Be Still And Know

Luke 2:10-11 “Don’t be afraid!” he said. “I bring you good news that will bring great joy to all people. The Saviour—yes, the Messiah, the Lord—has been born today in Bethlehem, the city of David!” The news of the birth of Jesus would have been a shock to the shepherds for many reasons. We know these accounts of Jesus’ birth so well that there isn’t any surprise for us, but we need to remember that, although the prophet Isaiah had spoken clearly about the coming of a Messiah, that was more than 700 years ago for the shepherds. And over the past 400 years there hadn’t been a prophet in the land. There was nothing that led them to believe that this would be the moment of the Messiah’s birth. Add to that the fact that they were shepherds. They were not seen as responsible members of the community and were generally excluded from religious life. They were outsiders and would hardly have expected to be the first people to receive news of Jesus’ birth. You needn’t be surprised that the sudden arrival of an angel