Abiding in the field (). From , field and , court. The shepherds were making the field their court. Plutarch and Strabo use the word.

Keeping watch ( ). Cognate accusative. They were bivouacking by night and it was plainly mild weather. In these very pastures David had fought the lion and the bear to protect the sheep (1Sa 17:34f.). The plural here probably means that they watched by turns. The flock may have been meant for the temple sacrifices. There is no way to tell.

Fuente: Robertson’s Word Pictures in the New Testament

1) “And there were in the same country shepherds,” (kai poimemes. esan en te chora te aute) “And there were shepherds in the same country,” in the nearby area of Judaea, called “The shepherd’s field.” It is believed that these were godly men of faith, like Simeon, who looked for the Consolation of Israel, Luk 2:25.

2) “Abiding in the field,” (agraulountes) “Living in the open fields,” with their sheep, to lead and protect them, by day and by night, Psa 23:1-6. They perhaps stayed in temporary tents or crude huts.

3) “Keeping watch over their flock by night.” (kai phullasontes phulakas tes nuktos epi ten poimeme auton) “And they were continually guarding their flocks by night,” on that night. Shepherds bivouac with their flock in both winter and springtime in that area even to this day. What time of the year this occurred is not known by men. But there they stayed in the open fields, taking turns, keeping watch or guard over their sheep by night, as shepherds who loved their sheep.

Sheep used for daily sacrifice in the temple are said to have been kept and fed in these fields, only a few miles southeast of Jerusalem and the temple.

It was a mild season between November and March and the birth day has traditionally come to be celebrated, since about AD 350, as December 25th, though no one knows the date of His birth.

Fuente: Garner-Howes Baptist Commentary

8. And there were shepherds It would have been to no purpose that Christ was born in Bethlehem, if it had not been made known to the world. But the method of doing so, which is described by Luke, appears to the view of men very unsuitable. First, Christ is revealed but to a few witnesses, and that too amidst the darkness of night. Again, though God had, at his command, many honorable and distinguished witnesses, he passed by them, and chose shepherds, persons of humble rank, and of no account among men. Here the reason and wisdom of the flesh must prove to be foolishness; and we must acknowledge, that “the foolishness of God” (1Co 1:25) excels all the wisdom that exists, or appears to exist, in the world. But this too was a part of the “emptying of himself,” (Phi 2:6 🙂 not that any part of Christ’s glory should be taken away by it, but that it should lie in concealment for a time. Again, as Paul reminds us, that the gospel is mean according to the flesh, “that our faith should stand” in the power of the Spirit, not in the “lofty (142) words of human wisdom,” or in any worldly splendor, (143) (1Co 2:4😉 so this inestimable “treasure” has been deposited by God, from the beginning, “in earthen vessels,” (2Co 4:7,) that he might more fully try the obedience of our faith. If then we desire to come to Christ, let us not be ashamed to follow those whom the Lord, in order to cast down the pride of the world, has taken, from among the dung (144) of cattle, to be our instructors.

(142) “ En paroles magnifiques;” — “in magnificent words.”

(143) “ En quelque lustre et apparence du monde;” — “in any luster and display of the world.”

(144) “ Ex pecudum stercore;” — “ sur la fiente des bestes.”

Fuente: Calvin’s Complete Commentary

(8) Shepherds abiding in the field.The fact has been thought, on the supposition that sheep were commonly folded during the winter months, to have a bearing adverse to the common traditional view which fixes December 25 as the day of the Nativity. At that season, it has been urged, the weather was commonly too inclement for shepherds and sheep to pass the night in the open air, and there was too little grass for pasturage. In summer, on the other hand, the grass on the hills is rapidly burnt up. The season at which the grass is greenest is that just before the Passover (Mar. 6:39; Joh. 6:10); and, on the whole, this appears the most probable date. The traditional season, which does not appear as such till the fourth century, may have been chosen for quite other reasonspossibly to displace the old Saturnalia, which coincided with the winter solstice. It is noticeable that the earliest Latin hymns connected with the festival of Christmas dwell on the birth as the rising of the Sun of Righteousness on the worlds wintry darkness.

Keeping watch.Literally, keeping their night-watches, as in Mat. 14:25. Who the shepherds were, or why they were thus chosen as the first to hear the glad tidings, we cannot know. Analogy suggests the thought that it was an answer to their prayers, the fulfilment of their hopes, that they, too, were looking for the consolation of Israel. We may venture, perhaps, to think of the shepherds of Bethlehem as cherishing the traditions of Davids shepherd-life, and the expectations which, as we know from Mat. 2:5, Joh. 7:42, were then current throughout Judathat the coming of the Christ was not far off, and that Bethlehem was to witness His appearing, as thus gaining a higher spiritual receptivity than others. The statement in the Mishna that the sheep intended for sacrifice in the Temple were pastured in the fields of Bethlehem, gives a special interest to the fact thus narrated, and may, perhaps, in part, explain the faith and devotion of the shepherds. They had been rejoicing, at the Paschal season, over the spring-tide birth of the lambs of their flocks. They now heard of the birth of the Lamb of God that taketh away the sin of the world (Joh. 1:29).

Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)

10.

APPEARANCE OF ANGELS TO THE SHEPHERDS SHEPHERDS’ VISIT TO JESUS, Luk 2:8-20 .

At hand The gentile Magi were brought from afar, but these shepherds are brought from nigh. The former as star gazers were led by the star; the latter as shepherds were brought to the chief shepherd. And these were brought from the same fields of Bethlehem where David the typical shepherd fed his flocks, to visit David’s royal son.

Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments

8. Abiding in the fields Probably both day and night in the open air.

Keeping watch. That is taking watch by turns.

Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments

‘And there were shepherds in the same country abiding in the countryside, and keeping watch by night over their flock.’

The scene now moves to the countryside, possibly the craggy mountainside, where there were shepherds who were watching their flocks by night. Day and night it was their responsibility to watch over the sheep, summer and winter alike if the weather was mild enough. Here was where David had once watched his father’s sheep (1Sa 17:15; 1Sa 17:34-37), here he had slain the lion and the bear, and it was therefore seemly that when his Greater Son was being born into the world shepherds should be involved in it. It is an indication of God’s delicate touch, and a reminder of the Davidic connection.

Such shepherds would not be looked on favourably by most people and they would almost certainly not have been seen as ritually ‘clean’. They were not in a position to observe the niceties of religion. Yet we are probably justified in seeing in these shepherds pious men, and men who were looking forward to the coming of the Messiah, men who were looking for the consolation of Israel (compare Luk 2:25).

Fuente: Commentary Series on the Bible by Peter Pett

The Angels Declare the Coming of the Messiah and Bless God for His Goodness in Sending Him, and Appear to the Shepherds in the Fields to Prepare the Way For His Coming. God’s Own Enrolment Is Being Made On Behalf of His Son (2:8-14).

We should note that in the two Gospels that speak of Jesus’ birth those who acknowledge Him are the unexpected. Matthew has foreigners coming to acknowledge Jesus and Luke has shepherds. That Luke stresses the shepherds ties in with his continual emphasis on the poor, for shepherds were regularly poor, and they were also looked on as not being quite the thing because their job prevented them from observing the laws of uncleanness, and even engaging regularly in Sabbath worship. They were seen (sometimes quite justly) as dishonest and irreligious. Indeed their testimony was unacceptable in law courts. However the fact that God selected these men out suggests that they at least were devout men. Indeed others see these shepherds as those employed by the priests and the Temple in order to look after sheep which had been brought for offerings, which would tie in with this. Even so they would still be poor and have difficulty in maintaining the proper observance of ceremonial law.

These shepherds are the last of a trilogy (Zacharias, Mary and the shepherds) in which an angel appears to declare the coming of the Messiah (no angel appeared to Elisabeth), and the first in a trilogy (the shepherds, Simeon and Anna) of those who welcome Jesus after His birth. On one side of them are Zacharias and Mary, and on the other Simeon and Anna. We might see Zacharias as representing the priesthood, Mary as representing womanhood, Simeon and Anna as representing all the men and women who are faithful in Jerusalem, and the shepherds as representing all the people. They are in noble company.

We may analyse the passage as follows:

a And there were shepherds in the same country abiding in the countryside, and keeping watch by night over their flock (Luk 2:8).

b And an angel of the Lord stood by them, and the glory of the Lord shone round about them, and they were very much afraid (Luk 2:9).

c And the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid, for behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy which shall be to all the people, for there is born to you this day in the city of David a Saviour, who is Christ the Lord.” ’(Luk 2:10-11)

d “And this is the sign to you, You will find a babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, and lying in a manger” (Luk 2:12).

e And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God, and saying (Luk 2:13).

f “Glory to God in the highest, And on earth peace among men in whom he is well pleased” (Luk 2:14).

e And it came about that, when the angels went away from them into heaven, the shepherds said one to another, “Let us now go even to Bethlehem, and see this thing that is come about, which the Lord has made known to us” (Luk 2:15).’

d ‘And they came with haste, and found both Mary and Joseph, and the babe lying in the manger’ (Luk 2:16)

c And when they saw it, they made known concerning the saying which was spoken to them about this child, and all who heard it wondered at the things which were spoken to them by the shepherds (Luk 2:17-18).

b But Mary kept all these sayings, pondering them in her heart (Luk 2:19).

a And the shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things that they had heard and seen, even as it was spoken to them (Luk 2:20).

In ‘a’ the shepherds are abiding in the countryside, and in the parallel they return to the countryside full of praise to God. In ‘b’ the shepherds ponder on what they hear and see and are afraid, while in the parallel Mary ponders on all that is said. In ‘c’ the angel gives the shepherds great news about the Coming One Who is to be Saviour, Messiah and Lord, and in the parallel they make known the great news to others causing great wonder by their words. In ‘d’ the sign is that they will find the babe lying in a manger, and in the parallel they do so. In ‘e’ there appear a multitude of angels who give praise to God, and in the parallel they depart, leaving the shepherds to act on their words. In ‘f’, central to the passage, we have the content of their praise, giving glory to God and certainty of salvation to the world.

Fuente: Commentary Series on the Bible by Peter Pett

The message to the shepherds:

v. 8 And there were in the same country shepherds abiding in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night.

v. 9. And, lo, the angel of the Lord came upon them, and the glory of the Lord shone round about them; and they were sore afraid.

v. 10. And the angel said unto them, Fear not; for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people.

v. 11. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, which is Christ the Lord.

v. 12. And this shall be a sign unto you: ye shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling-clothes, lying in a manger.

In that same country, in the neighborhood of the town of Bethlehem, there were shepherds. They were out in the fields, whether under the open sky or in booths, is immaterial. They may have constructed a rude shelter against the chilliness of the night air. They were watching the watches of the night, taking turns about in caring for the flock lest some of them stray away or be carried off by wild beasts. These flocks may well have belonged to the herds that were being driven up to Jerusalem by easy stages, to be used as sacrifices in the Temple, as one commentator has remarked. There was nothing unusual about the situation, nor were the shepherds in a superstitious state of mind. Note: The fact that the flocks were out in the open at night and not in the corral or fold does not disprove the traditional date of the Savior’s birth, as it was definitely established in 354 by Bishop Liberius. It is by no means unusual for the meadows to be in the best condition at the end of December.

While the shepherds, who belonged to the poor and lowly of the land, were thus engaged in the pursuit of their calling, a miracle of the Lord took place in Bethlehem, of which they were to receive the first news. Note: Not the great and mighty of the nation were chosen as the recipients of the wonderful tidings of the nativity of Christ, just as not proud Jerusalem, but little Bethlehem became the Lord’s birthplace, but lowly shepherds of the plains. To these a supernatural revelation was suddenly given: an angel of the Lord came upon them, he stood over against or above them. It was an unexpected apparition out of the quietness of the solemn night, beneath the starry heavens. At the same time, the glory of the Lord lighted up the space about the shepherds, from the face and form of the angel himself, as a messenger from the splendor of the heavens. And they feared a great fear. They were thoroughly frightened. Sinful man cannot endure the light from the presence of the holy God. Besides, the suddenness of the angel’s appearance caught them unawares; there was no gradual preparation of their senses for the culmination that burst upon them. But the message of the angel was reassuring with all the beauty and love of the Christmas spirit. They should not give way or remain under the domination of fear, for his is a message which is, in substance, the entire Gospel. He announces to them a great joy, in order that their hearts may be filled with that joy. And these wonderful tidings will not be confined to them alone, but are intended, and will be proclaimed, to all people. The expression is so general that it should not be applied to the people of Israel only, but properly to all nations of the world. And now the voice of the angel rises, in joyful ecstasy, to the climax of his announcement: For unto you is born this day a Savior, who is Christ the Lord, in the city of David. The angel used terms with which the shepherds were familiar from their youth, in which they were wont to express their hopes for the salvation of Israel. Savior denotes such a person as perfectly frees us from all evil and danger, and is the author of perpetual salvation. And Christ or Messiah is He for whose coming the Jews looked with anxious desire, in and through whom the real believers in Israel expected the Kingdom which should last throughout eternity. Note: The true humanity and the true divinity of the newborn Babe is here clearly stated, even as the angel summarizes the prophecies of old, in calling Bethlehem the city of David. Furthermore: Christ was born a true man, to purify and sanctify our sinful conception and birth. “To help our poor, miserable birth, God has sent another birth, which had to be pure and unsullied, if it should cleanse our impure, sinful birth. That then is the birth of Christ the Lord, His only-begotten Son. And for that reason He did not want to let Him be born from sinful flesh and blood; but He should be born of a virgin. That is what the angel wishes to say with these words: ‘Unto you is born. ‘ Which implies: All that He is and has is yours, and He is your Savior; not only that you regard Him thus, but that He can deliver you from sin, death, devil, and all misfortune; yea, as great as He is, He is born for you, and is yours with all that He has. ” And, finally: Note the word “unto you. ” “As though he would say: Until now you have been captives of the devil; he has plagued you with water, fire, pestilence, sword, and who can narrate all the misfortune? And when he has tortured soul and body, eternal death threatens afterward. Unto you, the angel says, unto you that were held captive under this harmful, evil, poisonous spirit, who is the prince and God of the world, the Savior is born. The words ‘unto you’ should surely make us happy. For to whom does he speak? To wood or stone? No, to men, and not to one or two only, but to all the people… We have need of Him, and for our sakes He has become man. Therefore it behooves us people that we accept Him with joy, as the angel here says: Unto you is born a Savior.”

In order that the shepherds may not be misdirected or go astray in the overcrowded city, the angel gives them specific directions how they may find the Child and recognize Him at once. He would be found wrapped in swaddling-clothes and lying in the crib of a stable. Those directions were as explicit and exact as any that could be given, since there would be no other child in such poor and lowly circumstances as this one, the Savior of the world.

Fuente: The Popular Commentary on the Bible by Kretzmann

Luk 2:8. Keeping watch, &c. Literally, Watching the watches of the night; which intimates their taking it by turns to watch, according to the usual divisions of the night; and as it is not probable that they exposed their flocks to the coldness of winter-nights in that climate, where, as Dr. Shaw has shewn, they were very unwholesome,(see his Travels, p. 379.) it may be strongly argued from this circumstance, that those who have fixed upon December for the birth of Christ, have been mistaken in the time of it. But see more on this head in the note on Luk 2:1

Fuente: Commentary on the Holy Bible by Thomas Coke

Luk 2:8 f. ] not .

] staying out in the open fields ; Plut. Num 4 ; Parthen. Erot. xxix. 1, and the already in Homer, Il. xviii. 162.

. ] often conjoined also among the Greek writers; Plat. Phaedr. p. 240 E; Xen. Anab. ii. 6. 10, and the passages in Kypke. Comp. , Num 1:53 , al. The plural applies to the different watch-stations.

] not belonging to , but: by night, definition of time for . and .

