Luke 2:15

Luk_2:15

Let us now go even unto Bethlehem, and see

Bethlehems wonder

Every year the Christian heart takes, in thought, the shepherds pilgrimage to Bethlehem.

In this district lay the fields of Boaz in which Ruth gleaned. Here the son of Obed was born. David was anointed in Bethlehem. Best of all, in Bethlehem was Christ revealed. It was not without significance that Bethlehem, The House of Bread, should be the birthplace of Him who had come down from heaven to be the Bread of Life for men, and that He, who was in after years to be the Friend of the people and Saviour of the world, to be Himself so straitened as often to have nowhere to lay His head, should commence His earthly pilgrimage within the precincts of a stable. Let us ask what it was that the Bethlehem manger contained.

I. A VIRGINS CHILD.

II. ISRAELS MESSIAH.

III. THE WORLDS SAVIOUR.

IV. GODS SON.

Transcendent mystery! Thought is paralyzed when it attempts to conceive how the Eternal could become a child of days, how the Infinite could be reduced to dimensions, how the Adorable Creator could become one with His own creature. Let it kindle our gratitude that we can understand something of the purpose of this sublime mystery, if even we can learn nothing of its manner. The Son of God became incarnate, that He might reveal the Father, that He might exemplify human virtue, that He might take away our sins, and that He might be able thereby to make us partakers of His own Divine nature. (T. W.)

The first pilgrims to the stable of Bethlehem

1. Their pilgrim mind.

2. Their pilgrim staff.

3. Their pilgrim hope.

4. Their pilgrim joy.

5. Their pilgrim thanksgiving. (J. J. Van Oosterzee, D. D.)

How men receive the good news of God

I.

1. In order that man may possess the blessings which are brought upon earth in the Person of the Incarnate Word, he must be willing to obey the Divine Voice which bids him seek if he would find.

2. The shepherds are not content with wondering at the Divine mystery which has been made known to them, nor yet with listening to the angelic song, but they hasten to Him who is born their Saviour. Being thus obedient they are filled with the angelic spirit, and they are also able to glorify God for that which they have seen and heard. Simple faith and obedience lift up the humblest to share in the work of the angels of God.

3. Yet there are many, who hearing these things, regard them only with idle and fruitless wonder (Luk_2:18) instead of pondering them in their hearts as Mary did.

II.--1. The gospel message that God is made man is for ever ringing in our ears. How does it affect us? There are many who are ready to study Christian doctrine as an interesting phase of human thought, or as a bright poetic vision, but who never find the Child of Bethlehem as a Saviour in very deed.

2. If we have thus found Him, our belief will show itself, either

(1) by summoning us to enter into the company of those elect few who, like Mary, are absorbed in meditation on the Divine mysteries, or

(2) by giving us power to praise and glorify God in the common occupations of daily life, in union with these shepherds who returned to the work of their sheepfolds, filled with a new life from on high.

3. Let us pray, at any rate, we be not among those to whom the gospel is a mere matter of curiosity and empty wonder, exercising no influence on their lives, and forgotten in the excitement of some new incident of an unusual kind. (Canon Vernon Hutton, M. A.)

The faith of the shepherds, true faith

1. Its foundation.

(1) Gods Word.

(2) Gods deed.

2. Its properties.

(1) Emotion of heart.

(2) Activity of life.

3. Its aim.

(1) The spreading of the kingdom of God upon earth.

(2) The glory of God. (Hatless.)

The shepherds as patterns for imitation

1. They seek the Child in the stable and the manger.

2. They spread the gospel message everywhere.

3. They praise God with thankful joy. (Ahlfeld.)

The shepherds celebration of Christmas

1. Their going.

2. Their seeing,

3. Their spreading abroad the saying.

4. Their return to their avocations. (Arndt.)

A pilgrimage to Bethlehem

God gives men information to put them upon action. No sooner are the shepherds informed of the Saviours birth, than they say, Let us, then, go and see Him. It will be well for us to imitate them, and take a pilgrimage to Bethlehem.

I. Let us go to Bethlehem, and see DEITY DISPLAYED. It was necessary for our redemption that the Saviour of men should be a man; for the same nature that sinned must bear the punishment of sin. In what manner the human nature was united to the Divine, we cannot tell. It is enough for us to know that it was so united (Mat_1:23; Joh_1:1; Joh_1:14; 1Ti_3:15-16). Jesus Christ is God manifested in the flesh. Let us go to Bethlehem, and see this great sight. Angels desire to look at it. Glorious mystery!

II. Let us go to Bethlehem, and behold MAN REDEEMED. The redemption of fallen, guilty, helpless man, was the grand design of the Saviours birth. There is something delightful in the name Saviour. Cicero, the Roman orator, said, that when travelling in Greece, he saw a pillar inscribed with this word--Saviour. He admired the fulness of the name, but he knew not its Christian meaning. How much more may the redeemed sinner admire it! We must have perished, had He not come and saved us.

III. Let us take another turn to Bethlehem, and see SATAN RUINED. Ever since, in the garden of Eden, he seduced our first parents, Satan has ruled the children of disobedience, and led men captive at his will. At the birth of Christ his throne began to totter, and it will go on shaking until it is utterly destroyed. Christ by His death has destroyed him that had the power of death, and by His rising again has delivered all who were held in bondage by Satan. (George Burder.)

Teaching from Christs cradle

You all feel more or less the trials, the mystery of life, its sufferings and its sins. One and One only can alleviate for you those trials, can explain that mystery, can remove that suffering, can heal those sins. Would you understand anything either of this life or of the life beyond? You can only do so by watching the life of your Saviour, by coming to Christs cradle, by standing behind His cross, by sitting with the deathless angel in His forsaken tomb. Follow Him with the eagle eye of faith, and then you may see the heavens open and Jesus Christ standing on the right hand of God. I ask you, then, for a moment or two to stand with me beside the cradle of your Lord, in the manger at Bethlehem, and catch something of what we there may learn.

