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Writer's pictureEric Heatherly

Rejoice! (Advent Devotional)

Think for a moment about some of the people in the background of the Christmas story: specifically the shepherds. Why is their presence included in the Bible? At first thought it would be easy to wonder why they are part of the story. Mary, Joseph, and of course baby Jesus all make sense. The angels make sense. Digging deeper on a prophetic level, Elizabeth, Zechariah, and John the Baptist make sense. But a group of shepherds…how does their inclusion in the Incarnation story found in Luke’s gospel make sense? What do we take away from their role in the story? 


The Christmas story, as recorded in Luke chapter gives insight into what was happening the night Jesus was born. It begins by saying this: 

“And in the same region there were shepherds out in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night. 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. 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. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. And this will be a sign for you: you will find a baby wrapped in swaddling cloths and lying in a manger.” (Luke 2:8-12, ESV)

Simply put, the shepherds were going about their daily routine until their angelic visitor showed up proclaiming the good news that the long-awaited Savior had been born. That’s the kind of experience and news that inspires action. So the shepherds headed to Bethlehem to “see this thing that has happened” (Luke 2:15). They went to see Jesus. 


Once they had found and seen the babe in the manger, the purpose of their presence seems to come alive in the story. Luke wrote, “And the shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all they had heard and seen, as it had been told to them” (Luke 2:20). They left rejoicing. One could argue that this is why these lowly men among the Jewish people would be included in the birth story of Jesus Christ. They embody what should be the human response upon encountering the Savior of the world, to rejoice. 


The posture of humanity is to rejoice. It’s what God designed us to do. We are called to recognize who He is, how awesome He is, how powerful He is at all times, but we fall short of this. The Christmas season is a great reminder of who God is and what He has done and accomplished. It is a time of year where we assume the posture of rejoicing. That’s what we see in the shepherds. The people who don’t seem to fit into the story of Christmas absolutely have a place because they are a picture of what all of humanity should do when encountering Jesus Christ: to rejoice. Red Letter Society sings in their song How Beautiful, “Rejoice for Messiah comes, all praise to the saving one. And He shall reign forever more, for on this day, the babe was born.” With the Christmas season upon us, may we also take on the posture of rejoicing in the birth of Messiah, praising and glorifying God for all He has done. 



Written By Eric Heatherly


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