Daily Bread Luke 2
Daily Bread Luke 2
The Shepherds and the Angels
8And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night. 9An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. 10But the angel said to them, "Do not be afraid. I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. 11Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is Christ[a] the Lord. 12This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger."
13Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God and saying, 14"Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace to men on whom his favor rests."
15When the angels had left them and gone into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, "Let's go to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has told us about."
16So they hurried off and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby, who was lying in the manger. 17When they had seen him, they spread the word concerning what had been told them about this child, 18and all who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds said to them. 19But Mary treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart. 20The shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things they had heard and seen, which were just as they had been told.
Observation:
In this chapter there is a combination of the expected and the unexpected. It was expected that Jesus would come from the town of Nazareth, be born in Bethlehem, and then make his way to Jerusalem, where he taught in the temple at the age of 12. It was expected that he would be born of the line of David, and be born of a virgin.
But surrounding his birth, we also see the unexpected characters who welcome in the Christ-child. In the section above, we see that God chose shepherds working in the field to reveal Jesus through a host of angels, and at night. Shepherds were ordinary, simple country guys, but left at once to check out if what they said was true.
Then we have Anna and Simeon, two faithful devout Jews who had spent their lives waiting for the Messiah to come. In fact, since Anna lost her husband of seven years, she spends the rest of her life fasting and praying and waiting for Jesus to come. And at the ripe old age of 84 (which was extremely old for a person in that age), her prayers came true.
Application:
We see in Luke’s gospel the many details which make the Son of God’s appearance on the earth even more astounding. Luke records the accounts of those who God reveals Himself to, both those who were waiting for years for his arrival, and those who God surprised unexpectedly. This will be part of Luke’s goal to show God’s desire to reveal His plan to both those who were waiting for the promised One, and those who were unlikely characters to be included in God’s plan for salvation.
This underscores that God is willing to reveal Himself to those who are open and willing to respond. Throughout the gospel of Luke, we will see Jesus reaching out to those who might seem like unlikely candidates, but are willing to check him out. This is a reminder that Jesus came to seek and save the lost. But Jesus also honored those who had waited for him faithfully their whole lives.
Where were you at when God called you to check out His Son? Did you respond right away, or did it take a few times for you to be ready? Remember that God uses all types of characters to reveal the Good News to the world, both those who have been waiting their whole lives to be bearers of the Gospel, and those who meets in the field by night.
Prayer: God you come to us in both likely and unlikely ways, but most importantly you call us to respond in faith and they go tell others what we have found so they might to be included in the plan of salvation too. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
The Shepherds and the Angels
8And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night. 9An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. 10But the angel said to them, "Do not be afraid. I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. 11Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is Christ[a] the Lord. 12This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger."
13Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God and saying, 14"Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace to men on whom his favor rests."
15When the angels had left them and gone into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, "Let's go to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has told us about."
16So they hurried off and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby, who was lying in the manger. 17When they had seen him, they spread the word concerning what had been told them about this child, 18and all who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds said to them. 19But Mary treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart. 20The shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things they had heard and seen, which were just as they had been told.
Observation:
In this chapter there is a combination of the expected and the unexpected. It was expected that Jesus would come from the town of Nazareth, be born in Bethlehem, and then make his way to Jerusalem, where he taught in the temple at the age of 12. It was expected that he would be born of the line of David, and be born of a virgin.
But surrounding his birth, we also see the unexpected characters who welcome in the Christ-child. In the section above, we see that God chose shepherds working in the field to reveal Jesus through a host of angels, and at night. Shepherds were ordinary, simple country guys, but left at once to check out if what they said was true.
Then we have Anna and Simeon, two faithful devout Jews who had spent their lives waiting for the Messiah to come. In fact, since Anna lost her husband of seven years, she spends the rest of her life fasting and praying and waiting for Jesus to come. And at the ripe old age of 84 (which was extremely old for a person in that age), her prayers came true.
Application:
We see in Luke’s gospel the many details which make the Son of God’s appearance on the earth even more astounding. Luke records the accounts of those who God reveals Himself to, both those who were waiting for years for his arrival, and those who God surprised unexpectedly. This will be part of Luke’s goal to show God’s desire to reveal His plan to both those who were waiting for the promised One, and those who were unlikely characters to be included in God’s plan for salvation.
This underscores that God is willing to reveal Himself to those who are open and willing to respond. Throughout the gospel of Luke, we will see Jesus reaching out to those who might seem like unlikely candidates, but are willing to check him out. This is a reminder that Jesus came to seek and save the lost. But Jesus also honored those who had waited for him faithfully their whole lives.
Where were you at when God called you to check out His Son? Did you respond right away, or did it take a few times for you to be ready? Remember that God uses all types of characters to reveal the Good News to the world, both those who have been waiting their whole lives to be bearers of the Gospel, and those who meets in the field by night.
Prayer: God you come to us in both likely and unlikely ways, but most importantly you call us to respond in faith and they go tell others what we have found so they might to be included in the plan of salvation too. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
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