1. Some of you are poor. How glad for you, beyond all utterance, should be the meaning of Christmas! Your Lord was, as you are, poor--as poor as any of you. The lot which He chose for His own was your lot. Look at your own little children with love and reverence, for He, too, was the child of the poor. Your rooms, in garret or in cellar, are not more comfortless than that manger at Bethlehem; nor is your labour humbler than His in that shop of the village carpenter at Nazareth. It was to the poor, to the humble, to the ignorant, to those poor shepherds abiding in the field, keeping watch over their flocks by night, that the heavens flashed forth with angel wings. They were the first to see in that cradle the Blessed Child. Cannot you, in heart or mind, go with them. Let Christs cradle teach you to respect yourselves, to reverence with a nobler self-esteem the nature which He gave you and took upon Himself, and which, by taking upon Himself, He redeemed.

2. And some are rich. Oh I come ye also to the manger-cradle of your Lord, for rich men did come both to His cradle and to His tomb. From the far East came those three wise men--the three kings of the East, as they are called--they came, as the rich should come, with the gifts, willing and humble gifts, not doled forth with murmurs as a burden, but lavished as a privilege with delight. First of all they gave, as we all may and must give, themselves--the gold of worthy lives, the frankincense of holy worship, the myrrh of consecrated sorrow. They might have kept their gold and their treasures for their own selfishness, for their own gratification, for the enhancement of their personal luxury, for the enrichment of their sons and daughters. They might have stamped their substance with a vulgar commonplace possession; but do not you think it was happier for them that they made their gifts immortal by offering them at the cradle of their Lord? You may do the very same thing to-day. You may give your gifts at the cradle of your Lord to-day. If you give to one of the least of these your brethren, you give it unto Him.

3. Many of you are sorrowful. So was He. Whatever be the form of your sorrow, and it may be very varied--be it loneliness, or agony of body, or anxiety of mind, or the sorrows inflicted by the vulgarity or baseness of other men--He bore it all, even to the cross. That soft and tender Child by whose cradle we stand to-day, the shadow of His cross falls even on His cradle, the crimson of His sunset flushes even His golden dawn; and, perfected by suffering, He would teach every one of us out of our sorrows to make springs of tenderness and strength and beauty.

4. All of you are sinners; and to you the news of that birth is indeed Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace and goodwill towards men. While you may see there how much God hates the sin, you may see also how tenderly, how earnestly He loves the sinner. Let us come to this cradle: let the lepers come, and let the outcasts come, and the mourners with their tear-stained cheeks, and the sinners with their broken hearts, and the young man with his selfwill and his strong unconquered passions, and the poor with their struggling lives, and the rich with their many temptations, and let them kneel and drink freely of the waters of Siloam which flow softly, and let them bathe their sick and shivering souls in the golden tide of heavens beatitude, and stand in the circle of heavens own free light, undarkened by any shadow; let them escape the errors what, darken the mind, the lusts which destroy the body, the sins which corrupt the soul; and so one and all wish one another a happy Christmas time, as I do from my heart to all of you today. (Archdeacon Farrar.)

The festival of Christmas

This, Let us now go even unto Bethlehem, and see this thing, &c., was the resolution of the shepherds on the original Christmas Day. May it be our own I Come and see, is written upon the gospel. There is no secrecy and no concealment in it. It challenges inquiry.

I. WE HAVE A FACT BEFORE US: UNTO YOU IS BORN A SAVIOUR. It is a summary of revelation.

1. It presupposes a ruin.

2. It assumes that salvation must come from without.

3. It declares that the Deliverer, though He comes from without the creature, must enter into it by incorporation. There must be a birth to bring in the Saviour into the Cosmos. Unto you is born a Saviour--Incarnation makes Him such.

II. When we try to obey the summons the first thing which we notice is, that CHRISTMAS DAY IS THE FESTIVAL OF REDEMPTION AS A WHOLE. It presents to us, not so much one part or one element of the gospel, but rather the intervention of God in Christ to save sinners as a single and complete act, containing in itself all that was necessary to give it validity and efficacy.

III. But the festival of Christmas, though its foundation lies so deep, has a thought for all natures. It is in an especial sense THE FESTIVAL, OF THE BRIGHTER SIDE OF CHRISTIANITY.

IV. Christmas is by common consent THE FESTIVAL OF THE FAMILY AND THE HOME. (Dean Vaughan,)

Let us now go even unto Bethlehem

And what shall we find when we get there?

I. THAT OTHERS HAVE BEEN THERE BEFORE US.

1. Here are the shepherds. Let us ask them to tell their story. They say that they were watching their flocks on the hill-side, with no sounds to break the stillness but the occasional bleating of the sheep, when suddenly they became aware that they were in the presence of a glory brighter than that of noonday. An angel stood there, and as they shrank in affright from the wondrous vision, the angel spoke, and said, Fear not, &c. And then there appeared with him a multitude of the heavenly host praising God, &c. And--

When such music sweet,

Their heart and ears did greet,

As never was by mortal fingers strook,

Divinely warbled voice Answering the stringed noise,

As all their souls in blissful rapture took

The air such pleasure loathe to lose,

With thousand echoes still prolonged each heavenly close.

The anthem died away. The light faded from the hills. The angelic host departed. And the shepherds leaving their flocks, as afterwards the woman Joh_4:28 left her waterpot, set out to see the new-born Saviour whom the angels sang. They found what? The splendour and magnificence befitting His birth who was heir of all things, and King of kings? No, but Mary and Joseph, and the babe lying in a manger. And still, though that was what they saw, they returned glorifying and praising God.

