Peace, Good Will Toward Men (1 of 4)
Series: God's Christmas Gifts
Stan Coffey
Luke 1:10-11, 14
In Luke 1:10-11, we find that there is an announcement made to the shepherds. You are familiar with this part of the Christmas story as the shepherds kept watch over their flocks by night. The angel came to them with a tremendous announcement. And you will notice that announcement here in the passage.
Now, it is amazing that this announcement came to the shepherds. You would have thought it would have come to somebody more important, such as the scribes or Pharisees who were the rulers and religious leaders of the day, or perhaps to King Herrod who was the political ruler of the day. But instead, it came to shepherds. The shepherds were considered to be the very lowest on the social ladder. In fact, shepherds were considered to be so low that their word was not to be trusted. They could not even be a witness in a court of law, they were considered to be such liars. Shepherds could not even hold title to real property. They were confined to the lowest job in society that of herding sheep from one place to another. They lived in tents, not being good enough to live in a permanent dwelling. But it was to these lowly people that the message came, "peace, goodwill toward men."
This world into which this message came was anything but a world of peace. It was the world of the Roman Empire. If you have done any study or even watched any films from Hollywood, you know that the Roman Empire was an empire constantly at war. They subjecated the world by force. They were called "the Iron Boot of Rome" and Judea was simply a Roman province, an outpost of the Roman Empire and the people who lived under that province were under the "Iron" will of Rome. And they had to do the bidding of Rome. They were under the heavy taxation of Rome. And certainly it was not a world of peace. But to this world, the message of peace and the gift of peace came in the form of a little baby wh ...
Series: God's Christmas Gifts
Stan Coffey
Luke 1:10-11, 14
In Luke 1:10-11, we find that there is an announcement made to the shepherds. You are familiar with this part of the Christmas story as the shepherds kept watch over their flocks by night. The angel came to them with a tremendous announcement. And you will notice that announcement here in the passage.
Now, it is amazing that this announcement came to the shepherds. You would have thought it would have come to somebody more important, such as the scribes or Pharisees who were the rulers and religious leaders of the day, or perhaps to King Herrod who was the political ruler of the day. But instead, it came to shepherds. The shepherds were considered to be the very lowest on the social ladder. In fact, shepherds were considered to be so low that their word was not to be trusted. They could not even be a witness in a court of law, they were considered to be such liars. Shepherds could not even hold title to real property. They were confined to the lowest job in society that of herding sheep from one place to another. They lived in tents, not being good enough to live in a permanent dwelling. But it was to these lowly people that the message came, "peace, goodwill toward men."
This world into which this message came was anything but a world of peace. It was the world of the Roman Empire. If you have done any study or even watched any films from Hollywood, you know that the Roman Empire was an empire constantly at war. They subjecated the world by force. They were called "the Iron Boot of Rome" and Judea was simply a Roman province, an outpost of the Roman Empire and the people who lived under that province were under the "Iron" will of Rome. And they had to do the bidding of Rome. They were under the heavy taxation of Rome. And certainly it was not a world of peace. But to this world, the message of peace and the gift of peace came in the form of a little baby wh ...
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