case in my family. You know, each one of my daughters has been thrilled when they get to play one of the shepherds in the Christmas program.

00:03:22:53 – 00:03:45:09
Michael Gewecke
That’s like one of the steps up on your way to through the different characters of the story. And I think our familiarity is, again, here working against us, because there’s some details in the story that we might miss if we just rely on some of that nostalgic kind of Christmas scene type stuff. And I think one of those here being that these are indeed shepherds.

00:03:45:09 – 00:04:07:51
Michael Gewecke
And think for just a moment where the Baby Jesus is born. That’s in Bethlehem, which is the city of David. Remember, David was himself a shepherd. And so it’s interesting that here in the city of David, you have this baby born and the first people notified are the shepherds, the very people who David himself worked in that profession before he was KING.

00:04:07:51 – 00:04:33:14
Michael Gewecke
So, you know, those are interesting details. And so you have the monarch of Israel already mentioned in yesterday’s study, as well as I think implicitly referenced in today’s text here. What is fascinating in the commentators point out is this idea that the angels immediate word to them comes here, Do not be afraid. I’m bringing you good news, great joy for all people.

00:04:33:23 – 00:05:08:47
Michael Gewecke
Now, we have emphasized again, city of David, a savior who’s the Messiah, the Lord. These terms, Messiah, Lord, Savior. Each one has a different emphasis in its title and maybe even what might may be the purpose. But one thing point out is certainly this idea of Savior and Lord may have meanings for that first century audience to point them towards competing phrases that the Emperor, that the Roman leader, the Roman general, the Emperor himself would claim over the people.

00:05:09:01 – 00:05:29:18
Michael Gewecke
And certainly Roman power was not one that leverage, that power through peace. You had a lot to be afraid if Rome was knocking on your doorstep. And I think that these are the kinds of contrasts that Luke is making. He’s not only interested in the downcast, he’s not only interested in those shepherds who are lowly and outside of the field.

00:05:29:31 – 00:05:46:39
Michael Gewecke
He’s also interested making clear that Jesus Christ levels earthly power, because when God takes up residence on Earth, all of the other titles that get applied to other human leaders, those now fall down subservient to the one title, the Messiah, the Savior, the Lord who is Jesus Christ.

00:05:47:04 – 00:06:08:49
Clint Loveall
Yeah. And just just to make sure we understand the language here, the word Messiah is also the word Christ. Messiah is the Hebrew version of it. Christ is the Greek version. Both versions mean the anointed one. And to your point, Michael, when you talk about an anointed one in this context, you’re talking about a political leader, you’re talking about a general military figure.

00:06:09:09 – 00:06:47:25
Clint Loveall
So Jesus is very much presented here as the alternative. And and again, we have this strange reality that that presentation is made in a field to some shepherds who were not considered in their day on anyone’s social chart. They they were not important. They and yet here they are the words. And then we get one of these songs, these kind of lyrical parts of Luke, a short one in this instance, Glory to God in the highest heaven and on earth, peace among those whom He favored.

00:06:47:25 – 00:07:19:31
Clint Loveall
And so here we have that idea, the Prince of Peace, the expression of peace, the word hosts the heavenly host. That means heavenly army. Literally the host is the army of God, which again, to your point, Michael, sort of corroborate that idea or furthers that idea that Jesus has come to rule, to be over, to have authority and you know that that’s not something that is going to be said explicitly all the time in the Gospel.

00:07:19:31 – 00:07:23:36
Clint Loveall
But it is something that is affirmed often. And I think we see it here.

00:07:24:14 – 00:07:51:37
Michael Gewecke
You know, I think what’s interesting with a text like this, as we see Luke’s emphasis upon those lower status sort of people being the first ones to hear the gospel of Jesus Christ, I think, or the arrival of this Messiah. I think it’s worth noting that this is in many ways Luke’s way of showing us that Jesus’s life began like it ends.

00:07:51:37 – 00:08:19:12
Michael Gewecke
And, you know, as we move our way in the liturgical calendar here towards Easter, it’s worth noting that Jesus’s death on the cross was a death of humiliation. It was a tool used by the Roman Empire to subjecting control those dissidents who might seek to undermine its authority and power on the earth. And so Jesus’s crucifixion represents a humiliation, defeat by a world power.

00:08:19:31 – 00:08:59:42
Michael Gewecke
And what’s striking in that is that here at the very beginning, Luke portrays this story with these sort of indirect references to Jesus also coming in and thwarting and and being born in a humble way, which also has a way of pushing back against that narrative of Rome’s power, because in both cases, his birth and then his death, we find him in his resurrection to be the one who is confirmed at scene witness as the one who has indeed conquered not only the the earthly powers, but he’s conquered death itself.