2. But not only the shepherds--others also, and men very different from these, have been to Bethlehem before us. They are not shepherds but sages. They have come not from some near hill-side. They are travel-stained and weary, for they have travelled long and far. They tell us that they have seen a new star, blazing and flashing in the sky, and that, led by that star, they have come to the place where lay the young Child and His mother; have worshipped Him, and presented to Him precious gifts. And now, their quest ended and rewarded, and the star having paled before the Sun of Righteousness who has arisen with healing in His wings, they are wending their way home by another route, with a new hope born in their hearts.

3. And not only shepherds and sages, but a countless multitude through all the Christian centuries, have been heart-pilgrims to Bethlehem before us, and have declared that this thing which had come to pass was the one thing needed to give them peace here below and the hope of heaven hereafter.

II. BUT WHAT WENT THEY ALL OUT TO SEE, ANN WHAT SHALL WE SEE IF, LIKE THEM, WE GO NOW EVEN UNTO BETHLEHEM?

1. The reality of Christs humanity.

2. The self-sacrificing power of Divine love. Our gladness cost Christ grief. Our salvation His humiliation.

3. The perfection of Christs example. As we stand by the manger and know that that cradle means the cross, let us pray that the same mind may be in us which was also in Christ Jesus. (J. R. Bailey.)

This thing

I. Is of supreme interest as an event in the world. Outweighs all other great events of history.

II. Has to do with all time and all men.

III. Should be seriously inquired into by each one of us personally.

IV. Should receive our serious attention without delay.

1. Because you are losing happiness in proportion to your neglect of Christ.

2. Because you are missing the Divine method of spiritual life and heavenward growth.

3. Because with present conduct are bound up the solemn issues of the eternal future. (W. Manning.)

The visit of the shepherds

I. How came they to make this visit? They were directed by the angel.

II. There was no delay in the visit: Let us go now. That is the secret of finding Christ.

III. Why did they go away rejoicing? Because they found everything just as God had said. So if we seek and find Jesus we shall go joyfully on our journey. (Sermons for Boys and Girls.)

Which is come to pass

Every Divine prophecy has its counterpart and fulfilment sooner or later in the events of human history. If God has said, It shall come to pass, the time will come at which men shall say, It is come to pass. (J. R. Bailey.)

Which the Lord hath made known to us

Mark that. When there is anything specially important it is the Lord that makes it known to us. You would never have heard a syllable of this, if the Lord had not made it known to you. (T. Mortimer, B. D.)

The adoration of the shepherds

I. THE TRUTH INVESTIGATED. The shepherds said one to another, Let us now go even unto Bethlehem, and see this thing which is come to pass, which the Lord hath made known unto us. It will be felt at once that there was very little room in their case for scepticism. The manner of the revelation had been supernatural, and they could scarcely doubt the correctness of the information who had received it through the ministration of angels. The inquiry must be conducted in a humble and teachable spirit. It is of no use coming to it at all if we come in the spirit of self-sufficiency. Some men seem wonderfully baffled by the mysteries there are in grace. And, after all, it is no real calamity that there is mystery connected with all the departments of knowledge. Twilights are not altogether destitute of enjoyment: even the indistinct apprehension of truth has its pleasures; and these experiences do but herald the coming light. The objector may say, Then what is the use of inquiring? You ask us to test the truth concerning Christ, and then you practically check our inquiry by telling us that there is mystery and that we must trust! Not so, we reply. All we want you to see is that nature and revelation are alike in this respect, that in each department there are profound mysteries, problems you cannot solve; and just as you accept this in reference to the former, and take this for granted in all your researches into her domain, so we ask you candidly to accept this in relation to the latter; and further, just as you search into Nature, and form your own conclusions from what you can clearly apprehend, so we ask you in the same spirit to test the claims of Christ. Be assured His life and character, and His influence and power over human hearts will bear the closest scrutiny; and if the investigation is approached in the right spirit, then, despite all mysteries, the inquirer shall be led to Christ, and adoringly shall say unto Him: Thou art the Son of God: Thou art the King of Israel! Immanuel, God with us.

II. THE TRUTH PROCLAIMED. And they came with haste, and found Mary, and Joseph, and the babe lying in a manger. And when they had seen it they made known abroad the saying which was told them concerning this child. Let us look at these first heralds or proclaimers, that we may get a little stimulus, as Christian workers, from what is recorded respecting them. Clearly, they were not men of culture: they were humble, unpretending shepherds. Yet, for all this, they were genuine preachers of the truth concerning Christ. The lack of intellectual endowments or of educational advantages must not be pleaded in excuse for the neglect of this duty. Go, tell the good news to thy neighbour. Let him that heareth say, Come!

These men, if unlettered, could at any rate speak from experience. They had heard the voice from heaven and had seen the young child. And it was this personal experience which fitted them for service and inspired them with a true enthusiasm.

And then, their hearts were full of love. The scene they had witnessed had touched their hearts with love to the new-born King, and the sweet songs of angels to which they had listened, proclaiming peace on earth and goodwill toward men, had fired their souls with the spirit of a true brotherhood. Dr. Tholuck relates how that one who had been a great traveller said to him that he had scarcely ever fallen into company with fellow-travellers without speaking to them of the heavenly journey. Tholuck almost questioned the propriety of forcing such conversation. Ah, responded his friend, I endeavoured never to speak till I was certain, that I loved. I figured to myself that we are all brothers one of another, and this never failed to soften my heart, and when there was love in mine I soon found a bridge into that of the stranger. It was as though the breath of God had drawn out a thread from the one and had fastened it to the other. Nor must we overlook the fact that these proclaimers kept to the one theme, Christ. They made known the saying concerning Christ, but they did so with a view of leading those who heard them to Him.

