An Advent Sign by Faith – A Christmas meditation

An angel announces the birth of the messiah to shepherds watching their flocks by night

This Christmas I wanted to bolster the faith of those who believe, inspire faith among those have not yet believed, and I wanted to do so by means of a clear sign or, alternately, a vision–not necessarily a supernatural sign but a natural (non-supernatural) sign. I wasn’t sure that would be possible since it is God who is the author and producer of signs, and I wasn’t sure he’d give one for this humble article. But as I was meditating on the advent narratives and praying about this, God graciously granted my request by opening my eyes to a sign I had not seen before. As I pondered it, it occurred to me that I was not the only one who missed it all these years for reasons explained below. We’ll get to that sign in a moment.

Now, with regard to signs, some may not realize this, but not all signs from God are supernatural. God does not always supernaturally manipulate the natural. Sometimes he simply works behind the scenes to bring about the indicated signs using only natural (non-miraculous) means.

Consider the sign that God gave Moses as a confirmation that it was God himself who sent Moses. This sign was the fact that Moses, after leading the people out of Egypt, would bring God’s people to worship God on the very mountain where Moses met God. (Ex 3.12) Though God performed many miracles to get the people there, the act of the people of God worshipping on the mountain is not itself a supernatural act from God. Particularly when you speak of it–people worshipping on a mountain–does not sound supernatural on the order of the parting of the Red Sea or the resurrection of the Messiah. Or consider the sign God gave to the shepherds to confirm the angel’s word that a Savior had been born that very day in the town of David: they would find “a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.” (Luke 2.12) While it shows the humility of the Messiah to be placed in a feeding trough, there is nothing inherently supernatural about a baby lying in a manger.

The Essence of a Sign from God
So what makes a sign a legitimate sign from God? The two primary criteria are that:
1. God is the ultimate author, though it may be relayed through intermediaries like angels (Luke 2.12) or through a man of God (1 Ki 13.3).

2. The sign confirms the truth or course of action that God has already given, or is giving with the announcement of the sign.

Note: Just because a supernatural natural sign occurs does not mean it is a sign from God. The Antichrist is empowered to do signs (Rev 13.13-14) but they fail both tests: They are clearly not from God, and they do not confirm a message or action of God.

The Essence of the Glory of the Lord
There’s one more thing that needs clarification before explaining this sign I mentioned, which you can consider a sign given personally to you this Christmas. The thing to clarify is the appearance of the “glory of the Lord.” What does it look like? And what does it mean? As for how it looks, I often think of a cloud descending on some place, because after the Israelites left Egypt and Moses went up to meet God on the holy mountain, scripture tells us a cloud covered the mountain as the glory of the Lord settled on Mount Sinai:

“15 When Moses went up on the mountain, the cloud covered it, 16 and the glory of the LORD settled on Mount Sinai. For six days the cloud covered the mountain, and on the seventh day the LORD called to Moses from within the cloud.
Ex 24.15-16

Not doubt you’ve heard or read this before from Luke 2.8-9, but the sign I’m referring to is not the appearance of the angel. Nor is it the shepherds and their testimony. (Luke 2.17) I have read these two verses missing a key clue for many years because I always assumed that the glory of the Lord–the radiance that was shining–was around the angels. That’s how it’s typically depicted. And how else would the shepherds know they were angels? (We’re actually not told how they knew.) Apparently I’m not the only one who missed this sign. When you search for images of the annunciation of the angel to the shepherds, if the shining light is depicted, it is depicted around the angels as in the AI generated illustration above, and in all these images that appeared in my search (see here) and that I’ve seen. But a light shining around the angels is not what the text says. Notice what the text says:

• They were watching their flocks by night. Who? The shepherds.
• An angel of the Lord appeared to them. To whom? The shepherds.
• The glory of the Lord shone around them. Shone around whom? The shepherds. Note the plural. The glory shown around them. At this point there is only one angel appearing so that cannot refer to the angel. The glory is shining around the shepherds.
• And they were terrified. Who was terrified? The shepherds.

The item to note is where the glory of the Lord appeared. Clearly the glory of the Lord shone around the shepherds, not the angels. And we know that the glory of the Lord is the manifestation of the very presence of the Lord. It was not just an angel followed by many angels who were there at the annunciation by the angel, but God himself, the King of heaven, was also there in the midst of the shepherds confirming the message of the angel.

There it is! That is your sign! That God himself was confirming the announcement of the angels by being present with those receiving the message and showing his presence by manifesting his glory! Just as it is God himself who reconciles us to himself through Christ (2 Cor 5.18-19), likewise it is God himself who is present at the announcement of the coming of the messiah through whom he would reconcile the world to himself.

