It Came Upon the Midnight Clear

Most of us know this Christmas carol; we have memorized it since childhood. It’s one of those very brilliant portraiture of what happened one autumn night in the fields outside Bethlehem, inscribed in Luke 2:8-20. Some shepherds kept watch over their flocks that night when an angel of the Lord appeared to them. At first, they were terrified, but the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid. I bring you good news that will cause great joy for all the people. Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is the Messiah, the Lord.” (v.10,11).

In God’s infinite wisdom, he chose to reveal the message to these unknown shepherds, out of around 300 million world population probably alive at that time. God is sovereign and he does as he pleases, choosing those shepherds to proclaim his message. But what was the message? “A Savior was born; he is the Messiah, the Lord.” This is the core of the Christmas message, which oftentimes twit, change, or embellish to suit our needs.

But the shepherds did not. The first thing they did was to see for themselves and meet the savior. “Let’s go to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has told us about.” (v.15). Then they spread the message of salvation! “When they had seen him, they spread the word concerning what had been told them about this child,” (v.17). The birth of the savior is the message of salvation. That message is that we are all sinners and deserved punishment by a most holy God, and that salvation comes from the unselfish sacrifice of the Son of God, who became man that Christmas day, lived a sinless life, and gave up his life on the cross for us!

That we are all sinners and deserve God’s wrath were not lost to those shepherds, as simple as they were. All of us know, deep inside, the depravity of our sinful nature --of anger, hate, pride, and the like that lurks in our beings. No one is exempted, except Jesus. We need a savior because we cannot save ourselves. And around 2,000 years ago, the savior came. God became man. It came upon the midnight clear!

We celebrate Christmas as many times as how old we are. But the message remains the same. But for the earlier years in our lives, we have not understood. It does take some intellect and moral and spiritual realization to understand and realize our human condition and destiny. And for some who have realized, they have responded as the shepherds did and accepted the gift of salvation. And all those who did will certainly “spread the word” as the shepherds did. Others may not yet have. How about you? Have we received the gift of salvation? Are we telling others about it? And for what he has done, are we “glorifying and praising God for all these things …?” (v.10).

The message of Christmas is the message of salvation. Salvation, by grace, through faith, it is God’s perfect Christmas gift for us. Let’s humbly receive it.