Luke 2:15-21 15And it happened as the angels went away from them into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, “Now let us go over to Bethlehem and see this event which has happened which the Lord has made known to us.” 16And they went by hurrying and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby lying in the manger. 17And when they saw this, they made known about the event that had been told them concerning this child. 18And all who heard it marveled at what the shepherds told them. 19But Mary treasured up all these events, pondering them in her heart. 20And the shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things they had heard and seen, just as it had been told them. 21And who eight days had been fulfilled in order for him to be circumcised and his name was called Jesus, the naming by the angel before he was conceived in the womb.
The shepherds did not need any convincing to follow the instructions of the angel. Heaven in the Bible is God’s dwelling and can also represent the sky. There is no need to differentiate between the two in this context because the angelic choir came from God and returned to God. The shepherds did not hesitate but went right away, even though it was night. They had to entrust their flock of sheep into God’s care and run into town to look for the newly born infant. Their search likely did not take long because they knew every manger in town and quickly located the small family. They found the situation just as the angel had said, which must have brought great faith and confirmation to them. They already knew who this baby was. This night was the greatest of their lives.
Luke records three responses to the birth of Jesus. First, the shepherds could not keep quiet and told everyone their story. In Scripture and Jewish tradition, it took two people to collaborate on the truth of the matter. There were obviously more than one shepherd involved, so their testimony held a lot of weight. They must have been obviously changed in some way because of their experience. Second, when people heard their testimony, others joined in and marveled and wondered about it. A pattern for discipleship can be seen as the shepherds were the first to share the “good news” of Jesus, and the response to their testimony moved others to amazement. Third, Mary responded by thinking deeply about all that had happened. It is possible that Luke got all of his information for these stories directly from Mary. Luke was well traveled and may have met Mary at some point.
The shepherds returned to their flock out in the surrounding hills. Life returned to normal routine, but the shepherds were much different. They had seen the Messiah, and this filled them with praise. They recognized God’s plan in all of this. God had blessed them to be the first people to see the newly born child. Every step they took was ordained by God. They followed God’s leading with obedience and hope, and by doing this, they experienced the greatest blessing of their lives.
Verse 21 provides a conclusion to the birth account of Jesus and prepares for the next story. Joseph and Mary followed the Old Testament law and had Jesus circumcised on the eight day. It was on that day that Jewish baby boys were officially named. The angel Gabriel told Mary the name to give the baby in 1:31. Matthew records Joseph’s dream and how the angel gave him the same name in Matthew 1:21. The name of Jesus is special because of what Jesus did for us on the cross. God the Father exalted Jesus to the highest place of honor (Philippians 2:5-11). His name is not to be taken lightly, flippantly, or in vain for it represents the only way by which anyone can get to heaven (Acts 4:12).
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