Luke 2 :8

Luke 2:8 says, And there were in the same country shepherds abiding in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night.  When Jesus was born in Bethlehem, shepherds in the same country were keeping watch over their flock at night.  They were lowly people in the eyes of the world, doing what they did everyday.  We may be lowly in the eyes of the world, but we are still precious to God.  Verse nine adds, And, lo, the angel of the Lord came upon them, and the glory of the Lord shone round about them: and they were sore afraid.  The routine night of the shepherds was interrupted by the appearance of an angel, who is simply identified as the angel of the Lord.  When the angel came, God's glory shined all around them,and the were very afraid.   I have a feeling that we would be too if this happened to us, but since the Holy Spirit lives within us as followers of Christ, God's glory should shine out through us to the world around us.  Verse ten states, And the angel said unto them, Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people.  The angel told the shepherds to not be afraid, because he brought good tidings of great joy, which would be available to all people.  When a person encounters Jesus Christ today through hearing the good news or gospel, there is no reason to be afraid.   Verse eleven adds, For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord.  The good news was that in Bethlehem, the city of David, a Savior had been born to them, a bunch of lowly shepherds mostly over looked by the world.  When we hear the gospel of Christ, it applies to us, no matter our status, and if we accept believe it, then we know that Jesus Christ is our Savior and Lord.  Verse twelve continues, And this shall be a sign unto you; Ye shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger.  The angel then told the shepherds how to identify Jesus, the Savior.  He would not be a prince in a palace, but a baby in a manger.  This is probably not what they would have expected a Savior to be, and today Jesus is still not what a lot of people expect a Savior to be.  Verse thirteen declares, And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God, and saying,  Suddenly, the angel was joined by a heavenly host praising God.  If the angels were afraid before, their fear might have gone even higher.  Verse fourteen adds, Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men.  The angels were praising God by calling for Him to be glorified in heaven so that there might be peace on earth.  Even if the whole world were to be at war, there still should be the peace of God for God's people.  Verse fifteen says, And it came to pass, as the angels were gone away from them into heaven, the shepherds said one to another, Let us now go even unto Bethlehem, and see this thing which is come to pass, which the Lord hath made known unto us.  After appearing, sharing the good news and praising God, the angels left.  They did not tell the shepherds what they had to do.  When we hear the gospel of Christ today, they one sharing it with us really cannot tell us that we have to believe it.  It is up to each individual to either accept or reject the gospel.  The shepherds decided to go and see for themselves what the angels had told them they would find.  Ultimately, each individual has to decide whether to come to Jesus Christ in faith based on belief in the gospel or to reject Him by disbelief.  Verse sixteen adds, And they came with haste, and found Mary, and Joseph, and the babe lying in a manger.  The shepherds left their flocks and went with haste and found Mary, Joseph and the baby Jesus lying in a manger, just as the angel had said they would.  When we hear the gospel of Jesus Christ, we need to leave whatever we are doing and come to Him for salvation.  Verse seventeen continues, And when they had seen it, they made known abroad the saying which was told them concerning this child.  The shepherds told everyone what they had heard and seen, and so should we as Christians today.  Verse eighteen states, And all they that heard it wondered at those things which were told them by the shepherds.  The people who heard what the shepherds said wondered about it, but we are not told that they attempted to verify it themselves.  It is not enough to wonder about the gospel, but we must accept the truth of the gospel for it to do us any good.  Verse nineteen adds, But Mary kept all these things, and pondered them in her heart.  Mary kept all the things the shepherds said and pondered them in her heart. Verse twenty continues,  And the shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things that they had heard and seen, as it was told unto them.  The shepherds went back to their flocks praising God for all that they had seen and heard.  When we accept Jesus Christ as our personal Savior and Lord, we will still probably be doing the same job that we were doing before, but we should do so praising God.