December 23, 2022: Luke 2:18 - What Will You Do with the Good News of Jesus Christ?
“And all those who heard it marveled at those things which were told them by the shepherds.” - Luke 2:18
Imagine being told of the birth of Jesus, Christ the Lord, not by the Jewish religious leaders at the time but by shepherds, those who tended to sheep in the fields. I have read that it may be that the shepherds to whom the angel proclaimed the birth of Jesus were the shepherds who took care of the temple sheep that would be sacrificed at the temple in Jerusalem. One thing I have learned with reading God’s word is that there is no such thing as coincidence. Truly, there would be no greater sheep that would be sacrificed to take away our sins than Jesus Christ, the Lamb of God, and what an honor it would be to be told of His birth by an angel of God and to share the good news about Him!
When the shepherds shared the good news with many, they marveled at what the shepherds told them. They were most likely Jews and had heard and read of the coming Messiah by the religious leaders, but what would they do with this news? What would they do with the proclamation that perhaps unlike their expectations that He would come as conquering King, instead He had come as a Child, born in meekness and humility in every way? Would they ponder in their hearts if this is Immanuel - God-With-Us - born of a virgin that the prophet Isaiah had written about so long ago? Is this the One whose name is called “Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace” and “Of the increase of His government and peace there will be no end?”
They, like us today, had to decide what they would do with this good news. Would they believe in Him as Christ the Lord, sent by God above to offer a sinful world the way - the only way - out of its sin, out of their sins, out of our sins? Would they choose to believe, despite what others might say in unbelief? Yes, Jesus came the first time as the Lamb of God to take away the sins of the world for all who would believe in Him, but the Bible also tells us in many books of the Bible, including Revelation, that He is coming again, and this time, it will be to righteously judge those who rejected salvation and chose to remain in their sin. My question to you is, what will you do with this good news of Jesus Christ? ✝️