December 24
“And (the shepherds) came with haste and found Mary and Joseph, and the Babe lying in a manger. Now when they had seen Him, they made widely known the saying which was told them concerning this Child. And all those who heard it marveled at those things which were told them by the shepherds,” Luke 2:16-18.
The first Christmas Eve was an exciting time for a few people. Certainly, it was an exciting evening for Mary and Joseph, who saw and beheld the fulfillment of the promise given to Mary by the angel Gabriel nine months earlier: “‘You will conceive in your womb and bring forth a Son, and shall call His name Jesus. He will be great, and will be called the Son of the Highest; and the Lord God will give Him the throne of His father David. And He will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of His kingdom there will be no end.’ Then Mary said to the angel, ‘How can this be, since I do not know a man?’ And the angel answered and said to her, ‘The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Highest will overshadow you; therefore, also, that Holy One who is to be born will be called the Son of God,’” Luke 1:31-35.
After Jesus was born, the angels announced to the shepherds on the fields of Bethlehem, “There is born to you this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord,” Luke 2:11. Immediately, the shepherds hurried to Bethlehem to see what had come to pass. Their first Christmas Eve can be summarized in a few words: They came, they saw, and they told. The story was so exciting that they came to Bethlehem with haste. It did not take long for them to find the stable where the Baby Jesus was lying in a manger. Not long after they had seen the Baby Jesus, Scripture reports, “They made widely known the saying which was told them concerning this Child. And all those who heard it marveled at those things which were told them by the shepherds . . . Then the shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things that they had heard and seen, as it was told them,” Luke 2:17-18, 20.
The lowly shepherds – common, ordinary, uneducated workers – became the first Christmas evangelists! To everyone with whom they came into contact, “They made widely known the saying which was told them concerning this Child.” They were the first missionaries to go out and announce that Jesus Christ, the Savior of the whole world, had been born. Today, we thank God for all of the faithful Christians who go and tell that, “God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life,” John 3:16.
However, today, we might ask many church people, “What is your excuse for not going and telling that the Savior of the world was born?” Shout from the housetops that He lived a perfect life in our place. He shed His holy, precious blood to wash away our sins. He suffered and died on Calvary’s cross to redeem all people. He rose from the grave and conquered sin, death and the devil. He is coming again at the end of this world, when all the dead will be raised, and He will take all believers in Him, with both body and soul, into heaven.
Christmas Eve is a time to sing and tell of God’s great love for sinners!
Now let us all with gladsome cheer, Go with the shepherds and draw near,
To see the precious Gift of God, Who hath His own dear Son bestowed.
Ah, dearest Jesus, holy Child, Make Thee a bed, soft, undefiled,
Within my heart, that it may be, A quiet chamber kept for Thee.
My heart for very joy doth leap, My lips no more can silence keep;
I, too, must sing with joyful tongue, That sweetest ancient cradle-song. Amen.