According to this statement, Jesus cannot have been born in December, in the middle of the rainy season (Robinson, Pal. II. p. 505 f.), as has been since the fourth century supposed with a probable joining on of the festival to the Natales solis invicti (see Gieseler, Kirchengesch. I. 2, p. 287 f. Exo 4 ). Just as little can He have been born on the sixth day of January, which in the East was even earlier fixed as the festival of the birth and baptism (still other times fixed as the day of birth may be seen in Clement Al. Strom. I. p. 339 f. Sylb.). According to the Rabbins, the driving forth of the flocks took place in March, the bringing in of them in November (see Lightfoot); and if this is established at least as the usual course, it certainly is not in favour of the hypothesis (Wieseler) that Jesus was born in February (750), and necessitates precarious accessory assumptions.

] Comp. Luk 24:4 ; Act 12:7 ; Act 17:5 . In the classical writers it is used also of theophanies, of appearances in dreams, and the like, frequently since Homer (Il. xxiii. 106, x. 496), denoting their sudden emergence, which nevertheless is implied not in the word in itself, but in the text.

], radiance by which God is surrounded. Comp. Ewald, ad Apoc. p. 311. God’s glorious radiance (comp. Act 7:2 ) had streamed down with the angel. “In omni humiliatione Christi per deeoram quandam protestationem cautum est gloriae ejus divinae,” Bengel.

Fuente: Heinrich August Wilhelm Meyer’s New Testament Commentary

B. The first Gospel upon Earth. Luk 2:8-12

8And there were in the same country shepherds abiding in the field, [and, ] keepingwatch over their flock by night. 9And, lo, the [an] angel of the Lord came upon them, and the glory of the Lord shone round about them; and they were sore afraid.10And the angel said unto them, Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great 11joy, which shall be to all [the] people.13 For unto [to] you is born this day, in the cityof David, a Saviour, which [who] is Christ the Lord. And this shall be a sign unto you [12and this shall be the sign to you, .]; ye shall find the [a] babe wrapped in swaddling-clothes,14 lying15 in a16 manger.

EXEGETICAL AND CRITICAL

Luk 2:8. Keeping watch over their flock by night, .The expression seems to indicate, that they were stationed at various posts, and perhaps relieved one another. On the authority of Lightfoot, ad Luc. ii. 8, many commentators have remarked, that the Jews were not accustomed to drive their cattle to pasture after the first half of November, and that we have, in this verse, indirect evidence of the worthlessness of the tradition which has assigned the 25th of December as the day of our Lords birth. It is well known that this date was chosen on account of the contemporary natalis invicti solis, without finding any other support in the gospel. On the other hand, however, we might contend that, from Luk 2:8 alone, it cannot be deemed impossible that the birth of our Lord should have occurred in winter. This winter may have been less severe than usual. Several travellers (e.g., Rauwolf, Reisen 1, p. 118) inform us, that in the end of December, after the rainy season, the flowers bloom and the shepherds lead out their flocks again. Besides, these shepherds may have formed an exception to the general rule, whether from poverty, or as being servants. The Lord Himself, in the first night of His life oh earth, did not rest on roses. It is also worthy of note, that the ancient Church, to whom the peculiarities of the climate of Palestine were certainly known, was never hindered in its practice of celebrating the Nativity on the 25th of December by the consideration of Luk 2:8. May not the difficulty, then, be more imaginary than real?

[Note on the Date of the Nativity of Christ.The fact mentioned by Luke, that the shepherds pastured their flock in the field of Bethlehem, is of itself not inconsistent with the traditional date of our Saviours birth. Travellers in Palestine differ widely in their meteorological accounts, as the seasons themselves vary in different years. But Barclay, Schwartz and others who give us the result of several years observations in Jerusalem, agree in the statement that during the rainy season from the end of October to March there generally occurs an interregnum of several weeks dry weather between the middle of December and the middle of February, and that during the month of December the earth is clothed with rich verdure, and sowing and ploughing goes on at intervals. Schubert says that the period about Christmas is often one of the loveliest periods of the whole year, and Tobler remarks, that the weather about Christmas is favorable to the feeding of flocks, and often most beautiful. The saying of the Talmudists, that the flocks were taken to the fields in March and brought home in November, had reference to the pastures in the wilderness far away from the cities or villages. Comp. on this whole subject S. J. Andrews: The Life of our Lord upon the Earth, p. 16 ff.

But while the statement of Luke cannot disprove the tradition of the Nativity, it can as little prove it. This tradition is itself of late origin and of no critical value. The celebration of Christmas was not introduced in the church till after the middle of the fourth century. It originated in Rome, and was probably a Christian transformation or regeneration of a series of kindred heathen festivals, the Saturnalia, Sigillaria, Juvenalia, and Brumalia, which were celebrated in the month of December in commemoration of the golden age of universal freedom and equality, and in honor of the unconquered sun, and which were great holidays, especially for slaves and children. (See my Church History, N. Y., vol. ii. p. 395 ff.) In the primitive Church there was no agreement as to the time of Christs birth. In the East the 6th of January was observed as the day of His baptism and birth. In the third century, as Clement of Alexandria relates, some regarded the twentieth of May, others the twentieth of April, as the birth-day of our Saviour. Among modern chronologists and biographers of Jesus there is still greater difference of opinion, and every month, even June and July (when the fields are parched from want of rain), have been named as the time when the great event took place. Lightfoot assigns the Nativity to September, Lardner and New-come to October, Wieseler to February, Paulus to March, Greswell and Alford to the 5th of April, just after the spring rains, when there is an abundance of pasture, Lichtenstein places it in July or December, Strong in August, Robinson in autumn, Clinton in spring, Andrews between the middle of December, 749, to the middle of January, 750 A. U. On the other hand, Roman Catholic historians and biographers of Jesus, as Sepp, Friedlieb, Bucher, Patritius, also some Protestant writers, defend the popular tradition, or the 25th of December. Wordsworth gives up the problem, and thinks that the Holy Spirit has concealed the knowledge of the year and day of Christs birth and the duration of His ministry from the wise and prudent to teach them humility.

The precise date of the Nativity can certainly be no matter of vital importance, else it would have been revealed to us. It is enough for us to know that the Saviour was born in the fulness of time, just when He was most needed, and when the Jewish and Gentile world was fully prepared for this central fact and turning point in history. For internal reasons the 25th of December, when the longest night gives way to the returning sun on his triumphant march, is eminently suited as the birth-day of Him who appeared in the darkest night of sin and error as the true Light of the world. But it may have been instinctively selected for this poetic and symbolical fitness rather than on historic grounds.P. S.]

Luk 2:9. And, lo, an angel.The whole narrative is evidently designed to impress us with the sudden and unexpected manner of the angelic apparition; while, at the same time, it is not denied that the susceptibility of the shepherds for the reception of the heavenly message may have been enhanced by their waiting for the redemption of Israel, their mutual discourse, and their sojourn, in the quiet solemn night, beneath the starry heavens. Meanwhile, the first preacher of the gospel stands suddenly before them.The glory of the Lord which shone round them ( ), is the , already known to them from the Old Testament. And it was the sight of this that filled them with fear.

Luk 2:9. And they were sore afraid or feared greatly ( ).The fear which we so often find mentioned in the sacred narrative, when man comes into immediate contact with the supernatural and the holy (comp., e.g., Luk 5:8; Luk 24:5), is not to be wholly attributed to the fact, that such contact was unexpected, and still less to a conviction of moral impurity before God, only. It seems rather, that the old popular belief, that he who had seen God would die (Jdg 13:22), had by no means disappeared even after the Babylonian captivity. This belief might also have been strengthened by traditional remembrance of the cherubim with the flaming sword at the gate of Eden. In any case, this superstitious fear is surely a better before God, than the incredulous scepticism of modern days concerning any angelic visitations.

Luk 2:10. To all the people.Namely to Israel, to whom they belonged, as is expressed with the same particularity, Luk 1:33; Mat 1:21. The announcement of this truth to the shepherds, indirectly intimates, that other pious Israelites were soon to hear from them of the birth of their King. In Luk 2:17 we are told of the first fulfilment of this indirect command.

Luk 2:11. Christ, the Lord.Not the Christ of the Lord, as He is called Luk 2:26, but the Messiah, who equally with the Jehovah of the Old Testament, bears the name (com. Luk 23:2, and Act 2:36). The intimation that He was born in the city of David would recall Micah 5, which, according to Mat 2:5, was in those days universally understood to refer to Messiah.

[Alford: This is the only place where these words ( and ) come together. In Luk 23:2, we have . , and in Act 2:36, . And I see no way of understanding this , but as corresponding to the Hebrew Jehovah. So also Wordsworth. This reference is the more probable, since Luke in Luk 2:9 uses twice of Jehovah. The connection of Christ with Lord occurs also in Col 3:24, though in a somewhat different meaning, .P. S.]

Luk 2:12. And this shall be the sign to you.It happens here, as in the annunciation of the birth to Mary (Luk 1:36). A sign was vouchsafed, where none was asked,God seeing that it was indispensably necessary, on account of the extraordinary nature of the circumstance; while Zachariah, who requested a sign, was visited with loss of speech. The sign now granted, is as wonderful as the occurrence just announced, yet one suited to the capacity of the shepherds, and at the same time infallible. The fear, as to whether they may approach the new-born King, and offer Him their homage, is dispelled by the intimation of His lowly condition, while their carnal views of the nature of His kingdom are thereby counteracted. Unless we suppose that the shepherds forthwith made inquiry in all the possible of Galilee, whether a child had lately been born therein, we must conclude that their own well-known, and perhaps not far distant , was the one pointed out. If they would naturally have hastened thither first, we are not left to suppose, with Olshausen, that they were led by some secret influence upon their minds. Conjectures, which give offence to the sceptical, are best avoided, when not indispensably necessary.

DOCTRINAL AND ETHICAL

1. This narrative may be called, The history of the first preaching of the gospel upon earth. It became Him, of whom are all things, and by whom are all things, to send such a message by the mouth of an angel. The last preaching of the gospel, the glad tidings of the last day, Behold, He cometh again, will also be announced with the voice of the archangel, and the trump of God.

2. It will not seem without significance, to any who appreciate the symbolic element of the Scriptures, that the first announcement was made to shepherds. Jehovah had Himself borne the name of the shepherd of Israel, and the Messiah had been announced under this designation by the prophets (Psalms 23; Ezekiel 34). David had pastured his flocks in this very neighborhood; and since the rich and mighty in Jerusalem were looking only for an earthly deliverer, it was undoubtedly among these humble shepherds that the poor in spirit and the mourners would be found, to whom the Lord Himself afterwards addressed His own preaching. There is something indescribably divine and touching in the care of God to satisfy the secret yearnings of individuals, at the same time when He is occupying Himself with the eternal salvation of millions. Man overlooks the masses in the individual, or neglects the individual in the masses; God equally comprehends the interests of both in His arrangements.

3. The glory of the Lord, which shone round the shepherds, consisted not alone in the dazzling brightness of the angel, but was manifested by the fact of his appearing, at such a moment, in such a place, to such men. An angel announces the birth of Jesus; no such announcement distinguishes the birth of John; and thus it is made evident from the very first, how much the King surpasses the forerunner. But for this angelic manifestation, how could the glad tidings have been communicated with infallible certainty, and who could have been more worthy of so august a proclamation than the Word made flesh? Yet the angel appears not in the manger, but visits the shepherds in the silent night-watches, in the open field; a circumstance which powerfully testifies, that the greatness which is to distinguish the Lords coming is a silent and hidden greatness. He appears to shepherds: God has chosen the mean things of the world to confound the things which are mighty. He speaks too in a manner suited to their comprehension and to their need, and impresses on the first preaching of the gospel that character indelebilis of all its after-announcements: Great joy. Surely we can hardly fail to perceive here also, somewhat of the , spoken of in Eph 3:10.

4. The Redeemer is here called Saviour, not Jesus. This name was first to be bestowed upon Him eight days later, in the rite of circumcision.Born unto you: the word must have directed the attention of the shepherds to the fact, that a supply for the felt necessity of each individual soul was now provided. The sign granted to them is so peculiarly an exercise of their faith, that we might almost imagine we heard the new-born Saviour exclaim to those who were the first to come unto Him: Blessed is he whosoever shall not be offended in Me.

[5. From Dr. Richard Clerke (abridged): God has in every birth His admirable work. But God to be a child, , God in a womans womb, that is the miraculum miraculorum. The great God to be a little babe ( , St. Basil); the Ancient of days to become an infant (co-infantiari, St. Irenus); the King of eternity to be two or three months old ( to be bimestris, trimestris), the Almighty Jehovah to be a weak man; God immeasurably great, whom heaven and earth cannot contain, to be a babe a span long; He that rules the stars to suck a womans nipple (regens siderasugens ubera, Augustine); the founder of the heavens rocked in a cradle; the swayer of the world swathed in infant bands;it is , a Greek father says, a most incredible thing. The earth wondered, at Christs Nativity, to see a new star in heaven; but heaven might rather wonder to see a new Sun on earth.P. S.]

HOMILETICAL AND PRACTICAL

The quiet in the land, not forgotten of God.The glory of the Lord shining in the fields of Bethlehem.The glory of God,1. majesty, 2. Wisdom , 3. love, 4. holiness,seen in the angelic appearance at the birth of Jesus.The angel a model for all preachers, the shepherds a pattern for all hearers, of the Christmas message.The gospel, though centuries old, an ever new gospel: 1. The hearers, Luk 2:8; Luke 2. the preachers, Luk 2:9; Luke 3. the key-note, Luk 2:10; Luke 4. the principal contents, Luk 2:11; Luke 5. the sign, Luk 2:12.No fear which may not be exchanged for great joy by the glad tidings of a Saviour; but also, no great joy can truly pervade the heart, unless preceded by fear.The message of Christmas night, a joyful message for the poor in spirit.The Christmas festival, a festival for the whole world; 1. this it is designed to be; 2. this it can be; 3. this it must be; 4. this it will be.The child in the manger, 1. the Son of David; 2. the Lord of David; 3. the Lord of David because He was born His Son.The shepherds of Bethlehem, themselves sheep of the Good Shepherd.

Starke:With God is no respect of persons.Majus:The glory of the Lord, of which the proud see nothing, shines round about the lowly.The servants and messengers of the Lord must walk in the light.Osiander:The birth of Christ a remedy against slavish fear.Divine revelation does not supersede our own diligence, investigation, and research, but extends to them a helping hand.

Heubner:Everything here turns upon, 1. Who the new-born child Isaiah 2. for whom He is born; 3. and where.Christmas joys, a foretaste and pledge of the joys of heaven.

Harless:In Christ is joy for all the world; viz., 1. the divine message for the lowly; 2. the consolation for the fearful; 3. the satisfying of the individual yearnings; and 4. the appearance of the Salvation of the whole world.

Palmer:The three embassies of God: He sends, 1. His Son to redeem us; 2. His angels to announce Him; 3. men to behold Him.

Hofacker:The extensive prospect opened to our faith at Christs birth: 1. How far backward; 2. how high upward; 3. how far forward, it teaches us to look!What should a heart filled with the devout spirit of Christmas consider? 1. The excellence of the first Christmas preacher; 2. the humility of the hearers; 3. the importance of the angelic Christmas sermon.

Couard:Unto you is born this day a Saviour: 1. A Saviour is born; 2. a Saviour is born; 3. a Saviour is born unto you; 4. a Saviour is born unto you to-day.

Van Oosterzee:The light appearing in the night.The birth of Jesus a light in the darkness, 1. of ignorance; 2. of sin; 3. of affliction; 4. of death.

Thomasius:The birth of the Lord in its relation to the history of the world: 1. As the end of the old world; 2. as the beginning of the new.

Arndt:The first Christmas sermon. Nothing less is incumbent upon us than, 1. to understand it; 2. to believe it; 3. to obey it.

Footnotes:

[13]Luk 2:10. . The omission of the article in the Authorized Version unduly generalizes the sense. The people of Israel are here meant, for whom the angelic message was first, though, of course, not exclusively, intended.

[14]Luk 2:12., swathed, or wrapped up in swaddling clothes or swathing bands. The paraphrastic rendering of the English Version from Tyndale to James was perhaps suggested by that of Erasmus: fasciis involutum. See Luk 2:7.