III. THE TRUTH EXEMPLIFIED. And the shepherds returned glorifying and praising God for all the things which they had heard and seen, as it was told them. They not only tested and proclaimed the truth concerning Christ, but they exemplified it in their conduct and life. Too many, alas I are content with a very defective Christian life and character. The eminent Church historian, Neander, in speaking of the Stoics, remarks that there were many among them who did nothing more than make an idle parade of the lofty maxims of the ancient philosophers, embellishing their halls with their busts, whilst their own lives were abandoned to every vice. And even so there are to be found among the professed disciples of Jesus those who are very unworthy representatives of Him, and who by their failings bring dishonour upon His cause. (S. D. Hillman, B. A.)

Quiet thoughts, after high revelations

I pretend not, brethren, to sum up in these few words what such aims and endeavours should be; but to set forth the spirit of them is enough.

1. You cannot, for example, go to seek Him in the flesh, who was sought of old time in the stable at Bethlehem; but there are other humble roofs, and uninviting abodes, where you may seek, and haply find, the Lord of life! For Christ yet abides with His own; and very especially among the poorest and most helpless of His flock. Go to them, and you go to Him. Keep up a kindly, habitual compassion for their trials.

2. So again, you have no heaven-sent marvels of which to tell; you cannot report to others of the descent of the Angel of the Lord; nor of the gathering of an host of ministering spirits from above, chanting their adoration to God and the Lamb! But you can tell, perhaps, of the peace you may yourselves have read beneath the burning stars of some Christmas night. You can tell, perhaps, of some rough way that you yourselves have trod, and found, by Gods grace, consolation and hope in its end.

3. And need I point to one deeper and dearer realization of our subject yet? It stands in the fact that this sacred season has many opportunities for Holy Communion; for that best and most privileged way in which we can keep the Feast. He will be veiled in His Sacrament, as aforetime in His flesh; but the same Immanuel, God with you! And, surely, you will return to your own paths and your own ways, like your prototypes of Bethlehem, praising and glorifying God for all the benefits that He hath done unto you; having received the Cup of Salvation, and having been answered in the name of the Lord! (J. Puckle, M. A.)

The significance of Christmas

I. Here is a lesson of doctrinal theology.

II. A lesson of intellectual theology. A new revelation of God is given to man in the incarnate Christ.

III. A lesson in experimental theology.

IV. A lesson in emotional theology. It is a theophany of love.

V. A lesson of practical theology. The shepherds and wise men came in the spirit of earnest consecration.

VI. A lesson of consolation, of gladness, of rapture. (C. Wadsworth, D. D.)

Faith outliving its special occasions

The trial of mens faith comes after Gods awakening angels have gone away. To us Gods favouring messengers are stripped of their miraculous raiment. They take the shape of merciful providences to relieve and comfort us, of Christian ordinances to strengthen us, festivals to reawaken our thanksgiving, and human hearts to enrich the poverty of ours with their affection. In the fresh mercy of some gracious deliverance, from sadness or pain or accident or threatened sorrow, men cast their thank-offering into the treasury of the Church, and wonder that they should ever be forgetful of Gods care. In the stillness of a sanctuary, when all the harmonies of holy times and places seem to shut out temptation, to set open the windows of heaven, and fill the uplifted spirit with hearty praise, men say, Would to God all days and places were like this; for when faith, and zeal, and charity never would grow cold! In the warmth of the feast it is easy to be glad. But these hours pass by. The angels are gone away into heaven. The festive lights are put out; the temple-doors are shut; the winter snow lies white and smooth on the little grave in the burial-ground. The world comes crowding, beseeching, flattering, threatening, almost forcing its way back, with its noise and its guilt, into the unguarded and yielding heart. Then comes the test of the reality, the sincerity, the power, of your Christian principles. When the song ceased, the first Christmas Eve, and the bright host vanished from the sky, the shepherds did not fall asleep again, and so have only a dream to tell the next morning. They verified the vision, like earnest and constant men. Secondly: Such willingness to watch and seek commonly leads, as it does here, to an equal readiness to believe when the promise is fulfilled, and they that have sought Christ find Him. They might have said--and if they had been modern philosophers, conceited critics, or ambitious naturalists, they would have been very sure to say--to each other, Beware how you believe; these, to be sure, are extraordinary phenomena; they look very much as miracles are said to look--brilliant figures plainly seen by many witnesses, nay, by our own eyes, and articulate melodies from their tongues!--but possibly electricity, meteorology, optics, or acoustics may explain them all;--light or sound. They say, We will look into our books. It is extremely unlikely that nature would interrupt her order, or let in new light by a new channel. Let us take care not to be ridiculed for believing too much. Glories of heaven and earth, grander than telescopes ever pierced among the stars, or hammers ever uncovered in the rocks, pass by, and there is no vision to behold them. Spiritual things not seen for want of spiritual senses! God knew whom He was choosing when He opened Heaven on those clear-hearted keepers of simple flocks. They discredited neither messenger nor message. Thirdly: When faith is prompt, honest, and manly, like this, it comes out as it does in these brave men, to an open confession. The shepherds said what they said frankly, one to another, and with one consent. So they did not hide their purposes, or play fast and loose with their convictions. Will those men who have resolved to go to Bethlehem and see, really arise and go? Many a Christian life falters and fails in every congregation between these two. Will resolve pass on into action, and a good faith confirm and demonstrate itself in good works? Yes, they came with haste, and found Mary and Joseph, and the Babe lying in a manger. Visions are transient; the festival is but for a day; the angels go away into heaven. But the indwelling Christ abides. (F. D. Huntingdon, D. D.)

