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Today we are going to read about the Angels appearing to the Shepherds in Bethlehem when Jesus was born.
This is recorded for us by Luke in chapter 2 of his Gospel.
If you have your bible and would like to follow along, we will be reading that account.
Or, if you like, you can follow along with the text on the screen behind me.
Luke, chapter 2, verses 8 to 20.
Pray
The Dilemma of Joy
Before we get into this passage, I have a short video dramatization of what it may have been like for the shepherds.
They should have felt joy, but then again, why them?
Let’s watch this and maybe get a glimpse into what it may have been like for the shepherds.
Video
The Dilemma of Joy
The shepherds of that day were often treated like a lower class citizen.
Would you believe there was actually a rule that a shepherd could not be a witness for court?
Shepherds were looked at as untrustworthy.
Shepherds, because they were dealing with the animals all the time, and sleeping out with the animals, they were generally a little dirty, and often religiously unclean.
Because they were regarded as second-class citizens, these shepherds, may have wondered if this was truly for them… They may have wondered, “Who would ever believe us?”
They may have faced a dilemma at this wonderful news, whether they could really have joy?
I think today, many people come to Christmas, a time that is supposed to be filled with joy, and wonder if they can, or even should, have joy.
Maybe you, or someone close to you, is struggling with health issues.
Some of you have lost a loved one.
Maybe finances are tight.
Maybe you struggle with guilt over things you have done.
Maybe there are some personal conflicts in your life, your home or your family.
Thought this is said to the season of Joy, you may feel that dilemma of whether you can truly experience joy this Christmas.
I think the shepherds knew that dilemma.
Let’s see what God did for them, and for us.
This is an interesting verse to translate from the original Greek into English.
In some ways, I feel like I have been missing the emphasis of what the angel said to the Shepherds for years.
For me, I see that wording, and for me the emphasis is bringing good news.
The way this is worded in English, grammatically speaking, ‘bringing’ is the verb, and ‘good news’ is the object.
That is the thing that is being emphasized.
The angel is bringing good news to these shepherds, but that is not the real emphasis of the verse.
The problem arises because the verb in this sentence is difficult to translate into English because we don’t have a word to match the nuances of the Greek word.
The verb is literally ‘to proclaim good news’.
Proclaiming, or pronouncing, is the action.
And for this word, the content of what is being proclaimed or pronounced is going to be good news.
In English we do not have a word for proclaiming good news.
All of our words for ‘proclaim’ are used for declaring both good OR bad news.
So, most English translators try to bring out that nuance by saying something about good news.
Unfortunately, that leaves us with a verb that is short of proclaiming or pronouncing, and the object is now good news.
In doing this, I feel like I have missed the real action and the real object of this, therefore, the real emphasis of this verse, for years.
So to help me see what is the real emphasis of the verse, I translated it to emphasize the action of the verb, and the true object of the sentence.
It turned out this way...
I proclaim/pronounce to you JOY of surprising greatness that is for all people.
The action is proclaiming, or maybe more properly pronouncing.
The object of the sentence, the thing which is being pronounced or given, is JOY.
And, not only is it JOY, but the angel uses an adjective, which makes it surprisingly great!
Surprisingly great JOY!
The angel is pronouncing upon the shepherds GREAT JOY.
It is GREAT JOY that is being given by declaration!
I think of it like at a wedding, the man and the woman are pronounced “Husband and Wife.”
Up to that point, there is no marriage.
It is upon the pronouncement that there is a marriage union.
The pronouncement gives them something.
For a wedding, it gives them legal status as husband and wife.
In the same way, the Angel was saying, “I pronounce upon you GREAT JOY!” Upon the pronouncement, the shepherds were to have GREAT JOY!
Shepherds, of all people, were chosen by God to get this pronouncment of joy!
The shepherds may have thought, who am I to have great joy?
Have you ever wondered that?
I love that God chose some of the outcasts of society to get this pronouncement!
God did not give it to them because they were so good or important.
Also, the shepherds didn’t have to do anything for this.
God wanted them to know joy, so he sent the angels to them.
God sent the angels to them to give them joy by declaration.
It was a gift!
The same goes for you and me!
We may face the Dilemma of Joy at this time of year, thinking we cannot experience the joy of Christmas because we are nobodies.
We may think we are not worthy of joy.
But just like God chose the shepherds, God has chosen you!
He wants you to have joy!
What is joy?
Now, know that Joy is not happiness.
Joy is an attitude or character quality, not an emotion.
Joy can lead to emotion, but joy does not start with emotion.
Joy has its root in the Lord and what He has done, is doing, or has promised to do.
Joy does not depend upon circumstances.
Notice, the shepherds were still shepherds after the angels came.
They were likely still looked at by others as lower class.
They still had to spend months from home.
They still had to live out in the elements.
They still had many sleepless nights.
No, their circumstances were still difficult.
However, they had a new attitude.
They had a new quality about them.
They had a God-given Joy, because He gave it to them!
This is yours!
God wants you to have this quality, this attitude of Joy.
Not because you are special.
But because God wants you to have it!
Not because you earned it.
Just because God wants you to have it.
Not because you can manufacture it.
No, because God is just giving it to you.
And this great joy was not just being proclaimed for the shepherds, but for all people.
Joy is an attitude, not based upon circumstances, but upon what God has done, is doing, and will do.
What is it that God has done that would give an attitude of great joy?
Well, the angel used three very special words that are loaded with meaning.
These three significant words were the reason for GREAT JOY!
What do you think the three words might be?
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