... to You

Can I get an amen to that? Good morning, everybody. Thank you, my name is Mark, one of the other pastors here. So glad that you are in church today, and we are celebrating this entire month that light has come, that Jesus Christ, the light of the world was born in Bethlehem. I love how that video not only recaps the meaning and the message of Christmas, but did you notice how they use little nativity figures in there? I thought that was pretty cool.

In fact, it's great because probably most of us have some sort of nativity scene in our house right now. I brought two members of our nativity here this morning because I probably represent a lot of what you have in your home. We've got this little guy here and this one. And they're kind of cool and all. But like every nativity figurine I've ever seen, and especially when it comes to the shepherds, they really romanticize the shepherds in the Christmas story.

Let me show you what I'm talking about. Take this one for example. I don't know about you, but especially those of you up close, this one just looks like a girl to me, a long flowing dress. And I can't tell if he or she is carrying a little white lamb or perhaps it's our little white poodle. I don't know, but it's anybody's guess. This guy right here with the little tricky staff and all, about every second or third Christmas I find his arm broken off lying on the floor next to the crime scene. Our kids never seem to know what happened. I wouldn't know. I don't know. But he's pretty, in fact last night we were taking a photo of him right here and Adrian found out just how delicate he is, right? Adrian, because we broke his arm off again, so it's taped on today. He is really delicate.

This one's really cute and I have to think that cute and delicate have very little to do with the shepherds that lived at the time of Jesus. In fact, they probably looked a little bit more like the guys you see here on screen. These are probably 100 years old, these photos, but probably represent what the shepherds looked like 2,000 years ago. They were rugged. They were weathered. They were wary of people who were not shepherds because despite the fact that the great heroes of the Old Testament, guys like Abraham, and I'm putting these over here by the way because I just don't want to take a chance of swatting them off that chair. All right, you stay.

Despite the fact that the great heroes of the Old Testament, Abraham, Moses, David, they were all shepherds. By the time of Jesus, shepherds now have a terrible reputation. They're like lowest of the low on the social ladder. We know this because historians have recovered some documents from the time of Jesus. In fact, one ancient commentary, you know what a commentary is, is when someone writes about what they think the Bible means and that kind of stuff. Well, this commentator, he's writing about the 23rd Psalm, you know, the one that begins, "The Lord is my shepherd." And this commentary, he can't hide his dismay over the fact that David has equated the Lord to a shepherd. And so he writes this in response. He says, "There is no more disreputable occupation than that of a shepherd." Tell us what you really think.

Here's a first century rabbi. He says this about shepherds, "Most of the time, they're dishonest and thieving. They lead their herds onto other people's land and pilfer the produce of the land." And that was really the first strike against shepherds at the time of Christ because as Israel became more agricultural, roving herds of crop-eating animals became less popular. I mean, they could wipe out your entire field. People love to eat lamb, but it became one of those not in my backyard kind of things. You know what I'm talking about?

Think about it this way. How many of you like a nice, juicy steak? Okay, come on. I know it's Santa Cruz, but let's just be honest. We're in church here. Now, how many of you would like to have a big herd of cattle grazing in your backyard all the time? Anytime they come. Not me. I don't want to be that close to it. Well, that's the dilemma that these guys have. So that's really the first strike against them is that people really don't like the fact that these roving herds are coming in. And then strike two is that they don't like shepherds in general because most of the shepherds didn't own the sheep. They were hired hands, and they'd work 24/7 out in the field.

You know, they were dirty. They smelled like their sheep. And so who wants to be around that? And not only that, they didn't trust them because from time to time, sheep would go missing, and the owner would ask the shepherds, the hired hands, "Well, what happened?" They'd go, "Well, probably wolves. You know, those wolves have a way." Meanwhile, they're picking roast lamb out of their teeth. So hence, their reputation as thieves. And this all leads into the third strike against shepherds. They were considered unclean in a religious sense. They couldn't go into the temple. They're too notorious. They're too dirty.

Now, irony is that their sheep could go into the temple, but they couldn't. They couldn't participate in the religious life of Israel. So just to recap, if you're a shepherd, number one, nobody likes what you do. Two, nobody likes you. And third, there's not a whole lot you can do about it. They don't want you in church, not unless they have a chance to really clean you up ahead of time, which for the average shepherd, that really never happens. That day just doesn't arrive. And it's not like there's some sort of outreach to these guys, like Campus Crusade for Shepherds or something like that. They're just the wrong sort of people.

