Monday, June 15, 2020

The writings of Luke the physician starting with his version of the gospel - Luke 2:8-20 comments: the shepherds are told





Luke 2:8 ¶  And there were in the same country shepherds abiding in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night. 9  And, lo, the angel of the Lord came upon them, and the glory of the Lord shone round about them: and they were sore afraid. 10  And the angel said unto them, Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people. 11  For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord. 12  And this shall be a sign unto you; Ye shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, 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, good will toward men. 15  And it came to pass, as the angels were gone away from them into heaven, the shepherds said one to another, Let us now go even unto Bethlehem, and see this thing which is come to pass, which the Lord hath made known unto us. 16  And they came with haste, and found Mary, and Joseph, and the babe lying in a manger. 17  And when they had seen it, they made known abroad the saying which was told them concerning this child. 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. 20  And the shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things that they had heard and seen, as it was told unto them.

Some writers, quoting sources like the Greek philosopher Aristotle from hundreds of years before and the Jewish Babylonian Talmud much later, insist that shepherds held a very low social status in the Palestine of the first century. Perhaps, as common laborers they did but let us remember that the Jews would remember King David was a shepherd boy who likened God to a shepherd in my late father’s favorite Bible passage, Psalm, chapter 23. Keep in mind that the people in verse 18 wondered at the message the shepherds delivered and the text does not say they were shocked that the “lowly” shepherds were involved.  

If you take this account at face value as I do you will notice that the appearance or angel of the Lord, who is also Christ, shows Himself as He is also lying in a feeding trough as a baby. An angel is a presence, an appearance of someone who is someplace else physically.

Isaiah 63:9  In all their affliction he was afflicted, and the angel of his presence saved them: in his love and in his pity he redeemed them; and he bare them, and carried them all the days of old.

Judges 2:1 ¶  And an angel of the LORD came up from Gilgal to Bochim, and said, I made you to go up out of Egypt, and have brought you unto the land which I sware unto your fathers; and I said, I will never break my covenant with you.

Acts 27:23  For there stood by me this night the angel of God, whose I am, and whom I serve,

And this verse, understanding that even typically connects two things that are the same or similar. First, for the definition of even.

Genesis 6:17a  And, behold, I, even I, do bring a flood of waters upon the earth, to destroy all flesh, wherein is the breath of life...

And now this verse for my point…

Galatians 4:14  And my temptation which was in my flesh ye despised not, nor rejected; but received me as an angel of God, even as Christ Jesus.

Notice how Christ, talking about Himself can show that He could be in two places at one time.

John 3:13  And no man hath ascended up to heaven, but he that came down from heaven, even the Son of man which is in heaven.

And even those who trust Him.

Ephesians 2:6  And hath raised us up together, and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus:

This, of course, if the angel of the Lord here is not Gabriel who has previously been given the task of being the spiritual world’s version of John the Baptist, heralding the first arrival of Christ.

Christ is the long-awaited Messiah of the Jews, Saviour of mankind.

John 4:25  The woman saith unto him, I know that Messias cometh, which is called Christ: when he is come, he will tell us all things.

Notice in verses 13 and 14 the angels are not singing as in Christian mythology. They are saying and what they are saying is not conditional as in peace to men of good will. They are saying good will toward men. This is not conditional. This is God’s peace being presented. See in the following the peace between Jew and Gentile and between both as the Church and God.

Ephesians 2:11 ¶  Wherefore remember, that ye being in time past Gentiles in the flesh, who are called Uncircumcision by that which is called the Circumcision in the flesh made by hands; 12  That at that time ye were without Christ, being aliens from the commonwealth of Israel, and strangers from the covenants of promise, having no hope, and without God in the world: 13  But now in Christ Jesus ye who sometimes were far off are made nigh by the blood of Christ.

    14 ¶  For he is our peace, who hath made both one, and hath broken down the middle wall of partition between us; 15  Having abolished in his flesh the enmity, even the law of commandments contained in ordinances; for to make in himself of twain one new man, so making peace; 16  And that he might reconcile both unto God in one body by the cross, having slain the enmity thereby: 17  And came and preached peace to you which were afar off, and to them that were nigh. 18  For through him we both have access by one Spirit unto the Father. 19  Now therefore ye are no more strangers and foreigners, but fellowcitizens with the saints, and of the household of God; 20  And are built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ himself being the chief corner stone; 21  In whom all the building fitly framed together groweth unto an holy temple in the Lord: 22  In whom ye also are builded together for an habitation of God through the Spirit.
 
Mankind is at war with God. He ignores or fights against God’s standard of righteousness in the moral aspects of the Law given to Moses and the admonitions of Christ, Paul, Peter, John, and James. Mankind is malicious, murderous, evil, and vile in his affections and his plans. He is constantly trying to change God’s plans. He tries to cheat death desiring to live as long as the men and women before the Flood of Noah in this sinful flesh, change and destroy the natural world trying to place his own twisted sense of order on it, and in some cases even deny that the physical condition of gender and age have any bearing on him or her. Mankind is constantly trying to control that which he can have no control over and claim to know that which his finite man cannot know.

But, God made peace with us. He did all the work and all we have to do is to receive His mercy, the mercy of a God dealing with a rebellious mob. There is no chance of defeating Him and we would not be able to exist for another moment where we able to do that as He is the author of every heartbeat, every cell function, and every breath. We are fools to fight our Creator.

So, He entered our space in physical flesh like ours and suffered the consequences of our rebellion, death and agony, and then rose again for our justification before Himself having preached to the spirits in Hell and taken Paradise to Heaven. As in a medieval conflict, the herald rides up and offers us peace, a peace we only need to receive, the parts of all parties having been satisfied by God. This is the only offer you’ll get, the only chance for your king’s mercy.

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