Sermon 12/21/03 am

Jim Huskey, They Heard The Angels Sing

I guess if I were to give a title to the sermon we're going to be

looking at this morning, it would be "They Heard The Angels Sing."

In the gospel of Luke, the second chapter, there is an interesting

story recorded for us. It's interesting from a number of standpoints,

and I think it has some very powerful lessons in it.

"And it came to pass in those days, that there went out a decree from

Caesar Augustus, that all the world should be taxed. And this taxing

was first made when Cyrenius was governor of Syria. And all went out

to be taxed, every one into his own country. And Joseph also went up

from Galilee, out of the city of Nazareth, into Judaea, unto the city

of David, which is called Bethlehem; because he was of the house and

lineage of David; to be taxed with Mary his espoused wife, being great

with child. And so it was, that, while they were there the days were

accomplished that she should be delivered. And she brought forth her

firstborn son, and wrapped him in swaddling clothes, and laid him in a

manger; because there was no room for them in the inn. And there were

in the same country shepherds abiding in the field, keeping watch over

their flock 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. And the angel said unto them, Fear not; for, 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. And this shall be a sign unto you; Ye shall find the babe

wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger. 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. 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. And the shepherds returned,

gloryfing and praising God for all the things that they had heard and

seen, as it was told unto them." Luke 2:1-20.

I realize that much of the religious world this week will be

celebrating what they call the birth of Christ. But I also realize

something else. The Bible doesn't tell us when Jesus was born as far

as any day or month. All it tells us is that it was during the days

of the Caesars, it was during that period of time when Caesar Augustus

had declared that all the world was going to be taxed and they would

have to return to the city of their birth to pay those taxes, and it

was during the period of the year when the shepherds would be out in

the fields tending the sheep. Most likely it was not anywhere very

close to this time of the year.

Now there may be something very interesting about those above facts.

You see, in the Old Testament, when God got ready for the Jews to

observe a particular day, He specified the month and the day of the

month. Sometimes if there would be another day following that, He

would tell them, 'number from this particular day of the month so

many sabbaths' and on the next day, which was the case with the day

of Pentecost, that would be the day they were to observe. But did you

notice that there is no day specificaly attached to the birth of

Christ. I believe there is a reason for that. It's not the DAY of

his birth that's important, it's the PURPOSE of his birth, the PURPOSE

of his coming into this world, the PURPOSE of the word becoming flesh

and dwelling among us. That's what's significant.

But I want you to notice in the verses we've read, that there are some

things that are very interesting. There were shepherds abiding in the

field, keeping watch over their flock by night. To me, one of the

things that's interesting about that is that this is the group of

people to whom the Lord chose to send the angelic messengers. Have you

noticed that he didn't send them to the scribes or the Pharisees or

even to the high priest. He send them to shepherds who were in the

field working. One of the things that was said concerning Jesus while

he was upon the earth was that the common people heard him gladly.

The shepherds were what we would classify, I suppose, as the common

working class of people. It was not a high-profile job, to say the

least. But there was a reason for that. The coming of Jesus into the

world was to touch and to reach every class of people. You see, had

this been announced to the elite of the day, had this been announced

only to the leaders of Judaism, they would have decided, as they did

conerning salvation, 'hey, this ain't for you, folks; this is for us,

and us only.' Paul would write in the I Corinthian letter, "For ye

see your calling, brehren, how that not many mighty, not many noble,

are called." I Cor. 1:26. I think that is evidenced in the fact that

the angels announced it to shepherds. They announced it to shepherds!!!

But really that isn't surprising. Long ago Isaiah, in Isaiah chapter

35, begining verse 8, wrote, "And an highway shall be there, and a way,

and it shall be called The way of holiness; the unclean shall not pass

over it; but it shall be for those; the wayfaring men, though fools,

shall not err therein. No lion shall be there, nor any ravenous beast

shall go up thereon, it shall not be found there; but the redeemed shall

walk there; and the ransomed of the Lord shall return, and come to

Zion with songs and everlasting joy upon their heads; they shall obtain

joy and gladness, and sorrow and sighing shall flee away." Isa. 35:8-10.

Did you get that? The wayfaring man, though a fool, would not err

therein. God intended that the common man be able to understand and

appreciate the coming of his Son into the world. So it was the

shepherds who got to hear the angels sing.

The second thing I want us to notice is this. I don't how many times

over the years I've talked with people about getting involved

spiritually. Their answer was always the same, 'I just don't have the

time; I'm too busy.' Did you notice that the angel didn't come to

somebody who was sitting at home with their hands folded????? He

didn't come at a time when these folks had nothing to do!!!!! You see,

at night they had to be vigilant because of the beasts that might

attack the flock. They had to be vigilant because lambs, like people,

don't know when they're well off sometimes and stray away. He came

to them when they were working. He came when they working!!!! He came

when they were busily engaged in a legitimate job. Maybe there's a

lesson in that!!!! You see, God put Adam and Eve in the garden of

Eden. They couldn't have created the garden, but he did, and he put

them there to dress and keep it. He expected them to be busy. He

expected them to do the things they could do. We have to just sort of

let our minds wonder, at least I do. Every time I read this I wonder

if there were supposed to have been some other shepherds with them

that night. I wonder if there were some who missed what they heard

and saw because they were not where they were supposed do be, doing

what they were supposed to be doing. There have been an awful lot of

folks who have missed some very important events because they weren't

where they were supposed to be, doing what they were supposed to do.