The Biblical Illustrator, edited by Joseph S. Exell (c. 1880s–1900s) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Luk 2:15-20. As the angels were gone away — Probably they saw them ascend; the shepherds said, Let us now go; without delay; and see this thing — This wonderful and important event; which is come to pass: and they came and found Mary and Joseph, &c. — Though it is not mentioned, it seems the angel had described to them the particular place in Bethlehem where Christ was born. And, having found the child lying where the angel had said, they were by that sign fully confirmed in their belief, and with boldness declared both the vision which they had seen, and the things which they had heard pronounced by the angel, and the heavenly host with him. And all they that heard wondered at those things, &c. — Joseph and Mary, with the people of the inn who attended them, and such of their relations as were come up to Bethlehem to be enrolled, and happened to be with them on this occasion, were exceedingly astonished at the things which the shepherds openly declared; and the rather, because they could not understand how one born of such mean parents could be the Messiah. But Mary kept all these things, &c. — Mary was greatly affected with, and thought upon, the shepherds’ words, the import of which she was enabled to understand, in consequence of what had been revealed to herself. She said nothing, however, being more disposed to think than to speak: which was an excellent instance of modesty and humility in so great a conjuncture. And the shepherds returned, glorifying God, &c. — They returned to their flocks, and by the way praised God for having condescended, by a particular revelation, to inform them of so great an event as the birth of the Messiah, and because they had seen the signs by which the angel in the vision pointed him out to them. To this we may add, that, “besides what they had heard from the angel and seen at Bethlehem, Joseph and Mary would doubtless give them an account of those particulars which the sacred historian has related above, respecting the conception of this divine infant; and this interview must have greatly confirmed and comforted the minds of all concerned.” — Doddridge.

Joseph Benson's Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1811–1818) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Luk 2:15. Οἱ ἄνθρωποι, the men [the shepherds]) representing, as they did in some measure, the whole human race. Comp. Luk 2:14, among men; in antithesis to, the angels. Men came to Jesus; whereas angels did their office from a distance.—διέλθωμεν—ἓως, let us go on—even to) Hence it may be inferred that the shepherds had their house, not at Bethlehem, but in some locality between which and Bethlehem midway was situated broadwise the region where they kept watch over their flocks; Luk 2:20 is in agreement with this view. Comp. Act 9:38, διελθεῖν ἓως (αὐτῶν) ἡμῶν, “to come on even to (them) us.” On this account [owing to their having to go forward and back over so much space] the matter became the more known through their means.—τὸ γεγονὸς, which has come to pass) They believe that the event has already come to pass, from the announcement of the angel.

Bengel's Gnomon of the New Testament — English translation (T&T Clark, Edinburgh, 1860) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Luk_2:15 f. Καὶ οἱ ἄνθρ.] This καί is not also, but the simple and after ἐγένετο; see on Luk_5:12.

οἱ ἄνθρωποι οἱ ποιμένες, not: the shepherd people (Grotius, Paulus, and others), against which the second article is decisive (comp. Mat_18:23; Mat_22:2, al.; see Bernhardy, p. 48; Kühner, II. p. 120), but a contrast to οἱ ἄγγελοι, in which case, however, we must not lay upon the expression a stress which is foreign to the connection (totum genus humanum quodammodo repraesentantes, Bengel), but rather must adhere to the simple and artless mode of representation: after the departure of the angels the people too, the shepherds, said, etc.

διέλθωμεν] through the fields as far as to Bethlehem, Act_9:38; Act_11:19.

δή] denotes what is definitive, without more ado. See Klotz, ad Devar. p. 395; Nägelsbach, Anm. z. Ilias, ed. 3, p. 433 f.

τὸ ῥῆμα] which has been said; ὃ ὁ κύρ. ἡμ. is an epexegesis of it.

ἀνεῦρον] they discovered (after previous search, in conformity with the direction at Luk_2:12). The word only occurs in the N. T. again at Act_21:4, comp. 4Ma_3:14; more frequently among Greek writers.

Meyer — Critical and Exegetical Commentary on the New Testament — English translation by Peter Christie, edited by Frederick Crombie (T&T Clark, 1880) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Luk 2:15-20 . The shepherds go to Bethlehem . διέλθωμεν δή , come! let us go. The force of δή , a highly emotional particle (the second time we have met with it, vide at Mat 13:23 ), can hardly be expressed in English. The rendering in A. V [24] (and R. V [25] ), “Let us now go,” based on the assumption that δὴ has affinity with ἤδη , is very tame, giving no idea of the mental excitement of the shepherds, and the demonstrative energy with which they communicated to each other, comrade-fashion, the idea which had seized their minds. “The δὴ gives a pressing character to the invitation,” Godet. Similarly Hahn = “agedum, wohlan, doch”. Cf. δὴ in Act 13:2 . The διὰ in διέλθωμεν suggests the idea of passing through the fields. ἕως (conjunction used as a preposition) may imply that it was a considerable distance to Bethlehem (Schanz). ῥῆμα , here = “thing” rather than “word”.

[24] Authorised Version.

[25] Revised Version.

The Expositor's Greek Testament, edited by W. Robertson Nicoll (1897–1910) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

3. The visit of the shepherds: Luk 2:15-20.

The angel had notified a sign to the shepherds, and invited them to ascertain its reality. This injunction they obey.

