It is time for God to announce the arrival of his only begotten Son. Who shall He choose to proclaim his arrival to first? Kings? Priests? No… He sends a choir of angels to lowly shepherds.
Today's Bible verse is Luke 2:10, from the King James Version.
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Speaker 1: Fear not, for behold, I bring you good tidings of
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Speaker 1: great joy, which shall be to all people. Luke to ten,
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Speaker 1: Heavenly Father, we thank you for the lessons we learn
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Speaker 1: from the shepherd's encounter with the angels. May we embrace humility,
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Speaker 1: rejoice in your redemption, and engage in heartfelt worship this
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Speaker 1: Christmas season. Help us to spread the good tidings of
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Speaker 1: great joy to those around us, reflecting your love and grace. Amen,
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Speaker 1: thank you for praying with me to day. Stay tuned
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Speaker 1: now for another episode of Stories of the Messiah with
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Speaker 1: Rabbi Schneider.
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Speaker 2: Joseph wrapped him in his arms and wiped him with
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Speaker 2: woven wool. He stared into the le's eyes. There was
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Speaker 2: nothing different about him. There were no lights radiating from
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Speaker 2: his eyes or humming of heavenly hosts behind him. He
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Speaker 2: was a baby, crying and taking in the newness of life.
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Speaker 2: But as Joseph cradled him in his arms, he knew
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Speaker 2: without a doubt this child was exceptional, chosen, blessed. All
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Speaker 2: the turmoil, danger, and chaos he had to endure was
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Speaker 2: worth it for the sake of this treasure he held
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Speaker 2: in his hands. We already know his name, he said
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Speaker 2: to Mary. Mary reached for her son and cradled him
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Speaker 2: in her arms. She stroked his face. His name will
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Speaker 2: be Jesus, she whispered. The Lord says. Mary pressed Jesus
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Speaker 2: against her chest and cried joyfully. He was the fulfillment
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Speaker 2: of God's promise to humanity, the good Shepherd of Israel,
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Speaker 2: the Savior of the world.
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Speaker 3: Hello everyone, and welcome to another Christmas episode of the
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Speaker 3: Jesus Podcast. I'm Ethan from pray dot Com. Thank you
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Speaker 3: for joining me for this joyous celebration of Christ's birth.
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Speaker 3: Today we visit the hill country of Bethlehem. Under a
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Speaker 3: starlit sky. We'll meet three shepherds whose lives are about
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Speaker 3: to be changed forever. These lowly shepherds, existing on the
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Speaker 3: fringes of society, are about to be visited by a
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Speaker 3: divine chorus of heavenly messengers. Their message is a resounding
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Speaker 3: song of joy, peace and salvation. Why would God choose
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Speaker 3: to visit shepherds of all people to be the first
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Speaker 3: to behold him. In Biblical times, shepherds were often considered
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Speaker 3: to be on the lower rungs of the social ladder.
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Speaker 3: Their work was humble, demanding and required they isolate for
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Speaker 3: months at a time. As a result, shepherds were considered
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Speaker 3: awkward and untrustworthy, yet God saw fit to choose them.
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Speaker 3: God often refers to himself as a shepherd. This isn't
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Speaker 3: because God considers himself awkward and untrustworthy. Rather, God calls
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Speaker 3: himself a shepherd because we are like sheep. Think about
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Speaker 3: sheep for a moment. They have large bodies, small legs,
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Speaker 3: and aren't very intelligent. All those qualities make them fearful
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Speaker 3: and anxious creatures, vulnerable to predators. Additionally, sheep are one
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Speaker 3: of the only animals unable to survive in the wild
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Speaker 3: without human care. They can't become feral, meaning they'll perish
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Speaker 3: without a shepherd to look after them. We, like sheep,
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Speaker 3: are skittish and vulnerable. That's why David called God his shepherd,
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Speaker 3: who restores his soul and protects him from enemies. Scripture
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Speaker 3: frequently uses the imagery of shepherds to describe spiritual leadership.
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Speaker 3: Moses was a shepherd before returning to the people of Israel.