Unlike Ahaz, Believe The Sign

Now some may say, that’s all fine and good for the shepherds who were there to see it, but I wasn’t there to see it. To such people I say, similar to how Jesus told the disciples some demons could only come out by prayer (Mark 9.29), in a like manner, some signs can be seen only through the eyes of faith. Unless you believe, you will not see it.  (Compare Heb 4.2) For as the apostle Paul said, “We live by faith, not by sight.” (2 Cor 5.7) And now you can invoke upon yourself what I’ll call the blessing of Thomas by believing this sign.

We all know the account of the disciple Thomas, who was not there at the first resurrection appearance to the disciples (John 20.19-24) and so would not believe the others had seen the risen Jesus unless he himself saw him. Jesus graciously granted that request, but notice what Jesus said afterward, which is applicable to you and this sign today:

“Then Jesus told him, ‘Because you have seen me, you have believed; blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.'”
(John 20:29)

“Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.” You may consider it easy for the shepherds to believe since they were there. But for those who were not there with the shepherds, yet believe the message of the angel, which was confirmed by the presence of the Lord, you invoke a blessing upon yourself by believing. God is offering you a blessing by believing the sign.

Don’t be like the faithless, wicked King Ahaz who rejected God’s offer to give him a sign (Is 7.12). After a lifetime of disobedience to God (see 2 Ki 16.1-20 for a Biblical assessment of Ahaz), he decides to try to appear righteous by invoking a command of God (Deut 6.16) but he misapplies it. (Note – when God invites you, it’s not a trick or temptation – God does not tempt people like that. (James 1.13)) God goes to him via the prophet Isaiah. Isaiah tells Ahaz, King of Judah, that God will save Judah from Aram and the northern Kingdom of Israel who intend to take it for themselves (Is 7.5-6). God offers to give Ahaz a sign as a means of assurance it won’t happen, God will save Judah. (Is 7.10-11). The wicked king rejects God’s offer to provide a sign but since the preservation of Judah is part of God’s plan for the messiah (the messiah will be born in Judah – Gen 49.10, Mic 5.2) God gives Ahaz a sign anyway. It is then that God gives the beautiful prophecy and sign of Immanuel: the messiah–”God with us”–will be born of a virgin (Is 7.14) Notice this is another sign that can only be seen by the eyes of faith since you musts believe the testimony that Mary was a virgin when Jesus was born.

So don’t be like the wicked King Ahaz who refused to consider a sign that would confirm God’s word of salvation for Judah. Now God has given another sign to confirm that the messiah was born in Bethlehem. He Himself was there during the announcement. You can be confident of the sign both because it is God himself who confirmed the message of the angel by His presence; and it is the Lord himself who announced a blessing upon those who believe, not having seen the event themselves.

In passing, this sign also confirms a number of Christian doctrines and prophecies:

• The Trinity is seen. The presence of the father in the glory, the son in the manger, and the Spirit empowering the shepherds to see the supernatural happenings see here on how the Holy Spirit empowers visions of the supernatural; also compare Eze 43.5)
• Jesus set aside his divine glory at the incarnation (Php 2.6-8) (He looked like a baby, not like the Lord of the armies of heaven radiating the glory of the Lord.)
• The prophecy that the Messiah would be born in Bethlehem (Mic 5.2, Matt 2.5) was fulfilled (Matt 2.1, Luke 2.15)
• The prophecy that the Messiah, though being eternal (Mic 5.2), would be born of a woman (Gen 3.15)

So it turns out it was not just the Son of God come to earth as the divine son of man (Dan 7.13) that first Christmas evening. God the father and God the Holy Spirit were also there approving the message and empowering the shepherds to experience it. It is my deep desire and fervent prayer that if you have not yet embraced the truth of the Son of God “veiled in flesh”[1]; if you have not recognized “incarnate deity”[2], that this Christmas your eyes are opened through faith to the revelation given to the shepherds. A revelation that can change your eternal destination by believing the message it confirms. Angels sang of the glory of God while the very presence and glory of God were in the midst of the shepherds – mere humans upon whom God’s favor rests (Luke 2.14) – and not in the midst of the angels. This Christmas may you have the blessing of Thomas: to see through eyes of faith what the shepherds were blessed to observe, and in so doing invoke the blessing upon yourself.

Merry Christmas, and glory to God in the Highest!

Duane Caldwell  |  posted December 22, 2023 | Printer Friendly Version
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Notes

1 From the second stanza of the Christmas Hymn – Hark! the Herald Angels Sing
Note: Immanuel is Hebrew for “God with us”
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2 From the second stanza – Hark! the Herald Angels Sing
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Image:
An angel announces the birth of Christ to shepherds watching their flocks by night.
AI generated image