Commentary on the Four Gospel Books
The Gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ
G012 The Angel Announces to the Shepherds
about the Birth of the Lord Jesus
Luke 2:8-20

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All Scriptures quoted in this article are from the New King James Version (NKJV), unless otherwise noted (https://www.biblestudytools.com/nkjv/).

Luke 2:8-20

8 Now there were in the same country shepherds living out in the fields, keeping watch over their flock by night.

9 And behold, an angel of the Lord stood before them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were greatly afraid.

10 Then the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid, for behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy which will be to all people.

11 For there is born to you this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord.

12 And this will be the sign to you: You will find a Babe wrapped in swaddling cloths, lying in a manger.”

13 And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising *God and saying:

14 “Glory to God in the highest, And on earth peace, goodwill toward men!”

15 So it was, when the angels had gone away from them into heaven, that the shepherds said to one another, “Let us now go to Bethlehem and see this thing that has come to pass, which the Lord has made known to us.”

16 And they came with haste and found Mary and Joseph, and the Babe lying in a manger.

17 Now when they had seen Him, they made widely known the saying which was told them concerning this Child.

18 And all those who heard it marveled at those things which were told them by the shepherds.

19 But Mary kept all these things and pondered them in her heart.

20 Then the shepherds returned, glorifying and praising *God for all the things that they had heard and seen, as it was told them.

Perhaps each of us feels very familiar with the scenes and illustrations depicting the birth of the Lord Jesus. There are several common features usually shown in those illustrations:

• In a cave, the Lord Jesus is wrapped in cloths and laid in a manger.

• Joseph and Mary are beside the manger.

• Around them are several shepherds and a few sheep. Sometimes a shepherd is shown carrying a lamb.

• Sometimes there are also three wise men kneeling and presenting gifts to the Lord Jesus.

In reality, the shepherds came to see the Lord Jesus on the very night He was born. But the event of the wise men coming to worship the Lord Jesus occurred about two years after the Lord Jesus was born. The Bible only records that “wise men” came; it does not say that there were three wise men.

Perhaps we should carefully read again what has been recorded in the Bible about the birth of the Lord Jesus and remove from our minds the details that are not consistent with the Bible but have been implanted by the churches.

8 Now there were in the same country shepherds living out in the fields, keeping watch over their flock by night.

“In the same country” refers to the area around and including the place where the Lord Jesus was born, located south of Jerusalem. It is the area that includes the town of Bethlehem and the fields around Bethlehem.

The noun “shepherds” (G4166) is used in the Bible to refer to those who work in tending flocks of livestock.

The expression “living out in the fields” (G63) is used to indicate an open-air life, without the use of tents, whether day or night, in cultivated fields rather than in wild fields. Cultivated fields are usually located around towns. This detail implies the following:

• That time could not have been in spring or summer, when the crops had not yet been harvested and flocks of livestock would not be allowed into the fields, because they would eat the crops.

• That time also could not have been in winter, because the weather would have been too cold for the shepherds and the flocks to sleep outdoors.

• That time was in autumn, after the second harvest of the crops and after the poor had gone into the fields to glean grain. At that time, the landowners allowed livestock to enter the fields to eat grass and stubble. Stubble is the base portion of grain plants left in the field after the upper part with the kernels has been harvested.

Deuteronomy 16:13–17 tells us that after the people of Israel harvested their grain and grapes in the autumn, they would celebrate the Feast of Tabernacles. The Feast of Tabernacles is observed from the fifteenth to the twenty-first day of the seventh month according to the Biblical calendar, with the fifteenth day and the day after the feast, the twenty-second day, both being Sabbaths. The Feast of Tabernacles falls within the period from mid-September to mid-October on the Gregorian calendar.

The noun “flock” used in this verse appears in the singular form; its meaning is a herd of livestock that includes sheep, goats, and cattle.

According to some commentators, the shepherds who were informed by the angel about the birth of the Lord Jesus belonged to a group of shepherds responsible for tending a herd consisting of sheep, goats, and cattle set apart to provide sacrificial animals for the Temple. This herd was raised on the fields south of Jerusalem, a few kilometers from the city, approximately halfway between Bethlehem and Jerusalem.

9 And behold, an angel of the Lord stood before them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were greatly afraid.

An angel of the Lord appeared to the shepherds while they were keeping watch over their flock in the field at night. Along with the appearance of the angel, the glory of God shone around the shepherds.