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Speaker 3: King David was a shepherd before becoming Israel's king, and
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Speaker 3: Jesus refers to himself as the good shepherd. The shepherd's
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Speaker 3: inclusion in Christ's birth story underlines the importance of spiritual
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Speaker 3: guidance and reflects God's care for his people. So let's
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Speaker 3: join these shepherds now on the rolling hills of Bethlehem.
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Speaker 3: Imagine yourself lying back on a grassy hill, gazing up
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Speaker 3: at the vast universe above you. Hear the crackling of
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Speaker 3: the fire behind you, and the occasional baz of nearby sheep.
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Speaker 3: This is where the shepherds find themselves before an abrupt
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Speaker 3: and glorious interruption.
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Speaker 2: In a valley not too far from the glimmering hills
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Speaker 2: of Bethlehem, a group of shepherds lay in the fields,
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Speaker 2: tending to their The night was alive, with the distant
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Speaker 2: songs of crickets and the gentle rustle of tall grass
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Speaker 2: swaying to a soft breeze. The sheep had settled for
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Speaker 2: the night, their breathing gentle and rhythmic. Together, the shepherds
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Speaker 2: pointed out constellations, their fingers tracing the ancient patterns in
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Speaker 2: the sky as they told stories and shared laughter. One
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Speaker 2: of them, an older shepherd with eyes that held the
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Speaker 2: spark of countless sunrises, pointed to the sky. Look there,
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Speaker 2: he said, his voice, like weathered wood, a quiller.
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Speaker 1: The eagle.
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Speaker 2: It flies high above our heads, never bound by Earth's ould.
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Speaker 2: I wish I could sow like an eagle, the younger
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Speaker 2: shepherd replied. The others chuckled at his boyish imagination. I
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Speaker 2: would travel to Egypt and behold the great relics of Pharaoh. Well,
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Speaker 2: I would sow to Rome and have a look at
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Speaker 2: Caesar's great throng room. The three shepherds laughed together, their
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Speaker 2: eyes tracing the lines of constellations, finding in them the
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Speaker 2: stories of gods and heroes, love and loss. The valley listened,
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Speaker 2: a silent witness to their friendship. The life of a
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Speaker 2: shepherd was often lonely. For most of the year, they
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Speaker 2: existed as outcasts on the edge of the city. They
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Speaker 2: traveled the plains of the Judean wilderness, often alone with
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Speaker 2: their sheep. But at this moment they had each other
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Speaker 2: the stars and shared stories beside a crackling fire. Their bodies,
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Speaker 2: wearied from the day's labor, began to succumb to sleep's
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Speaker 2: gentle paul. Their gazes, fixed on the boundless heavens, grew
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Speaker 2: soft as dreams beckoned Then, without warning, a gust of wind,
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Speaker 2: sharp and cold, swept through the valley, stirring the shepherds
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Speaker 2: from their rest. The wind extinguished their fire with an
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Speaker 2: abrupt hiss, and they leaped to their feet. Darkness enveloped them.
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Speaker 2: What is happening, one of them said, in a panicked voice.
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Speaker 2: In an instant, a burst of light split the horizon
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Speaker 2: like a long shimmering blade. It split and danced, reaching
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Speaker 2: out to them in a blinding embrace. Light poured out
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Speaker 2: like a rushing waterfall, and surrounded the shepherds in a
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Speaker 2: myriad of beautiful colors. The shepherds heard an orchestra of
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Speaker 2: instruments and singing come from the light. It was a symphony,
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Speaker 2: pure and transcendent, as if they were listening to it
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Speaker 2: within their own souls, As if they were listening to
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Speaker 2: it within their own souls. Terror and awe came upon
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Speaker 2: the shepherds as they fell to the ground, their bodies trembling.
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Speaker 2: Then from the light a voice emerged. Fear not. The voice,
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Speaker 2: clear and resonant, rang out from the light. Its timber
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Speaker 2: was filled with authority and gentleness, command and comfort. We
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Speaker 2: have come with good tidings of great joy in the
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Speaker 2: town of Bethlehem lies a baby. His child is the Messiah,
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Speaker 2: the Lord, the savior of the world, and redemption of mankind.
