Why? Jesus!

Ok guys,
I just want to share some things that I've found amazing and exciting this Christmas time as I've opened this passage with different age groups in church.

Luke 2 v 8-20

I hope you guys want to read on.

Ok, so let me type this passage out for you from the NLT -

That night some shepherds were in the fields outside the village, 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 terribly frightened, but the angel reassured them.
"Don't be afraid!" he said. "I bring you good news of great joy for everyone! The Saviour - yes, the Messiah, the Lord - has been born tonight in Bethlehem, the city of David! And this is how you will recognize Him: You will find a baby lying in a manger, wrapped snugly in strips of cloth!"
Suddenly, the angel was joined by a vast host of others - the armies of heaven - praising God:

"Glory to God in the highest heaven,
and peace on earth to all whom God favours"

When the angels had returned to heaven, the shepherds said to each other, "Come on, let's go to Bethlehem! Let's see this wonderful thing that has happened, which the Lord has told us about."
They ran to the village and found Mary and Joseph. And there was the baby, lying in the manger. Then the shepherds told everyone what had happened and what the angel had said to them about this child. All who heard the shepherds' story were astonished, but Mary quietly treasured these things in her heart and thought about them often. The shepherds went back to their fields and flocks, glorifying and praising God for what the angels had told them, and because they had seen the child, just as the angel had said.

Ok, so I have shared my thoughts and feelings on this passage with a few different groups now, both in a school and in church and I hope that you will appreciate and be encouraged by some of my thoughts on this. I am not preaching at you guys, merely sharing what God has showed me through this passage. This may take a few minutes to read through so I hope you have the time to sit and read through this all.

For me, this is exciting, so exciting! I hope you look at this passage and the other passages of the birth story this Christmas with non-nursery rhyme glasses. I hope you all see the opening chapters of both Luke and Matthew for the pure excitement and celebration of Jesus' birth that they are.

I love this first verse, the idealic and lovely Christmas scene-"That night some shepherds were in the fields outside the village, guarding their flocks of sheep". I love that because immediately after it follows verse 9 which begins with a, "suddenly"! Bam! There we have it, one verse to enjoy the stereotypical Christmas scene before, wha-mo! We get an angel right in front of us!

What I love about the same verse is that the angel goes on to say, "Don't be afraid" as these shepherds are probably wetting themselves by now! God is love. We see that here. He doesn't come to frighten or impress us with big shows, bright lights and sound effects, He just sends His angel who happens to radiate light as he has just come from the presence of the Almighty God. God says, "Don't be afraid", God is love.

The angel says, "I bring you good news of great joy for everyone!" This angel has got the best news man is ever going to hear - Jesus is born. The thing is, this good news is not just for shepherds. It's not just for people in Israel. It's not just for Jews. It's not just for Christians. "Good news of great joy for everyone!" Christmas is not just for Christians to celebrate. Christmas is not just another winter festival. This angel spoke of good news "for everyone!" This is not an exclusive club. This is not to be kept to ourselves. You cannot get anymore inclusive than "everyone". You could say, "everybody". You could stick with, "everyone". Everyone means, everyone. Do you get my point?
This Christmas, are you going to invite your non-Christian friends to a Christmas service? Are you going to spread this good news? Are you going to write on your Christmas cards to your Hindu, Muslim, Sikh, Buddhist, Atheist friends, "Jesus was born for you"?

I just love the excitement building up here, the angel says in verse 11, "The Saviour - yes, the Messiah, the Lord". He just blurts out a whole host of names for Jesus! He isn't holding back, he can't!
"The Saviour - yes, the Messiah, the Lord - has been born tonight in Bethlehem, the city of David!" WWHHHOOOOO HHHHHOOOOOOOO! God has sent us His Son! Hallelujah! Can you feel the excitement! Can you count the exclamation marks in this passage?! It's brilliant! Fantastic news!

