The Birth of Jesus

Have you ever thought or wondered about Why God allowed his Glory to shine round about the Shepherds as they were tending their flocks out in the fields by night when an Angel came to announce that a Savior is born to them this day in Bethlehem, the city of David, who is Christ the Lord? This event is referred to as the Annunciation in many modern day churches.

This magnanimous, miraculous event can only be compared to and surpassed with the Creation of Heaven and Earth by God himself! For in this event, the Plan for Man in this life and in the Eternal Life to come, created even before the foundations of the Earth , durst God set in motion a series of events that activate The New Testament and to be more formally exemplified as, "The Everlasting Covenant" of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ!

So then, why should God not make great fanfare with a spectacular, unforgettable announcement of this event in Bethlehem or even in Jerusalem to the high and noble religious leaders of the land? To recall some of that special time out in the fields of the Shepherds, there was the Angel sent by God to speak to the Shepherds. There were other Angels and the Heavenly Host singing "Glory to God in the highest, and on Earth peace, good will to men". There, also, "the Glory of the Lord shone around them, (indicating the presence of God) and they were greatly afraid." (Luke 2:9) God had not spoken to man in such a dramatic way since Moses encountered the presence of God as the burning bush of Sinai where he met the Lord face to face and received the Ten Commandments. Notice that here in both events God had chosen to reveal Himself outside the camp or town and away from the high and noble religious leaders. God chose to let His Glory fall upon the Shepherds!

To those of you who can receive it, this is the same Glory that clothed Adam and Eve before they were enticed to doubt and break their Holy Communion with the Lord God! They could not see any nakedness because of the Glory of God!

Someone may ask, "Why didn't God just speak to the shepherds by one of his prophets as he did over 400 years ago?" Prophets only know in part and therefore speak in part. Neither can a prophet manifest the Glory of God and envelope the hearer even as happened when Jesus went upon a mountain with Peter, James and John. They heard God's voice! Let me remind you that when God has a most important word, He speaks in person just as He did when He spoke to man at his First Creation: (Gen 1:28)
"Then God blessed them, and God said to them, 'Be fruitful and multiply; fill the earth and subdue it; have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over every living thing that moves on the earth."' It may interest you to know that man is the only part of all Creation wherein God spoke to them and blessed them during Creation. The importance of an event is emphasized and enhanced when God speaks a word himself or by His Angel. In the case of the Shepherds they would never forget this incomparable event.

Why did He speak to the Shepherds so plainly? In those days the shepherds were either the youngest son in the family that owned the flock or shepherds were chosen from outcasts who were at the very bottom of social standing or status. They were given food and shelter in exchange for their tending the flocks. They had absolutely no standing or even were not allowed into the Temple worship of which the Pharisees then ruled. They were barred from the courts and barred from any of the synagogues. They were helpless and almost hopeless! Yet, there remained this Hope of God in their hearts of which they had waited so long. God still comes to those who have hope in their hearts! The Shepherds had hope in their hearts!

Secondly, let us consider, Who does God use to speak to this world? On the day that Jesus was born to Earth, the religious and community leaders may have yet been back in town at the Temple or maybe home in bed, or maybe increasing their phylacteries or praying on some street corner before others. Who knows? We are not told in the Scriptures what the righteous were doing at the time Jesus lay in a manger. But this following scripture speaks clearly about the Plan of God for man:
"27 But God has chosen the foolish things of the world to put to shame the wise, and God has chosen the weak things of the world to put to shame the things which are mighty; 28 and the base things of the world and the things which are despised God has chosen, and the things which are not, to bring to nothing the things that are, 29 that no flesh should glory in His presence." 1 Cor 1:27-29

So then to answer the first question, Why God allowed His Glory to shine round about the Shepherds, We should consider the choosing of these Shepherds and the ministry to which they were, and are, being called to as stated in the above Scripture. Surely, they would need all the Light that God could provide for them, Secondly, they would need a sign of their authority that they were in fact representatives or Ambassadors of God. Thirdly, they would need the miraculous Power of God for the work of the ministry and Fourthly, the Glory of God would always be their fortress and their shield!

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