[15]Luk 2:12.The usual reading before has no sufficient critical authority and was inserted to connect the two participles. Cod. Sinait. omits also and reads simply .

[16]Luk 2:12.The definite article before in the text. rec. is wanting in the best authorities, also in Cod. Sin., and cancelled by the modern critical editors.P. S.]

Fuente: A Commentary on the Holy Scriptures, Critical, Doctrinal, and Homiletical by Lange

(8) And there were in the same country shepherds abiding in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night. (9) And, lo, the angel of the Lord came upon them, and the glory of the Lord shone round about them; and they were sore afraid. (10) And the angel said unto them, Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people. (11) For unto you is born this day, in the city of David, a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord. (12) And this shall be a sign unto you; Ye shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger. (13) And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God, and saying, (14) Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men.

When we consider the humble appearance in which Christ was born, how blessed is it to see the glorious attestation, which was given at the same time, of the greatness of his person. Angels, (and it should seem a multitude, though one only came forward to the Jewish shepherds, to be the speaker,) came from heaven to proclaim the wonders of his birth, and the end of it in salvation. I beg the Reader to remark the burden of their message: Glory to God; peace and good will to men. Yes! the whole glory is God’s; because it is all founded in God; carried on in God; compleated in God; and man is but the receiver of the mercies. Oh! that this was well understood by men! What an end would it put to all the pharisaical righteousness, and pride of men!

Fuente: Hawker’s Poor Man’s Commentary (Old and New Testaments)

8 And there were in the same country shepherds abiding in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night.

Ver. 8. Keeping watch over their flock ] At the tower of Edar, say some, between Jerusalem and Bethlehem, where Jacob, returning from Mesopotamia, stayed with his flock, after he had buried Rachel, Gen 35:21 ; Mic 4:8 .

By night ] Hence some gather that our Saviour was not born in the winter, because in winter they housed their cattle, and fed them not out doors, Pro 27:25 .

Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)

8. ] Mr. Greswell has made it highly probable (Diss. x. vol. i.) that our Lord was born on the evening of (i.e. which began ) the 5th of April, the 10th of the Jewish Nisan: on which same day of April, and the 14th of Nisan, He suffered thirty-three years after. Before this time there would be abundance of grass in the pastures the spring rains being over: but much after it, and till after the autumnal equinox again, the pastures would be comparatively bare: see note on Joh 6:10 .

. ] spending the night in the open field.

. . ., either, keeping watch by night, or, keeping the watches of the night. The former seems most probable: and so Meyer and Bleek: see ref. Xen., and add Alexis in Athen [19] xv. 58, p. 700 , .

[19] Athenagoras of Athens, 177

Fuente: Henry Alford’s Greek Testament

Luk 2:8-13 . The shepherds and the angels .

Fuente: The Expositors Greek Testament by Robertson

Luk 2:8 . , shepherds, without article; no connection between them and the birthplace. ( , , here only), bivouacking, passing the night in the open air; implying naturally a mild time of the year between March and November. In winter the flocks were in fold.

Fuente: The Expositors Greek Testament by Robertson

Luke

SHEPHERDS AND ANGELS

Luk 2:8 – Luk 2:20 .

The central portion of this passage is, of course, the angels’ message and song, the former of which proclaims the transcendent fact of the Incarnation, and the latter hymns its blessed results. But, subsidiary to these, the silent vision which preceded them and the visit to Bethlehem which followed are to be noted. Taken together, they cast varying gleams on the great fact of the birth of Jesus Christ.

Why should there be a miraculous announcement at all, and why should it be to these shepherds? It seems to have had no effect beyond a narrow circle and for a time. It was apparently utterly forgotten when, thirty years after, the carpenter’s Son began His ministry. Could such an event have passed from memory, and left no ripple on the surface? Does not the resultlessness cast suspicion on the truthfulness of the narrative? Not if we duly give weight to the few who knew of the wonder; to the length of time that elapsed, during which the shepherds and their auditors probably died; to their humble position, and to the short remembrance of extraordinary events which have no immediate consequences. Joseph and Mary were strangers in Bethlehem. Christ never visited it, so far as we know. The fading of the impression cannot be called strange, for it accords with natural tendencies; but the record of so great an event, which was entirely ineffectual as regards future acceptance of Christ’s claims, is so unlike legend that it vouches for the truth of the narrative. An apparent stumbling-block is left, because the story is true.

Why then, the announcement at all, since it was of so little use? Because it was of some; but still more, because it was fitting that such angel voices should attend such an event, whether men gave heed to them or not; and because, recorded, their song has helped a world to understand the nature and meaning of that birth. The glory died off the hillside quickly, and the music of the song scarcely lingered longer in the ears of its first hearers; but its notes echo still in all lands, and every generation turns to them with wonder and hope.

The selection of two or three peasants as receivers of the message, the time at which it was given, and the place, are all significant. It was no unmeaning fact that the ‘glory of the Lord’ shone lambent round the shepherds, and held them and the angel standing beside them in its circle of light. No longer within the secret shrine, but out in the open field, the symbol of the Divine Presence glowed through the darkness; for that birth hallowed common life, and brought the glory of God into familiar intercourse with its secularities and smallnesses. The appearance to these humble men as they ‘sat simply chatting in a rustic row ‘symbolised the destination of the Gospel for all ranks and classes.

The angel speaks by the side of the shepherds, not from above. His gentle encouragement ‘Fear not!’ not only soothes their present terror, but has a wider meaning. The dread of the Unseen, which lies coiled like a sleeping snake in all hearts, is utterly taken away by the Incarnation. All messages from that realm are thenceforward ‘tidings of great joy,’ and love and desire may pass into it, as all men shall one day pass, and both enterings may be peaceful and confident. Nothing harmful can come out of the darkness, from which Jesus has come, into which He has passed, and which He fills.

The great announcement, the mightiest, most wonderful word that had ever passed angels’ immortal lips, is characterised as ‘great joy’ to ‘all the people,’ in which designation two things are to be noted-the nature and the limitation of the message. In how many ways the Incarnation was to be the fountain of purest gladness was but little discerned, either by the heavenly messenger or the shepherds. The ages since have been partially learning it, but not till the ‘glorified joy’ of heaven swells redeemed hearts will all its sorrow-dispelling power be experimentally known. Base joys may be basely sought, but His creatures’ gladness is dear to God, and if sought in God’s way, is a worthy object of their efforts.

The world-wide sweep of the Incarnation does not appear here, but only its first destination for Israel. This is manifest in the phrase ‘all the people,’ in the mention of ‘the city of David’ and in the emphatic ‘you,’ in contradistinction both from the messenger, who announced what he did not share, and Gentiles, to whom the blessing was not to pass till Israel had determined its attitude to it.

The titles of the Infant tell something of the wonder of the birth, but do not unfold its overwhelming mystery. Magnificent as they are, they fall far short of ‘The Word was made flesh.’ They keep within the circle of Jewish expectation, and announce that the hopes of centuries are fulfilled. There is something very grand in the accumulation of titles, each greater than the preceding, and all culminating in that final ‘Lord.’ Handel has gloriously given the spirit of it in the crash of triumph with which that last word is pealed out in his oratorio. ‘Saviour’ means far more than the shepherds knew; for it declares the Child to be the deliverer from all evil, both of sin and sorrow, and the endower with all good, both of righteousness and blessedness. The ‘Christ’ claims that He is the fulfiller of prophecy, perfectly endowed by divine anointing for His office of prophet, priest, and king-the consummate flower of ancient revelation, greater than Moses the law-giver, than Solomon the king, than Jonah the prophet. ‘The Lord’ is scarcely to be taken as the ascription of divinity, but rather as a prophecy of authority and dominion, implying reverence, but not unveiling the deepest secret of the entrance of the divine Son into humanity. That remained unrevealed, for the time was not yet ripe.

There would be few children of a day old in a little place like Bethlehem, and none but one lying in a manger. The fact of the birth, which could be verified by sight, would confirm the message in its outward aspect, and thereby lead to belief in the angel’s disclosure of its inward character. The ‘sign’ attested the veracity of the messenger, and therefore the truth of all his word-both of that part of it capable of verification by sight and that part apprehensible by faith.

No wonder that the sudden light and music of the multitude of the heavenly host’ flashed and echoed round the group on the hillside. The true picture is not given when we think of that angel choir as floating in heaven. They stood in their serried ranks round the shepherds and their fellows on the solid earth, and ‘the night was filled with music,’ not from overhead, but from every side. Crowding forms became all at once visible within the encircling ‘glory,’ on every face wondering gladness and eager sympathy with men, from every lip praise. Angels can speak with the tongues of men when their theme is their Lord become man, and their auditors are men. They hymn the blessed results of that birth, the mystery of which they knew more completely than they were yet allowed to tell.

As was natural for them, their praise is first evoked by the result of the Incarnation in the highest heavens. It will bring ‘glory to God’ there; for by it new aspects of His nature are revealed to those clear-eyed and immortal spirits who for unnumbered ages have known His power, His holiness, His benignity to unfallen creatures, but now experience the wonder which more properly belongs to more limited intelligences, when they behold that depth of condescending Love stooping to be born. Even they think more loftily of God, and more of man’s possibilities and worth, when they cluster round the manger, and see who lies there.

‘On earth peace.’ The song drops from the contemplation of the heavenly consequences to celebrate the results on earth, and gathers them all into one pregnant word, ‘Peace.’ What a scene of strife, discord, and unrest earth must seem to those calm spirits! And how vain and petty the struggles must look, like the bustle of an ant-hill! Christ’s work is to bring peace into all human relations, those with God, with men, with circumstances, and to calm the discords of souls at war with themselves. Every one of these relations is marred by sin, and nothing less thorough than a power which removes it can rectify them. That birth was the coming into humanity of Him who brings peace with God, with ourselves, with one another. Shame on Christendom that nineteen centuries have passed, and men yet think the cessation of war is only a ‘pious imagination’! The ringing music of that angel chant has died away, but its promise abides.

The symmetry of the song is best preserved, as I humbly venture to think, by the old reading as in the Authorised Version. The other, represented by the Revised Version, seems to make the second clause drag somewhat, with two designations of the region of peace. The Incarnation brings God’s ‘good will’ to dwell among men. In Christ, God is well pleased; and from Him incarnate, streams of divine complacent love pour out to freshen and fertilise the earth.

The disappearance of the heavenly choristers does not seem to have been so sudden as their appearance. They ‘went away from them into heaven,’ as if leisurely, and so that their ascending brightness was long visible as they rose, and attestation was thereby given to the reality of the vision. The sleeping village was close by, and as soon as the last gleam of the departing light had faded in the depths of heaven, the shepherds went ‘with haste,’ untimely as was the hour. They would not have much difficulty in finding the inn and the manger. Note that they do not tell their story till the sight has confirmed the angel message. Their silence was not from doubt; for they say, before they had seen the child, that ‘this thing’ is ‘come to pass,’ and are quite sure that the Lord has told it them. But they wait for the evidence which shall assure others of their truthfulness.

There are three attitudes of mind towards God’s revelation set forth in living examples in the closing verses of the passage. Note the conduct of the shepherds, as a type of the natural impulse and imperative duty of all possessors of God’s truth. Such a story as they had to tell would burn its way to utterance in the most reticent and shyest. But have Christians a less wonderful message to deliver, or a less needful one? If the spectators of the cradle could not be silent, how impossible it ought to be for the witnesses of the Cross to lock their lips!

The hearers of the story did what, alas! too many of us do with the Gospel. ‘They wondered,’ and stopped there. A feeble ripple of astonishment ruffled the surface of their souls for a moment; but like the streaks on the sea made by a catspaw of wind, it soon died out, and the depths were unaffected by it.

The antithesis to this barren wonder is the beautiful picture of the Virgin’s demeanour. She ‘kept all these sayings, and pondered them in her heart.’ What deep thoughts the mother of the Lord had, were hers alone. But we have the same duty to the truth, and it will never disclose its inmost sweetness to us, nor take so sovereign a grip of our very selves as to mould our lives, unless we too treasure it in our hearts, and by patient brooding on it understand its hidden harmonies, and spread our souls out to receive its transforming power. A non-meditative religion is a shallow religion. But if we hide His word in our hearts, and often in secret draw out our treasure to count and weigh it, we shall be able to speak out of a full heart, and like these shepherds, to rejoice that we have seen even as it was spoken unto us.

Fuente: Expositions Of Holy Scripture by Alexander MacLaren

NASB (UPDATED) TEXT: Luk 2:8-14

8In the same region there were some shepherds staying out in the fields and keeping watch over their flock by night. 9And an angel of the Lord suddenly stood before them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them; and they were terribly frightened. 10But 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; 11for today in the city of David there has been born for you a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. 12This will be a sign for you: you will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.” 13And suddenly there appeared with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying, 14″Glory to God in the highest, And on earth peace among men with whom He is pleased.”

Luk 2:8 “In the same region” This refers to Bethlehem.

“shepherds” The rabbis considered them to be religious outcasts and their testimony was not admissible in court (i.e., later Jewish tradition). This was because they lived with the sheep and could not keep all the rules and regulations of the rabbis (i.e., Talmud). There may be some symbolic connection with David’s being a shepherd in this same area. The Messiah’s birth was announced first to Jewish shepherds! This is surprising, recorded by a Gentile, writing for Gentiles, while Matthew, writing to Jews, mentions the wise men (possibly Gentiles) from the east.

“their flock” There is no way to fix the time of the year of Jesus’ birth because the Temple flocks were kept in that area all year. God’s Lamb (cf. Joh 1:29) was born in the same area that the sacrificial lambs used year round in the daily temple sacrifice. If so, these shepherds may have been Levites.

The traditional date of December 25 to celebrate Jesus’ birth developed hundreds of years later (i.e., fourth century, Constitutions of the Holy Apostles, 2:3.13), apparently chosen to coincide with a pagan, astral festival (winter solstice). Some of the elements of modern Christmas were a part of the Roman holiday known as “the Feast of Saturnalia.”

Clement of Alexandria, at the end of the second century, noted the lack of agreement on the exact birth date of Jesus (Stromata, 1.21). Even today some believers celebrate January 6, not December 25 (i.e., Eastern Orthodox, Armenian Orthodox).

Luk 2:9 “an angel of the Lord” This angel seems to be separate from the heavenly hosts who later speak or sing. The KJV has the definite article, but it is not in the Greek text. This exact Greek phrase is used of the angel who appeared to Zacharias in the Holy Place (see note at Luk 1:11).

“the glory of the Lord” This phrase is often used in the Septuagint to denote the glorious personal presence of YHWH (cf. Exo 16:7; Exo 16:10; Exo 24:16; Exo 40:34-38; Num 16:19).

SPECIAL TOPIC: GLORY (DOXA)

“stood before them” This same verb is used of the two angels at the Ascension (cf. Luk 24:4).

“shone around them” This same word is used by Paul of his Damascus road experience in Act 26:13. These are the only two occurrences of the term in the NT; it does not appear at all in the Septuagint. I wonder if Luke got the term, which describes God’s glorious presence, from hearing Paul’s testimony so many times?

NASB”they were terribly frightened”

NKJV”they were greatly afraid”

NRSV, NJB”they were terrified”

NJB”they were terribly afraid”

The Greek phrase is literally “they feared a great fear.” The verb and the object are the same term. This is called a “cognate accusative.” The sight of the spiritual realm always frightens fallen humanity.

Luk 2:10 “Do not be afraid” This is a present imperative with the negative particle, which usually means to stop an act already in process. This is a very common angelic greeting to frightened humanity (cf. Luk 1:13; Luk 1:30).

“good news of great joy” Their “great fear” is now balanced with “great joy.”

