Remember, the first angel was standing before these humble and obviously befuddled shepherds. This is stated with gravity and joy, but more glory is to follow.Īnd suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying, “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace among those with whom he is pleased!” Luke 2:13-14 ESV The shepherds were the first to get the message on the day Christ was born! And they would be the first to see the baby outside of the family. And this will be a sign for you: you will find a baby wrapped in swaddling cloths and lying in a manger.” Luke 2:10-12 For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. The angel “stood before them, and the glory of the Lord shone around” the shepherds, causing them to be frightened beyond description.Īnd the angel said to them, “Fear not, for behold, I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. These glorious beings, the most magnificent of God’s creatures, had no deceit, ulterior motive, or impurity and could be safely trusted to bring the exact message God himself wanted to be heard. Hebrews 1:14 reveals that angels are “ministering spirits sent out to render service for the sake of those who will inherit salvation.” Announcing the birth of the Savior would certainly be within this angel’s sphere of duty. We might surmise that Gabriel was, in fact, the one chosen for this assignment since the other important messages from God about the birth of Christ were delivered by him.
Gabriel is not called an archangel, such as Michael was, but he is obviously very prominent in the order of messengers of God. Was it Gabriel who appeared to the shepherds on this mundane night? We don’t know for sure. “And in the same region there were shepherds out in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night.” (Luke 2:8) This otherwise routine pastoral scene is soon to change. Picture in your mind the setting from this short sentence below. And, for our focus, we see the most breathtaking of angelic appearances which happened in Bethlehem before rustic shepherds at night.Then Gabriel was sent to Nazareth where he announced to the virgin named Mary that she would have a child named Jesus, “the Son of the Most High and the Lord God will give Him the throne of his father David.”.
For humble earthy shepherds given what might seem like a bit part in the drama of the redemption of mankind, this was, nonetheless, a spectacular scene. Angels appeared around the birth of Christ as shining messengers of God.
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