Holidays
“Do you swear to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth, so help you God?” Courtroom drama fans will recognize that as the oath taken by people called to the witness stand. There is a humorous tagline to that: “If I KNEW the whole truth, I would BE God!”
A witness is called to give evidence of an occurrence. The witness must be honest and have direct knowledge of what happened, and must be willing to tell the truth. Otherwise, his testimony is worthless, and even dangerous.
One dark night, thousands of years ago, some shepherds were watching the sheep do whatever it is that sheep do at night. Suddenly, an occurrence occurred that was unexpected and incredibly noteworthy. Angels appeared with a most unusual birth announcement (Luke 2:8–14). They told the shepherds that “a Savior has been born to you; he is Christ the Lord” (v. 11). This was the long-awaited Messiah (“Christ” in Greek). The angels topped the announcement off with “a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying: ‘Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, goodwill toward men!’” (vv. 13, 14, NKJV). What a story to tell!
What would your reaction be to such an event? Would you figure that no one is going to believe this, so you’d keep quiet about it? Or would you spread the news all over town? Would you even believe it yourself?
The shepherds didn’t waste any time analyzing, deconstructing, or debating the message. They didn’t search for hidden meanings or form a committee of inquiry to decide the best course of action. They simply, and wisely, believed what the Lord had told them, and headed out to Bethlehem to see this event for themselves (vv. 15, 16). They didn’t hurry off to look for proof of the message; they hastened to embrace it.
After they saw the child, they spread the word about what they had seen and heard (v. 17). Those who listened were amazed by the shepherds’ testimony, and Mary pondered these things in her heart (vv. 18, 19). It didn’t stop there—“The shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things they had heard and seen, which were just as they had been told” (v. 20).
The shepherds are a prime example of what it means to witness. They gave true testimony to what they had seen and heard. Jesus said to his disciples, “But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth” (Acts 1:8). Jesus expects his disciples to tell others about him, as truthfully and boldly as the shepherds, so help them God.
Those lowly laborers first believed what God told them. Then, they acted on the message by going to Jesus themselves. Once they experienced the reality of the good news, they shared it with others. Let us review this message (vv. 10–14):
• It is good news (“gospel”) of great joy
• It is for all people
• Jesus is the personal Savior for you
• Jesus is the Christ, Messiah, Deliverer, Anointed One
• Jesus is the Lord, a title the Jews reserved for God
• Peace is for men on whom God’s favor rests
The message of the angels was a good summation of the gospel. Paul elaborates on it in 1 Corinthians 15:1–8. He adds the resurrection and the fact that Christ was seen after his resurrection by hundreds of witnesses. Paul himself was visited by the risen Lord and given his task as a witness (see Acts 9).
If you have been saved, born again, redeemed, adopted, reconciled, converted—there are many words for all that the gospel entails—it’s because you believed God’s message. That is faith. In fact, Christ is the ultimate proof of God’s Word, “For all the promises of God in Him are Yes, and in Him Amen, to the glory of God through us” (2 Corinthians 1:20). And, “Faith comes from hearing, and hearing by the word of Christ” (Romans 10:17).
When a person hears the Word and believes, he acts on it. “Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says. Anyone who listens to the word but does not do what it says is like a man who looks at his face in a mirror and, after looking at himself, goes away and immediately forgets what he looks like” (James 1:22–24). “For as the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without works is dead also” (James 2:26, NKJV).
Jesus is the Prince of Peace (Isaiah 9:6), offering peace with God. He has sent us to the world with this message. He expects us to share our knowledge of the gospel and its effect on us. Any other “gospel” is false, worthless, and dangerous (Galatians 1:6–8).
Do you swear to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth, so help you God?
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