Anchor My Faith

Those Who Heard Wondered

Scripture: Luke 2:18-20

The angel simply announced to the shepherds the birth of a child in Bethlehem, but to accent the fact that he was special, in fact the coming Messiah, a heavenly host shows up praising God for this great miracle that had just happened. A sign was given that the child could be found lying in a manger in Bethlehem. As an act of verification, the shepherds went and found the child and believed and they made know to others what they had experienced: “And all who heard it wondered at what the shepherds told them” (Luke 2:18 ESV). These shepherds were truly touched and impressed by what they experienced and it moved them to share it as a witness to any they met along the way.

An event as outstanding as that witnessed by the shepherds would capture the attention of those who heard and would cause them to wonder about what it meant. It is interesting to note that Luke does not mention that any who heard were concerned enough about the coming of the Messiah to investigate this any further. Since that day to the present, a vast majority of people hold this attitude of indifference.

There was one who was touched by what the shepherds said and that was Mary: “But Mary treasured up all these things, pondering them in her heart” (Luke 2:19 ESV). This state of pondering, for Mary, started when Gabriel visited her and told her that she had been chosen by God for a very special assignment. When she visited Elizabeth and was told some special things about her child, and when she returned to Joseph pregnant and he experienced a visit by an angel, she pondered even more. With this visit by the shepherds and what they said to her, caused her to think even more deeply and to treasure what was being said.

When the angels had finished their assignment, they left the shepherds and now that the shepherds had seen the child: “. . . [they] returned, glorifying and praising God for all they had heard and seen, as it had been told them” (Luke 2:20 ESV). The heavenly host of angels came praising God for what he was going to do through this child that was just born in the manger, and now that the shepherds had seen the child, they begin to understand the significance of the event and they returned to their flocks in a stage of glorifying and praising God. This understanding was enhanced by their knowledge of the prophecies of the coming Messiah. Now experiencing what was foretold many years before caused them to get excited over what God was doing.

Prayer

Father, it is concerning that believers in the west, who have access to so much Christian teaching, are so unaffected by prophecy, but so drawn to the pleasures of the world. They fail to compare what the Bible says about end times and what the news is reporting and continue in their state of being lukewarm toward the things of God. Soon they may find themselves unprepared for what may come upon them. How we are put to shame by those who live under persecution for their faith and are willing to risk so much.