Luke 2: 8-20

(Luke 2: 8-20) And there were in the same country shepherds abiding in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night. And, lo, the angel of the Lord came upon them, and the glory of the Lord shone round about them: and they were sore afraid. And the angel said unto them, Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord. And this shall be a sign unto you; Ye shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger. And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God, and saying, Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men. And it came to pass, as the angels were gone away from them into heaven, the shepherds said one to another, Let us now go even unto Bethlehem, and see this thing which is come to pass, which the Lord hath made known unto us. And they came with haste, and found Mary, and Joseph, and the babe lying in a manger. And when they had seen it, they made known abroad the saying which was told them concerning this child. And all they that heard it wondered at those things which were told them by the shepherds. But Mary kept all these things, and pondered them in her heart. And the shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things that they had heard and seen, as it was told unto them. 

As foretold in Micah 5, Jesus Christ was born in Bethlehem. But he is laid down in a manger. The word Christ means anointed, and anointing is an ordinance given to high priests, prophets, and kings in the Old Testament. All three offices apply to Christ. Thus he is a high priest, a prophet, and a king. And his identity is God in its essence. He was born very shabby in secret in a stable that the world could not handle. 

 His cradle was a manger, a trough for animals. This was because of his role as the second Adam representing humanity. This is because it is to move those who were bound by Satan and sins to the kingdom of God through his suffering and death. He was to be thoroughly humbled so that the righteousness of God might be imputed for those who believe that Jesus is the Son of God, repent of sins, and are united with Jesus. Here is the justice of God. Although it is a baby, he faithfully took on the role of the second Adam from birth. 

 However, God has prepared two types of congratulators. One class is the Eastern wise men, and one class is the shepherds. And, through them, God had them testify to the mystery of the birth of Christ. It seems that the shepherds who were camping at night found a baby lying in a manger, so they were not so far from where Joseph and Mary stayed. The appearance of shepherds indicates that Jesus is the shepherd. In a field near Bethlehem, shepherds were watching their sheep in the dew at night to keep their sheep silently.

 The Lord's messenger stood next to them. Suddenly appeared on them. The shepherds were afraid of the glory of the Lord. The messenger of the Lord did not appear to the king of Judea, to the high priest or to the scribes. And it did not appear to the inhabitants of Bethlehem. But the Lord's messenger visited the shepherds. The messenger of the Lord appeared to them and announced the birth of Christ, that Jesus was the shepherd who sought the lost sheep. 

Second, the good news is that the Savior, who is Christ the Lord, was born. The news the angel brings is the news of great joy to all the people. It is a news of joy to all the people, including Israel. In Micah 5:2, "But thou, Bethlehem Ephratah, though thou be little among the thousands of Judah, yet out of thee shall he come forth unto me that is to be ruler in Israel; whose goings forth have been from of old, from everlasting. 』 

The word Savior means Liberator and Savior. He becomes the Savior who frees the slaves from sin and Satan. There are two types of original sin. There are the facts of sinning in the kingdom of God as spiritual original sin (Jude 1:6, 1 Peter 2:4) and the original sin of sinning in the Garden of Eden as physical original sin. As the spiritual original sin, Adam was born into this world, and because Adam and Eve sinned, sin entered the world. Humans have been slaves of Satan from birth. Because they have sinned in the kingdom of God.

 Also, because of the original sin of the world, all human beings born in this world become slaves of Satan. In order to gain this freedom from Satan, Jesus died on the cross. “Glory to God in the highest place” The birth of Jesus Christ is the result and revelation of God's glory. It is because God's self-revelation was fulfilled through the coming of Christ. Therefore, honor and glory belong to God, and all praise for the event should be given to Him who is in the highest heaven. The birth of Christ is not the peace of everyone in the world, but people who repent and enter into Christ. That is why those who are in Christ are those who are pleased with the Lord. “All those who heard were amazed at what was brought to them by the shepherds.” The shepherds would have told of the sights they had witnessed. The Bible said that those who heard the stories of the shepherds were astonished. It is the Christ who has been waiting for generations to come. Mary All these words were engraved in her heart, and she thought with her heart, remembering the words of the angel who had come to her and the words of Elizabeth, who had been filled with the Holy Spirit and praised them. Turned.