Christmas Eve | Homilies on St. Luke 2:15–20
In Nomine Iesu
I. 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.”
The greatest and most important news ever proclaimed on this earth by a multitude of heavenly hosts was made to lowly shepherds. Ever wonder why? I am sure the shepherds did too. We’d imagine that such important news would have gone first to kings and dignitaries, or the priests in the Temple. The shepherds weren’t important people in the eyes of the world—neither honorable nor powerful. They were regular people with regular problems and sins. Here we see that our gracious God delights in honoring those who are otherwise ignored by the world. Throughout the Bible those who were considered nobodies, received the greatest honor from heaven.
And what a comfort that is for you and me! The message that the angel brings is not dependent on our worthiness or greatness before God. The Lord is the one who makes the unworthy, worthy; the weak, strong; the dead, alive. The good tidings of great joy the angel proclaimed was for people like you and me. He was born for “you” the angel proclaimed.
The shepherds went to see these things which the Lord had made known unto them. The angel’s message was from God and so the shepherds went to Bethlehem. They went to investigate whether the things they had heard from the angel were true. Their flocks could wait. If the Savior had come, then the shepherds must go and find him!
There is a phrase commonly heard during this time of the year—“Put Christ back into Christmas.” Such a slogan reminds us that it’s all too easy to be consumed with the externals of the holiday—the lights, presents, candy, and food, and forget the reason for Christmas. Yet, the slogan might be a bit of an overstatement. Christ is in Christmas. Jesus never left. He remains. Our concern should be that of the shepherds—to investigate and see these things which have come to pass, which the Lord has made known unto us. We do not need to put Jesus back into Christmas, but simply come and adore him!
Hymn #119 – “Away in a Manger”
II. And they came with haste, and found Mary, and Joseph, and the babe lying in a manger.
If the angel had not announced to the shepherds where the Savior would be found and the lowly signs surrounding his birth, the shepherds would have never thought to look for the Savior of the world, lying in a lowly manger. Remember, later the Magi would come to look for Jesus in Jerusalem—a place fit for a King of the Jews. But that is not where they found him. This is why the angel told the shepherds where they would find him. And find him they did!
The shepherds found lying in a manger their Good Shepherd. The One whom God promised Adam and Eve he would send, who would crush the head of Satan. The Offspring of Abraham who would bless all nations. God kept his promise.
If the shepherds would have gone to Jerusalem to find the baby Jesus, despite what the angel had told them, they wouldn’t have found Jesus—because he wasn’t there. He was in Bethlehem lying in a manger, wrapped in swaddling clothes. If the shepherds didn’t listen to the directions, we would rightly say it was their own fault for not being able to find Jesus.
The same is true for all of us. If we look for God in places where he has not told us he will be found, we will not find him. It can be a temptation for us to look for God in the great and glorious things of this world—on the highest mountain, out in nature, or in the things of this world. Of course, God is present everywhere—but where does he tell us we will find him?
God doesn’t come to us in the great and glorious things of this world, but as a newborn babe, lying in a manger. He comes to us in the Word God. Jesus said, “For where two or three are gathered together in My name, I am there in the midst of them” (Matthew 18:20). He comes to us at church where we hear the good tidings of great joy, that Jesus forgives us and strengthens us through his Word and Sacrament. These aren’t outwardly impressive, but rather lowly signs like his birth. It’s there—where he has told us he will be—that we find him. May we like the shepherds, go to where he will be found.
Hymn #123:1–6 – “From Heaven Above to Earth I Come”
III. 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.
The shepherds had found the Savior of the world! The King of kings and the Prince of Peace! After they had seen this Holy Child, they went out as the first evangelists telling others about all the things they had heard and seen. But the Bible tells us, “And all they that heard it wondered at those things which were told them by the shepherds.” The people wondered how this could be. Was this Child, the one lying in a manger, really the Savior God promised? In Scripture, we don’t learn of a great line of people who went to see the baby Jesus. Instead, the people went on with their lives and business just as before.
Our Lord Jesus came in humility and great lowliness. He was a stumbling block and a rock of offense. He still is. He was not the Messiah and Savior that the Jewish people expected. They had wrongly hoped for a Messiah who would bring them worldly peace, power, and safety. They, like we often are, were more concerned with earthly things than heavenly things. Maybe they wondered, “How can this baby help me pay my mortgage or feed my family?”
Jesus did not come into this world just to make sure we always have enough to eat, though he did perform the miracle of feeding the five thousand. Jesus did not come into this world just to give us temporary healing, though he did heal many sick. Jesus came to save us from the root cause of all the suffering, sickness, and hurt in this world. “Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners” (I Timothy 1:15).
He was not born in a castle. He would not go on to battle the Romans to free the Jews; Jesus went the lonely way of the cross so that he might save our souls from death. This Holy Child came to live the perfect life in our place—obeying his Father’s will and keeping his commands. Yet, to save us from the punishment that we deserve for our sins—the times we have loved the things of this world more than God, purposefully sinned against him, hurt our neighbor, lied about or betrayed—Jesus went forward to the cross to take our place.
Jesus was born so that he could die. He died so that you could live. We do not need to wonder who this Child is. Jesus is your Savior!
Hymn #145 – “What Child Is This?”
IV. 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.
There are two completely different lenses for viewing the birth of Jesus. On the one hand, there is the heavenly lens, which we see in the multitude of heavenly hosts who rejoiced, “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men.” On the other hand, there is the earthly lens, which is how we normally see, that sees nothing too important in a lowly babe born in a manger. Our earthly lens can’t perceive the miracles of God. Thankfully, God’s Word opens our eyes to the miracle of Christmas.
The angels rejoiced because they knew what this birth meant for mankind. “Unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, which is Christ the Lord.” This Child born of Mary was the Son of God. Jesus is both true God and true man. He was the Savior promised to Adam and Eve, who would crush Satan’s head, and deliver us from sin and death. Without Christ, when God looks down from heaven, all he sees is our sin and shame, which rightly deserves his punishment. But now, because of this Child, who would go to the cross to make full satisfaction of all our sins, God can say of us as he said of Jesus, “This is My beloved Son in whom I am well pleased.”
Here are some important questions: Can you be certain God loves you? Can you have hope for heaven? Why should God let you into heaven? The answer is found in the manger, on the cross, and the empty tomb. “For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though He was rich, yet for your sakes He became poor, that you through His poverty might become rich” (II Corinthians 8:9).
The angels rejoiced because Jesus came down to earth to bring us to heaven! Scripture promises, “For you are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus. For as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ” (Galatians 3:26–27).
“Mary kept all these things, and pondered them in her heart.” She held in her arms her Son and her Savior! The shepherds returned glorifying and praising God! The eyes of faith rejoice in the birth of this Holy Child!
May God grant you heavenly lenses, so that you see in this lowly Child, the glory of the God most high, who has come to save you, so that you now live in heavenly peace! And when our time in this world comes to an end, by the grace of God we will also sleep in heavenly peace. Amen!
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