Day 20 Luke 2:10-11
19 Dec 2023
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"And the angel said to them, “Fear not, for behold I bring you good news of a great joy that will be for all the people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, who is Christ the Lord.”
Because this passage is so familiar it is easy not to notice how deeply unusual the event recounted in it is. This isn’t simply because there are angels speaking to shepherds in the countryside (I know that’s strange!) It is also important to notice how unusual it is in the whole sweep of Scripture itself.
Of course, this is not the first encounter anyone has with an angel of the Lord. But the big difference here is that up to this point, whenever someone meets an angel like this, they are about to be commissioned for service. It is the prophets who meet the angel of the Lord and are set apart for his service - think about Ezekiel for example. If they are not prophets those who meet the angel are significant in other ways in salvation history - think about the patriarchs like Jacob.
But here we have ordinary men. Shepherds going about their normal business. We do not know their names. The likelihood is they continue to be shepherds after they rush to Bethlehem and see what the angel has told them about.
So what is going on? Why do they get a personal encounter with an angel of the Lord? I think the answer is to do with what the Lord is doing in sending his son.
The writer to the Hebrews makes it clear that in the coming of Jesus there has been a change in the way the Lord relates to us. Or perhaps to put it a better way - there is fulfilment.
“Long ago, at many times and in many ways, God spoke to our fathers by the prophets, but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed the heir of all things, through whom also he created the world.” (Hebrews 1:1-2)
There is no longer any need for a prophet who encounters the Lord through visions to speak God’s words to God’s people. In fact, the last prophet has been born (John the Baptist). There is no more need for patriarchs and human kings for God’s people. God has come himself now, and will speak directly through his Son.
These shepherds meet the angel of the Lord in the way prophets of old did. But they are not being set apart as prophets. They are being told to go to Jesus.
They act as representatives of all of us. The angel of the Lord speaks to them, but as we hear his word in Scripture, he speaks to all of us - ordinary men and women. We do not have to fear meeting the Lord anymore. There is good news (gospel) of great joy for everyone. Jesus the Saviour and King has been born. God’s final word to all mankind has come.
So we must go to him and listen to him. Do not wait for new revelations or new experiences. Don’t rush after so called spiritual men and women who claim great encounters or seem to perform miracles. Go to Jesus. He is God’s last and best word to us today.