Dec Newsletter column

I have always been fascinated by the minor/ secondary characters in the Christmas story. We are well familiar with the story of the birth of our savior. But, what is interesting to me are the characters that are mentioned only in this story and we never hear from them again – namely, the shepherds and the wise men. They show up for this brief story, and we never hear from them again. However, their story within the larger story begs for our attention.
First, the shepherds – their story begins with them sitting in the field one evening, tending their flock. Suddenly, an angel of the Lord appeared to them and announced, “Fear not, for behold, I bring you good news of a great joy that will be for all people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. And this will be a sign for you: you will find a baby wrapped in swaddling cloths and lying in a manger.” After this was proclaimed, a host of angels appeared, praising God in verse. What did the shepherds do? They went to the city of David, Bethlehem, and sought the Christ! They went “with haste” and found Joseph, Mary and Jesus. What is interesting to me is how their story ends: Luke 2:20 “And the shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all they had heard and seen, as it had been told them.” Notice their reaction – after meeting their Savior, they left the stable and returned from where they had left, glorifying and praising God! The shepherds wasted no time in doing what should come naturally to all the people of God – their hearts leapt in glory and praise of God – they had beheld him, and knew that their King had come to deliver them from their estate of sin and misery!
The other minor characters that fascinate me are the wise men. They had seen the star of Jacob that was promised in Numbers 24.17. When they saw this fulfillment of the Scriptural promise, they immediately went out to seek their Messiah. Matthew tells us that “when they saw the star, they rejoiced exceedingly with great joy” (Matthew 2.10). They were rejoicing because they knew their Messiah had come! They found the house where the family was, and the worshipped him by falling on their knees and offering him gifts. These wise men had given him gifts of great value because they knew the great value of this little child. What is the final word on their story? Matthew 2:12 “And being warned in a dream not to return to Herod, they departed to their own country by another way.” They went back home – and we can rightly assume that they began to tell people that the Messiah has come – he has come to save his people!
I love the fact that these 2 groups of characters have such a little role in the Christmas story, and after this story we never hear from them again, but their reactions are everlasting. Each group, having seen the One who was promised to save them, worshipped and praised God for this gift – and each went back to their people, with the Good News on their lips! Although Scripture never explicitly says that they told others, we can be sure they did because of their previous reactions. These were men who knew of God’s promises – and when they saw this promise fulfilled, they were immediately led to worship. We can imagine them running back to their homes and to their neighbors, excitedly telling them of what had just happened to them!
What reaction does the birth of Christ stir up in you? For many of us, this holiday season can provide a lot of distractions and stress for us. It is easy for us to get caught up in all the madness and frenzy of the Christmas season. Do you share the same reaction of the shepherds and wise men? Do you know that your Savior has been born to deliver his people? Do you worship God for such a sacrifice that is our gift? Do you offer before Him your worship in all ways? Christmas has never meant to be the busiest and most expensive time of your life. From the time of Jesus’ birth, it has only meant one thing to his people – glory & praise in worship. This year, I would encourage you to slow down and remember the examples of the shepherds and the wise men - & gather your family around, and share the good news of the son of God, born unto a woman, in order to save his people.

Soli Deo Gloria,
Pastor James