In the United States and the majority of the Western World, we have heard the Christmas story for years. However, some may not understand what the Christmas story is all about because they don’t have a personal relationship with Jesus, or they never went to church regularly.
However, to the first people to hear that the long-awaited Messiah had been born, it was not lost on them. They knew why it was so important. They had heard the prophecies repeatedly, and they were anxiously waiting for the Messiah to come. Luke tells us how the Heavenly Host told the Shepherds about the birth of Jesus. The Shepherds went immediately into Bethlehem to see Jesus. As they left to return to their flocks, they told everyone they met about what they had seen and heard. Luke 2:18 says, “And all who heard it wondered at what the shepherds told them.” (ESV)
In those days, the shepherds weren’t the most respected of people, if anything people would look down on them with disdain. They tended to not put much faith in anything a shepherd told them because people looked at them as being from the lowest class, not worthy of their time or trustworthy. But as I think about this whole scene, I can’t help but think that even if the shepherds weren’t the most respected among them, something about the story caused the people to pause and ponder what they had been told.
When I think of the word, “wonder,” I think of being in awe. I am in awe when what I have heard is almost unbelievable, it seems so impossible, and yet it is true. The people of that day had heard the prophecies for years of how God would send a Messiah and as they listened to the shepherds they were in wonder. Isaiah prophesied about Jesus coming as a baby and that He would save His people from their sins. (Isaiah 9:6, 61:1) He also prophesied that Jesus would be born of a virgin (Isaiah 7:14) Here the shepherds were telling them that the Messiah, who was born of a virgin as the Scriptures foretold, was lying in a manger in a stable. They were told that the Messiah was born in Bethlehem, as Micah foretold years ago. (Micah 5:2)
After 400 years of silence from God, He had spoken loudly and clearly, that He still had a plan for His people, and that plan came through the promise of this little child in a manger. Not only did the shepherds tell everyone they met, but they went immediately to where Mary, Joseph, and the baby were. They saw with their own eyes, God’s own Son. They must have almost been pinching themselves to see if they were awake and if what they were seeing was true. But God decided to use the most disrespected people of the day to get out the message that He had sent His Son to save the world.
I wonder, are we like the people the shepherds told? Are we in awe when we hear the story of Jesus’ birth? Do we worship Him with an attitude of wonder as to why He would come to rescue people from their sins? Why would He love us so much just to come as a lowly baby, born to a poor family, grow up, and minister hope and healing, preaching a message of repentance, love, and forgiveness? Sometimes, I think about that, and it just causes me to pause in awe, incredulous as to how much love He has for me, and then I worship Him with thankfulness in my heart for all He has done and for Who He is.
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