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Articles 2021-2023
When God announced the entrance into Israel of His Son, the King of all nations, He chose to share this news with some lowly shepherds.
In the same region there were some shepherds staying out in the fields and keeping watch over their flock by night. And an angel of the Lord suddenly stood before them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them; and they were terribly frightened. But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid; for behold, I bring you good news of great joy which will be for all the people;
To the shepherds it was just a night like any other night – until Heaven interrupted it. Simultaneously, three things happened. An angel stood before them, the glory of God surrounded them, and they all became very afraid. Personally, I have seen many artists’ renderings of a halo around the head of the Lord Jesus or some other biblical figure, but not many of a halo around a whole group of men. Clearly, a major event was unfolding.
These men were not theologians or religious leaders. They would have actually been from the lower economic end of society. In fact, some scholars have said that their occupation caused shepherds to be ceremonially unclean. But the whole point was that the holy God of Israel was invading a nation (and even the whole earth) that was unclean to the very depth of its being. Might as well illustrate the point from the outset.
And this quite frightening event was really an announcement of the greatest joy for all nations. Notice that the angel said that this work of Heaven was for all people. In other words, Jesus did not come simply for Israel; He came to Israel for the sake of the whole world (John 1:29). And the international scope of it all did not somehow bypass the specific lowly shepherds there that night.
for today in the city of David there has been born for you a Savior, who is Christ the Lord.
Israel’s Messiah, the Lord, had come as a Savior for these very men. And this specific night was the beginning of a whole new era.
But the way that these shepherds would recognize the infant Savior would be very unique.
This will be a sign for you: you will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger (Greek, PHATNE – a feeding trough).
When the shepherds went looking for the Child, they did not seek him in homes or inns; they went looking wherever animals were kept and fed, i.e., in barns or in caves. He would be the only infant in town lying in a feeding trough.
And suddenly there appeared with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host (Greek, STRATIA – an encamped army) praising God…
How long had this heavenly army of angels been stationed outside Bethlehem? God had spoken hundreds of years earlier that the Messiah would be born in this specific place (Micah 5:2). And the fact that they were an encamped army implies that they had been there for a while. How long? We do not know. Just because the shepherds did not see them before this does not mean that they were not there.
Sometimes we can tend to think that a work of God only began when we first noticed it. But our God is known for His foreknowing and predestining. When we show up on the scene, we can be assured that He was already at work beforehand preparing us to recognize and participate in what He had been doing before we arrived.
And what were the angels outside Bethlehem doing? They were praising God. Here is the warfare strategy of encamped heavenly armies. In our own day, let us each join with the armies of heaven in our own geographical region.
Notice the angels’ proclamation.
Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, goodwill toward men!
(Luke 2:14 NKJV)
The newborn infant was the highest expression of God’s goodwill toward mankind in all of human history, the greatest manifestation of His desire to bless humanity. He had come to save sinners – of which the world was full.
So, the shepherds went into town, found the baby Jesus, began telling everybody they could find what had just happened, and then went on their way glorifying God for what they had seen and heard (Luke 2:15 - 20).
The purpose of God was coming into clarity in Bethlehem right in front of simple men and women.
And when eight days had passed, before His circumcision, His name was then called Jesus, the name given by the angel before He was conceived in the womb.
Of course, Joseph did not just come up with a name that he liked, some sort of personal preference. God’s purpose was being revealed. And He was making it manifest through this Heaven–authored name Jesus, which means YAHWEH is salvation. The salvation of God had broken in among His people. Notice the angel’s specific instruction to Joseph.
She will bear a Son; and you shall call His name Jesus, for He will save (Greek, SOZO) His people from their sins.
God had a solution to the great destroying power of sin that had unleashed death among humanity through Adam’s rebellion in Eden. And that Solution, even in infancy was enough to shake the heavens, unleash angelic warfare, and amaze everyone who had eyes to see.
But God’s purpose was more than to simply rescue people from the fires of hell and then receive them into heaven. He intended to save His people from their sins. The above Greek word SOZO means not only to rescue someone and preserve them, it also means to cure them. Scripture sometimes uses this term to describe physical healing.
So, Jesus would not only bring salvation to those who did not know God, but to the lives of His own people, to those who had repented and turned to Him with their whole heart. In my own life, He is revealing Himself as my salvation. Not only has He rescued me from hell, He has committed Himself to transforming me as He conforms me to the likeness of Heaven’s perfect Standard – even Christ, the image (Greek, EIKON) of the invisible God (Colossians 1:15), the only permissible Icon before whom people should bow in the Church.
Jesus, God’s salvation for mankind grew to full stature, perfectly revealed the Father in human terms, took the sins of the world into Himself, died, rose again, and then began pouring out His holy presence into all who would believe. Today, this process continues as He makes a statement to the whole creation – that He is greater than the sin of man!
His work in us is His statement. Do we believe Him? As we see our own struggles and failures and also the encroachment of darkness across our nation, do our hearts despair and give in to thoughts of doubt and worry? Remember, His birth was an announcement of the greatest joy for all people. Here is the question. Before He began His statement, did God count the cost needed to complete His project? Did He calculate the amount of grace needed to bring to full stature His intent among people living in bodies of flesh? Will He succeed in proving before the eyes of the world that He is indeed greater than the sin of man?
To be clear, the gospel is about more than forgiveness; it is about salvation. It is about God’s commitment if we will humble ourselves before Him to forgive us as often as it takes while He fashions us into His own likeness. In other words, His forgiveness comes with a Heaven–authored and earth–revealed goal in mind. His intent is not only that the Church should proclaim the good news; but that as she yields both individually and corporately to His work of transformation, she would become Heaven’s proclamation of His hope–filled good news – a lived out statement of God’s continuing victory over the sin of man.
As a result, it is not enough that we turn from living however we want to as individuals. But we have also given up the right to define how we express our corporate identity as His Church. Sadly, today we have drawn lines of definition among us based on various doctrines, ethnicities, and methodologies of how to implement the Bible’s instructions. Heaven’s corporate proclamation of hope to a world wallowing in hopelessness is still being formed by the hand of God.
O Lord, save Your people. Fashion us locally and internationally into what actually looks like a body, integrated by Your hand, revealing Your mind, and walking out Your desires – because You are our only head.
Donald Rumble – June 2023
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