Just because Jesus revealed himself first to the lowly, it does not mean that he is lowly, nor does it mean his arrival was not triumphant. Though Christ’s arrival was uneventful in many ways, there were still certain events that subtly made his coming more magnificent than any other ruler in all human history. Perhaps the most breath-taking event was what happened on the countryside that quiet, still evening. We will look at two truths, one today and one tomorrow.
“And an angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were filled with fear…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 among those with whom he is pleased!’” (Luke 2:9, 13-14, ESV)
Here is one simple, breath-taking, awesome aspects of this event which points to the greatest of Jesus Christ:
1.)The splendor was stunningly brilliant. When the first angel (Gabriel?) appeared to the shepherds, it says that the ‘glory of the Lord shone around them’ (v.9) This glory is the bright glow and splendor of God’s presence. It is uniquely special. It did not occur every time an angel appeared to a human. It didn’t appear when Gabriel revealed to Zechariah, nor did it appear to Mary (see Luke 1). But it did on this countryside on the night Christ was born.
The glory of the Lord appeared occasionally throughout the Old Testament to Israel, usually seen in the likeness of a cloud and fire (see Exodus 40:34-38). It was almost as though God—who is a consuming fire—needed to have a cloud covering his presence for the safety of humans.
But here these lowly shepherds have God’s glory full strength. No cloud is present. Their evening went from pitch black with a few specks of light in the sky to blinding, overpowering light. No wonder the first words out of the angel were, “Fear not.” And consider this: this glory was shining only from one angel. As we will see tomorrow, soon thousands of thousands of angels appeared. Could you imagine what this must have been like for the shepherds?
And all of this points to the greatness of the one they were proclaiming.
Come, let us worship this glorious Messiah!
No comments:
Post a Comment