Mary, Joseph, and Jesus are the primary characters in the grand story of Christmas. Without them, there would be no Christmas story. In a movie, play, or television series, there are the main actors and the supporting cast. Those who play supporting roles are not as widely recognized, but often are crucial to the story as a whole.
If you missed the preceding posts in this series, The Supporting Cast of Christmas, you can find them here, here, and here.
This week we wrap up our Monday Christmas series, The Supporting Cast of Christmas with a look at the angel messenger who announced the birth of Christ to the shepherds.
Luke 2: 9-14 (NIV) 9 An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. 10 But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid. I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. 11 Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is Christ the Lord. 12 This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.” 13 Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God and saying, 14 “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace to men on whom his favor rests.”
Some have postulated that this angel messenger is Gabriel, who seems to function in Scripture as a messenger of God to man. The text doesn’t name the angel, so we are left to wonder. Although we don’t know his identity, there are at least two things we do know about him. First, his presence provokes fear in the shepherds. We have been programmed to think of angels as cute beings with wings that flit around bringing blessings to all they encounter. I am not sure where this picture came from, but it certainly did not come from the Scriptures. In every case where an angel appears to a human, fear is the initial reaction. This passage tells us that the glory of the Lord shone around the shepherds and they were scared to death. So, even though this angel messenger brought the best news imaginable, he was quite a fearsome sight to behold. In fact, his first words were to reassure the shepherds that they had nothing to fear.
Second, the angel is tasked with announcing the birth of the Messiah to mankind. Can you imagine the excitement of the angel who was chosen for this announcement? I wonder if God looked out over his myriads of angels and saw angels dancing around, waving their hands wildly, and shouting ‘pick me, pick me’ as He decided who would be charged with the BIG REVEAL. You can be sure our angel messenger was pretty high up in the angel ranks to be chosen to announce the birth of the Son of God. This is one of those scenes I want to view on heavenly Blu-Ray in eternity. Being a speaker, I know the importance of inflection and emphasis. I can only imagine the angel’s booming voice rising and falling in cadence as he made the great announcement. He likely gave great emphasis to certain words. Imagine it with me.
“For there is born TO YOU (as his gaze falls on all the shepherds individually) this day in the city of David a SAVIOR (excitement), who is CHRIST THE LORD. And THIS will be the sign to you: You will find a BABE (tenderness in his voice) wrapped in swaddling cloths, lying in a manger.”
Oh, I don’t know that for sure, but it certainly sounds reasonable to me. One thing I think we can be fairly sure of is that our angel messenger could not fully understand the whys of this situation. You see, from his perspective this announcement meant nothing good for Jesus, although it meant great good for mankind. While Mr. Angel was a created being, he had no need for redemption personally, so perhaps it was difficult for him to understand the reasons God was doing what He was doing. Surely, those humans were not worth the life of the second person of the Trinity? Could there not be another way? Nevertheless, in full obedience Mr. Angel performed his task perfectly.
Caesar Augustus, the Inn Keeper, the Shepherds, and the Angel Messenger. Each played a crucial role in the Christmas story. Perhaps you don’t feel like the main character in the story of your life. Maybe you feel that others are more important than you, and have more to offer. Don’t believe it for a moment, friend. You have an important role to play in the grand story of your life. Fix your eyes on Jesus, the true Star of the Story, and He will show you how you fit into His Story.
MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!