We often see, in pictures and films illustrating the event of the angel announcing the news to the shepherds, the angel speaking to the shepherds from the sky, with a beam of light from heaven shining down upon them. But in fact, whether the angel appeared to the shepherds from the sky or appeared standing before them on the ground is not stated in the Bible.

The glory shining around the shepherds was the glory of God, not the glory of the angel. It is very possible that this was a brilliant light shining down from heaven, similar to the event that happened to Saul when he was on the road to Damascus to persecute the Church.

The sudden appearance of the angel together with the glory of God shining around the shepherds caused them to be afraid.

10 Then the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid, for behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy which will be to all people.

The angel reassured the shepherds and announced the purpose of the angel’s appearance.

“Do not be afraid” is a typical declaration of the Lord and of the angels sent by the Lord to mankind. Fear entered the world together with sin. Human beings are afraid because they know well that, by themselves, they can rarely resist disasters, evils, wicked people, and evil people. Disasters are things that come from natural calamities. Evils are the acts of sin committed by mankind. Wicked people are those who commit sins in order to harm others. Evil people are those who produce acts of sin. In all things, if we have firm faith in the Lord, we will not be afraid. For we know that the Lord Himself allows these things to come upon us, and He will make a way for us to escape (Romans 8:26; I Corinthians 10:13; Hebrews 2:18).

“The Gospel of a great joy” is the good news about the salvation of the God given to mankind. In terms of time within the New Testament period, this is the first time the noun “Gospel” is mentioned, and it is spoken by an angel on the very night when the Lord Jesus was born into the world. Please read or listen to the message “What Is the Gospel?” for details about the meaning of the term “Gospel” [1].

Because the Gospel is the good news about the salvation that the God gives to mankind, it is naturally the good news of a great joy. And that great joy is for all people in the world, in every age. From Adam to the last person who will be born during the Millennial Kingdom, all can receive the salvation of the God only through the atoning death of the Lord Jesus Christ.

The phrase “all people” clarifies the truth that the salvation of the God is for every nation, not only for the people of Israel, even though that salvation comes from Israel, through the tribe of Judah (John 4:22).

11 For there is born to you this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord.

The adverb “this day” helps us understand that the Lord Jesus had been born not long before that. A day in the Bible and in the reckoning of the Israelites begins immediately after the sunset of the present day and continues until sunset on the following day.

We do not know at what hour of the day the Lord Jesus was born, but it was certainly after sunset, ending an old day and opening a new day. We also do not know at what hour the angel appeared to announce the news to the shepherds, but it was certainly during the very night the Lord Jesus was born, before sunrise.

“In the city of David” means in the town of Bethlehem. The cave used for keeping animals at the roadside inn where Joseph and Mary had stopped so that Mary could give birth still belonged within the area of the town of Bethlehem.

“Is born to you”—the pronoun “you” in this verse does not refer only to the shepherds but refers to all mankind.

The noun “Savior” (G4990) used here refers to the Lord Jesus but also declares His divinity, because the supreme Savior is the Self-Existing and Eternal God:

“Yet I am the Lord your God Ever since the land of Egypt, And you shall know no God but Me; For there is no Savior besides Me.” (Hosea 13:4)

This is also the meaning of the name Jesus: the Self-Existing and Eternal One is the Savior.

The noun “Christ” (G5547) is a transliteration of the noun “Messiah” (H4899), which means the Anointed One. In the literal sense, it refers to one who is anointed to be a prophet, a priest, or a king among the people of Israel. In the figurative sense, it refers to a person whom the God grants an office, authority, and power to do something for the God. The Lord Jesus is called the Christ because He was given by the God the offices of prophet, priest, and king.

In the office of prophet: the Lord Jesus reveals the God to mankind (John 1:18).

In the office of priest: the Lord Jesus offered His own life as a sacrifice of atonement for mankind (Hebrews 7:27) and intercedes for those who believe in His atonement (Hebrews 7:25).

In the office of king: the Lord Jesus is “King of kings and Lord of lords” (I Timothy 6:15; Revelation 19:16), ruling the Kingdom of the God in the hearts of those who believe in Him, in the Millennial Kingdom, and in the Eternal Kingdom.

The noun “Lord” (G2962) may be used to address someone who has authority over others, such as when people address the rulers of a nation, when slaves and servants address their master, or when a wife addresses her husband. But when it is used to address God, it has the same meaning as the title God.

