Jesus was the Ultimate Gift. Learn about "The Gift" here:
https://youtu.be/Jgkse3saH1U
And it's my prayer that you will leave here today, encouraged from the joy of God's Word, from the joy of fellowship with your brothers and with your sisters in Christ. The world is not at peace, but here in this room today, we have peaceful surroundings and we have the peace of Jesus Christ in our hearts. And I also hope and pray that your soul leaves here today with an understanding of three words found in the account of the first Christmas, three words that should be a part of your spiritual life in times of joy and in times of trial. And those three words are wonder, treasure, and ponder. We're going to find these as we finish up the account of the birth of Christ in Luke chapter two.
In Luke 2:8, and I'm reading from the New American Standard Bible. "In the same region, there were some shepherds staying out in the fields and keeping watch over their flocks by night, and an angel of the Lord suddenly stood before them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terribly frightened. But the angel said to them, do not be afraid. For behold, I bring you good news of great joy, which shall be for all the people. For today in the city of David there has been born for you a savior, which is Christ the Lord. This will be a sign for you. You will find a baby wrapped in claws and lying in a manger. And suddenly there appeared with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host, praising God and saying, Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace among men with whom he is pleased. When the angels had gone away from them into heaven, the shepherds began to say to one another, let us go straight to Bethlehem. Then, and see this thing that has happened which the Lord has made known to us. So they came in a hurry, and they found their way to Mary and Joseph and the baby as he lay in the manger. When they had seen this, they made known the statement which had been told them about this child, and all who heard it wondered at the things which were told them by the shepherds. But Mary treasured all these things, pondering them in her heart. The shepherds went back glorifying and praising God for all they had seen and heard. Just as had been told about them."
Wonder, treasure, and ponder: these are the three words that we're going to look at today. And in this account, we see the simplicity of the stable birth juxtaposed with the announcement from an angelic choir. The first speaks of the humble humanity of Jesus Christ, and the second sings out of his eternal deity.
And it's interesting to me that an army of angels came to declare peace on earth. Let's focus now on verses 18 and 19, where we find these three words wonder, treasure, and ponder. The angels or the shepherds wondered at the things which were told them. All the people they shared this message wondered at the same thing. Mary treasured these things, pondering them in her heart.
So we'll start with the word wonder found in verse 18. From a human standpoint, the shepherds were the most unlikely men to receive such a glorious message. They were just men living out in the fields, out there with the animals sleeping on the ground. They were considered the lowest rung of society. They were considered ceremoniously unclean. Yet these humble shepherds were targeted by God to receive the greatest message ever being down from heaven. And isn't that just how God works? He surprises the humble people of the world. And with this angelic announcement coming to the shepherds, I picture them looking around like, who are they talking to? You're talking to me? I'm sure they were so surprised by this interruption from their normal daily life. Most theologians believe that these shepherds oversaw the flocks from which the temple offerings were chosen. And Barclay says. Isn't it a lovely thought that the shepherds who looked after the temple were the first to see the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world? Sorry, I left out an important word. Let me say it again. It isn't it a lovely thought that the shepherds who looked after the temple lambs were the first to see the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world.
Messiah was born and they named him Jesus. Heaven broke loose its silence. And on that day, hundreds of Old Testament prophecies were fulfilled. Put all of these things together. And what word do you have? You have the word wonder. There was much wonder surrounding both the birth and the life of Jesus Christ. We see the word used many times in the book of Luke. Luke 2:18. The shepherds and others wondered at the angelic announcement. We saw that Luke 2:33 Mary and Joseph have taken the baby Jesus to the temple, into Salem to present him to the Lord.
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