Charles Wesley (18 December 1707 – 29 March 1788) wrote,

Hark! The herald angels sing, "Glory to the newborn King!
Peace on earth and mercy mild
God and sinners reconciled."
Joyful, all ye nations rise.
Join the triumph of the skies.
With the angelic host proclaim: "Christ is born in Bethlehem."
Hark! The herald angels sing, "Glory to the newborn King!"

The Bible presents the beautiful, inspired account in Luke 2:8-14 (KJV):

And there were in the same country shepherds abiding in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night. And, lo, the angel of the Lord came upon them, and the glory of the Lord shone round about them: and they were sore afraid. And the angel said unto them, Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, which is Christ the Lord. And this shall be a sign unto you; Ye shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger. And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God, and saying, Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men.

Charles Wesley gives a good summation concerning the angels' actions and message as well as the importance of the coming of Jesus into the world. Luke's inspired account also informs us of the angels and their message to the shepherds in the fields who were watching over their flocks during the night. What is missing from the inspired account is the exact month and day that this event occurred. Also absent from this account and the rest of the New Testament as well are any instructions for Christians to observe the birth of Jesus as a religious festival. On the other hand, we are given specific instructions concerning the Lord's Supper that commemorates the death of Jesus and the promise of His return. We have the example of the church in the New Testament coming together on the first day of the week to remember the death of Christ until He comes again (Acts 20:7; 1 Cor. 11:26). In contrast to this, most of the celebration hoopla that surrounds Christmas today hails from Rome and pagan religion. Other writers will deal with these matters in this issue of Truth Magazine.

We certainly must avoid the extremes of Rome and pagan religion. However, in running from Rome, let us not run past Bethlehem! In the account that Luke gives us there is much profound and beautiful truth that we ought to cherish and celebrate every day of our lives.

Before Jesus could go to the cross and die for our sins, He had to come into the world. And since Jesus is so very precious to us as our Savior and Lord (and so many other things!), the account of His birth is very precious to us as well. We love and adore Him from the very depths of our hearts and so this narrative is very touching and meaningful to every sincere and grateful child of God. This passage in Luke announces to the shepherds and to all mankind (2:10, 11) that our God was faithful to His glorious promise of sending His son, our blessed Redeemer and Savior, into the world in the fullness of time (Gal. 4:4; Eph. 1:10; Rom. 5:6; Mark 1:15). We also learn that God faithfully fulfilled the prophecy that the "small, insignificant village" of Bethlehem was the very place where Jesus would be born into the world (Mic. 5:2; Luke 2:11, 15).

The lowly birth of Jesus is indicated in this passage (Luke 2:12) as the family had to find shelter in a place where the animals were housed. Truly, our Lord became "poor for our sakes" (2 Cor. 8:9; cf. Isa. 53:1-3; Luke 9:58) that we might obtain by God's grace the riches of heaven (Eph. 3:8).

As we contemplate and think upon this passage in Luke, we try to see in our mind's eye a county side where shepherds are there with their sheep. It is a very simple and humble picture and seemingly very insignificant. There is nothing remarkable about some lowly shepherds out guarding sheep from robbers and wild animals through the night. Very likely the shepherds are thinking that this will be a night like every other night that they must somehow manage to keep themselves awake and stand guard over their flocks. At the same time, a long way from their home in Nazareth, there is a poor couple consisting of a lowly carpenter (Matt. 13:55) and a very pregnant wife spending the night in a place where animals are housed because no one had any room for them. What a humiliating situation for Joseph and for Mary who is now in even more difficulty because she is coming into labor and is about to give birth to her first-born child! The people for the most part in that area of the world have surely bedded down for the night in their comfortable homes and have no thoughts about what was taking place at that moment of time in the little village of Bethlehem and the surrounding fields.

The world is taking little notice of these events and no doubt have many other concerns on their minds other then Joseph, Mary, and the shepherds. There were taxes to worry about. There was the heavy-handed, oppressive Roman government that regulated the Jews to distraction. There were rumblings that certain fanatics among the Jews would stir up trouble and cause the Romans to bring their despised troops in among them (cf. Acts 5:36-37; Luke 23:18-19). There were the usual domestic, financial, medical, political, religious, and other issues that weighed heavily upon the minds of the people of that day. But that was then. Soon there was to occur dramatic events that would impact mightily upon the history of the world from what was about to occur that fateful night some 2,000 years ago.

In the stable, we hear the small cry of a newborn baby boy that is placed in a manger or feed trough that serves as His bed. The child is also wrapped in swaddling strips to keep Him lying on His back. Yet out in the fields where the shepherds are keeping watch over the flocks, it is a dramatically different matter. There is a powerful lighting up of the area and the appearance of one of God's angels (Luke 2:9). The shepherds were terrified at the awesome display of divine power and glory. The angel of the Lord gave them words of comfort and a message that will change the course of history itself. This is powerful news indeed. To undergird the angel's message concerning the arrival of God's Son, other angels joined the first angel and gave glory and praises to the God of heaven and earth. This had to have been completely awe-inspiring to their minds and also totally overwhelming to their senses and emotions. The shepherds did not hesitate to follow up on the message of the angels and sought to visit the place where the birth of Jesus took place (Luke 2:15-16).

As was observed earlier, the world appeared to be completely indifferent to the lowly birth of Jesus at this point, but the angels were greatly excited about what was taking place. There was a great deal of joy and excitement among the host of heaven as seen in the text (Luke 2:13-14). The angels could contain their joy no longer and burst upon the scene with praises to God and with an amazing announcement to the sleeping world. They are witnessing the unfolding and revealing of God's redemptive plan for human salvation as it begins to manifest itself in the birth of God's Son (cf. 1 Pet. 1:10-12).

They could join the prophets in their song of the birth of the Messiah. "For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counselor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace" (Isa. 9:6).

May we in spirit and in truth join with the prophets and the angels in praising the Lord with these glorious songs of praise – not just at one time of the year, but daily in our lives

John Humphries worships with the Perry Hill Road church in Montgomery, AL.