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Speaker 2: The shepherd's eyes widened as the angel and an entire
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Speaker 2: choir of heavenly hosts emerged from the light. They couldn't speak,
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Speaker 2: for their minds struggled to even grasp the magnitude of
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Speaker 2: what was unfolding before them. The lights, hues of bright, orange, pink,
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Speaker 2: and white, swirled around them like a flock of ethereal doves,
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Speaker 2: casting a warm glow on their upturned faces. Go therefore
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Speaker 2: and see for yourselves. You will find the baby, wrapped
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Speaker 2: in swaddling claws, lying in a manger. The angel continued
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Speaker 2: his words, infused with an urgency that set their hearts aflame.
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Speaker 2: As he spoke, the choir of angels slowly rose their voices.
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Speaker 2: The light swirled to the rising and falling of their harmony. Finally,
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Speaker 2: the song crescendoed into a resonating song of praise. Then,
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Speaker 2: as suddenly as it had come, the light dissipated, leaving
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Speaker 2: the valley bathed in the soft glow of the stars.
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Speaker 2: Once more, the melodies of heaven were replaced by the
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Speaker 2: gentle whispers of the evening wind at a few chirping crickets.
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Speaker 2: The shepherd sat stunned and silent, their minds reeling from
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Speaker 2: the vision they had just witnessed. The oldest shepherd turned
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Speaker 2: to his companions, Did we all just see that? Or
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Speaker 2: is this old man finally loose in his mind? The
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Speaker 2: two others nodded their heads in confirmation that they had
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Speaker 2: all born witness, Still stunned by what they had seen,
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Speaker 2: Slowly their eyes turned towards Bethlehem, where a few torchlights
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Speaker 2: still flickered in the distance. Resting above the city was
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Speaker 2: a new star, radiant and singular, unlike any they had
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Speaker 2: seen before. The older shepherd turned to his young friend
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Speaker 2: and laughed, you make it to see royalty after all?
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Speaker 2: They all laughed with unexplainable joy. With a shared understanding,
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Speaker 2: they rose, leaving their belongings behind, their steps quickening as
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Speaker 2: they ran towards Bethlehem. The parts were aflame, with a
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Speaker 2: joy they could not contain, and a purpose they could
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Speaker 2: not deny.
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Speaker 3: Fear not, for behold, I bring you good tidings of
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Speaker 3: great joy, which shall be to all people. This message
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Speaker 3: of joy echoes throughout the New Testament as joy is
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Speaker 3: a hallmark of those who have experienced Christ's redemption. The
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Speaker 3: good Tidings are indeed of great joy because they announced
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Speaker 3: the arrival of the Savior, fulfilling God's promise to redeem
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Speaker 3: his people. The angel's announcement heralded a new era filled
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Speaker 3: with hope. The joy comes from the realization that God
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Speaker 3: has not abandoned his people. That should bring all of
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Speaker 3: us joy. Today, we don't worship with God, who has
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Speaker 3: remained distant and aloof despite our sin and depravity, God
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Speaker 3: chose to rescue us and raise us to glory with him.
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Speaker 3: The very fact that these lowly shepherds were able to
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Speaker 3: behold the splendor and majesty of the angels is a
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Speaker 3: testament to how God operates. He doesn't think about status, symbols,
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Speaker 3: or wealth. The wise men would have been the first
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Speaker 3: to behold the new born King if he did. God
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Speaker 3: chose the rustic outcasts, proving he doesn't care about your wealth,
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Speaker 3: your popularity, or your status. No matter where you are
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Speaker 3: or what you have done. The Gospel message is for
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Speaker 3: you to enjoy. Let's not make the mistake of thinking
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Speaker 3: Christmas is merely for us to enjoy. Though ultimately Christ's
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Speaker 3: birth gives glory to God. The angelic praise glory to
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Speaker 3: God in the highest should resonate in our hearts as
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Speaker 3: we ponder the magnitude of what God has done. His
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Speaker 3: redemptive plan and magnificence are shown throughout the birth, life, death,
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Speaker 3: and mild resurrection of Jesus. Join us for our next
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Speaker 3: episode of Stories of the Messiah. As the shepherds search
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Speaker 3: high and low for God's son, when they finally arrive
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Speaker 3: at the stables, the fear and awe of the Lord
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Speaker 3: come upon them, and unbeknownst to them, they set the
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Speaker 3: stage for King Herod to catch wind of Jesus
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