“do not be afraid…”

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It must have been an incredible experience for those shepherds on the hills outside Bethlehem. Huddled around the fire for warmth they had no idea what was about to happen…

Luke 2:9 An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified.

These days, influenced as we are by cute nativity plays, we don’t appreciate just what this would have been. An angelic messenger, not some Boticelli cherub, and a dazzling display of what Luke describes as “the glory of the Lord”.

An encounter with an expression of God’s glory – His greatness, goodness and holiness – can never leave us unaffected. Hundreds of years earlier the prophet Isaiah learned the same,

Is. 6:1 ย ย  In the year that King Uzziah died, I saw the Lord, high and exalted, seated on a throne; and the train of his robe filled the temple. 2 Above him were seraphim, each with six wings: With two wings they covered their faces, with two they covered their feet, and with two they were flying. 3 And they were calling to one another:

โ€œHoly, holy, holy is the LORD Almighty;ย the whole earth is full of his glory.โ€

4 ย ย  At the sound of their voices the doorposts and thresholds shook and the temple was filled with smoke.

It was an amazing,ย glorious (John 12:41), encounter. Isaiah responded in the only way possible:

Is. 6:5 ย ย  โ€œWoe to me!โ€ I cried. โ€œI am ruined! For I am a man of unclean lips, and I live among a people of unclean lips, and my eyes have seen the King, the LORD Almighty.โ€

To come face to face with the glory of God is to realise howย ungloriousย weย are. It is to acknowledge our sin (Rom 3:21) and, perhaps for the first time, to truly understand how desperate our plight should be. And so no wonder the shepherds are terrified.

Which makes the very first words of the angel such wonderful news!

Luke 2:10 But the angel said to them, โ€œDo not be afraid…”

It’s the best thing we can hear when terrified of the consequence of our sin and it’s no empty promise. For the angel tells them exactly why fear is not the right response,

…I bring you good news that will cause great joy for all the people. 11 Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is the Messiah, the Lord.

Jesus, the descendant of King David, the promised Messiah, the Lord, has come. We need fear the consequence of our sin no more for He has come to save us. Wonderful wonderful news this Christmas time.

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  1. Nigel Poore

    The shepherds fields in Bethlehem were not just any old fields they were the fields where the flock were tended by Priestly shepherds because they were to be sacrificed in the temple 3 ยฝ miles away in Jerusalem. There was a 2 storey stone tower called Migdol Adar, the second storey was used as a lookout for wolves etc, but the 1st story was used to birth the lambs, where they would be wrapped in swaddling and placed in the manger until such time as they let the lamb join the mother. Jesus was born at Migdol Adar. The Priestly shepherds understood the significance when the angel told them the detail of Jesus birth. We just donโ€™t get it until we understand the significance of the shepherdโ€™s fields.

    Further to your blog the above information is from a messianic Jew – jimmy de young.

    Now doesn’t that just blow your mind. The exact description of Jesus. Pretty awesome. I feel pathetically humble. How l fear for the blind that cannot see and are doomed to hell.

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