On the day of Yeshua's birth, whatever day that day may have been, something significant occured in that two things became
visible: the Shechinah glory and an angel. The Shechinah glory materialized in one of its more familiar Old Testament
manifestations, that of light. This was the first time it appeared since its departure from Israel in the days of Ezekiel, about six
centuries earlier (Ez. 8-11). Now, God used the Shechinah glory to announce the birth of Messiah to Jewish shepherds.
While shepherds were held in high respect in the pages of the Old Testament, by New Testament times, they were viewed quite
negatively. They were considered untrustworthy and generally could not serve as witnesses. Their work rendered them unclean
and excluded them from mainstream society.
Along with the Shechinah glory, an angel appeared to interpret the revelation (Lk. 2:10-12). The angel's message was to the
shepherds was threefold: first, Be not afraid, second, a Savior is born; and third, He is just not any savior, He is the Messiah
Himself. The shepherds were instructed to go and find this child. However, there are many babies in Bethlehem, so how would
they know which baby it was? The angel declared: And this is the sign unto you (Lk 2:12). The term sign by itself does not require
the miraculous, but minimally it does require the unusual, something out of the ordinary. This sign contained two elements:
First, a babe was wrapped in swaddling clothes; and second, He was lying in a manger. The fact that the baby was lying in a
manger told these shepherds not to look in the private homes of Bethlehem, but to look inside a cave that was used as a stable.
Professional shepherds would know where these stable-caves were located.
The second clue the shepherds received was that the baby was wrapped in swaddling clothes. These could not be merely baby
clothes because that would not be a sign. It was not unusual for a newborn to be wrapped in baby clothes. Being strips of cloth,
the swaddling clothes gave the appearance of burial cloth. The symbolism should not be missed. On the very first day of His life,
He was wrapped with the same type of cloth He would again be wrapped with on the last day of His life, showing the purpose of
His birth. We were all born to live, but this One was born to die, as signified by His being wrapped in what appeared to be burial
cloth.
At this point, a host of angels became visible and proclaimed a two-fold message (Lk. 2:13), one about God and one about man.
Concerning God, they exclaimed, Glory to God in the highest. Concerning man, they said, And on earth peace (shalom) among
men in whom he is well pleased (Lk. 2:14). Many of our popular Christmas carols, though pleasant sounding, are not always
biblically accurate. One carol begins, "Hark the herald angels sing." The text does not say they sang. It simply says they were
praising God, and saying; it was a verbal proclamation, but it was not put to music (Lk. 2:13).
Because of the two signs the shepherds had received from the angel, they were able to find the right child (Lk. 2:15-20). The first
Jewish worship of the Messianic King is recorded here, initiated by the means of the Shechinah glory.
But Miriam kept all these sayings, pondering them in her heart (Lk. 2:19) Much later, she would reveal these things to the writer,
Luke who would record these events from her perspective.
Shalom
visible: the Shechinah glory and an angel. The Shechinah glory materialized in one of its more familiar Old Testament
manifestations, that of light. This was the first time it appeared since its departure from Israel in the days of Ezekiel, about six
centuries earlier (Ez. 8-11). Now, God used the Shechinah glory to announce the birth of Messiah to Jewish shepherds.
While shepherds were held in high respect in the pages of the Old Testament, by New Testament times, they were viewed quite
negatively. They were considered untrustworthy and generally could not serve as witnesses. Their work rendered them unclean
and excluded them from mainstream society.
Along with the Shechinah glory, an angel appeared to interpret the revelation (Lk. 2:10-12). The angel's message was to the
shepherds was threefold: first, Be not afraid, second, a Savior is born; and third, He is just not any savior, He is the Messiah
Himself. The shepherds were instructed to go and find this child. However, there are many babies in Bethlehem, so how would
they know which baby it was? The angel declared: And this is the sign unto you (Lk 2:12). The term sign by itself does not require
the miraculous, but minimally it does require the unusual, something out of the ordinary. This sign contained two elements:
First, a babe was wrapped in swaddling clothes; and second, He was lying in a manger. The fact that the baby was lying in a
manger told these shepherds not to look in the private homes of Bethlehem, but to look inside a cave that was used as a stable.
Professional shepherds would know where these stable-caves were located.
The second clue the shepherds received was that the baby was wrapped in swaddling clothes. These could not be merely baby
clothes because that would not be a sign. It was not unusual for a newborn to be wrapped in baby clothes. Being strips of cloth,
the swaddling clothes gave the appearance of burial cloth. The symbolism should not be missed. On the very first day of His life,
He was wrapped with the same type of cloth He would again be wrapped with on the last day of His life, showing the purpose of
His birth. We were all born to live, but this One was born to die, as signified by His being wrapped in what appeared to be burial
cloth.
At this point, a host of angels became visible and proclaimed a two-fold message (Lk. 2:13), one about God and one about man.
Concerning God, they exclaimed, Glory to God in the highest. Concerning man, they said, And on earth peace (shalom) among
men in whom he is well pleased (Lk. 2:14). Many of our popular Christmas carols, though pleasant sounding, are not always
biblically accurate. One carol begins, "Hark the herald angels sing." The text does not say they sang. It simply says they were
praising God, and saying; it was a verbal proclamation, but it was not put to music (Lk. 2:13).
Because of the two signs the shepherds had received from the angel, they were able to find the right child (Lk. 2:15-20). The first
Jewish worship of the Messianic King is recorded here, initiated by the means of the Shechinah glory.
But Miriam kept all these sayings, pondering them in her heart (Lk. 2:19) Much later, she would reveal these things to the writer,
Luke who would record these events from her perspective.
Shalom
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