And maybe you can relate to that, because maybe there's been a time in your life, maybe that time is now where you feel on the outs with most people. You're not the right kind of person. Maybe you've been made to feel small because you don't have the cool job. You don't have the cool address. Or you don't have the cool family. Maybe there's things about your family that quite frankly embarrass you. Or maybe you have a past and people know about it. Or maybe they don't know about it because, like my friend René, you've been able to hide it really well. It still haunts you. You've ever in your life felt small, had people looking down their noses at you. If you ever think just about yourself, let alone what other people think, "I just, there's really something just not good about me." Well, the Christmas story is for you.

Because when it came time for God to announce the birth of His Son, of all people, He picks shepherds. So why don't we roll into their story here. Let's pick up where we left off last week in Luke chapter 2. I invite you to open your Bible if you have it with you to Luke chapter 2. If you don't, grab one of those TLC Bibles here in the auditorium. If you're joining us in venue this morning, good morning or online. If you're in venue, the Bible's in the back of the room. If you're watching this at home, I don't know where the Bible is, but maybe you can find it. You can look it up on your phone. You can read it from the notes or on the screen. There's no shortage of ways to follow along this morning.

And if you were with us last week, we covered the first seven verses of Luke chapter 2. And so it won't take you long to catch up if you also joined us, but you happened to fall asleep last week. Well, you can go to our website, TLC.org, and watch it again, or at least try again. TLC.org is there, along with hundreds of other sermons that you can watch anytime, anywhere, and it's all for free.

But if you recall the Christmas story, which I'm sure you do, it starts when Mary and Joseph have to go to Bethlehem to register for the census that Caesar has decreed. Everyone has to do in the Roman Empire. And when they get there in Bethlehem, there is no room in the... Very good. Now, this inn was not, you know, a holiday inn or a motel six. It was more likely like a hostel or perhaps even the guest room in somebody's house. But there's no room for Mary and Joseph, at least not to have a baby. So Mary has the baby in a stable or a cave, because they use those as sheep pens as well. And there they are, alone, anonymous, homeless, welcome to the world, baby Jesus.

Picking up the story, starting at verse eight. "And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night. An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified." All right, now that you know a little bit about what people thought of shepherds, think about this, because this is really surprising, that God would choose shepherds, these despised outcasts, to be the first ones to receive the news. I mean, it's kind of ridiculous, because if you want people to believe your story, it helps if you choose witnesses that have some credibility. Shepherds couldn't even testify in court. That's what people thought of their credibility.

And so this really makes no sense unless you're a God of grace, a God who loves to reach out to the lowly and the weak, the forgotten, the outcast, the misfits, like shepherds. And speaking of misfits, this is why, in my opinion, that holiday classic, Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer, is one of the greatest Christmas shows ever made. It is. René, he's a Charlie Brown Christmas guy, because he thinks it's more spiritual. But hey, I'm going to show you, I'm going to make my case right here now, why I think Rudolph has something for us here today, because not only do we bust out the nativity figures every Christmas time to decorate our home, we also pull out the cast of Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer and adorn our home with them yesterday, right here.

If you know the story, it kind of starts out with this guy, Santa Claus. And you know, Santa Claus, he's a great guy, but in this story he gets off to a bad start, hasn't been eaten enough, he's a bit grouchy. And so he's kind of a jerk to Rudolph's parents. And he actually shames them, shames them for having a red-nosed reindeer. And here's the star of our show, Rudolph. And as a red-haired kid, I always had kind of an affinity for this little guy. So he's kind of on the outs with Santa, but he teams up with this geeky little elf named Hermey. Very good. See, you do watch this. It was on last night, did you know that? Hermey. Hermey is the elf that says, "I want to be a dentist." Remember that? And when he says that, he gets hassled, like usual, from this guy, "Boss Elf." "Get back to work, Hermey, a dentist!" And this guy, he's got like anger management issues or something like that. And it could be because Santa Claus is always kind of riding his back, telling him that the elf choir really doesn't sound good. So maybe he's just projecting on poor Hermey.

I don't know, but Hermey and Rudolph, they decide to strike out on their own. They go on a little adventure, and they meet this guy, Yukon Cornelius, greatest prospector in the North, right? And this guy is awesome. He's got such a great heart. He's so passionate, and he's kind of like a Christ figure. And I'll tell you why, because when Rudolph is about to be eaten by this guy, the abominable snowman of the North, he's about to be eaten. And who intervenes? Yukon Cornelius does, but they tumble off the cliff. And like Rudolph says, "They're gone. They're really gone." Wait, we're not done yet. We're not done. But it turns out they're not gone. They return. And not only do they return, but this guy, he's got a new name. He's named Bumbles now, and he's got a new heart. He just wants to help. He's like the kind, gentle follower, the disciple of this guy, Yukon Cornelius. It's awesome.