Vers. 15-20. The T. R. exhibits in Luk 2:15 a singular expression: “And it came to pass, when the angels were gone away,...the men, the shepherds, said...” The impression of the shepherds when, the angels having disappeared, they found themselves alone among men, could not be better expressed. The omission of the words καὶ οἱ ἄνθρωποι in the Alex. is owing to the strangeness of this form, the meaning of which they did not understand. The καὶ before οἱ ἄνθρωποι is doubtless the sign of the apodosis, like the Hebrew א; but at the same time it brings out the close connection between the disappearance of the angels and the act of the shepherds, as they addressed themselves to the duty of obeying them. The aorist εἶπον of the T. R. is certainly preferable to the imperf. ἐλάλουν of the Alex., since it refers to an act immediately followed by a result: “They said (not they were saying) one to another, Let us go therefore.”

The term ῥῆμα denotes, as דָּבָר, H1821 so often does, a word in so far as accomplished (γεγονός). We see how the original Aramaean form is carefully preserved even to the minutest details.—᾿Ανά in ἀνεῦρον expresses the discovery in succession of the objects enumerated. ᾿Εγνώρισαν or διεγνώρισαν (Alex.), Luk 2:17, may signify to verify; in the fifteenth verse, however, ἐγνώρισαν signifies to make known, and in Luk 2:17 it is the most natural meaning. There is a gradation here: heaven had revealed; and now, by the care of men, publicity goes on increasing. This sense also puts the seventeenth verse in more direct connection with what follows. The compound διαγνωρίζειν, to divulge, appears to us for this reason to be preferred to the simple form (in the Alex.).

Vers. 18-20 describe the various impressions produced by what had taken place. In the eighteenth verse, a vague surprise in the greater part (all those who heard). On the other hand (δέ), Luk 2:19, a profound impression and exercise of mind in Mary. First of all, she is careful to store up all the facts in her mind with a view to preserve them (συντηρεῖν); but this first and indispensable effort is closely connected with the further and subordinate aim of comparing and combining these facts, in order to discover the divine idea which explains and connects them. What a difference between this thoughtfulness and the superficial astonishment of the people around her! There is more in the joyful feelings and adoration of the shepherds (Luk 2:20) than in the impressions of those who simply heard their story, but less than in Mary.—Δοξάζειν, to glorify, expresses the feeling of the greatness of the work; αἰνεῖν, to praise, refers to the goodness displayed in it.

Closely connected as they are, the two participles heard and seen can only refer to what took place in the presence of the shepherds after they reached the stable. They were told the remarkable occurrences that had preceded the birth of Jesus; it is to this that the word heard refers. And they beheld the manger and the infant; this is what is expressed by the word seen. And the whole was a confirmation of the angel’s message to them. They were convinced that they had not been the victims of an hallucination.

The reading ὑπέστρεψαν (they returned thence) is evidently to be preferred to the ill-supported reading of the T. R., ἐπέστρεψαν (they returned to their flocks).

Whence were these interesting details of the impression made on the shepherds and those who listened to their story, and of the feelings of Mary, obtained? How can any one regard them as a mere embellishment of the author’s imagination, or as the offspring of legend? The Aramaean colouring of the narrative indicates an ancient source. The oftener we read the nineteenth verse, the more assured we feel that Mary was the first and real author of this whole narrative. This pure, simple, and private history was composed by her, and preserved for a certain time in an oral form, until some one committed it to writing, whose work fell into the hands of Luke, and was reproduced by him in Greek.

Frédéric Louis Godet — Commentaries on Luke, John, Romans, and 1 Corinthians — English translation (T&T Clark, Edinburgh, 1870s–1890s) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Let us go, &c.--lovely simplicity of devoutness and faith this! They are not taken up with the angels, the glory that invested them, and the lofty strains with which they filled the air. Nor do they say, Let us go and see if this be true--they have no misgivings. But "Let us go and see this thing which is come to pass, which the Lord hath made known unto us." Does not this confirm the view given on Luk 2:8 of the spirit of these humble men?

Jamieson, Fausset & Brown — Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

Verse 15. Let us now go even unto Bethlehem] διελθωμεν, let us go across the country at the nearest, that we may lose no time, that we may speedily see this glorious reconciler of God and man. All delays are dangerous: but he who delays to seek Jesus, when the angels, the messengers of God, bring him glad tidings of salvation, risks his present safety and his eternal happiness. O, what would the damned in hell give for those moments in which the living hear of salvation, had they the same possibility of receiving it! Reader, be wise. Acquaint thyself now with God, and be at peace; and thereby good will come unto thee. Amen.

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

(15) The shepherds.—Some, but not the best, MSS. give, as in the margin, “the men the shepherds,” as if to emphasise the contrast between the “angels” who departed and the “men” who remained.

This thing. . . . which the Lord hath made known.—Literally, this word, or spoken thing. The choice of the Greek word seems to indicate that St. Luke was translating from the Aramaic.

A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

15. Let us now go] Rather, Come now! let us go.

The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

And it came to pass, as the angels,.... The Persic version reads in the singular number, "the angel: were gone away from them into heaven", from whence they came, and which was the place of their abode and residence; and therefore they are called the angels of heaven, where they always behold the face of God, hearken to the voice of his commandment, and go and come at his orders; and these having finished their embassy, delivered their message to the shepherds, and done all the work they came about,

departed from them: and, as the Ethiopic version adds, "and ascended up into heaven"; and as soon as they were gone, immediately,

the shepherds said one to another, let us now go even to Bethlehem the place where the angel said the Saviour was born,

and see this thing which hath come to pass, which the Lord hath made known to us: from whence it appears, that it was not from diffidence of the matter, as questioning the truth of what the angel said, that they moved one another to go to Bethlehem; for they firmly believed the thing was come to pass, which the angel had told them of, and that what he said was from the Lord; nor did they act any criminal part, or indulge a vain curiosity, in going to Bethlehem to see what was done; for it seems to be the will of God that they should go, and for which they had a direction from the angel, and a sign given them by which they might know the new born Saviour from any other infant, Luk 2:12 and which would also be a further confirmation of their faith, and by which they would be qualified not only as ear, but as eyewitnesses of the truth of this fact, to report it with greater certainty.

