Luke 2:11-12

V. 11. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, which is Christ the Lord. V. 12. And this shall be a sign unto you: ye shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling-clothes, lying in a manger.

In that same country, in the neighborhood of the town of Bethlehem, there were shepherds. They were out in the fields, whether under the open sky or in booths, is immaterial. They may have constructed a rude shelter against the chilliness of the night air. They were watching the watches of the night, taking turns about in caring for the flock lest some of them stray away or be carried off by wild beasts. These flocks may well have belonged to the herds that were being driven up to Jerusalem by easy stages, to be used as sacrifices in the Temple, as one commentator has remarked. There was nothing unusual about the situation, nor were the shepherds in a superstitious state of mind.

Note: The fact that the flocks were out in the open at night and not in the corral or fold does not disprove the traditional date of the Savior's birth, as it was definitely established in 354 by Bishop Liberius. It is by no means unusual for the meadows to be in the best condition at the end of December.

While the shepherds, who belonged to the poor and lowly of the land, were thus engaged in the pursuit of their calling, a miracle of the Lord took place in Bethlehem, of which they were to receive the first news.

Note: Not the great and mighty of the nation were chosen as the recipients of the wonderful tidings of the nativity of Christ, just as not proud Jerusalem, but little Bethlehem became the Lord's birthplace, but lowly shepherds of the plains. To these a supernatural revelation was suddenly given: an angel of the Lord came upon them, he stood over against or above them. It was an unexpected apparition out of the quietness of the solemn night, beneath the starry heavens.

At the same time, the glory of the Lord lighted up the space about the shepherds, from the face and form of the angel himself, as a messenger from the splendor of the heavens. And they feared a great fear. They were thoroughly frightened. Sinful man cannot endure the light from the presence of the holy God. Besides, the suddenness of the angel's appearance caught them unawares; there was no gradual preparation of their senses for the culmination that burst upon them. But the message of the angel was reassuring with all the beauty and love of the Christmas spirit. They should not give way or remain under the domination of fear, for his is a message which is, in substance, the entire Gospel. He announces to them a great joy, in order that their hearts may be filled with that joy.

And these wonderful tidings will not be confined to them alone, but are intended, and will be proclaimed, to all people. The expression is so general that it should not be applied to the people of Israel only, but properly to all nations of the world.

And now the voice of the angel rises, in joyful ecstasy, to the climax of his announcement: For unto you is born this day a Savior, who is Christ the Lord, in the city of David. The angel used terms with which the shepherds were familiar from their youth, in which they were wont to express their hopes for the salvation of Israel. Savior denotes such a person as perfectly frees us from all evil and danger, and is the author of perpetual salvation. And Christ or Messiah is He for whose coming the Jews looked with anxious desire, in and through whom the real believers in Israel expected the Kingdom which should last throughout eternity.

Note: The true humanity and the true divinity of the newborn Babe is here clearly stated, even as the angel summarizes the prophecies of old, in calling Bethlehem the city of David. Furthermore: Christ was born a true man, to purify and sanctify our sinful conception and birth.

"To help our poor, miserable birth, God has sent another birth, which had to be pure and unsullied, if it should cleanse our impure, sinful birth. That then is the birth of Christ the Lord, His only-begotten Son. And for that reason He did not want to let Him be born from sinful flesh and blood; but He should be born of a virgin. . . . That is what the angel wishes to say with these words: 'Unto you is born.' Which implies: All that He is and has is yours, and He is your Savior; not only that you regard Him thus, but that He can deliver you from sin, death, devil, and all misfortune; yea, as great as He is, He is born for you, and is yours with all that He has" (Luther, 13a, 71).

And, finally: Note the word "unto you." "As though he would say: Until now you have been captives of the devil; he has plagued you with water, fire, pestilence, sword, and who can narrate all the misfortune? . . . And when he has tortured soul and body, eternal death threatens afterward. Unto you, the angel says, unto you that were held captive under this harmful, evil, poisonous spirit, who is the prince and God of the world, the Savior is born. The words 'unto you' should surely make us happy. For to whom does he speak ? To wood or stone ? No, to men, and not to one or two only, but to all the people. . . . We have need of Him, and for our sakes He has become man. Therefore it behooves us people that we accept Him with joy, as the angel here says: Unto you is born a Savior" (Luther, 13a, 74).

In order that the shepherds may not be misdirected or go astray in the overcrowded city, the angel gives them specific directions how they may find the Child and recognize Him at once. He would be found wrapped in swaddling-clothes and lying in the crib of a stable. Those directions were as explicit and exact as any that could be given, since there would be no other child in such poor and lowly circumstances as this one, the Savior of the world.