12 And this will be the sign to you: You will find a Babe wrapped in swaddling cloths, lying in a manger.”

Normally, after a child is born, the child is placed in a cradle or on a bed, but the Lord Jesus was placed in a manger because He was not born under a roof. From the moment He entered the world, the Lord Jesus had no place to lay His head. Later, the Lord Jesus Himself said to a scribe, when that man expressed his desire to follow Him:

“…Foxes have holes and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay His head.” (Ma-thi-ơ 8:20; Luke 9:58).

However, the fact that the Lord Jesus was placed in a manger was itself a sign for the shepherds to recognize Him. This detail also helped them understand that they did not need to go throughout the whole town of Bethlehem to search for the Lord Jesus; they only needed to stop by the caves or animal shelters of the public roadside inns.

13 And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising *God and saying:

14 “Glory to God in the highest, And on earth peace, goodwill toward men!”

The noun “heavenly host” (G3770 G4756) means an army in heaven. In the Bible, this term is sometimes used to refer to the stars and at other times to the angels who obey God. The Bible tells us that the stars in heaven have been given by God to all the nations on the earth:

“And take heed, lest you lift your eyes to heaven, and when you see the sun, the moon, and the stars, all the host of heaven, you feel driven to worship them and serve them, which the Lord your God has given to all the peoples under the whole heaven as a heritage.” (Deuteronomy 4:19)

However, we may understand that at present the angels are also responsible for watching over the stars. Therefore, the stars symbolize the angels. Perhaps in the time of the Millennial Kingdom the Church will represent all the nations on the earth to receive authority to govern the stars.

When the angel had just finished announcing the message to the shepherds, suddenly many other angels appeared. Together with the angel who delivered the message, they sang and glorified God.

The noun “multitude” (G4128) is commonly used to indicate a very large number, difficult to count.

Verse 14 can be translated in two different ways with different meanings, as follows:

The first way: Glory belongs to God in the highest places and on the earth. Peace and goodwill among mankind.

The second way: Glory belongs to God in the highest places and, on the earth, peace and goodwill among mankind.

In the original Greek of the Bible, there are no punctuation marks as in the languages used today. From a grammatical standpoint, both translations above are correct, with two different meanings. However, the first translation fits the context of the Bible better, because the glory of God is manifested both in the heavens and on the earth.

“And one cried to another and said: “Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts; The whole earth is full of His glory!” (Isaiah 6:3)

“The highest” refers to the heavens, including both the physical and the spiritual realms.

“Peace, goodwill toward men” is what will happen to anyone who receives the Gospel of the salvation of the God. Peace because sins are forgiven, sins are cleansed, and one lives in the love and grace of the Almighty and All-Loving God. Joy because one receives abundantly every blessing from God and has fellowship and everlasting unity with God.

15 So it was, when the angels had gone away from them into heaven, that the shepherds said to one another, “Let us now go to Bethlehem and see this thing that has come to pass, which the Lord has made known to us.”

The noun “angels” is used in the plural, confirming that the term “heavenly host” in verse 13 refers to angels.

After the angels had departed, the shepherds discussed among themselves that they should go at once to Bethlehem to witness the event that the angel had said had taken place. They understood that the city of David mentioned by the angel was Bethlehem. The place where they were keeping their flocks was a few kilometers south of Jerusalem. They had to travel southward to reach Bethlehem.

In the previous lesson, we inferred that it is very possible the Lord Jesus was born on the first day of the Feast of Tabernacles, in the year 7 BCE. Perhaps on the day before the Feast of Tabernacles began, Joseph and Mary left Bethlehem to go to Jerusalem to attend the Feast of Tabernacles. But not long after leaving Bethlehem, Mary went into labor, so they had to stop and find temporary lodging at a public roadside inn. That lodging place was probably only a few kilometers from Bethlehem. Because there was no room for them in the inn, they stayed temporarily in a cave used as an animal shelter. After the sun had set, when the first day of the Feast of Tabernacles began, Mary gave birth to the Lord Jesus.

Thus, the shepherds had to travel a distance of about five or six kilometers before they found the Lord Jesus. We may understand that they likely stopped only at roadside caves used as animal shelters, searching for a newborn child wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.

16 And they came with haste and found Mary and Joseph, and the Babe lying in a manger.

Because they departed in haste during the night, we may understand that the shepherds would not have carried a lamb with them. The caves used as animal shelters for the roadside inns were not sheepfolds but were only places to keep the donkeys, horses, or oxen of travelers, so there would not have been any sheep in those caves.

The verb “found” helps us understand that the shepherds actually searched through the animal shelters until they found Mary, Joseph, and the Lord Jesus lying in the manger.