The word translated “good news” (euangeliz, cf. Luk 1:19) is a combination of the words “good” and “message.” It is used often in the Septuagint for preaching a glad message (cf. 1Sa 31:9; 2Sa 1:20; 2Sa 4:10; 2Sa 18:19-20; 2Sa 18:31; 1Ki 1:42; Psa 39:10). It came to be used in a technical sense for preaching the gospel of Jesus Christ (cf. Luk 3:18; Luk 4:18; Luk 4:43; Luk 7:22; Luk 8:1; Luk 9:6; Luk 16:16; Luk 20:1; Act 5:42; Act 8:4; Act 8:12; Act 8:25; Act 8:35; Act 8:40; Act 10:36; Act 11:20; Act 13:32; Act 14:2; Act 14:15; Act 14:21; Act 15:35; Act 16:10; Act 17:18).

“for all the people” This was the promise of Gen 3:15; Gen 12:3; Exo 19:5-6; and of the eighth century prophets. This is the mystery hidden in ages past, but now fully revealed in Christ (cf. Eph 2:11 to Eph 3:13). This good news even reaches to outcast shepherds (and by implication to Luke’s Gentile readers)! This same universal emphasis is repeated and defined in Luk 2:32.

SPECIAL TOPIC: YHWH’s ETERNAL REDEMPTIVE PLAN

Luk 2:11 “for today” The NET Bible has a good comment about Luke’s use of “today” (cf. p. 1796, #9). Luke often uses it to denote the presence of the new age.

1. Luk 2:11 Christ’s birth

2. Luk 4:21 OT quotes from Isa 61:1-2 (at Luk 2:18-19)

3. Luk 5:26 Jesus’ healing of the leper (sign of the new age)

4. Luk 13:32-33 healings (sign of the new age)

5. Luk 19:9 salvation comes to Zaccheus’ house

6. Luk 23:43 with Jesus in Paradise

7. Act 4:9 healings of Peter denote the new age

8. Act 13:33 Jesus’ resurrection (sign of the new age, quote from Psa 2:7)

The new Messianic age, the age of the Spirit, has now broken into time!

“the city of David” This refers to Bethlehem. See note at Luk 2:4.

“Savior” This title was used of YHWH in the OT (cf. Luk 1:47; Isa 43:3; Isa 43:11; Isa 45:15; Isa 45:21; Isa 49:26; Isa 60:16). In the Roman Empire it was used of Caesar. The word in Hebrew means “deliverer” (BDB 446) and is part of the name of Jesus (i.e., Hosea, BDB 448). This and Luk 1:47 are surprisingly the only use of this term in the Synoptic Gospels.

The fact that Jesus the carpenter from Nazareth is called by two major OT titles of YHWH (Savior and Lord) is striking. When you add the title Messiah (Christ), it is obvious that Luke is piling affirmation on affirmation of the deity of Jesus. The Synoptics, especially Mark, tend to hide Jesus’ deity until the end. John clearly and forcefully asserts Jesus’ pre-existence and deity in Joh 1:1-18. Luke, by using these titles, sets the theological stage for Gentiles (the audience for both John’s and Luke’s Gospels) to comprehend who Jesus was/is.

“Christ” The literal meaning is “Anointed One” from the verb chri. It refers to the Coming King (Mashiach, Psa 2:2; Psa 18:50; Psa 84:9; Psa 89:49-51; Psa 132:10; Psa 132:17) who will be called and equipped to do God’s will in initiating the restoration and the New Age. The Hebrew term is translated in Greek as “Christ.”

SPECIAL TOPIC: ANOINTING IN THE BIBLE (BDB 603)

SPECIAL TOPIC: MESSIAH

“Lord”The Greek term “Lord” (kurios) can be used in a general sense or in a developed theological sense. It can mean “mister,” “sir,” “master,” “owner,” “husband” or “the full God-man” (cf. Joh 9:36; Joh 9:38). The OT (Hebrew, adon) usage of this term came from the Jews’ reluctance to pronounce the covenant name for God, YHWH, which was from the Hebrew verb “to be” (cf. Exo 3:14). They were afraid of breaking the Commandment which said, “Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord thy God in vain” (cf. Exo 20:7; Deu 5:11). They thought if they did not pronounce it, they could not take it in vain. So, they substituted the Hebrew word adon, which had a similar meaning to the Greek word kurios (Lord). The NT authors used this term to describe the full deity of Christ (e.g., Luk 2:11; Joh 20:28; Act 10:36; 1Co 2:8; Php 2:11; Jas 2:1; Rev 19:16). The phrase “Jesus is Lord” was the public confession of faith and a baptismal formula of the early church (cf. Rom 10:9-13; 1Co 12:3; Php 2:11). In Act 2:36 both Christ and Lord are used of Jesus.

See SPECIAL TOPIC: NAMES FOR DEITY at Luk 1:68.

Luk 2:12 “This will be a sign for you” One wonders if this was an intentional allusion to Isaiah 7. Zacharias and Mary had to believe without immediate confirmation, but these shepherds are given immediate confirmation. I wonder if they followed Jesus’ life and ministry, if they were in the crowds that followed Him. I am surprised we do not hear more about their eyewitness testimony.

“in a manger” There was nothing unusual about His clothing, but there was something unusual about the Messiah lying in an animal feeding trough!

Luk 2:13 “heavenly host” This is literally “army of heaven.” It reflects the Hebrew “sabbaoth,” which also has a military connotation (cf. Jos 5:14). See SPECIAL TOPIC: NAMES FOR DEITY at Luk 1:68.

Luk 2:14 “Glory to God in the highest” God is given glory for

1. His person (“in the highest”)

2. His good news (“peace among men”)

3. the sending of His Son

4. the good news of His finished work of redemption of fallen mankind)

God deserves glory (see Special Topic at Luk 2:9) and praise from creation and from His redeemed children!

There is some confusion as to the physical location of these angels. The first angel seems to have appeared on the earth next to the shepherds, but the large number of angels may have appeared in the sky. The text is ambiguous. The phrase “in the highest” refers to God, not the angels.

NASB”on earth peace among men with whom He is pleased”

NKJV”on earth peace, good will toward men”

NRSV”on earth peace among those whom he favors”

TEV”peace on earth to those with whom he is pleased”

NJB”on earth peace for those he favors”

There is a manuscript variant connected to the last word in Greek. The genitive form (cf. NASB, NRSV, TEV, NJB) is found in MSS *, A, B*, D and in the Greek text used by Cyril of Jerusalem, Jerome, and Augustine. The UBS4 gives this form an A (certain) rating. This grammatical construction is unusual for Koine Greek, but is a Semitic construction found in the Dead Sea Scrolls. The opening chapters of Luke have many of these Semitic constructions (cf. Bruce M. Metzger, A Textual Commentary on the Greek New Testament, p. 133), which may reflect Aramaic-written documents.

The familiar King James rendering gives the wrong theological impression. This is not a text on God’s love for all humanity like Luk 2:10; Joh 3:16; 1Ti 2:4; or 2Pe 3:9, but of God’s offer of peace to those who know Him and are involved in His kingdom. The gospel was not good news to many Jews of Jesus’ day, so it cannot refer to Israel alone. It is surely true that the mystery of God’s election and human free will is difficult to harmonize, but both are biblically true. We must not proof-text part of the NT tension, but fully embrace the tensionpreach God’s sovereignty to whosoever will receive! There is a tension between Luk 2:10 (whether Israel or humanity) and Luk 2:14!

SPECIAL TOPIC: Election/Predestination and the Need for a Theological Balance

Fuente: You Can Understand the Bible: Study Guide Commentary Series by Bob Utley

country = region where David fed his father’s sheep, when sent for by Samuel (1Sa 16:11, 1Sa 16:12).

over. Greek. epi. App-104.

Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics

8.] Mr. Greswell has made it highly probable (Diss. x. vol. i.) that our Lord was born on the evening of (i.e. which began) the 5th of April, the 10th of the Jewish Nisan: on which same day of April, and the 14th of Nisan, He suffered thirty-three years after. Before this time there would be abundance of grass in the pastures-the spring rains being over: but much after it, and till after the autumnal equinox again, the pastures would be comparatively bare: see note on Joh 6:10.

.] spending the night in the open field.

. . ., either, keeping watch by night, or, keeping the watches of the night. The former seems most probable: and so Meyer and Bleek: see ref. Xen., and add Alexis in Athen[19] xv. 58, p. 700- , .

[19] Athenagoras of Athens, 177

Fuente: The Greek Testament

Luk 2:8. , region) in which David also had fed his sheep.-, watch [plur.]) by turns.

Fuente: Gnomon of the New Testament

Chapter 13

The Message Of The Incarnation

The incarnation and birth of our Lord Jesus Christ is an undeniable fact of history. Let carping scoffers say and do what they will, it is a fact that cannot be denied. Yet, it is a fact the meaning of which very, very few understand. The meaning of the incarnation can be understood only by those who are taught of God. All spiritual knowledge comes by divine revelation. Those who are taught of God are well taught. But until a person is taught of God, he cannot know, discern, or understand anything spiritual (1Co 2:12-14). With that fact in mind, let us ever pray, as we open the Book of God, that God the Holy Spirit will teach us the wondrous things revealed in the Book. Here are four plain truths.

The Men Chosen

First, in Luk 2:8 we see the men chosen by God to whom the glad tidings of Christs birth first came and by whom the message of his birth was first proclaimed. And there were in the same country shepherds abiding in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night. The first announcement of Christs birth did not come to the princes, priests and educated men at Jerusalem. God passed by the scribes, Pharisees and Sadducees, and made himself and his word known to a few weak, uneducated, insignificant, poor, despised shepherds.

Here we see something of Gods method of grace. God is no respecter of persons. It is his common method of operation to pass by the high and mighty, and choose the poor and lowly. He normally passes by the wise and prudent, leaving them in the confusion of their imaginary brilliance, and reveals his grace and glory in Christ unto babes.

This is Gods common method of operation in all things. He chooses the most unlikely vessels to be vessels of mercy, and the most unlikely instruments to be the tools with which he performs his wondrous works in this world. Poverty is no barrier against grace. Lack of education, or even natural ability, is no barrier against usefulness. God has mercy on whom he will; and he uses whom he will (Jas 2:5; 1Co 1:26-29).

These men were shepherds, hardworking, labouring men, and worshippers of God. Honest labour is no barrier to divine worship. Really, there should be no need for that statement; but there are some who seem to think that piety is sitting at home, reading their Bibles, studying theology and letting other people assume their responsibilities. Nothing could be further from the truth. Our Lord teaches us plainly that men and women who neglect their families and responsibilities in the name of worshipping and serving God are liars and hypocrites who have denied the faith.

He who worships God best does so as he serves him in this world. Honest labour is no barrier to holiness. Diligent work is no hindrance to divine instruction. Moses was keeping sheep when God appeared to him in the bush, and called him to be a prophet. Gideon was threshing wheat when the Lord called him to deliver Israel. And Elisha was ploughing the field when the Lord God made him a prophet. In fact, I cannot find any place in the Book of God where any man ever volunteered to be a prophet, except a false prophet.

The Angelic Messengers

Second, in Luk 2:9-14 Luke tells us that the angel of the Lord was sent of God to announce our Saviours birth. Then, suddenly, a great multitude of angels appeared, praising God. The language used by the Spirit of God in this passage seems to suggest that all the host of heaven, all the angels of God, suddenly flew like a bolt of lightning to join in the praise of the incarnate God. It is written, When he bringeth in the firstbegotten into the world, he saith, And let all the angels of God worship him (Heb 1:6).

The first worshippers of the incarnate God were not the sinners he had come to save, but the angels of God who had never sinned. No doubt, there is much more here than I am able to grasp; but when I think of the entire host of heaven rushing to the earth to worship our Saviour, as he came into the world, two things are obvious: first, what great interest the angels of God have in the person and work of Christ! And, second, how greatly the angels of heaven must love Gods elect! They protect Gods chosen, preserving the elect unto salvation (Heb 1:14). They rejoice in the conversion of redeemed sinners (Luk 15:10). The angels meet with the assemblies of Gods saints, that they might learn from us the wonders of redemption (Eph 3:10). And they shall be gathered with us in the general assembly of elect men and elect angels in heaven (Heb 12:22-24).

The Message

Third, I want us to see and understand the message of the incarnation set before us in Luk 2:10-14. In Luk 2:10 we read, And the angel said unto them, Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people. The message of the incarnation is a message of good tidings. The gospel of the grace of God is not good advice. It is good news, good tidings. The coming of Christ to save his people reveals the good will and amazing love of God to his elect. The good tidings of grace declare that all the law and prophets are fulfilled in Christ. These are good tidings of great joy, of joy unspeakable and full of glory, the everlasting joy and peace of Gods salvation.

The good tidings of grace proclaimed in the gospel are to all the people. The words, which shall be to all the people, do not suggest that the gospel brings joy to all without exception. The gospel does not bring joy to all men. It brought no joy to Herod, the Scribes, the Pharisees, or the Sadducees. To some it brings greater condemnation. To the reprobate and unbelieving, it is a savour of death unto death. But it does bring this great joy to all nations, to all Gods elect, scattered among the nations, and to all needy sinners everywhere.

The message of the incarnation is the proclamation of the sovereign Lord who has come to save his people from their sins. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord (Luk 2:11). The you unto whom Christ was born, whom he came to save, is Gods elect, his people, the seed of Abraham (Isa 9:6; Heb 2:14-16). This One of whom the angel spoke is a Saviour. A Saviour is one who saves, not one who merely tries to save, or merely offers salvation. Our Lord Jesus Christ is the Lord Jesus Christ, our Saviour!

He is the Christ, Gods anointed. The man who is our Saviour, anointed of God, is himself the Lord. He is the Lord our God, the Lord our Righteousness, and the Lord of all. He is the Lord and the Saviour of whom Isaiah spoke. Luke, writing by divine inspiration in Luk 2:12, tells us pointedly that the virgin and her child, of whom Isaiah spoke (Isa 7:14), is Mary and the Lord Jesus, her virgin born child. And this shall be a sign unto you; Ye shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger.

The message of the incarnation, the message of the gospel is the revelation and declaration of the glory of God in Christ. And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God, and saying, Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men (Luk 2:13-14). The psalmist declared that his glory would be great in Gods salvation (Psa 21:5); and it is! The gospel is called the gospel of the glory of God. We see the wisdom and power of God in creation. We see the justice and truth of God in the law. We know something about the holiness and righteousness of God by nature. But the glory of God is nowhere seen so clearly as it is revealed in the coming, obedience and death of the Lord Jesus Christ as the sinners Substitute.

Only in Christ crucified do we see how God can be both a just God and a Saviour (Isa 45:20; Rom 3:24-26). Only at Calvary do we see all the infinite perfections of Gods glorious, holy Being in complete and perfect harmony. We see his wisdom and prudence in the scheme of redemption. His mercy, love and grace are made manifest in giving his Son to be our sin-atoning sacrifice. We behold his justice and truth in the execution of our blessed Redeemer, when he was made sin for us. And we see and know his immutable faithfulness in forgiving sin for Christs sake. The Lord God has saved us for his names sake (Psa 106:8; Eph 1:3-14); and he shall show forth the greatness of his glory in us in the last day (Eph 2:7).

The gospel, the message of the incarnation, is the proclamation on earth of peace on earth peace. The gospel nowhere promises political peace, civil peace, domestic peace, or carnal peace of any kind. Just the opposite. Our Lord said, I came not to send peace, but a sword. The peace which has come to the earth is Christ himself, who is our Peace (Eph 2:14). Jesus Christ our Lord, our Daysman, our Mediator, our Substitute has made peace between the holy Lord God and fallen, guilty sinners, by the blood of his cross. He has made a legal and a lasting peace for us; and Christ, who is our peace, gives us peace, peace which passeth all understanding (Php 4:7). He gives us the peace of his pardon, the peace of his providence and the peace of his presence. And our blessed Saviour establishes and maintains peace between men (Col 3:10-11).

The message of the incarnation is Gods good will towards man. The Holy Spirit does not leave us to guess what that good will of God toward man is. This is not a book in which we must fill in the blanks. God the Holy Spirit tells us exactly what the good will of God is. Gods good will is the salvation of his elect by Christ Jesus, for the everlasting praise and glory of his own great name (Joh 6:37-40; Eph 1:3-12).