John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

15 And it came to pass, as the angels were gone away from them into heaven, the shepherds said one to another, Let us now go even unto Bethlehem, and see this thing which is come to pass, which the Lord hath made known unto us.

Ver. 15. Let us now go even unto Bethlehem] They did not reason nor debate with themselves (saith Bishop Hooper, martyr, in a letter to certain good people taken praying in Bow churchyard, and now in trouble) who should keep the wolf from the sheep in the mean time; but committed the sheep to him whose pleasure they obeyed. So let us do now that we be called; commit all other things to him that called us. He will take heed that all shall be well. He will help the husband, comfort the wife, guide the servants, keep the house, preserve the goods; yea, rather than it should be undone, he will wash the dishes, rock the cradle, &c.

John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Unto Bethlehem - The city of David, where the angel had told them they would find the Saviour. These shepherds appear to have been pious people. They were waiting for the coming of the Messiah. On the first intimation that he had actually appeared they went with haste to find him. So all people should without delay seek the Saviour. When told of him by the servants of God, they should, like these shepherds, forsake all, and give no rest to their eyes until they have found him. We may “always” find him. We need not travel to Bethlehem. We have only to cast our eyes to heaven; to look to him and to believe on him, and we shall find him ever near to us, and forever our Saviour and friend.

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

The word which always was, let us see how it is made for us; that which we could not see, when it was the word, let us see because it is made flesh. (Ven. Bede) --- See how particularly the Scripture weighs the meaning of every word. The shepherds hastened to see the word, for when the flesh of the Lord is seen, the word is seen, which is the Son. (St. Ambrose)

George Leo Haydock (1774–1849), Haydock's Catholic Family Bible and Commentary, 1859 edition — public domain. Excludes Psalms (Douay-Rheims chapter numbering differs from Protestant) and Deuterocanonical books (Catholic canon only).

It was night, yet they delayed not to go and make a search, according to the revelation of the angel; and not in vain, they

found Mary, and Joseph, and the babe. Divine revelations never deceive the soul that gives credit to them. Heaven and earth may pass away, but nothing which God hath spoken shall pass away without its accomplishment.

When they had seen it, they made known the saying, &c: they had no charge of secrecy upon them, so did well in publishing what was of such universal concern for men to know. Spiritual morsels ought not to be ate alone. The effect of their relation, in the generality of the people that heard it, was the same which we have often met with upon the people’s seeing of Christ’s miracles, viz. amazement and astonishment; we read nothing of their faith. The first was a natural effect of a strange relation. The other must have been the special operation of God.

Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

angels

(See Scofield "Heb 1:4")

The Scofield Reference Bible (1917 edition), notes by C. I. Scofield — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

The visit and adoration of the shepherds:

v. 15 And it came to pass, as the angels were gone away from them into heaven, the shepherds said one to another, Let us now go even unto Bethlehem, and see this thing which is come to pass, which the Lord hath made known unto us.

v. 16. And they came with haste, and found Mary, and Joseph, and the Babe lying in a manger.

v. 17. And when they had seen it, they made known abroad the saying which "was told them concerning this Child.

v. 18. And all they that heard it wondered at those things which were told them by the shepherds.

v. 19. But Mary kept all these things, and pondered them in her heart.

v. 20. And the shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things that they had heard and seen, as it was told unto them. Luke’s song of the nativity is not yet ended; he has a story of some Christmas Christians to tell, and its effect is enhanced by its great simplicity.

Hardly had the angels left the field to return back to heaven, when the shepherds began to speak to one another, repeating the words over and over, as people are apt to do when under the influence of great excitement. Come, let us go! they cry. They want to take a shortcut, they want to go the nearest way to Bethlehem; there is no time to lose. They wanted to see this matter, they wanted to behold with their own eyes this miracle. Not to verify the message of the angel; no, they were sure of the truth of his message. The thing is settled by the angelic proclamation: the thing, the miracle, has come to pass; the Lord has made it known unto us. They believed the word that had been preached to them, they trusted in the Gospel-message, the content of the angel’s message was a fact to them. To trust, not in feelings nor in surmises, but in the sure Word of the Gospel, that is the essence of the faith required by God at all times. And they suited their actions to their words. They came hurrying and found everything just as the angel had told them. This was a confirmation of their faith which filled their hearts with joy. There was Mary, the mother, there was Joseph, the foster-father, and there was the Child, that miracle-Child, whose name is Wonderful, lying in the crib, the manger of the stable. And now the Christmas believers became Christmas missionaries. It is impossible for a Christian not to give evidence in words and deeds of the faith that lives in his heart when he has seen and found Jesus the Savior in the Gospel. They made the matter known concerning this fact that was told them, all that happened to them, the wonderful message they received, the confirmation of the angel’s words in a most accurate way. The story made a great stir in Bethlehem the next day, it aroused much interest. All the people that heard about it wondered, marveling being the common, the first result of the Gospel-message. wherever the shepherds came and repeated their story, this was the effect. Only Mary is mentioned as an exception. Instead of wondering, she held fast the words, carefully guarding them as a sacred treasure and moving them back and forth in her heart. Mark well: All the people wondered, but Mary thought on all the wonderful things that happened to herself and to the shepherds. This distinction must be made to the present day. Many a person is struck by the beauty of the Gospel-story and expresses his views accordingly, but few there are that take the time to meditate upon the great facts of our salvation, to move them back and forth in their hearts, to examine them from all sides, to discover all the beauties of these priceless treasures. "It is His will that His Word not only hover on the tongue, like foam on the water and froth in the mouth which a person spits out; but that it be pressed into the heart and remain such a mark and spot as no one can wash off, just as though it had grown there and is a natural thing, which does not permit itself to be erased. Such a heart was that of the Virgin Mary, in which the words remained as though graven therein. " Meanwhile the shepherds continued their work of spreading the news concerning the wonder-Babe, and when they had accomplished all that their heart bade them do, they returned to their daily labor. They had been God’s messengers, as all true Christians should be, they had been bearers of the glorious tidings of salvation. But they did not presume to be more than their station permitted. They praised and magnified God that they had been graciously permitted to hear the news concerning their salvation. What they had seen and heard in that night was engraven upon their hearts in letters of light from above. Thus it should be with all believers in Christ, the Savior, since they are blessed in the same measure as the shepherds. In their external behavior and bearing there does not seem to be much difference between them and the children of the world. They attend to the work of their calling and are not ashamed if the Lord has given them a lowly station in life. But in their heart there is glorious light and life. In the midst of the heat and toil of the day they rejoice in God, their Savior, who has delivered them from all the toil and trouble of this earthly life and opened the glories of heaven to them.

