I Bring You Good News of Great JoySample

The shepherds witnessed the miracle and praised God

“When the angels went away from them into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, ‘Let us go over to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has made known to us.’” (Luke 2:15)

An angel had told the news of Jesus' birth to a group of shepherds. After the angel's words, a great company of the heavenly host appeared and praised God in honor of the newborn Savior. Then they returned to heaven, and everything was quiet and dark again. But in the shepherds' hearts, the angel's words still resounded. They were convinced that this message came directly from the Lord. Now, they wanted to go and see for themselves what the angel had told them about. In the middle of the night, they hurried off and found Joseph and Mary with the baby. Now, they could see the miracle with their own eyes, confirming the message they had heard. In turn, the shepherds could tell Joseph and Mary about the heavenly host that had sung and about the angel who announced the news. That must have been a welcome confirmation to these brand-new parents of the special identity of their Child.

After all this, the shepherds returned to their sheep. Meanwhile, they glorified and praised God — just as the angels had done. Ultimately, that is the only proper response to an encounter with Jesus. Getting to know Him culminates in “great joy” that we may express in praise and thanksgiving. Do you experience this, too?

Thank you for completing this reading plan. We hope it helped you find ‘great joy’ in Jesus! We invite you to learn more about Him in one of our e-courses or to find your questions answered on our homepage, www.biblword.net