00:08:59:42 – 00:09:26:18
Michael Gewecke
And I think the kind of details that get woven into stories like this one don’t get there accidentally. The kind of themes that you see worked all the way from the very beginning of this book in chapter one now about, you know, few versus into chapter two, we were already beginning to see that Luke is portraying Jesus as the one who not only is interested in those lost and those who are lost out, but Jesus is stepping into that reality.

00:09:26:18 – 00:09:35:09
Michael Gewecke
He’s willing to bear that weight for them, and it’s ultimately from that position of the lower that he’s going to be raised and therefore conquer.

00:09:35:51 – 00:10:18:14
Clint Loveall
Yeah, I think there’s a sense in all the gospels, certainly in Luke, that Jesus comes as an alternative, an alternative to power, an alternative to worldly thinking, an alternative to a legalistic religion that Jesus is a path that leads away from other things. And, you know, in the case of power, that that is going to loom over Jesus life and it’s going to be woven throughout the narratives that Jesus is really patently, patently uninterested in worldly power and large part.

00:10:18:36 – 00:10:38:54
Clint Loveall
People who have it. And in the Gospel of Luke Jesus is intensely interested in those who have been abused by that power, who like it or who stand outside of it. And I think we see that here. I think it’s no accident that there are shepherds here. And as we’re as we’re there, let’s look at the shepherds finished this passage.

00:10:38:54 – 00:11:01:08
Clint Loveall
The angels left the shepherds and went into heaven, and the shepherds said to one another, Let us now go to Bethlehem and see this thing that has taken place, which the Lord has made known to us. So they went with haste and found Mary and Joseph and the child lying in the manger. When they saw this, they made known what had been told to them about the child and all who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds told them.

00:11:01:31 – 00:11:27:16
Clint Loveall
But Mary treasured all these words and pondered them in her heart. The shepherds returned, glorify, saying and praising God for all they had heard and seen, just as it had been told to them. So here we have again a nice illustration in the gospel. They hear a message and they’re moved by it literally. They respond to it with movement.

00:11:27:16 – 00:11:51:55
Clint Loveall
They go to Bethlehem. They want to see this thing that has happened that the angels have told and hearing of it becomes seeing of it. And when they saw they made known. So just they hear a message. They see what has been told to them and then they proclaim and this is a flow that is important in the gospel.

00:11:51:55 – 00:12:16:24
Clint Loveall
They hear, they see, they speak. And all who heard it were amazed. And then we have this beautiful verse about Mary. We’ve seen this before. Mary treasured these words and pondered them in her heart. Remember that on the front end, when Mary was told she would have the child, she pondered the meaning of those words. And here we have that again.

00:12:16:24 – 00:12:38:54
Clint Loveall
And then we have another movement from the shepherds. They returned, glorifying and praising God. And, you know, it’s a shame. I think this every Christmas, Michael. It’s a shame that the shepherds story ends there. I would love to know what it meant to them. I would love to know what they did with it, who they told. I would love to know how that knowledge impacted them.

00:12:39:19 – 00:12:59:06
Clint Loveall
But here we only get a very short window and we get a just a brief glimpse of what it does. They return to their same fields and their same life, but they do it glorifying and praising God. And I do think Luke intends that as a is a kind of very, very small sermon.

00:12:59:34 – 00:13:20:45
Michael Gewecke
It is a small sermon, I think, because it also helps point us to a theme that’s going to happen over and over again throughout this entire gospel. I would argue all the gospels, to be honest with you. That is that everyone’s story changes Once they meet Jesus, something substantial happens for every character and for Luke that begins literally upon the night of his birth.

00:13:21:00 – 00:13:44:52
Michael Gewecke
These shepherds lives are changed and you want to make that case here for you. Right here. Look at what happens. The shepherds return. They’re glorifying and praising God for all that they have seen and heard. And you might think that that is just, you know, a simple phrase. But if you look, you will discover that actually this is something repeated often throughout the Book of Luke.

00:13:44:52 – 00:14:09:48
Michael Gewecke
This is actually one of the responses that people have when they encounter the Word of God. And it happens over and over and over again throughout the book. So I would just encourage you to realize, like these details of when people encounter Jesus in the stories that will follow this, it’s not just because Jesus is wise or because he has a good turn of phrase.

00:14:09:48 – 00:14:35:56
Michael Gewecke
It’s because of who He is. And Luke makes that very clear. Later on in the book, in chapter 525, Chapter 716, Chapter 1313, it goes on and on. All of these references to people who meet Jesus and they go home praising God. And I think part of the point of including that in this story so early is that there’s not something about Jesus’s physical strength or stature.

