When the angels had departed from them into heaven, the shepherds began saying to one another, “Let’s go straight to Bethlehem, then, and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has made known to us.” And they came in a hurry and found their way to Mary and Joseph, and the baby as He lay in the manger. When they had seen Him, they made known the statement which had been told them about this Child. And all who heard it were amazed about the things which were told them by the shepherds. But Mary treasured all these things, pondering them in her heart. And the shepherds went back, glorifying and praising God for all that they had heard and seen, just as had been told them.
(Luke 2:15-20)
We are not easily impressed, we great humans.
With the advancements of our day, wonder is a thing not so often achieved.
After all, we’ve been to the moon; made electric vehicles; analyze things like brain function and the average intelligence of the common American. We even make things such as tofu taste more like chicken just because we want to.
But the salvation of the world was a gift unachieved by the hands of men and the wonder found therein is better than all the above.
Our Shepherds are left in a pasture with nothing but their sheep, left alone under the stars just as quickly as they had been surrounded by heavenly hosts proclaiming the hope of the world.
Having been made privy to the long-awaited fulfillment of messianic prophecy, the shepherds are compelled to act. They believe! Unlike some of those in the “Hall of Faith” (Heb 11), God willed that these men should accept this message just as they heard it. In a world marked by unbelief (Romans 1:18-32), the spiritual realm has become undeniably important to these men.
Belief compels them to move, and they obediently make their way to Bethlehem.
It doesn’t surprise us to know that they found Christ in a manger, just as foretold in vs. 12.
They find our Lord vulnerable, humanly speaking, as He lays not in the glory due His station, but in the least desirable dwelling in the city. Our King in rags, Joseph and Mary undoubtedly hungry and weary, with many questions about their life and God’s hand in it. What a comfort it must have been for Mary to hear of the angel’s testimony to the shepherds (vs. 17). She would years later see that the peace brought to men was to be bought through the blood of her infant child.
“All who heard it were amazed.” Can we still be amazed at the Lord’s work in bringing Jesus into the world the way the people at that moment were amazed? Is the reconciliation of man to God worthy of more attention than our modern civilization and the problems it brings with it? More worthy of consideration than a mask mandate or even perhaps than familial strife during the holidays? We know the answer. Let us pray that the wonder of our Savior in rags and poverty is the thing worth pondering in our hearts as we come together with others this season. We can treasure these things as Mary, with so much less pondering than she had! We have so many of the answers to the questions she had.
The shepherds depart, and not surprisingly they proclaim what they’ve seen. How could they not?
They had seen the most beautiful moment in history to that point and had responded as we pray that we can- with utter amazement and wonder. The faithfulness of our King to redeem and reconcile is the most amazing thing we will ever see.