Paul E. Kretzmann, Popular Commentary of the Bible (1921–1924) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Several particulars are here observable: as, 1. That the shepherds no sooner heard the news of a Saviour, but they ran to Bethlehem to seek him; and though it was at midnight, yet they delayed not to go. Those that left their beds to attend their flocks, now leave their flocks to inquire after their Saviour.

Learn thence, that a gracious soul no sooner hears where Christ is, but instantly makes out after him, and judges no earthly comfort too dear to be left and forsaken for him. These shepherds shew, that they preferred their Saviour before their sheep.

Observe, 2. These shepherds having found Christ themselves, do make him known to others, When they had seen it, they made known abroad the saying, which was told them concerning this child. Luk 2:17

Learn, that such as have found Christ to their comfort, and tasted that the Lord is gracious to themselves, cannot but recommend him to the love and admiration of others.

Observe, 3. What effect this relation had upon the generality of people that heart it; it wrought in them amazement and astonishment, but not faith: The people wondered, but believed not. ’Tis not the hearing of Christ with the hearing of the ear, nor the seeing of Christ with the sight of the outward eye; neither the hearing of his doctine, nor the sight of his miracles, will work divine faith in the soul, without the concuring operation of the Holy Spirit; the one may make us marvel, but the other makes us believe. All that heard it wondered at these things.

Lastly, note, the effect which these things had upon Mary, quite different from what they had upon the common people; they wondered, she pondered; the things that affected their heads, influenced her heart: She kept all these things, and pondered them in her heart.

William Burkitt's Expository Notes on the New Testament (1700–1703) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

It came about

This phrase is used to mark a shift in the story to what the shepherds did after the angels left.

from them

"from the shepherds"

to each other

"to one another"

Let us ... to us

Since the shepherds were speaking to one another, languages that have inclusive forms for "we" and "us" should use the inclusive form here. (See: Inclusive "We")

Let us

"We should"

this thing that has happened

This refers to the birth of the baby, and not to the appearance of the angels.

lying in the manger

This was some kind of box or frame that people put hay or other food in for animals to eat. See how you translated this in Luke 2:7.

translationWords

Bethlehem

know

Mary

Joseph (NT)

unfoldingWord translationNotes — © Distant Shores Media and the Door43 World Missions Community, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Source: git.door43.org/Door43/en_tn.

15. καὶ ἐγένετο.… In Hellenistic Greek ἐγένετο sometimes becomes little more than a particle of transition in coordinated sentences. See Luk 1:59.

διέλθωμεν δή. ‘Come now! let us go.’

Cambridge Greek Testament for Schools and Colleges (Cambridge University Press, 1896; 21 vols, various authors incl. Carr, Maclear, Plummer, Farrar, Lumby, Moule, M. R. James, Simcox) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

15.] If the bracketed words be retained, it will be better to understand them as applying to the shepherds merely, than (with De Wette and Meyer) to suppose οἱ ἄνθ. to be used as distinctive of the shepherds from the angels. Such distinctions are not usual, whereas the redundant ἄνθρ. is: see reff. οἱ ποιμένες specifies what οἱ ἄνθρ. stated generally: the men, viz. the shepherds.

Henry Alford, The Greek Testament (1849–1861) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

15-20. The Verification, by the Shepherds.

15. ἐλάλουν πρὸς ἀλλήλους Διέλθωμεν δή. “They repeatedly said unto one another, Come then let us go over,” or “Let us at once go across.” The compound verb refers to the intervening country (Act 9:38, Act 11:19, Act 18:27), and the δή makes the exhortation urgent. Lk. is fond of διέρχεσθαι, which occurs thirty times in his writings and less than ten elsewhere in N.T. In LXX it is very freq. Note ὡς = “when.”

τὸ ῥῆμα τοῦτο. This need not be limited to the saying of the Angel. It is rather the thing of which he spoke: see on 1:65. In class. Grk. λόγος is used in a similar manner; e.g. Hdt. 1:21, 2. Videamus hoc verbum quod factum est (Vulg.).

International Critical Commentary — older volumes (1896–1929), various authors — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

The shepherds. Some texts add oiJ anqrwpoi, the men; but the latter texts omit.

Let us go (die lqwmen). The preposition dia, through, implies through the intervening space.

Thing [ρημα] . See on chapter Luk 1:37. The utterance of the shepherds contains a climax : "Let us go and see this saying, which has come to pass; which the Lord made known."

Marvin R. Vincent, Word Studies in the New Testament (1887–1900) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.