Obedient Faith

Fourth, we must not overlook the obedience of faith exemplified in these shepherds in Luk 2:15-19.

And it came to pass, as the angels were gone away from them into heaven, the shepherds said one to another, Let us now go even unto Bethlehem, and see this thing which is come to pass, which the Lord hath made known unto us. And they came with haste, and found Mary, and Joseph, and the babe lying in a manger. And when they had seen it, they made known abroad the saying which was told them concerning this child. And all they that heard it wondered at those things which were told them by the shepherds. But Mary kept all these things, and pondered them in her heart.

They had Gods Word. Their duty was plain. No doubt the messengers were unusual. The message of God was given in an unusual way. Yet, without a moments hesitation, without the least hint of doubt or question, they did exactly what God told them to do.

When our path of duty is clear, when we know what the will of the Lord is, when we know what he would have us to do, we must not confer with flesh and blood. Obedience is always right.

These shepherds did not stop and say to themselves or one another, Who will take care of our sheep? Someone must keep them from the wolves. They left their sheep in the care of him who told them to go to Bethlehem. Let us do the same.

God has called me to preach the gospel. That is my responsibility. I am his servant. If I would serve him faithfully, I must leave the care of my family in his hands. Anything less on my part would be disobedience. In fact, the Lord God has specifically promised that none shall ever suffer loss by obeying him (Exo 34:23-24).

As with these shepherds, our journeys end will be glorious. Our pilgrimage through this world, begun in faith, will end in praise. And the shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things that they had heard and seen, as it was told unto them (Luk 2:20). So it shall be with us (Rev 19:1-6).

Fuente: Discovering Christ In Selected Books of the Bible

abiding: Gen 31:39, Gen 31:40, Exo 3:1, Exo 3:2, 1Sa 17:34, 1Sa 17:35, Psa 78:70, Psa 78:71, Eze 34:8, Joh 10:8-12

watch over their flock by night: or, the night-watches

Reciprocal: Gen 35:21 – tower Mat 1:20 – the angel

Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge

THE ANGELIC VISION

And there were shepherds in the same country abiding in the field, and keeping watch by night over their flock. And an angel of the Lord stood by them, and the glory of the Lord shone round about them.

Luk 2:8-9 (R.V.)

Let us think about a few things concerning the appearance to the shepherds.

I. Announced by angels.The coming of the Lord was announced by angels. It was impossible that it should not be accompanied by some trailing clouds of the glory of heaven; the angels, they told His birthit could not be otherwise; angels, they must accompany their King; angels, they must for one moment say their say to men before they returned and left Him in the home that He had chosen to be His.

II. Upon earth.The angels did not sing in the mid-space where they were not to be heard by the ears of men, or seen by mortal eyes, but they announced it upon earth, for there was to be the sphere of their Lords captivity, and the object of His coming was that He might dwell upon earth.

III. In the night.Not in the broad glare of day, not where all men might see and gaze astonished for a moment, and then turn upon their paces and be gone. No; in the quietness and stillness of the night, that men might know that the meaning of this great event that had come to pass was not to be caught by the eye of sinners, not to be apprehended by the natural man, not to be seen by every one, but only by those who lent themselves to its meaning.

IV. To shepherds.Not to the scribe in his study poring over his books; not to the Pharisee, enjoying himself in luxurious ease; not to the great ones of the earth, amidst their schemes and their intrigues for political or other objects; but to the simple ones, to the shepherds intent upon their business, living a toilsome life, and spending that life in the discharge of duty. The angels appeared not to mankind universallythey would not have listened to thembut they appeared to individuals.

(a) The Gospel message is an individual message.

(b) The Gospel message is an appeal to faith, just as the message of the angels was an appeal to the faith of the shepherds.

Bishop Creighton.

Fuente: Church Pulpit Commentary

The Search of the Shepherds

Luk 2:8-18

INTRODUCTORY WORDS

The Christmas story from any angle is most interesting. We are to study, “The Search of the Shepherds.”

The study is well named, for the duty of the shepherd is to search for the sheep that go astray.

We remember that wonderful song, “There Were Ninety and Nine.” The song describes the ninety and nine lying safely within the shelter of the fold, while one was out on the hills away, lost and wandering. The Shepherd in this song, is Christ, and He passes on through the “thorns” of Calvary until, at last, He finds the sheep, and, placing it on His shoulders, brings it home with rejoicings.

We remember that Christ is the Good Shepherd of the sheep, because He gives His life for the sheep; that He is the Great Shepherd, because He came forth from the grave in resurrection power; and that He is the Chief Shepherd in His glorious Second Coming.

We need not marvel, therefore, that the Lord came to certain shepherds who were in that same country watching their sheep by night. The Good, and the Great, and the Chief Shepherd of the sheep, came to the underling shepherds who were faithfully fulfilling their task.

1. God, in sending the angel to the shepherds, was, in fact, suggesting that He was sending Christ, the Shepherd of Israel, to die for His sheep.

2. The shepherds, in seeking the Lord’s Shepherd, and in worshiping Him, were acknowledging the supremacy of the Heavenly Shepherd over the earthly shepherds. There are shepherds many, but there is but One, who is Chief. Even in the church, pastors are called shepherds (1Pe 5:2-4), but they all are subservient to the Chief Shepherd, who will soon appear with His crown for the under-shepherds.

3. Christ was the Lamb of God, and the shepherds were seeking for the Heavenly Lamb. We know that Christ was announced, in after years, by John the Baptist as, “The Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world.” He, then, who was Shepherd, was also Lamb.

This is one of God’s paradoxes; the Shepherd of the sheep, went like a lamb to the slaughter; and the Shepherd was like a sheep standing dumb before His shearers.

Thus, the great Bible doctrine of substitution is set forth in striking symbolism. He who was Shepherd, becomes Lamb. He who was the Shepherd seeking the sheep which was lost, becomes the Lamb “lost” for us; bearing our sins; while the “shepherds of the country” came seeking Him.

I. “LET US * * GO.”

The words “Let us go” are found in Luk 2:15. They were spoken by the shepherds on that memorable day of Christ’s birth. We will pick up the threads and seek to discover the reason for the shepherds’ words.

Why did the shepherds say, “Let us go”?

In the near-by country, lying around Bethlehem, there were shepherds keeping watch over their flocks by night. “And, lo, the angel of the Lord came upon them, and the glory of the Lord shone round about them: and they were sore afraid.” Then the angel said unto them, “Behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord.”

No sooner had the announcement of the angel of the Lord been ended, and the fact been given that the Babe would be found wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger; than, “suddenly, there was with the angel a multitude of the Heavenly host praising God, and saying, Glory to God in the Highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men.” When this great sight was completed and the Heavenly glory that surrounded them had past, the shepherds said, “Let us go.”

How many of you would have liked to have gone with those shepherds, in search of the Lord’s Christ? The wise men came from afar, seeking Him who was born King of the Jews. Would you have been happy to have joined them in their journey over the sands seeking the Christ Child?

Certainly you would! Even today after the lapse of almost two thousand years, your heart thrills with joy as you join in the singing of carols unto Him.

Certainly you would, and yet, we wonder if you have really come to Him, and have opened your heart to receive Him as your Lord.

Jesus said once, “Come unto Me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.” Did you answer, “I will go”? Then, did you go to Him? The prodigal son said, “I will arise and go to my father, and will say unto him, Father I have sinned against Heaven, and before thee.” What followed? “And he arose and came to his father.”

Have you come from the far country seeking the Lord? Have you found Him? Are you at home with the Lord; saved, robed and satisfied?

How many, in the days of old, came to Jesus seeking salvation and healing? Come, let us join them, and seek the Lord. Let us sing that good old song which our mother sang, and our father loved:

“I will arise and go to Jesus,

He will embrace me in His arms;

In the arms of my dear Saviour,

Oh, there are ten thousand charms.”

II. “LET US NOW GO.”

We have added one word of three letters, to the theme of the first part. That little word is most vital in our decisions to go to Christ. The word is, “now.”

There was no thought of delay with the shepherds, no desire to procrastinate. They said let us now go. Does the same spirit of prompt decision, and of immediate action rest with all who hear this word?

1. NOW is God’s time. “Behold, now is the accepted time; behold now, is the day of salvation” (2Co 6:2).

We live in one eternal now; we cannot climb over now; we cannot pass around now; we cannot crawl under now. We have no other time than now.

2. TOMORROW is a fool’s word. “Go to now, ye that say, To day or to morrow we will go into such a city, and continue there a year, and buy and sell, and get gain; whereas ye know not what shall be on the morrow” (Jam 4:13-14).

Our life is but a vapour which appeareth for a little time and then vanisheth away. How dare we, then, waste our little now. Shall we say, “When I have a more convenient season”? Do we know that such a season will ever be ours?

3. Today is the time for decision. Joshua said, “Choose you this day whom ye will serve” (Jos 24:15). If we are not coming at God’s time, when will we come? How long will we halt between two opinions? if God be God, let us follow Him.

Is it right for us to say, “Not now, by and by,” when God says today? “To day if ye will hear His voice, harden not your hearts” (Heb 3:15).

We entered once a lawyer’s office. On his desk stood a motto beautifully framed. The motto read: “Do it now.” We asked him if the motto meant much to him? He said that it meant success in business. Shall we have a weaker motto in things which relate to eternal life?

III. “EVEN UNTO BETHLEHEM.”

The shepherds said, “Let us now go even unto Bethlehem.” They purposed in their heart to go all of the way. There was no thought of stopping short of a full obedience. How many there are who fall by the wayside!

1. The prodigal son came to his father. First of all he said, “I will arise and go to my father.” Did he fall short of his purpose? Not he. “He arose and came to his father.” Beloved, you dare not loiter by the way. Until you have found certain salvation in Christ and have experienced a real salvation, cease not your search. To tarry on the doorstep of peace and life, is sheer folly. Go even unto Bethlehem.

2. To start, and then to fall back, is folly. Christ said, “No man, having put his hand to the plough, and looking back, is fit for the Kingdom of God” (Luk 9:62).

Shall we say, “I will follow Thee, but let me first go and bid them farewell, which are at home at my house”? Shall we say, “Lord, suffer me first to go and bury my father”?

Paul wrote to the Galatians, “Ye did run well; who did hinder you that ye should not obey the Truth?” They had started, but turned back and had become entangled again in a yoke of bondage. Is it not better, not to have known the way of righteousness, than, having known it, to turn away from it? Herod heard John and heard him gladly. He even observed John and did many things; but Herod was not willing to give up his brother Philip’s wife, whom he had wrongfully married. Let us go “even unto Bethlehem.”

3. To faint by the way, is to fail to reap our harvest. There is a message here for Christians as well as for the unsaved. We read in God’s Book: “Let us not be weary in well doing, for in due season we shall reap, if we faint not.”

How many Christians fall by the wayside! How many are like the seed among thorns, which proved unfruitful because the cares of this life, the pleasures of the world, and deceitfulness of riches choked their growth! We need to go through with God-even unto Bethlehem.

IV. “LET US SEE THIS THING WHICH HAS COME TO PASS.”

Truly a great “sight” was to be found in Bethlehem. There in a manger was a Saviour, who was Christ the Lord. There in a manger was “God, manifest in flesh.” There in a manger was, “Immanuel,” God with us.

1. We wonder if Christmas revelers fail to see this GREAT “THING” in the Christ of the manger? We sing our carols and do homage to the Babe of Bethlehem. Do we remember that that Babe was the fulfillment of Isaiah’s prophecy: “Unto us a Child is born, unto us a Son is given; and the government shall be upon His shoulder”? That Babe, according to the Prophet, was to be called, “Wonderful, Counsellor; The Mighty God, The Everlasting Father, The prince of peace.” Do we recognize Him as such?

2. We wonder if Christmas revelers see in “this thing, which has come to pass,” “a Saviour, which is Christ the

Lord”? If a ship was sinking slowly but surely at sea, could a greater sight be seen than a “saviour ship” heaving to, for the rescue? No marvel that the Angel of the Lord said, “I bring you good tidings of great joy!” No marvel that the shepherds said, “This thing which has come to pass”! God had given promise that the Seed of the woman should bruise the head of Satan; now that promise had come to pass.

Isaiah, in the Spirit, had written, “Behold a virgin shall conceive, and bear a Son, and shalt call His name Immanuel”: now that “thing” had come to pass.

Micah, in the Holy Spirit, wrote, “But thou, Bethlehem Ephratah, though thou be little among the thousands of Judah, yet out of thee shall He come forth unto Me, that is to be ruler in Israel; whose goings forth have been from of old, from everlasting”: now that very “thing” had come to pass.

V. “THEY CAME * * AND FOUND * * THE BABE.”

Let us mark three things:

1. They came-obedient to the word of the angel. They came-they put action to their conviction. They came to the place where they were told to come-to Bethlehem, to the city of David. Let us look for Christ, where He is to be found. The women sought for Him in the sepulcher, but the two angels said, “He is not here, but is risen.”

Today we can not find Jesus the Lord where the shepherds found Him, in a manger. Today we cannot find Him in the, grave, where the women failed to find Him. He is now at the Father’s right hand, exalted a Prince and a Saviour.

2. They came with haste. They had the urge within them to hurry. They did not want any event to take away the Lord before they arrived.

Suppose that Bartimaeus had stopped his cry for help when many bade him to hold his peace-he never would have seen Christ; for that day Jesus was passing through Jericho for the last time.

3. They came and found Mary, and Joseph, and the Babe. The word spoken by angels was sure and steadfast. Nothing said by angels needs to be unsaid, or modified. The word spoken by the Prophets, in the Holy Spirit, is likewise sure and steadfast. This first coming was fulfilled, according to the word spoken by the angel. Christ’s Second Coming will be just as faithfully fulfilled. Not one word shall fail.

We wonder how many of you have come and found the Saviour? Hear this promise, Then shall ye “find Me, when ye shall search for me with all your heart.”

VI. “THE BABE LYING IN A MANGER.”

What surprises cling to the birth of Christ! His humble parentage-(Mary, the wife of a carpenter). His humble village of birth-(Bethlehem, little among the cities of Judah). His humble crib-(Ye shall find the Babe in a manger). Let us linger awhile in the stable and view the manger.

Oh, my soul, be hushed, and wonder,

In the manger, on the hay,

Mid the cattle and the plunder,

Christ the infant Child doth lay.

Why was He laid in the manger?

1. There was no room for Him in the inn. Christ had come to the world, and the world was made by Him, but the world knew Him not. Christ had come to His own, and His own received Him not.

2. There was, in the manger, a token that He was easy of access. Had He been laid in a cradle, bedecked with the jewels of royalty, the shepherds and the common people had been more than afraid to have sought Him not. Where is he who would not seek the Lord, in a manger?

3. The “manger” spoke of His humiliation. He humbled Himself, and came in fashion as a man. He was God, but was God bending low to the lowly.

4. The environment of His cradle-the cattle, told that He was to mix and mingle with sinners-seeking the lost that He might redeem them.

VII. THEY RETURNED PRAISING GOD

Thank God for the happy climax! Is it not always thus? He who finds the Christ, and worships Him, will find in Him, “all joy.”

1. They rejoiced because they had proved God and found Him true. They knew that they had not been deceived by the angel. They were assured in their own minds that the word of God was “yea and amen.” Beloved, let us know that God’s word is forever settled in heaven.

2. They rejoiced because the fact that they had found the Babe according to the word of the angel, made what the angel said ABOUT the Christ also “yea and amen.” That is-They had found more than a Babe-they had found a Saviour who was “Christ the Lord.”

3. They rejoiced, because they realized that in that Babe there was God’s promise of “good will to men.” The far-reaching results of the birth of that holy Babe, we know today, better than they knew; yet they knew that He was a Child of destiny-a deliverer of Israel from her woes.

4. They rejoiced and glorified God. They rejoiced and shared with others their joy. They certainly told abroad what they had heard and seen. Let us go and do likewise.