17 Now when they had seen Him, they made widely known the saying which was told them concerning this Child.

18 And all those who heard it marveled at those things which were told them by the shepherds.

“When they had seen” means they had seen the sign that the angel had told them, by which they could recognize that the child lying in the manger was the Christ, the Lord.

“Made widely known” (G1232) means to proclaim broadly so that many people may know. We may understand that the shepherds recounted what the angel had told them to everyone who was present at that inn. They became the first people to proclaim the Gospel.

All those who heard the Gospel from the shepherds were astonished at what was told to them. Perhaps those who heard were amazed because they knew that the Christ would be born in Bethlehem, but they could not imagine that He would be born in such a humble and simple place, a place used for keeping animals. They were also amazed at the details about the angel appearing to announce the news to the shepherds and the angels appearing to glorify God and celebrate the birth of the Christ. Yet perhaps they did not believe the Gospel they heard, because it was contrary to the reasoning of their minds. If they had believed, they would have come to worship the Christ, and the Bible would have recorded it.

Even to this day, more than two thousand years after the Lord Jesus was born, many people still do not receive the Gospel when they read or hear about it, because it does not agree with the reasoning of their minds. Nevertheless, tens of millions have believed the Gospel and have paid for their faith with their very lives. Even at this moment, in many places around the world, there are still people who, because they believe the Gospel, are persecuted, tortured, imprisoned, and killed.

19 But Mary kept all these things and pondered them in her heart.

Mary kept in mind all the words proclaimed by the shepherds and pondered them. Surely Mary compared what she heard from the shepherds with what she had heard directly from the angel Gabriel. Certainly Mary had many things to think about concerning raising the Savior of mankind and about His ministry.

The Bible does not say anything about Joseph’s feelings or reaction. However, we may believe that Joseph also had his own response when he heard the report of the shepherds. We may believe that he compared the shepherds’ report with Mary’s account and with what the angel had told him in the dream. Joseph certainly played an important role in raising the Lord Jesus, yet the Bible says nothing more about him after the event when he and Mary brought the Lord Jesus to the Temple when He was twelve years old.

20 Then the shepherds returned, glorifying and praising *God for all the things that they had heard and seen, as it was told them.

After finding the Lord Jesus and proclaiming the Gospel to those present at the inn, the shepherds returned to their flock. They glorified and praised the God because He had given them the opportunity to see and worship the Savior on the very night He was born. They had become witnesses to the birth of the Savior. They had become the first proclaimers of the Gospel. As shepherds, they were granted the privilege of seeing the Lamb of God.

Perhaps they remained awake until morning, playing flutes together and singing psalms to glorify and praise the God. Perhaps they continued proclaiming the Gospel to anyone they met for the rest of their lives. Most shepherds were in their teenage years. Perhaps about thirty years later they were still alive, had heard the Lord Jesus preaching, and had become His disciples.

The fact that the angel announced the birth of the Lord Jesus only to a few shepherds implies that the Gospel of the God was first proclaimed to those who were humble in society. At the same time, it shows that the God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise; chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong; chose the lowly things of the world, the despised things, and the things that are not, to bring to nothing the things that are, so that no flesh might boast before His presence—just as the Apostle Paul later wrote by the inspiration of the Holy Spirit to God’s people in Corinth (I Corinthians 1:27–29).

We conclude this lesson here.

May the Holy Spirit guide us into all the truths of God’s Word (John 16:13). May the Word of God sanctify us (John 17:17). May the Faithful *God of Peace Himself sanctify our spirit, soul, and body entirely, without blame (1 Thessalonians 5:23), at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, our Beloved Savior. Amen!

Timothy Christian Huynh
Priscilla Christian Huynh
11/12/2022

Notes:

[1] https://preachingfromthebible.net/what-is-the-gospel/

About Using “*God”, “the God” and “holy spirit”

Wherever the Hebrew, Aramaic, and Greek texts of the Bible use a definite article with a noun to denote GOD, we translate it into English as *God or “the God” to refer to God the Father. We understand that “God,” without a definite article, was used as a collective noun for all and any of the three Persons of the Godhead. And “God,” with a definite article, was used to refer to God the Father.

In the Greek manuscripts of the New Testament, the term “holy spirit” (πνευματι αγιω) without the definite article “the” (το) is used to denote the power of God, which is given by God the Holy Spirit. “The Holy Spirit” (το πνευματι το αγιω) is God, and “holy spirit” (πνευματι αγιω) is the power that comes from God.