And then, at the climactic inn, on then came one foggy Christmas Eve, and Santa said, "Rudolph, help me out." And where do they go? They go to the island of misfit toys. That's right, and they pick up these poor, forgotten outcasts like this jack-in-the-box named Charlie. Charlie in the box. And this elephant with red spots. And this little doll, which they never say what's wrong with her. Yeah, I just noticed, after 40 years, she's got red hair. But here's the thing. They all get gathered up at Christmas because the moral of the story is Christmas is for everyone, including misfits, and that's the gospel right there. There you go. Merry Christmas.

But God, here's the moral of the gospel, the message of the gospel. We're all misfits. Sin has made every single one of us a misfit. We're defective. But God doesn't leave us on the island of misfit toys. He sends His Son to gather us up. And it all started at Christmas because Christmas is for us. And I think that's why He came to a bunch of shepherds, to make that point loud and clear. And not only are these guys the first to hear the news that Jesus has been born, but check out how this news arrives because Luke tells us that the angel appears to them. They're sitting out in the fields washing over their sheep. It's just another boring night, and then all of a sudden, boom! This incredible angelic figure appears, and he doesn't look like some chubby baby or some Barbie doll with wings. I mean, it's crazy, the images we have of angels.

Someone showed me a picture of an angel this week. It looked like Cinderella. Like, come on! That's not how they're described in the Bible. Sometimes they appear as humans, but when they do that, they're in disguise. When they appear in their angelic form, when they have only radiance and power, people are terrified. And so these shepherds are just like, "Ahh!" Terrified as well. In fact, Luke says that he clumps together some words in the original language, and you can literally translate that, "They were scared with mega scaredness." Isn't that great? They are scared with mega scaredness! And who can blame them? And not only are they scared with this mega scaredness, but Luke says that the angel shows up, and the glory of the Lord shows all around him. The glory of the Lord. So the angel shows up with the what? The glory. Let me hear you say it. The glory of the Lord. Very good. You're paying attention.

Now, what in the world does that mean? This is a very specific phrase that Luke uses here. He's being very careful here with this language. Let's try to decode this, because this is really going to help us understand what's going on here. If you go all the way back through the Bible, you'll see this phrase, and one of the places you see it a lot is with Moses, when he's leading the children of Israel through the wilderness. You remember this story? If you grew up in church, you know this story. If you didn't grow up in church, if you saw Prince of Egypt or the Ten Commandments with Charlton Heston, you know this story. They wander in the desert for 40 years. It's like a really long camping trip. And they don't have any place to settle to set up their temple where Moses can meet with the Lord.

And so they build this special tent called the Tent of Meeting. And this is where Moses would go into the tent and meet with the Lord. So the Tent of Meeting. Well, Exodus 40 tells us that everything has been completed with a tent. It's all good to go. The day has come. Moses is going to go into the tent and meet with the Lord. But look what happens when he tries to do that. I'll read this, Exodus 40, verses 34 and 35. "Then the cloud covered the tent of meeting, and the glory of the Lord filled the tabernacle. Moses could not enter the tent of meeting because the cloud had settled on it, and the glory of the Lord filled the tabernacle." And that same glory of the Lord is now accompanying this angel. I mean, Moses is the greatest spiritual leader in the Old Testament, bar none. He cannot handle this glory of the Lord around him. He can't even enter the tent. How much more these shepherds?

Let's jump back into the story. Luke 2, verse 10. "But the angel said to them, 'Do not be afraid,'" which is something that angels always have to say when they appear to people. Don't be afraid. "'I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people.'" Now stop there for a moment, because what does he say? "I bring you good news." You guys, you outcast. "I bring you good news." It's for all the people, but I bring this news to you. I mean, what a moment. No one has ever brought good news to these guys in their lives. And now they're on the ground floor of the greatest news in history.

And the angel continues, "Today in the town of David, a Savior has been born to you. He is Christ the Lord to you, a Savior has been born. He is your Christ, your Lord." And now, guys, here's how you're going to find him. I'm going to give you a little sign. And here's how you're going to recognize this amazing gift that God has given you. Verse 12, "This will be a sign to you." Are you ready? Okay, wait for it, guys. Here it comes. Here it is. "You will find a baby wrapped in claws and lying in a manger." What? Really? Aren't all babies wrapped in claws? Well, yeah, but he'll also be lying in a manger. So it goes together. Okay. Feeding trough.