Usually that's when folks get into trouble, incidently. Remember, old

King David in the Old Testament? He wasn't where he was supposed to be

and doing what he was supposed to do when he got into trouble. Remember

Thomas in the New Testament? The other apostles were come together

on the first day of the week, after the resurrection of Jesus, and

Thomas wasn't there. The other apostles got to see the risen Saviour.

Thomas missed that. When they told him, he wouldn't believe. He

said, 'unless I put my fingers in the prints of the nails and thrust

my hand into his side, I won't believe.' Well, Thomas, if you'd been

where you should have been, you'd have the same thing they had, when

they had it!!!!! So these shepherds were folks who were where they

ought to be, busily engaged in doing what they were supposed to do.

God doesn't call those who are not doing anything. You can go back to

the Old Testament, look at the prophets. There was Amos. He was a

shepherd and a fruit picker from Tekoa. God called him from the flock

and from the fruit picking to go prophecy. There was Saul of Tarsus

in the New Testament. He was busily engaged, doing the wrong thing, but

he was busily engaged and that was when the Lord called him. Maybe

there's a lesson there for us. God intends for us to be useful, he

intends for us to be busy.

Then there is a third thing I'm always amazed with as I read this

incident. These shepherds knew the value of putting things in their

proper perspective. Now think about that. Here they were out in the

field minding their own business, taking care of their flocks. Then

this amazing thing happened. An angel of the Lord descended, and they

are told, "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." Then the angelic host joined

them and they heard them praising God and glorifying him. Then the

angelic host left. Now what are they going to do???? 'We have sheep

to care of.' They said, "...Let us now go even unto Bethlehem..."

I'm sure they made whatever preparations they could for the sheep to

be coralled as best they could. But they said "..Let us now go even

to Bethlehem, and see this thing which is come to pass..." The next

verse says "And they came with haste..." They understood that here

was something more significant and more important than a sheep. They

came to see and they glorified God for all the things they had seen

and heard. They understood the importance of getting things in their

proper perspective. Was keeping the sheep important? YES, it was.

It was there livelihood!!!!! But how important was it compared to

having the opportunity to see the Saviour??? So they came with haste!!

Then I want you to notice something else. These more than likely were

Jewish. They were in the Judaean hills. But notice the announcement

they heard. "...Behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which

shall be to all people." Maybe a shepherd would understand and

appreciate that more than someone who was in an elite position because

the shepherd could identify with the common lot of man. Long ago

Isaiah had prophesied in Isaiah chapter 2 that "...the mountain of the

Lord's house shall be established in the top of the mountains, and

shall be exalted above the hills; and all nations shall flow unto it."

Isa. 2:2. ALL nations, ALL people!!! That's the message that was

announced to these shepherds in the field. "...unto you is born

this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord."

I don't know what it must have been like to have been one of those

shepherds. I can't imagine. I can't imagine!!! You know, we're

told they were sore afraid. I can't imagine what they must have

felt initially when the angel appeared. This is not an apparition.

This is not something ONE person thought they saw. There was a group

of them; they all saw and heard the same thing. They were sore afraid.

At the same time, however, I cannot imagine the joy they must have

felt as they returned to their flocks from Bethlehem to understand

that the Lord had blessed them with the privilege of hearing about,

and being a witness to, an event that would literally change the world

forever. Remember, when they returned, they "....returned, glorifying

and praising God for all the things that they had heard and seen, as

it was told unto them." I'm sure there were a lot of folks that night

who probably thought they "had it all" - the kings, the princes, the

princesses, the elite. But let me tell you something; by the time

that night was over, they didn't have "nothing" compared to what the

shepherds had. They'd been highly favored. They heard the angels

sing. They heard the angels announce and herald the birth of the Son

of God - the prince of peace of whom Isaiah had written. Isaiah 9:6

beginning, we read, "For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is

given; and the government shall be upon his shoulders; and his name

shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting

Father, The Prince of Peace. Of the increase of his government and

peace there shall be no end, upon the throne of David, and upon his

kingdom, to order it, and to establish it with judgment and with

justice from henceforth even for ever. The zeal of the Lord of hosts

will perform this." Isa. 9:6,7. The shepherds heard the angels sing

and I'm convinced that it was because they were where they were

supposed to be, doing what they were supposed to do and were people

who would appreciate the message they heard. That's indicated by the

way they responded to it.

So while we don't know the day on which the Lord was born, it's not

important. We do know that he was born, that he came into this world

to provide the sacrifice that man couldn't provide for himself for

his sins. To do that God used the body of Mary and the Holy Spirit

that she might conceive, that the child that was born would be both

the Son of God and the son of man, able to take God in one hand, man

in the other as a mediator, who could see from both sides, who would

be our Saviour. I'm glad he came, because without his coming we

would still be without hope and lost. While a lot of folks this time

of the year give lip service to his birth, that's not what he

desires. He desires that people would come to him in order that they

might be saved. That was the purpose of his coming, that was the

purpose of his mission, that was the purpose of his death, of his

resurrection, that men might be saved. That's what the angel

announced. 'He shall save his people from their sins.'