“Don’t be afraid!” This is what the angel said to the shepherds who were watching their flocks on the night of Christ’s birth. And how relevant those words are for us today.
People are afraid right now. They have financial fears, health fears, political fears and fears about their personal safety. There are so many things to frighten us today. But here’s the message of Christmas: Don’t be afraid, because God sent his son, Immanuel, whose name means “God is with us” (see Matthew 1:23).
The shepherds of the first century were not popular people. In fact, they were despised and mistrusted. A shepherd’s testimony wasn’t even allowed in a court of law. Shepherds did the work no one else wanted to do. So when they heard the Savior had been born and was lying in a manger in Bethlehem, they could relate to that.
God handpicked those who were at the bottom of the social ladder to be the first evangelists with the good news that the Messiah had come.
This gives hope to people like you and me. The apostle Paul wrote, “Remember, dear brothers and sisters, that few of you were wise in the world’s eyes or powerful or wealthy when God called you. Instead, God chose things the world considers foolish in order to shame those who think they are wise. And he chose things that are powerless to shame those who are powerful” (1 Corinthians 1:26–27 NLT).
Jesus was always going after the outcast, from the woman who was caught in the act of adultery to Zacchaeus, the tax collector who didn’t have a friend in the city where he lived. That is why Christ was called the friend of sinners.
The shepherds were living in frightening times. Everyone was afraid, because they were under the iron fist of Rome. Rome had established Pax Romana under the rule of Augustus and had conquered most of the civilized world at that point. Many Jewish people wondered whether the Romans ever would leave their land again. Would the Messiah ever come?
Then suddenly, seemingly out of nowhere (but right on schedule), an angel appeared and gave them a message: “Don’t be afraid! … I bring you good news that will bring great joy to all people. The Savior – yes, the Messiah, the Lord – has been born today in Bethlehem, the city of David! And you will recognize him by this sign: You will find a baby wrapped snugly in strips of cloth, lying in a manger” (verses 10–12 NLT).
Whenever we read in the Bible about an angel appearing, the angel usually begins by saying, “Don’t be afraid!” That’s because when an angel shows up, people generally are afraid. But it’s worth noting what this angel said next: “I bring you good news that will bring great joy.”
That is an important part of the Christmas message. We can get rid of our fear and replace it with joy. The condition of joy is to let go of our fear, because God came to Earth, born as a baby in a small town called Bethlehem on a silent night.
This was the most significant event in human history, but for the most part, people missed it altogether, starting with Rome. This was an event that would shake the planet. We mark human time based on the birth of Christ. Yet most people in Rome didn’t see the significance of it.
As far as Rome went, it meant another person to tax. Augustus had a very high view of himself, because we read in Scripture that he issued a decree that all the world should be taxed (see Luke 2:1). The name Augustus means “of the gods,” and statues of the emperor were erected throughout Rome and the Roman territories.
Augustus was referred to as the savior of the world, so it’s ironic that this announcement of the Savior’s birth was given during his reign.
Jerusalem, which was the New York or Los Angeles of that day, missed this announcement as well. After all, what would people in Jerusalem care about some birth happening in Bethlehem? Bethlehem wasn’t held in high regard, yet it played a key role in God’s plan.
Speaking through the Old Testament prophet Micah, God said, “But you, O Bethlehem Ephrathah, are only a small village among all the people of Judah. Yet a ruler of Israel, whose origins are in the distant past, will come from you on my behalf” (Micah 5:2 NLT).
Even Bethlehem itself missed the significance of this event. People were in Bethlehem that night because they had traveled to their ancestral home for the census. And because Mary and Joseph were both descendants of David, the second king of Israel, they went to David’s hometown.
To people in Bethlehem that night, Mary was a young woman who was expecting a baby, and there probably were other women who were ready to give birth as well. But as everyone soon would discover, Mary wasn’t any woman; she was the woman whom God handpicked to be the mother of the Messiah.
What was big news in Heaven was, by and large, no news on Earth. Yet that night, the shepherds had a choice as to what to do. Luke’s gospel tells us they said, “Let’s go to Bethlehem! Let’s see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has told us about” (2:15 NLT).
They could have said, “Let’s just hang out here and soak it all in.” Or they might have said, “We can’t go there. We’re not dressed appropriately, and no one wants shepherds around.” Instead, they went to see for themselves. And we read that “the shepherds told everyone what had happened and what the angel had said to them about this child” (verse 17 NLT).
Often we miss what God wants to do in our lives because we don’t respond appropriately. Yet we have the same message the shepherds had, and we need to share it too – especially during this Christmas season. We all know people who are hurting. We need to tell them a Savior has been born, and there is hope. They don’t have to be afraid.
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