Why not like a cloud, you know, with like lightning bolts and tons of smoke and special effects and explosions? Feeding trough? I mean, if I was here, that's what I'd be thinking. I mean, how many feeding troughs had these guys seen in their lifetime? It's like a tool in their trade, right? They're surrounded by feeding troughs. But think about what this means. It's like if the angel appeared to a bunch of mechanics, he would say, "And you will find that baby lying in your toolbox." Or if he appeared to painters. You'll find him over in your paint bucket. Or if they're a bunch of office workers, you will find that baby lying wrapped in claws in a cubicle. Because look, they shut you out of the temple, but they can't shut you out from me, so I will come to your toolbox. I will come to your paint bucket. I will come to your cubicle, your feeding trough. Isn't that amazing? Isn't that stunning?

And this incredible message ends with this huge exclamation point. Verse 13 and 14. "Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God and saying, 'Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace to those on whom his favor rests.'" Okay, now we're getting somewhere with a, you know, making your point big, right? Now this great company, literally an army of angels show up. Who knows, a thousand, five thousand, maybe ten thousand, sometimes that term refers to a legion of ten thousand, and they show up and they're all saying, "Glory to God." And these voices are thundering down on these little shepherds, and why are they making all this huge, huge display, this praise? It's all because of a little baby who is so much more than just a little baby.

Because these angels, I mean they know that he is the fulfillment of God's promise to come and redeem humankind and restore this broken planet. They saw them, when Isaiah penned the words 700 years earlier, that to us a child would be born, to us a son would be given, and that he would be called Wonderful Counselor and Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace, they know that day has arrived now, today. God has assumed human flesh, baby flesh no less. But bear in mind, these angels saw God create the universe. They saw him spin out galaxies and create black holes and supernovas. They saw him form the earth and raise up mountains and fill oceans. They saw him create birds and bears and whales and fish and frogs and puppies. They saw him create the first humans and how God delighted in them so much that he would call them his image bearers. And then they shrank back in horror as those image bearers rebelled against their God and plunged this good green earth into darkness. And now God has become one of them. He's actually joined them. No wonder these angels are singing glory to God in the highest. Their pints are blown. And I'm sure they're not alone because there's those shepherds taking this all in.

And they have to be thinking to themselves, is this really happening? Is this really happening or did we just have some bad lamb last night? And you know, sometimes it could be a really bad thing or it'd be a really great thing and we ask ourselves, is this for real? Am I really in this moment? Have you ever been in a moment like that? I was that way on my wedding day, happiest day of my life, and I'm going, wow. This is amazing. Who are those kids? I don't know. This is amazing. It's like a dream. Or a few years later, I'm sitting in my living room, a big chair, and I've got my two-year-old son Jack in one arm and my one-day-old son Luke in the other, and I'm thinking, I am the richest man on the planet. I've got to do something about that hair, but I am the richest, richest man on the planet.

And there's such a joy in those moments when you go, this is like reality. This is really happening. This is the new normal. Well, what about this moment with the shepherds and the angels and the birth of Jesus? Is that reality too? Did that really happen? Because if it did, it changes everything. Everything has been changed. I mean, God was not content to leave us. God didn't say, you know what, you made your bed, now go sleep in it. No, light has come to this world, and it has come to you. To you, a Savior has been born. To you, this good news comes. God is offering peace to you, His favor to you. And it's lavish favor. It's rich. It's beyond generous. It's crazy love.

What do you do in the face of all this? How do you react to this? Well, let's see what the shepherds did. Last two verses, verses 15 and 16. When the angels had left them and gone into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, "Let's go to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has told us about." So they hurried off and found Mary and Joseph and the baby who was lying in the manger. So these angels, they disappear. The night goes back to normal. Imagine these guys look at each other and it's like, "Let's go!" And off they go to Bethlehem, and with every step it's like, "We're about to see Him. We're almost there."

And as they near the outskirts of Bethlehem, man, if anyone knows where all the stables are and the feeding troughs, it's these guys, right? And so they start to eliminate this one and the next one and the next one, and then suddenly they hear it. They hear the sounds of a little baby, and they hear Mary's soft tones comforting Him. And they stop right on the edge of the firelight because they don't want to intrude. But Joseph says, "Come on. Come on. He belongs to you too." And there he is, the one who would walk on the water, turn water into wine, heal the sick, feed the multitudes. There's the one who would teach in a way that no one else would ever teach, or live a life that no one else has ever lived, or die and come back from the dead like no one else ever has, and he's right there. He's right there in a feeding trough.