Fuente: Neighbour’s Wells of Living Water

8

The shepherds were guarding their flocks from robbers and wolves.

Fuente: Combined Bible Commentary

And there were in the same country shepherds abiding in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night.

[And there were shepherds keeping watch over their flock; etc.] These are the sheep of the wilderness; viz. Those which go out to pasture about the time of the Passover, and are fed in the fields, and return home upon the first rain.

“Which is the first rain? It begins on the third of the month Marchesvan. The middle rain is on the seventh: the last on the seventeenth. So R. Meier: but R. Judah saith, On the seventh, seventeenth, and one-and-twentieth.”

The spring coming on, they drove their beasts into wildernesses or champaign grounds, where they fed them the whole summer, keeping watch over them night and day, that they might not be impaired either by thieves or ravenous beasts. They had for this purpose their tower to watch in; or else certain small cottages erected for this very end, as we have observed elsewhere. Now in the month Marchesvan, which is part of our October and part of November, the winter coming on, they betook themselves home again with the flocks and the herds.

Fuente: Lightfoot Commentary Gospels

WE read, in these verses, how the birth of the Lord Jesus was first announced to the children of men. The birth of a king’s son is generally made an occasion of public reveling and rejoicing. The announcement of the birth of the Prince of Peace was made privately, at midnight, and without anything of worldly pomp and ostentation.

Let us mark who they were to whom the tidings first came that Christ was born. They were “shepherds abiding in the field near Bethlehem, keeping watch over their flocks by night.” To shepherds-not to priests and rulers,-to shepherds-not to Scribes and Pharisees, an angel appeared, proclaiming, “unto you is born this day a Savior, which is Christ the Lord.”

The saying of James should come into our mind, as we read these words: Hath not God chosen the poor of this world, rich in faith and heirs of the kingdom, which he hath promised to them that love him.” (Jam 2:5.) The want of money debars no one from spiritual privileges. The things of God’s kingdom are often hid from the great and noble, and revealed to the poor. The busy labor of the hands need not prevent a man being favored with special communion with God. Moses was keeping sheep,-Gideon was threshing wheat,-Elisha was ploughing, when they were severally honored by direct calls and revelations from God. Let us resist the suggestion of Satan, that religion is not for the working man. The weak of the world are often called before the mighty. The last are often first, and the first last.

Let us mark, secondly, the language used by the angel in announcing Christ’s birth to the shepherds. He said, “I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people.”

We need not wonder at these words. The spiritual darkness which had covered the earth for four thousand years, was about to be rolled away. The way to pardon and peace with God was about to be thrown open to all mankind. The head of Satan was about to be bruised. Liberty was about to be proclaimed to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind. The mighty truth was about to be proclaimed that God could be just, and yet, for Christ’s sake, justify the ungodly. Salvation was no longer to be seen through types and figures, but openly, and face to face. The knowledge of God was no longer to be confined to the Jews, but to be offered to the whole Gentile world. The days of heathenism were numbered. The first stone of God’s kingdom was about to be set up. If this was not “good tidings,” there never were tidings that deserved the name.

Let us mark, thirdly, who they were that first praised God, when Christ was born. They were angels, and not men,-angels who had never sinned, and needed no Savior,-angels who had not fallen, and required no redeemer, and no atoning blood. The first hymn to the honor of “God manifest in the flesh,” was sung by “a multitude of the heavenly host.”

Let us note this fact. It is full of deep spiritual lessons. It shows us what good servants the angels are. All that their heavenly Master does pleases and interests them.-It shows us what clear knowledge they have. They know what misery sin has brought into creation. They know the blessedness of heaven, and the privilege of an open door into it.-Above all, it shows us the deep love and compassion which the angels feel towards poor lost man. They rejoice in the glorious prospect of many souls being saved, and many brands plucked from the burning.

Let us strive to be more like-minded with the angels. Our spiritual ignorance and deadness appear most painfully in our inability to enter into the joy which we see them here expressing. Surely if we hope to dwell with them forever in heaven, we ought to share something of their feelings while we are here upon earth. Let us seek a more deep sense of the sinfulness and misery of sin, and then we shall have a more deep sense of thankfulness for redemption.

Let us mark, fourthly, the hymn of praise which the heavenly host sung in the hearing of the shepherds. They said, “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will towards men.”

These famous words are variously interpreted. Man is by nature so dull in spiritual things, that it seems as if he cannot understand a sentence of heavenly language when he hears it. Yet a meaning may be drawn from the words which is free from any objection, and is not only good sense, but excellent theology, “Glory to God in the highest!” the song begins. Now is come the highest degree of glory to God, by the appearing of His Son Jesus Christ in the world. He by His life and death on the cross will glorify God’s attributes,-justice, holiness, mercy, and wisdom,-as they never were glorified before. Creation glorified God, but not so much as redemption.

“Peace on earth!” the song goes on. Now is come to earth the peace of God which passeth all understanding,-the perfect peace between a holy God and sinful man, which Christ was to purchase with His own blood,-the peace which is offered freely to all mankind,-the peace which, once admitted into the heart, makes men live at peace one with another, and will one day overspread the whole world.

“Good will towards men!” the song concludes. Now is come the time when God’s kindness and good will towards guilty man is to be fully made known. His power was seen in creation. His justice was seen in the flood. But His mercy remained to be fully revealed by the appearing and atonement of Jesus Christ.

Such was the purport of the angels’ song. Happy are they that can enter into its meaning, and with their hearts subscribe to its contents. The man who hopes to dwell in heaven, should have some experimental acquaintance with the language of its inhabitants.

Let us mark, ere we leave the passage, the prompt obedience to the heavenly vision displayed by the shepherds. We see in them no doubts, or questionings, or hesitation. Strange and improbable as the tidings might seem, they at once act upon them. They went to Bethlehem in haste. They found everything exactly as it had been told them. Their simple faith received a rich reward. They had the mighty privilege of being the first of all mankind, after Mary and Joseph, who saw with believing eyes the new-born Messiah. They soon returned, “glorifying and praising God” for what they had seen.

May our spirit be like theirs! May we ever believe implicitly, act promptly, and wait for nothing, when the path of duty is clear! So doing, we shall have a reward like that of the shepherds. The journey that is begun in faith, will generally end in praise.

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Notes-

v8.-[Shepherds abiding in the field, &c.] It has been argued from these words, that our Lord could not have been born on Christmas day, because it was not the custom of the Jews to keep flocks in the field in winter. It may be doubted whether the argument is quite conclusive. At any rate, Jacob complains of “frost by night,” when he kept the flock of Laban, in the neighbouring country of Padan Aram. (Gen 31:40.) However, it is an undeniable fact that the precise month or day of our Lord’s nativity is not known. Every month in the year has found its advocates, in the conjectures made on the subject. Certainty about it there is none. Had it been good for us to know the day, God would have told us. For keeping Christmas we have no authority but that of the church.

v10.-[All people.] It may be questioned whether this expression was not meant to apply specially and primarily to the Jews. It would be translated more literally, “to all the people.”

v12.-[The babe.] There can be no doubt that this expression would have been better translated, “a babe.” The whole context, no less than the absence of the Greek article, shows the propriety of this.

v14.-[Good will.] The word and thing here are the same that we find in Eph 1:5, Eph 1:9. The meaning is that “good will and good pleasure of God” towards man, which is revealed in His Son Jesus Christ.-It is the same as the “kindness and love of God” in Tit 3:4, and the “love of God” in Joh 3:16.

v15.-[See this thing which is come to pass.] The word translated “this thing,” might also be rendered “this saying.” The commentary of Ambrose on this passage is a curious proof that the Fathers were anything but infallible. He actually regards “this thing” as the personal Word, the Son of God! A very slight acquaintance with Greek will show that this sense of the word is impossible. Even the Romish commentator Barradius is obliged to confess, that in this comment Ambrose erred.

v16.-[They came with haste.] There is a touching comment on this conduct of the shepherds, in a letter of Bishop Hooper’s to certain “godly and faithful prisoners, which were taken together at prayer in a house in Bow Churchyard.” He says, “Read the second chapter of Luke, and there ye shall see how the shepherds that watched their sheep all night, as soon as they heard that Christ was born at Bethlehem, by and bye must go to see him. They did not reason nor debate with themselves who should keep the wolf from the sheep in the meantime, but did as they were commanded, and committed their sheep to him whose pleasure they obeyed. So let us do, now we be called; let us commit all other things unto him that called us. He will take heed that all things shall be well. He will help the husband; he will comfort the wife. He will guide the servants; he will keep the house; he will preserve the goods; yea, rather than it should be undone, he will wash the dishes, and rock the cradle. Cast, therefore, all your care upon God.”-Hooper’s Works. Parker Edit. vol. ii. 617.

Fuente: Ryle’s Expository Thoughts on the Gospels

Luk 2:8. Shepherds, i.e., some shepherds, probably chosen because they too like Simeon were waiting for the consolation of Israel (Luk 2:25). The Shepherd of Israel cares for His flock; while sending a Saviour to the whole world, He satisfied the secret yearnings of this humble company. His care is as minute as it is extensive.

Keeping watch over their flock by night. This might have been in December. The Jewish Rabbins indeed say that flocks were taken out in March and brought home in November, but this probably refers to far-off pastures. During the rainy season from November to March, according to the testimony of trustworthy observers, there generally occurs an interval of dry weather (between the middle of December and the middle of February), when of course the grass is green. The exact date cannot be fixed. The traditional date (December 25) is of late origin, and Christmas was not celebrated in the Church till after the middle of the fourth century, and seems to have been substituted for a series of heathen festivals (see Schaff: Church History, vol. ii., p. 395 ff.). The anniversary is of less antiquity, of less importance and accuracy, than Easter, which was observed from the earliest times. In the early Church there was no agreement as to the time of Christs birth, and quite as little among modern chronologists. The Saviour was born in the fulness of time, just when He was most needed, and when the Jewish and Gentile world was fully prepared for this central fact and turning-point in history. The 25th of December may have been selected for poetic and symbolical fitness. At that season the longest night gives way to the returning sun on his triumphant march, just as Christ appeared in the darkest night of sin and error as the true Light of the world.

Fuente: A Popular Commentary on the New Testament

Here we have the promulgation and first publishing of our Saviour’s birth to the world: The angel said unto the shepherds, I bring you glad tidings, a Saviour is born.

Where observe, 1. The messenger employed by God to publish the joyful news of a Saviour’s birth; the holy angels, heavenly messengers employed about a heavenly work: it is worth our notice, how serviceable the angels were to Christ upon all occasions, when he was here upon earth; an angel declares his conception; a host of angels publish his birth; in his temptation, an angel strengthens him; in his agony, an angel comforts him; at his resurrection, an angel rolls away the stone from the door of the sepulchre; at his ascension, the angels attend him up to heaven; and at his second coming to judge the world, he shall be revealed from heaven with his mighty angels. And great reason there is, that the angels should be thus officious in their attendances upon Christ, who is a head of confirmation to them, as he was a head of redemption to fallen man.

Observe, 2. The persons to whom this joyful message of a Saviour’s birth is first brought, and they are the shepherds; The angel said unto the shepherds, Fear not.

1. Because Christ, the great shepherd of his church, was come into the world.

2. Because he was of old promised unto shepherds, the old patriarchs, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, who by their occupation were shepherds.

Observe, 3. The time when these shepherds had the honour of this revelation; it was not when they were asleep on their beds of idleness and sloth, but when they were lying abroad, and watching their flocks.

The blessings of heaven usually meet us in the way of an honest and industrious diligence; whereas the idle are fit for nothing but temptation to work upon. If these shepherds had been snoring in their beds, they had no more seen angels, nor yet heard the news of a Saviour, than their neighbours.

Observe, 4. The nature and quality of the message which the angel brought; it was a message of joy, a message of great joy, a message of great joy unto all people.

For here was born a Son, that Son a Prince, that Prince a Saviour, that Saviour not a particular Saviour of the Jews only, but an universal Saviour, whose salvation is to the ends of the earth. Well might the angel call it a message, or glad tidings of great joy unto all people!

Observe, 5. The ground and occasion of this joy, the foundation of all this good news, which was proclaimed in the ears of a lost world; and that was, the birth of a Saviour; Unto you is born this day, in the city of David, a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord.

Hence learn, 1. That the incarnation and birth of our Lord Jesus Christ, and his manifestation in our flesh and nature, was and is matter of exceeding joy and rejoicing unto all people.

2. That the great end and design of our Lord’s incarnation and coming into the world, was to be the Saviour of lost sinners; “Unto you is born a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord.”

Fuente: Expository Notes with Practical Observations on the New Testament

Luk 2:8. And there were in the same country shepherds abiding in the field Here we see, that as Abraham and David, to whom the promise of the Messiah was first made, were shepherds, so the completion of this promise was first revealed to shepherds. Keeping watch over their flocks by night Which it was necessary they should do, to guard against the wolves and other beasts of prey, common there. The original words, , may be more literally rendered, watching the watches of the night. These watches were four; the first is mentioned, Lam 2:19; the second and third, Luk 12:38; and the fourth, Mat 14:25; being the morning watch. It seems there was a considerable number of the shepherds together here, for the expression implies that they watched by turns according to these divisions of the night. As it is not probable, says Dr. Doddridge, that they exposed their flocks to the coldness of winter nights in that climate, where, as Dr. Shaw (Trav., p. 379) has shown, they were so very unwholesome, it may be strongly argued from this circumstance that those who have fixed upon December for the birth of Christ have been mistaken in the time of it. The birth of Christ has been placed in every month of the year. The Egyptians placed it in January Wagenseil, in February Bochart, in March some mentioned by Clement of Alexandria, in April others, in May Epiphanius speaks of some who placed it in June and others who supposed it to have been in July Wagenseil, who was not sure of February, fixed it probably in August Lightfoot, on the 15th of September Scaliger, Casaubon, and Calvisius, in October others, in November. But the Latin Church, being infallible in judgment, and supreme in power, has settled the matter by declaring that he was born on the 25th of December. See Labbi, Concil. Fabricii, Bibliot. Antiq., cap. 10. It is happy for us that the particular day and hour, or even year, in which he was born is not necessary to be ascertained in order to our salvation; nor at all material to true religion. It is sufficient for us to know that he was born, was made flesh, and dwelt among us, assumed our nature, and in consequence thereof is become an all-sufficient Saviour and Redeemer, in whom whosoever believeth, with a right faith, shall not perish, but have eternal life.

Fuente: Joseph Bensons Commentary on the Old and New Testaments

2. The appearing of the angels: Luk 2:8-14.The gospel is preached to the poor. The following narrative contains the first application of this divine method. Luk 2:8-9 relate the appearing of the angel to the shepherds; Luk 2:10-12, his discourse; Luk 2:13-14, the song of the heavenly host.

Vers. 8 and 9. Among the Jews, the occupation of keepers of sheep was held in a sort of contempt. According to the treatise Sanhedrin, they were not to be admitted as witnesses; and according to the treatise Aboda Zara, succour must not be given to shepherds and heathen., properly, to make his his , his field his abode. Columella (De re rustic) describes these as enclosures surrounded by high walls, sometimes covered in, and sometimes sub dio (open to the sky). As it is said in a passage in the Talmud that the flocks are kept in the open air during the portion of the year between the Passover and the early autumnal rains, it has been inferred from this narrative of the shepherds that Jesus must have been born during the summer. Wieseler, however, observes that this Talmudic determination of the matter applies to the season passed by the flocks out on the steppes, far away from human dwellings. The flocks in this case were not so.

In the expression , the plural perhaps denotes that they watched in turns. The genitive must be taken adverbially: the watch, such as is kept by night. (Luk 2:9) is omitted by the Alex. But it is probably authentic; it depicts the surprise of the shepherds. does not signify that the angel stood above them (comp. , Luk 2:38). It is our survenir (to come unexpectedly). We must translate, as in Luk 1:11, an angel, not the angel. This is proved by the article at Luk 2:10 (see Luk 1:13). By the glory of the Lord must be here understood, as generally, the supernatural light with which God appears, whether personally or by His representatives.