00:14:35:56 – 00:15:06:16
Michael Gewecke
It’s not his ability to think or his, you know, somehow spiritual ability to do miracles that somehow is the thing that causes joy in people. It’s literally encountering this God child that is enough to send a share of the shepherds home praising God, glorifying God. It’s a beautiful start to the story to remind us that this baby is special because of who he is, not what he’s accomplished or not what he’s even in some senses what he’s going to do.

00:15:06:16 – 00:15:25:06
Michael Gewecke
It’s it’s who he is. And that’s enough. And I think Luke doesn’t need Clint to write an essay. He doesn’t need to include verbatim witness statements. He just gives us this story almost in shorthand. And it already sets forward the theme of who Jesus is and why it’s important.

00:15:25:06 – 00:15:48:46
Clint Loveall
Luke is really an interesting writer in that he He generally doesn’t tell us what he’s doing. So we have to notice when we when we pay attention, we have to notice, look for patterns. So, well, it’s very subtle and you may not realize it, but we’ve seen this story, the shepherd story. We’ve now seen it it at least three times.

00:15:49:13 – 00:16:22:46
Clint Loveall
Mary Zachariah Now the shepherds, we start with fear, we move to proclamation and then ultimately we end at praise. And this is the movement of the gospel, from fear to praise, from uncertainty to certainty, from how can this be to let it be done, as you said. And and this is this is for Luke, I think in microcosm, the story of people and Jesus.

00:16:22:46 – 00:16:36:27
Clint Loveall
And so we I think, you know, it’s well said, Michael. We’re going to see a lot of this with Luke doesn’t tell us he’s setting that pattern. But but if you pay attention, you’ll notice it over and over again.

00:16:36:43 – 00:16:53:02
Michael Gewecke
And that’s the beautiful part of this story. If you don’t think of it as the Christmas story and you think of it as the birth of the Savior story, which should be the same thing, but just, you know, for a moment, set that aside and think this is the story of the birth of the savior of the world.

00:16:53:02 – 00:17:18:30
Michael Gewecke
And you think, Well, here comes the army, the heavenly army that represents the power here comes the downtrodden, the last the least, the nightwatchman, the worst witnesses that you could have chosen. They come, they see this thing, they’re moved by it to joy and to praise Mary, who sits at the center of this. This woman who has now demonstrated such courage and faith in God.

00:17:18:30 – 00:17:45:43
Michael Gewecke
And she is watching what’s happening with these shepherds and she’s pondering what it means. There is a kind of gravitas to this moment, a kind of heaven touches earth and everything is changing type moment happening right here. And there’s a cosmic nature to this story. It’s not just the little kids up front in your church reenacting it. This is this is God transforming the creation that God made.

00:17:46:03 – 00:18:15:52
Michael Gewecke
And we are seeing it from the highest to the least, literally spatially, the ground to the sky, from a young woman to, you know, watchmen Night Men. I mean, just this whole encompassing story is big enough to remind us that when God does something with the birth of Jesus, it is a cosmic event, and it is the transformation of everything that came before and everything that will come after.

00:18:15:52 – 00:18:50:34
Michael Gewecke
And so these themes that are now being repeated that we’ve already had in this book and the themes are being set up for the future, the book, all of that hinges on a moment that I think is intentional. It’s not accidental that Luke tells the story this way. And as Christians, I think it’s beautiful to turn to it and non Christmas season, not December season and to find in this no there’s there’s rebuke of empire and any power that sets itself against God there’s lifting up of the lowly there’s a reminder of God’s providence care and faithfulness to be with the people who need it most.

00:18:50:49 – 00:19:03:39
Michael Gewecke
And there’s the reality that when God shows up, everything changes. And that’s the fundamental core of the gospel, that we’re only going to see grow as Jesus then moves forward and teaches and proclaims and does miracles in the name of the kingdom.

00:19:03:46 – 00:19:24:57
Clint Loveall
Yeah, I think you said it yesterday, Michael, and you just hinted at it again. But one of the unfortunate ironies of really only dealing with these texts during Christmas is that Christmas is a time that in some ways makes it harder to hear the whole entire story just by the business of it and by the overfocus on some of the details.

00:19:24:57 – 00:19:38:06
Clint Loveall
And so it is interesting to look at a Christmas text in a non Christmas season and hopefully allow ourselves to open up and take in more of it than we might ordinarily.

00:19:38:58 – 00:19:56:09
Michael Gewecke
Certainly hope that’s been the case for you and we would love to have you join us because for all of the time that we spend on the story of Jesus Christ’s birth, we move radically quickly into the following story. And that is going to happen as soon as tomorrow. So I hope you will join us then and that you’ll be blessed.

00:19:56:09 – 00:20:05:33
Clint Loveall
Until then. Thanks, everybody.