And of course the shepherds don't know how his life is going to unfold, but they know this much. They know what the angel has told them. He's their Savior. He's their Christ and Lord. He was born for them. And you know what? He wasn't just born for those shepherds. He was born for you, and for you, and for you, and you, and you, and me. He was born for all of us. Now why would God do that? Why would God make Himself so vulnerable, humble Himself so much, so this tiny little baby, why would He do that? Well let me remind you why. God became so small for us because His love is so big for us. That's right. God loved us so much that His Son would become so small for us.

The eternal Son of God would become so small because His love is so big. And man, when that gets into your brain, it just blows you away. Look, we can't handle God in His glory. You know, just these little frail mortal bodies. We wouldn't be able to handle it, so He comes to us in a way that we can, in a form that we can actually understand. And make no mistake, He was all God and all human. Now how He did that, that's a mystery. But why He did it, that's not. He did it because His love is so big.

So if you ever wonder, could God really love me despite all the things that I've ever done in my past, all the things that I've done to hurt myself, hurt others, offend God, could God still love me? I want you to look back to that little baby lying in a manger. Or if you ever think to yourself, you know, what's the point, what does God really want? What's the message in a nutshell? Look back to that little baby. Look back to Jesus. The one who comes to us in a way that we can understand.

I'll illustrate it this way. This week in the news, five-year-old little girl named Claire was going to sing in a Christmas concert with her fellow kindergartners at her school, and all the parents arrived eager to hear what the kids are going to sing. But there's a little bit of a problem, because Claire's mom and her dad are both deaf. So how will they know what the children are singing? Well, watch this.

How awesome is that? So cute. Now get this. God came to you as a child to speak in a language you can understand. That's why he came. So you could get it. That's how big his love is. He came to your toolbox, to your paint bucket, to your office cubicle. Wherever he needed to go, that's where he went. That's how big his love is for you.

So here's my challenge for all of us today. I don't know where you come from. Maybe you came here today like you do every weekend. You've been coming to church for years. You've heard this story a hundred times. Or maybe you're visiting with friends. You're from the outer area, and you came and stayed with them. And they informed you once you arrived that part of your stay would include going to church today. So, hello. Or maybe you just started checking out church. You didn't even believe it, but you're curious about Jesus. So you thought, well, Twin Lakes can't be the worst place to check out this Christianity thing. However you came, for whatever reason, I'm so glad you are here.

But this is my challenge to all of us. All of us here today. Let's be like the shepherds this week. In fact, right there in your notes there, circle those two little phrases. Let's go and see. Let's go and see. This week, let's go back to Bethlehem, so to speak, in the days that approached Christmas. Let's go and see what God has done when he came as a little child. And let it just blow your mind over again. It's a gift that you can never tire of unwrapping, because every time you go and you see, there's this renewed sense of amazement, of wonder.

So, you know, whether you're a student and it's between finals or you're shopping and you just need to take a little break, maybe you're sitting over a cup of coffee or you're on your break at work, whatever it is, just take those moments to go and see. Go back to Bethlehem, just like those shepherds did. Maybe even read the story for yourself this week. It begins in Matthew, leading in Matthew, beginning of Luke. It won't take you a lot of time. It won't really cost you anything, but go and see.

Or perhaps you're going to be buying some last-minute gifts and you're thinking about giving and receiving gifts here in about a week and a half, but I want you to remember that the greatest gift has already been given. It's already ours. And it came when God would make Himself so small for you, for me, because His love is so big. Amen? Amen. Let's pray.

Heavenly Father, we thank You so much for Your goodness and Your grace. Lord, I pray the reality of the birth of Your Son into this world, which is below us away. Help us, Lord, to push aside the distractions or help us to downshift our busy schedules long enough to enjoy what the season is all about. It's not about running around like a crazy person. We're running up our credit cards. It's about being in awe over Your love.

And so, Lord, I pray that even in these moments here, You would help us to go and to see this thing that You have done in our hearts and our imaginations. Help us, Lord, to just revel in the gift that You've given us. And I pray, Lord, if nothing else, everyone in this room, everyone over at the venue, everyone who will watch this online or on TV, they will remember how big Your love is because of how small You are willing to become. Thank You for this reality, Lord. It really does change everything. We pray this in the name of our Savior. Amen.