Vers. 10-12. The angel first announces the favourable nature of his message; for at the sight of any supernatural appearance man’s first feeling is fear. , which, inasmuch as great, is intended for the whole people.

Ver. 11, the message itself. By the title Saviour, in connection with the idea of joy (Luk 2:10), is expressed the pity angels feel at the sight of the miserable state of mankind. The title Christ, anointed, refers to the prophecies which announce this Person, and the long expectation He comes to satisfy. The title Lord indicates that He is the representative of the divine sovereignty. This latter title applies also to His relation to the angels. The periphrasis, the city of David, hints that this child will be a second David.

Ver. 12, the sign by means of which the shepherds may determine the truth of this message. This sign has nothing divine about it but its contrast with human glory. There could not have been many other children born that night in Bethlehem; and among these, if there were any, no other certainly would have a manger for its cradle.

Vers. 13 and 14. The troop of angels issues forth all at once from the depths of that invisible world which surrounds us on every side. By their song they come to give the key-note of the adoration of mankind. The variation of some Alex. and of the Latin translations, which read the gen. instead of the nom. , is preferred in the modern exegesis: peace to the men of goodwill. In this case the song divides itself into two parallel propositions, whether the words and on earth be referred to that which precedes, Glory to God in the highest places and on earth; peace to the men of goodwill; or, which is certainly preferable, they be connected with what follows, Glory to God in the highest places; and on earth peace to the men of goodwill. In this second interpretation the parallelism is complete: the three ideas, peace, men, on earth, in the second member, answer to the three ideas, glory, God, in the highest places, in the first. Men make their praise arise towards God in the heavens; God makes His peace descend towards them on the earth. The gen. , of goodwill, may refer to the pious dispositions towards God with which a part of mankind are animated. But this interpretation is hardly natural. , from , to delight in, , denotes an entirely gracious goodwill, the initiative of which is in the subject who feels it. This term does not suit the relation of man to God, but only that of God to man. Therefore, with this reading, we must explain the words thus: Peace on earth to the men who are the objects of divine goodwill. But this use of the genitive is singularly rude, and almost barbarous; the men of goodwill, meaning those on whom goodwill rests…, is a mode of expression without any example. We are thus brought back to the reading of the T. R., present also in 14 Mjj., among which are L. and Z., which generally agree with the Alex., the Coptic translation, of which the same may be said, and the Peschito. With this reading, the song consists of three propositions, of which two are parallel, and the third forms a link between the two. In the first, glory to God in the highest places, the angels demand that, from the lower regions to which they have just come down, from the bosom of humanity, praise shall arise, which, ascending from heavens to heavens, shall reach at last the supreme sanctuary, the highest places, and there glorify the divine perfections that shine forth in this birth. The second, peace on earth, is the counterpart of the first. While inciting men to praise, the angels invoke on them peace from God. This peace is such as results from the reconciliation of man with God; it contains the cause of the cessation of all war here below. These two propositions are of the nature of a desire or prayer. The verb understood is , let it be. The third, which is not connected with the preceding by any particle, proclaims the fact which is the ground of this two-fold prayer. If the logical connection were expressed, it would be by the word for. This fact is the extraordinary favour shown to men by God, and which is displayed in the gift He is bestowing upon them at this very time. The sense is, for God takes pleasure in men. In speaking thus, the angels seem to mean, God has not bestowed as much on us (Heb 2:16). The idea of , goodwill, recalls the first proposition, Glory to God! whilst the expression towards men reminds us of the second, Peace on earth! For the word , comp. Eph 1:5 and Php 2:13.

When the witnesses of the blessing sing, how could they who are the objects of it remain silent?

Fuente: Godet Commentary (Luke, John, Romans and 1 Corinthians)

XI.

THE BIRTH OF JESUS PROCLAIMED BY ANGELS

TO THE SHEPHERDS.

(Near Bethlehem, B. C. 5.)

cLUKE II. 8-20.

c8 And there were shepherds in the same country [they were in the same fields from which David had been called to tend God’s Israel, or flock] abiding in the field, and keeping watch by night over their flock. [When the flock is too far from the village to lead it to the fold at night, these shepherds still so abide with it in the field, even in the dead of winter.] 9 And an angel of the Lord stood by them [He stood upon the earth at their side, and did not float above them in the heavens, as he is usually pictured. His standing upon the earth shows a fuller fellowship and sympathy with men–comp. Act 1:10], and the glory of the Lord shone round about them [The Shechinah, or bright cloud, which symbolizes the divine presence ( Exo 24:16, 1Ki 8:10, Isa 6:1-3, Rom 9:4). It was seen by the three apostles upon the mount of transfiguration ( Mat 17:5), by Stephen ( Act 7:55), and by Paul– Act 22:6-11]: and they were sore afraid. 10 And the angel said unto them, Be not afraid; for behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy [Christianity is a religion of present joys, and leads onward to joy eternal] which shall be to all the people: 11 for there is born to you [born as a gift to us– Joh 3:16] this day in the city of David a Saviour. [the angel omits the name of [30] Jesus, but gives the meaning of his name], who is the Christ [Messiah is the Hebrew and Christ is the Greek for our English word “anointed.” Prophets, priests, and kings were anointed. Jesus held all these three offices for all our race for all eternity] the Lord. 12 And this is the sign [The token by which to identify the child. A babe in a manger was not ordinary sight] unto you: Ye shall find a babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, and lying in a manger. [“What fearful odds! What a strange contrast! Idolatry on the throne (in the person of Augustus Csar), and the founder of a new religion and a new empire lying in a manger!”] 13 And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude [The event was too important to be heralded by any one angel. All heaven was interested in the departure of its Prince, and marveled at the grace of the Father who sent him– 1Pe 1:12] of the heavenly host [God’s army ( 1Ki 22:19, Psa 103:20, Psa 103:21). The Deity is called “God of Sabaoth”; that is, God of hosts or multitude ( Rom 9:29, Jam 5:4, Dan 7:10, Rev 5:11, Rev 5:12); but at this time God’s army appeared to announce the coming of eternal peace] praising God, and saying, 14 Glory to God in the highest [in the highest heavens– Job 16:19, Psa 148:1], And on earth peace among men [The angels invoke blessing on God and peace upon man. Peace between God and man, and ultimately peace between man and man] in whom he is well pleased. [The love of God is shed abroad upon all, even the vilest of sinners ( Rom 5:8, 1Ti 1:15); but his peace comes upon those who have accepted his Son, and in whom he is therefore especially well pleased ( Rom 9:11). Peace is the unfailing apostolic salutation toward Christians ( Rom 1:7, 1Co 1:3, 2Co 1:2, etc.), and is attainable in the highest degree by Christians only– Joh 14:27, Joh 16:33, Col 3:15, Phi 4:7.] 15 And it came to pass, when the angels went away from them into heaven, the shepherds said one to another, Let us now go even unto Bethlehem, and see this thing that is come to pass, which the Lord hath made known [31] unto us. 16 And they came with haste, and found Mary, and Joseph, and the babe lying in the manger. 17 And when they saw it, they made known concerning the saying which was spoken to them about the child. [They were the first evangelists. Among the heralds of Christ we note one great prophet, John the Baptist, and one learned Pharisee, Paul; the rest are shepherds, fishermen, and publicans, yet their gospel has triumphed over the wisdom of men ( 1Co 1:26-29, 2Co 4:7). The shepherds were moved to publish by the same spirit which actuated the lepers at Samaria– 2Ki 7:9.] 18 And all that heard it wondered [the gospel story excites wonder; the more we ponder it the more wonderful it becomes] at the things which were spoken unto them by the shepherds. 19 But Mary kept all these sayings [The silence of Mary contrasts with the talkativeness of the shepherds. But is the duty of Christians both to ponder and to publish], pondering them in her heart. [Only Mary could know the fact here stated; and the statement indicates that Luke got the opening parts of his Gospel from the mother of our Lord. She had much to think about. The angelic messages to Zacharias, to herself, and to the shepherds were full of significance, and her mind would search diligently to comprehend the fullness of their meaning. In her quiet thoughtfulness the beauty of the Virgin’s character shines forth– 1Pe 3:4.] 20 And the shepherds returned [they did not make this glorious occasion an excuse for neglecting their humble duties], glorifying [because of the greatness of that which had been revealed] and praising God [because of the goodness of that which he revealed] for all the things that they had heard and seen, even as it was spoken unto them. [Jesus came in exactly the same manner in which his coming had been spoken of or described by the angels a few hours before; and also just as his coming had been spoken of or described by the prophets centuries and centuries before. God’s word holds good for eternity as truly as for one day. The shepherds doubtless passed to their reward during [32] the thirty years which Jesus spent in seclusion prior to his entering upon his ministry. But the rest of their commonplace life was now filled with music of praise, and their night watches lit by the glory of God, which could never entirely fade away.]

[FFG 30-33]

Fuente: McGarvey and Pendleton Commentaries (New Testament)

THE SHEPHERDS

8-20. The shepherds were at that time tenting out, and keeping watch over their flock through the night. This fact refutes the popular idea of the birth of our Savior taking place in midwinter, thus locating Christmas, December 25th. In the summer time, sheep lie in the shade through the heat of the day, and graze at night; whereas during the winter, they sleep in the night and graze in daytime. If it had been midwinter, the shepherds would not have been out with their flocks at night, but in houses, caves, or kraals. The critics have settled on April 5th as the Christmas. I doubt not but they are correct. Behold the angel of the Lord stood over them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them; and they were affrighted with a great fear. The shepherds field, where these notable events took place, is in full view of Bethlehem, perhaps a couple of miles east. The angel said to them: Fear not; for, behold, I proclaim to you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all the people: for this day a Savior is born unto you, who is Christ the Lord, in the city of David. Bethlehem was generally known as the city of David as it was the home of Boaz, Obed, Jesse, and David. And this shall be the sign to you: you shall find an infant, wrapped in swaddling cloths, lying in a manger. The English uses the article, and reads, The babe, which is incorrect; the article is not in the Greek, whereas it destroys the meaning. A babe lying in a manger, wrapped in swaddling cloths, was really the sign designated by the angel. It was a sure sign, good enough; as you might travel round the world and not find it. And immediately there was a multitude of the heavenly host along with the angel, praising God, and saying, Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, and good will among men. When the lonely angel had revealed the news to the shepherds, his testimony was corroborated by a multitude, praising God, and shouting the beautiful doxology, Glory to God in the highest. All the glory of human salvation belongs to God, as it is utterly impossible for any of us ever to bring Him under the slightest obligation to show us mercy. Christ, by His own atonement, made peace on earth with every human being, not only appertaining to God, but one another. There was no reason why peace with God and every human being should not cover the whole earth, and flood every soul with the heavenly prelibation. The wonderful work of Christ actually has brought good will to every soul and every home, not only toward all the world, but toward God. No reason why the whole earth should not be filled with the glory of God, since Christ has swept every difficulty away.

And it came to pass, when the angels departed from them to heaven, and the men [i.e., the shepherds] said to one another, Let us go even unto Bethlehem, and let us see this thing which has taken place, which the Lord has made known unto us. And they, hastening, came and found both Mary and Joseph, and the infant lying in the manger. See the contrast between verse twelve, where infant and manger both occur without the article, as the shepherds knew nothing about the circumstances, and the event and finding an infant wrapped in swaddling cloths lying in a manger, was to be the sign to them that the angels testimony was true. Now having come, they find an infant lying in a manger, wrapped in swaddling cloths, as the angel had said, thus literally verifying the angels testimony. Now in verse sixteen the Greek article occurs both with infant and manger, because the sign of the angel being verified, they know now that they have found the identical infant, precluding all possibility of mistake. And seeing they knew with certainty concerning the word which was spoken unto them about this little child; i.e., the sign given by the angel being now literally verified, assures the shepherds beyond all doubt as to the identity of the babe.

And all those hearing were astonished concerning those things which were spoken to them by the shepherds. See how God honored these shepherds above all the aristocrats, princes, and potentates of the earth by really making them the first witnesses to His Incarnate Son, and the first heralds of the best, greatest, and most wonderful tidings that ever rang in mortal ears. In all ages, the people who herd the flocks day and night have, as a rule, been poor, humble, and ignorant.

19. Mary kept all these words, laying them up in her heart. She saw how the testimony of the shepherds corroborated the annunciation of Gabriel at her humble home in Nazareth nine months preceding. The meaning of heart is spiritual rather than mental. Mary, under the illuminations of the Holy Spirit, kept rigid spiritual cognizance of everything appertaining to her child.

And the shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things which they heard and saw, as was spoken to them. There is no doubt but these shepherds were not only godly men, like Simeon and Anna looking for the Messiah, but that they enjoyed an extraordinary depth of spiritual illumination, and were thus prepared for the exalted honor conferred. We see they had the grace of humility too copious to imbibe spiritual pride, even over this exalted encomium, as they return betimes to their waiting flocks. As they have no fences in that country, all stock are herded, and there is this day much of it there.

Fuente: William Godbey’s Commentary on the New Testament

Verse 8

Flocks were kept in ancient times, not by means of fences or enclosures, but by shepherds, who watched them in open pasture grounds.

Fuente: Abbott’s Illustrated New Testament

2:8 {2} And there were in the same country shepherds {d} abiding in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night.

(2) The angels themselves declare to poor shepherds (not at all regarding the pride of the mighty) the Godhead and office of the child lying in the crib.

(d) Living outside, and in the open air.

Fuente: Geneva Bible Notes

2. The announcement to the shepherds 2:8-20

There is great theological significance in this familiar passage. It comes through mainly in the angel’s words and in the symbolism of what happened.

"In Luk 2:8-14 we have a third annunciation scene, which follows the same pattern as the previous two: the appearance of an angel, a response of fear, the command not to fear, the announcement of a birth that brings joy. In this case, however, the announcement is not to a parent of the child to be born, for this birth is not just a family affair. Indeed, the angel stresses that he brings a message of ’great joy which shall be for all the people’ (Luk 2:10)." [Note: Tannehill, 1:38.]

Fuente: Expository Notes of Dr. Constable (Old and New Testaments)

Shepherds were socially looked down upon in Jesus’ day. Their work made them ceremonially unclean, and they had a reputation for being untrustworthy. [Note: Liefeld, p. 845.] Thus God first sent the gospel to the lowly. Luke had a special interest in the lower elements of society. David, of course, had been a shepherd, but God had elevated him to be the ruler of His people (2Sa 7:8). Jesus’ career would follow the pattern of his ancestor generally. Throughout the Old Testament God used shepherds as symbols of those who cared for His people (Psa 23:1; Isa 40:11; Jer 23:1-4; et al.). Consequently these shepherds represent all people of lowly origin and reputation who receive the gospel by God’s grace and proclaim it joyfully to others. The idea that these shepherds were raising sheep that the people would offer as Passover sacrifices in a few months is possible but not capable of verification. [Note: See Morris, p. 84.] They would have been out in the fields with their sheep at night if the winter weather was mild, as it apparently was. There is evidence in the Mishnah, however, that sheep pastured there were destined for temple sacrifice. [Note: Mishnah Shekalim 7:4. See also Edersheim, 1:186-87.]

Fuente: Expository Notes of Dr. Constable (Old and New Testaments)

Chapter 5

THE ADORATION OF THE SHEPHERDS.

Luk 2:8-21

THE Gospel of St. Mark omits entirely the Nativity, passing at once to the words and miracles of His public ministry. St. John, too, dismisses the Advent and the earlier years of the Divine Life with one solitary phrase, how the Word, which in the beginning was with God and was God, “became flesh and dwelt among us”. {Joh 1:14} St. Luke, however, whose Gospel is the Gospel of the Humanity, lingers reverently over the Nativity, throwing a variety of side-lights upon the cradle of the Holy Child. Already has he shown how the Roman State prepared the cradle of the Infancy, and how Caesar Augustus unconsciously wrought out the purpose of God, the breath of his imperial decree being but part of a higher inspiration; and now he proceeds to show how the shepherds of Judaea bring the greetings of the Hebrew world, the wave-sheaf of the ripening harvests of homage which yet will be laid, by Jew and Gentile alike, at the feet of Him who was Son of David and Son of man.

