As we come to the holiday season there are so many stories that we hear and tell. Among them is the beautifully told story of the events surrounding the birth of our Lord Jesus Christ, as told from the Gospel of Luke. Many families gather around and read this story on a yearly basis. When I was reading it however, I came across some powerful images that seem to have been overlooked. You know, the scriptures are full of power. They aren’t simply stories that are interesting or historically accurate. There is truth to be found, even in the account of the birth of Jesus. I would love to share some of them with you.
In Luke 2 we read about the census that has been ordered by Caesar Augustus, which is a set up for our scene. Everyone is hustling and bustling around. We can relate to that, because that is exactly what happens during our holiday season. We then come to the story of the shepherds. This group is minding their own business, working away like any other night, when suddenly an angel of the Lord appears to them and announces to them that the Savior of all mankind has been born. In verse 9 we read that when this angel appeared the shepherds were “sore afraid”. Another way of saying “sore afraid”, to me, is terrified. I found that fascinating. Why would these men be terrified of a messenger of God? I would have thought that they may have been shocked, full of wonder or mystified, but not terrified! We will see in just a little bit why that is.
The angel delivers his message and then we read about a multitude that suddenly appears. We see this in Luke 2:13-14:
13And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God, and saying, 14Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men.
That right there is something that is commonly overlooked. We all know it, we have all heard it before, but it gives us tons of information. What information? I am so glad you asked! First, it tells us who these angels are. Have you ever stopped to think about who the heavenly host is? Let me show you verse 13 from the Amplified version and we get a better picture.
13 Then suddenly there appeared with the angel an army of the troops of heaven (a heavenly knighthood), praising God and saying,
This MULTITUDE of angels was the very army of heaven. Now, can you see why those shepherds were so afraid when that first angel appeared? He wasn’t just an everyday angel; he was a soldier of the Most High God! I personally picture him and the entire multitude of angels as armor clad warriors and that is why he had to say, “Fear not” and they said, “on earth peace, good will toward men”. The army of God came down from Heaven to praise God and let mankind know that their general, captain and commander-in-chief had come to earth and to tell us that we, mankind, are not their enemy.
You see, Jesus is the commander-in-chief of the armies of Heaven! Jesus is Jehovah Sabaoth, the Lord of Hosts! He is mentioned in the Old Testament and the New, in fact Jehovah Sabaoth is found over 240 times in the Bible. Jesus is the Lord of Hosts! That is why the army and troops of Heaven were the ones that were heralding His birth. They came down to say, in effect, “Our general, our captain is here. And He is going to take back what was lost and He is declaring war on the enemy, Satan, and all his works.” Glory to God! That is fantastic, isn’t it?
This is the reason that when the crucifixion was approaching, in the Garden of Gethsemane, Jesus said to Peter in Matthew 26:53:
53 Thinkest thou that I cannot now pray to my Father, and he shall presently give me more than twelve legions of angels?
The Father would have instantly sent the angels, because their general called for them. They would instantly be there to defend their captain and chief, Jesus. I find that to be a powerful revelation that comes from the story of Jesus’ birth.
The story then continues with the shepherds finding Jesus. The shepherds then told the story about what happened to them to many people, including Joseph and Mary. And this is the next fascinating little tidbit that Luke gives us in Luke 2:18-19:
18 And all they that heard it wondered at those things which were told them by the shepherds. 19 But Mary kept all these things, and pondered them in her heart.
I want to focus on verse 19; Mary kept all these things, and pondered them in her heart. Now why would she have to do that? Mary, the mother of Jesus, had to remember all these events for one purpose, to remember them at the crucifixion! There was no denying what had happened to her. She kept everything locked in her heart so that when her son was going through the beating, the mocking, the torment and finally being nailed to a cross, she wouldn’t stop it.
Mary could have stopped the crucifixion, you know. She could have stopped everything in its tracks with saying four little words. What are those words? Here they are: “Joseph is his father!” That could have stopped everything and what mother wouldn’t stop the torture of her child, if she could. The heart of a mother is a wonderful thing that God blessed the earth with. A true mother would do anything even sacrifice herself for her child, no matter what age her child may be. But Mary couldn’t say those words because she remembered what happened at her son’s birth. She remembered the angel coming and telling her that she had found favor with God and that she was chosen to bring the Messiah into the world. She remembered the story of the shepherds. She took all these things and pondered them in her heart and buried them deep inside of her.
Mary here gives us a wonderful example of what we are supposed to do. We are to take the things that God has spoken to us and done for us and lock them in our hearts and ponder them. We are supposed to do that because when trials and troubles come, like they always will, we can go through anything because we have the things of God in our hearts. We don’t have the things of this fallen world. His promises and His truths are all we need in this life. If we simply put His Word in our hearts, then we give the Captain of the Hosts, the victory in our lives. Ponder the things of God; meditate on His Word more throughout your day. And this holiday season, think about how the armies of Heaven introduced to the world their General, Jehovah Sabaoth, the Lord of Hosts, Jesus!