But just look at this - "you will find a baby lying in a manger, wrapped snugly in strips of cloth!" (another exclamation mark). This is our King. This is our Saviour. This is our Lord. This is our Messiah and look at Him, look, He is lying in an animal's feeding trough, wrapped in left over blankets in the form of a baby. This is the man who grew up to have huge nails driven through His hands so the Romans and Jews could keep Him pinned to a wooden cross to watch Him die. This is the man who took all our sin upon Him and suffered unimaginable physical, mental and spiritual suffering, just for us. This is the same man who overcame death just so we could have eternal life.
But look at Him here. He is in an animal's feeding trough, wrapped in left over cloth, in the form of a baby. Wow. One word - humility.

"Suddenly, the angel was joined by a vast host of others - the armies of heaven - praising God"
More excitement! The angels just pour out of heaven, "the armies of heaven" burst forth in pure and utter praise of God. Amazing! So amazing! I'm sure by this stage the other angels just couldn't hold themselves back and just came flooding out of heaven, the Lord, the Saviour, the Messiah is born! WHOOOO HOOOOO!

In verse 14, the first Christmas carol is sung,
"Glory to God in the highest heaven,
and peace on earth to all whom God favours"
Yet again, praise for God and excitement as these angels now burst into song, they cannot keep this within themselves!

What was the reaction of the shepherds though once they had sang and returned to heaven? More fear? Bemusement? Confusion? None of it! Excitement! Enthusiasm! Taxi to Bethlehem, and step on it! These guys can't wait! They have caught the excitement bug off these angels, they can't sit still, they want to get straight down to Bethlehem!
And how do they get there? By taking their time riding on the back of a sheep? Nope! verse 16 says, "they ran". I'm sure Mary and Joseph wondered why these out of breath shepherds were standing watching their baby!

Verse 17 says, "then the shepherds told everyone". There's that word again, "everyone". It doesn't say that the shepherds stopped every person they passed, put a questionaire to them, asked them if they had been to church before, asked them their religious background, asked them what job they had and can they open up church on Sunday morning for 9.30am. They told, "everyone". Who is the good news for? Everyone! Get out there and tell them! Are you as excited about the good news as these shepherds were?

In verse 18 it says, "all who heard the shepherds' story were astonished". Do you doubt the power of the good news? Do you wonder why you seem to talk about Jesus and get a lukewarm reception at best? Do you even sometimes wonder is it even worth telling people? Well look here, the people were "astonished". People were interested. People were more than interested, they found this amazing, fascinating, fantastic! Get out there and tell the people the good news, it's astonishing!

I love verse 19. Mary just took all these things and "treasured them in her heart and thought about them often". I'm sure by this stage, maybe some of this was only sinking in for Mary. She has just given birth to the Son of God and according to some olympic sprint shepherds, an angel told them about this baby. I can understand Mary taking her time to think this over. What do you do with challenges and amazing happenings in your life given by God? Do you think them over and keep them in your heart or do you just allow them to sail on by?

Verse 20, right at the end of this passage says that the shepherds were, "glorifying and praising God". Do you do that when God gives you good news? Do you think things over like Mary and then glorify and praise God? Do you thank Him for amazing things He does in your life?

Why did they praise and glorify God? "For what the angels had told them, and because they had seen the child just as the angel had said." When God shows you amazing things, when He specifically and directly answers your prayers, do you praise and glorify Him? When He keeps His word with you, do you praise and glorify Him?

I know that on so many occasions, I fall short of even thinking about God when something great happens. When I selfishly ask God to give me a goal in football that night and He, in His kindness gives me one, I don't even thank my own team mate for the pass for the goal, let alone thank God for answering my selfish prayer. When my dad's health improves after me asking God for that exact action, I don't praise and glorify Him. It takes me a few days at best before I realise what God has done.

I want to be more like these shepherds. I want to act on God's word immediately. I want to have no doubts about the power of the good news. I want to tell every person on the face of this planet about God's amazing gift this Christmas. I want to be unashamed as I tell everyone, not just Christians, about Jesus' birth. Who cares when He was born, was it summer, was it winter, it doesn't matter, the fact of the matter is, Jesus came to earth in the form of a baby so He could grow up just to die for us.

This Christmas, see the excitement of Jesus, see the excitement of the good news, see the excitement of what God has told us in His Word. This is not another nursery rhyme. This is not an idea for the design on a card. This is not an excuse for food and drink. This is the time to tell your non-Christian friends the great and exciting news that, "The Saviour - yes, the Messiah, the Lord - has been born".