It is generally supposed that these anonymous shepherds were residents of Bethlehem, and tradition has fixed the exact spot where they were favored with this Advent Apocalypse, about a thousand paces from the modern village. It is a historic fact that there was a tower near that site, called Eder, or “the Tower of the Flock,” around which were pastured the flocks destined for the Temple sacrifice; but the topography of ver. Luk 2:8 is purposely vague. The expression “in that same country,” written by one who both in years and in distance was far removed from the events recorded, would describe any circle within the radius of a few miles from Bethlehem as its center, and the very vagueness of the expression seems to push back the scene of the Advent music to a farther distance than a thousand paces. And this view is confirmed by the language of the shepherds themselves, who, when the vision has faded, say one to another, “Let us now go even unto Bethlehem, and see this thing that is come to pass”; for they scarcely would have needed, or used, the adverbial “even” were they keeping their flocks so close up to the walls of the city. We may therefore infer, with some amount of probability, that whether the shepherds were residents of Bethlehem or not, when they kept watch over their flocks, it was not on the traditional site, but farther away over the hills. Indeed, it is difficult, and very often impossible, for us to fix the precise locality of these sacred scenes, these bright points of intersection, where Heavens glories flash out against the dull carbon-points of earth; and the voices of tradition are at best but doubtful guesses. It would almost seem as if God Himself had wiped out these memories, hiding them away, as He hid the sepulcher of Moses, lest the world should pay them too great a homage, and lest we might think that one place lay nearer to heaven than another, when all places are equally distant, or rather equally near. It is enough to know that somewhere on these lonely hills came the vision of the angels, perhaps on the very spot where David was minding his sheep when Heaven summoned him to a higher task, passing him up among the kings.

While the shepherds were “watching the watches of the night over their flock,” as the Evangelist expresses it, referring to the pastoral custom of dividing the night into watches, and keeping watch by turns, suddenly “an angel of the Lord stood by them, and the glory of the Lord shone round about them.” When the angel appeared to Zacharias, and when Gabriel brought to Mary her evangel, we do not read of any supernatural portent, any celestial glory, attending them. Possibly because their appearances were in the broad daylight, when the glory would be masked, invisible; but now, in the dead of night, the angelic form is bright and luminous, throwing all around them a sort of heavenly halo, in which even the lustrous Syrian stars grow dim. Dazzled by the sudden burst of glory, the shepherds were awed by the vision, and stricken with a great fear, until the angel, borrowing the tones and accents of their own speech, addressed to them his message, the message he had been commissioned to bring: “Be not afraid; for behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy which shall be to all the people: for there is born to you this day in the city of David a Savior, which is Christ the Lord.” And then he gave them a sign by which they might recognize the Savior Lord: “Ye shall find a babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, and lying in a manger.”

From the indefinite wording of the narrative we should infer that the angel who brought the message to the shepherds was not Gabriel, who had before brought the good tidings to Mary. But whether or not the messenger was the same, the two messages are almost identical in structure and in thought, the only difference being the personal element of the equation, and the shifting of the time from the future to the present tense. Both strike the same key-note, the “Fear not” with which they seek to still the vibrations of the heart, that the Virgin and the shepherds may not have their vision blurred and tremulous through the agitation of the mind. Both make mention of the name of David, which name was the key-word which unlocked all Messianic hopes. Both speak of the Child as a Savior-though Gabriel wraps up the title within the name, “Thou shalt call His name Jesus”; for, as St. Matthew explains it, “it is He that shall save His people from their sins.” Both, too, speak of Him as the Messiah; for when the angel now calls Him the “Christ” it was the same “Anointed” one who, as Gabriel had said, “should reign over the house of Jacob for ever”; while in the last august title now given by the angel, “Lord,” we may recognize the higher Divinity-that He is, in some unique, and to us incomprehensible sense, “the Son of the Most High”. {Mat 1:1-25} Such, then, is the triple crown the angel now bears to the cradle of the Holy Child. What He will be to the world is still but a prophecy; but as He, the Firstborn, is now brought into the world, God commands all the angels to worship Him; {Heb 1:6} and with united voice-though the antiphon rings back over a nine months silence-they salute the Child of Bethlehem as Savior, Messiah, Lord. The one title sets up His throne facing the lower world, commanding the powers of darkness, and looking at the moral conditions of men; the second throws the shadow of His throne over the political relations of men, making it dominate all thrones; while the third title sets up His throne facing the heavens themselves, vesting Him with a supreme, a Divine authority.

No sooner was the message ended than suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host, praising God, and saying-

“Glory to God in the highest, And on earth peace among men in whom He is well pleased.”

The Revised Version lacks the rhythmic qualities of the Authorized Version; and the wordy clause “among men in whom He is well pleased” seems but a poor substitute for the terse and clear “good-will toward men,” which is an expression easy of utterance, and which seemed to have earned a prescriptive right to a place in our Advent music. The revised rendering, however, is certainly more in accord with the grammatical construction of the original, whose idiomatic form can scarcely be put into English, except in a way somewhat circuitous and involved. In both expressions the underlying thought is the same, representing man as the object of the Divine good-pleasure, that Divine “benevolence”-using the word in its etymological sense-which enfolds, in the germ, the Divine favor, compassion, mercy, and love. There is thus a triple parallelism running through the song, the “Glory to God in the highest” finding its corresponding terms in the “peace among (or to) men in whom He is well pleased on earth”; while altogether it forms one complete circle of praise, the “good-pleasure to man,” the “peace on earth,” the “glory to God” marking off its three segments, And so the song harmonizes with the message: indeed, it is that message in an altered shape; no longer walking in common prosaic ways, but winged now, it moves in its higher circles with measured beat, leaving a path from the cradle of the Infancy to the highest heavens all strewn with “Glorias.” And what is the triplicity of the song but another rendering of the three august titles of the message-Savior, Messiah, Lord? The “Savior” being the expression of the Divine good-pleasure; the “Messiah” telling of His reign upon earth who is Himself the Prince of peace; while the “Lord,” which, as we have seen, corresponds with “the Son of the Most High,” leads us up directly to the “heavenlies,” to Him who commands and who deserves all doxologies.

But is this song only a song in some far-distant sky-a sweet memory indeed, but no experience? Is it not rather the original from which copies may be struck for our individual lives? There is for each of us an advent, if we will accept it; for what is regeneration but the beginning of the Divine life within our life, the advent of the Christ Himself? And let but that supreme hour come to us when place and room are made for Him who is at once the expression of the Divine favor and the incarnation of the Divine love, and the new era dawns, the reign of peace, the “peace of God,” because the “peace with God, through our Lord Jesus Christ.” Then will the heart throw off its “Glorias,” not in one burst of song, which subsides quickly into silence, but in one perpetual anthem, which ever becomes more loud and sweet as the day of its perfected redemption draweth nigh; for when the Divine displeasure is turned away, and a Divine peace or comfort takes its place, who can but say, “O Lord, I will praise Thee?”

Directly the angel-song had ceased, and the singers had disappeared in the deep silence whence they came, the shepherds, gathering up their scattered thoughts, said one to another (as if their hearts were speaking all at once and all in unison), “Let us now go even unto Bethlehem, and see this thing that is come to pass which the Lord hath made known unto us.” The response was immediate: They do not shut out this heavenly truth by doubt and vain questioning; they do not keep it at a distance from them, as if it only indirectly and distantly concerned themselves, but yield themselves up to it entirely; and as they go hastily to Bethlehem, in the quick step and in the rapid beating of their heart, we can trace the vibrations of the angel-song. And why is this? Why is it that the message does not come upon them as a surprise? Why are these men ready with such a perfect acquiescence, their hearts leaping forward to meet and embrace this Gospel of the angels? We shall probably find our answer in the character of the men themselves. They pass into history unnamed; and after playing their brief part, they disappear, lost in the incense-cloud of their own praises. But evidently these shepherds were no mean, no common men. They were Hebrews, possibly of the royal line; at any rate they were Davids in their loftiness of thought, of hope and aspiration. They were devout, God-fearing men. Like their father Jacob, they too were citizens of two worlds; they could lead their flocks into green pastures, and mend the fold; or they could turn aside from flock and fold to wrestle with Gods angels, and prevail. Heavens revelations come to noble minds, as the loftiest peaks are always the first to hail the dawn. And can we suppose that Heaven would so honor them, lighting up the sky with an aureole of glory for their sole benefit, sending this multitude to sing to them a sweet chorale, if the men themselves had nothing heavenly about them, if their selfish, sordid mind could soar no higher than their flocks, and have no wider range than the markets for their wool?

“Let but a flute Play neath the fine-mixed metal; Then shall the huge bell tremble, then the mass With myriad waves concurrent shalt respond In low, soft unison.”

But there must be the music hidden within, or there is no unison. And we may be sure of this, that the angel-song had passed by them as a cold night-wind, had not their hearts been tuned up by intense desire, until they struck responsive to the angel-voice. Though they knew it not, they had led their flock to the mount of God; and up the steps of sacred hopes and lofty aspirations they had climbed, until their lives had got within the circle of heavenly harmonies, and they were worthy to be the first apostles of the New Dispensation.

In our earthly modes of thinking we push the sacred and the secular far apart, as if they were two different worlds, or, at any rate, as opposite hemispheres of the same world, with but few points of contact between them. It is not so. The secular is the sacred on its under, its earth ward side. It is a part of that great whole we call duty, and in our earthly callings, if they are but pure and honest, we may hear the echoes of a heavenly call. The temple of Worship and the temple of Work are not separated by indefinable spaces; they are contiguous, leaning upon each other, while they both front the same Divine purpose. Nor can it be simply a coincidence that Heavens revelations should nearly always come to man in the moments of earthly toil, rather than in the hours of leisure or of so-called worship. It was from his shepherding the burning bush beckoned Moses aside; while Heavens messenger found Gideon on the threshing-floor, and Elisha in the furrow. In the New Testament, too, in all the cases whose circumstances are recorded, the Divine call reached the disciples when engaged in their every-day task, sitting at the receipt of custom, and casting or mending their nets. The fact is significant. In the estimate of Heaven, instead of a discount being put upon the common tasks of life, those tasks are dignified and ennobled. They look towards heaven, and if the heart be only set in that direction they lead too up towards heaven. Our weeks are not unlike the sheet of Peters vision; we take care to tie up the two ends, attaching them to heaven, and then we leave what we call the “week-days” bulging down earthward in purely secular fashion. But would not our weeks, and our whole life, swing on a higher and holier level, could we but recognize the fact that all days are the Lords days, and did we but attach each day and each deed to heaven? Such is the truest, noblest life, that takes the “trivial rounds” as a part of its sacred duties, doing them all as unto the Lord. So, as we sanctify lifes common things, they cease to be common, and the earthly becomes less earthly as we learn to see more of heaven in it. In the weaving of our life some of its threads stretch earthward, and some heavenward; but they cross and interlace, and together they form the warp and woof of one fabric, which should be, like the garment of the Master, without seam, woven from the top throughout. Happy is that life which, keeping an open eye over the flock, keeps too a heart open towards heaven, ready to listen to the angelic music, and ready to transfer its rhythm to their own hastening feet or their praising lips.

Our Evangelist tells us that they “came in haste” in search of the young Child, and we may almost detect that haste in the very accents of their speech. It is, “Let us now go across even to Bethlehem,” allowing the prefix its proper meaning; as if their eager hearts could not stay to go round by the ordinary road, but like bees scenting a field of clover, they too must make their cross-country way to Bethlehem. Though the angel had not given explicit directions, the city of David was not so large but that they could easily discover the object of their search-the Child, as had been told them, wrapped in swaddling clothes and lying in a manger. It has been thought by some that the “inn” is a mistranslation, and that it really was the “guest-chamber” of some friend. It is true the word is rendered “guest-chamber” on the other two occasions of its use, {Mar 14:14, Luk 22:11} but it also signified a public guest-house, as well as a private guest-chamber; and such evidently is its meaning here, for private hospitality, even had its “guest-chamber” been preoccupied, would certainly, under the circumstances, have offered something more human than a stable. That would not have been its only alternative.

It is an interesting coincidence, and one serving to link together the Old and the New Testament, that Jeremiah speaks of a certain geruth, or inn, as it may read, “which is by Bethlehem”. {Jer 41:17} How it came into the possession of Chimham, who was a Gileadite, we are not told; but we are told that because of the kindness shown to David in his exile by Barzillai, his son Chimham received special marks of the royal favor, and was, in fact, treated almost as an adopted son. {1Ki 2:7} What is certain is that the khan of Bethlehem bore, for successive generations, the name of Chimham; which fact is in itself evidence that Chimham was its builder, as the well of Jacob retained, through all the changes of inheritance, the name of the patriarch whose thought and gift it was. In all probability, therefore, the “inn” was built by Chimham, on that part of the paternal estate which David inherited; and as the khans of the East cling with remarkable tenacity to their original sites, it is probable, to say the least, that the “inn of Chimham” and the inn of Bethlehem, in which there was no room for the two late comers from Nazareth, were, if not identical, at any rate related structures-so strangely does the cycle of history complete itself, and the Old merge into the New. And so, while Prophecy sings audibly and sweetly of the place which yet shall give birth to the Governor who shall rule over Israel, History puts up her silent hand, and salutes Bethlehem Ephratah as by no means the least among the cities of Judah.

But not in the inn do the shepherds find the happy parents-the springtide of the unusual immigration had completely flooded that, leaving no standing-place for the son and daughter of David-but they find them in a stable, probably in some adjoining cave, the swaddled Child, as the angels had foretold, lying in the manger. Art has lingered reverently and long over this stable scene, hiding with exquisite draperies its baldness and meanness, and lighting up its darkness with wreaths of golden glory; but these splendors are apocryphal, existing only in the mind of the beholder; they are the luminous mist of an adoring love. What the shepherds do find is an extemporized apartment, mean in the extreme; two strangers fresh from Nazareth, both young and both poor; and a new-born infant asleep in the manger, with a group of sympathizing spectators, who have brought, in the emergency, all kinds of proffered helps. It seems a strange ending for an angel-song, a far drop from the superhuman to the subhuman. Will it shake the faith of these apostle-shepherds? Will it shatter their bright hope? And chagrined that their auroral dream should have so poor a realization, will they return to their flocks with heavy hearts and sad? Not they. They prostrate themselves before the Infant Presence, repeating over and over the heavenly words the angels had spoken unto them concerning the Child, and while Mary announces the name as “Jesus,” they salute Him, as the angels had greeted Him before, as Savior, Messiah, Lord; thus putting on the head of the Child Jesus that triple crown, symbol of a supremacy which knows no limit either in space or time. It was the “Te Deum” of a redeemed humanity, which succeeding years have only made more deep, more full, and which in ever-rising tones will yet grow into the Alleluias of the heavens. Savior, Messiah, Lord! These titles struck upon Marys ear not with surprise, for she has grown accustomed to surprises now, but with a thrill of wonder. She could not yet spell out all their deep meaning, and so she pondered “them in her heart,” hiding them away in her maternal soul, that their deep secrets might ripen and blossom in the summer of the after-years.

The shepherds appear no more in the Gospel story. We see them returning to their task “glorifying and praising God for all the things that they had heard and seen,” and then the mantle of a deep silence falls upon them. As a lark, rising heavenward, loses itself from our sight, becoming a sweet song in the sky, so these anonymous shepherds, these first disciples of the Lord, having laid their tribute at His feet-in the name of humanity saluting the Christ who was to be-now pass out of our sight, leaving for us the example of their heavenward look and their simple faith, and leaving, too, their “Glorias,” which in multiplied reverberations fill all lands and all times, the earthly prelude of the New, the eternal Song.

Fuente: Expositors Bible Commentary