Welcome to the “But first, Bible” daily devotional podcast with Dave Miers.
Our readings for today are Joshua 4-6 and Luke 2:1-24.
Let me read from Luke 2:8–20
[8] And in the same region there were shepherds out in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night. [9] And an angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were filled with great fear. [10] And the angel said to them, “Fear not, for behold, I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. [11] For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. [12] And this will be a sign for you: you will find a baby wrapped in swaddling cloths and lying in a manger.” [13] And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying,
[14] “Glory to God in the highest,
and on earth peace among those with whom he is pleased!”[15] When the angels went away from them into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, “Let us go over to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has made known to us.” [16] And they went with haste and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby lying in a manger. [17] And when they saw it, they made known the saying that had been told them concerning this child. [18] And all who heard it wondered at what the shepherds told them. [19] But Mary treasured up all these things, pondering them in her heart. [20] And the shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all they had heard and seen, as it had been told them. (ESV)
The following excerpt comes from John Stott’s excellent devotional guide, “Through the Bible Through the Year.”
“Shepherds had a bad reputation in Israel; they were regarded as dishonest and unreliable. Yet it was to them that God chose to announce the most stupendous good news the world has ever heard, namely that the long-awaited Messiah had been born. How did they respond?
Firstly, they went to Bethlehem to see for themselves. Their reaction was neither one of credulity nor of incredulity, but of open-minded, unprejudiced inquiry. So “they hurried off” (v. 16), and they found what they were looking for. Truly “he who seeks finds” (Matt. 7:8).
Secondly, when they had seen Jesus, “they spread the word” concerning what they had seen and heard (v. 17). They could not keep the good news to themselves. They wanted everybody to know it.
Thirdly, “The shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things they had heard and seen” (v. 20). In other words, their experience issued in worship as well as in witness. But first, we read, they “returned.” They did not spend the rest of their lives in the stable or loiter around the manger. Instead, they returned to the fields and the sheep, to their homes, their wives, and their children. But, although their jobs and their homes were the same, they themselves were not. They were new people in the old situation. They had been changed by seeing Jesus. There was a spirit of wonder and of worship in their hearts.
The discovery of Jesus Christ is still a transforming experience. It adds a new dimension to our old lifestyle. As Billy Graham often says, it “puts a new light in our eye and a new spring in our step.”
[John Stott. “Through the Bible Through the Year.”]
Until tomorrow, keep trusting Jesus.