HOPE OF ALL THE EARTH
They Spread the Word
December 13, 2025
SCRIPTURE
LUKE 2:15-20
When the angels had left them and gone into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, "Let's go to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has told us about."
So they hurried off and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby, who was lying in the manger. When they had seen him, they spread the word concerning what had been told them about this child, and all who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds said to them. But Mary treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart. The shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things they had heard and seen, which were just as they had been told.
LUKE 2:15-20
When the angels had left them and gone into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, "Let's go to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has told us about."
So they hurried off and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby, who was lying in the manger. When they had seen him, they spread the word concerning what had been told them about this child, and all who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds said to them. But Mary treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart. The shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things they had heard and seen, which were just as they had been told.
We live in an age of spoilers. In case you're not familiar with the term, it's when someone reveals a major plot point of a movie, book, or TV show, ruining the experience for others. Some years ago, following the release of a highly anticipated novel, a number of individuals read its six hundred pages overnight simply so they could drape a huge banner from a bridge overlooking a busy motorway in the attempt to spoil the ending for unsuspecting motorists. Theologically speaking, people who do this are the worst. We don't rank sins by their level of heinousness, but if we did!
Even so, not all spoilers are wrong or evil. In fact, some spoilers are to be embraced and encouraged because some truths are so powerful, so wonderful, so revolutionary and world-changing and life-saving that they simply must be shared; they have to be spread as widely and quickly as possible. These are truths far more powerful and wonderful than how a movie or a novel ends. These are truths so eternally significant that the entire world needs to see and hear and experience them.
So it was with the message of peace that the shepherds carried. When they met the Christ child, Luke the evangelist tells us that "they spread the word concerning what had been told them about this child." And, as they left, they did so "glorifying and praising God for all the things they had heard and seen."
Spoiler alert: everything has changed! A new day has dawned, a new hope has arisen, a new peace is now possible!
Spoiler alert: the revolution has begun in a manger in Bethlehem!
The entire world has changed overnight, and nothing will ever be the same again!
This was a message far too important for the shepherds to keep to themselves. They felt compelled to share it with any who would listen and with all whom they encountered. These simple herdsmen were the first ambassadors of the gospel: Messiah has come, the kingdom of God has drawn near, heaven has stepped down and touched earth and has brought peace!
We are inheritors of that message and that mission. Our world is desperate for peace. Kings and emperors, generals and premiers have all promised some variation of peace in our time, and this broken world has made liars of them all. But God's people are ambassadors of a peace that transcends understanding; a peace that transcends borders and boundaries; a peace that isn't won at the barrel of a rifle or the tip of a bayonet but is achieved through who Christ is and what he has done.
This is a message we cannot afford to keep to ourselves. So, by God's grace and with God's help, may each of us and all of us follow in the footsteps of the shepherd missionaries and spread the word concerning what we have seen and heard and experienced for ourselves.
Even so, not all spoilers are wrong or evil. In fact, some spoilers are to be embraced and encouraged because some truths are so powerful, so wonderful, so revolutionary and world-changing and life-saving that they simply must be shared; they have to be spread as widely and quickly as possible. These are truths far more powerful and wonderful than how a movie or a novel ends. These are truths so eternally significant that the entire world needs to see and hear and experience them.
So it was with the message of peace that the shepherds carried. When they met the Christ child, Luke the evangelist tells us that "they spread the word concerning what had been told them about this child." And, as they left, they did so "glorifying and praising God for all the things they had heard and seen."
Spoiler alert: everything has changed! A new day has dawned, a new hope has arisen, a new peace is now possible!
Spoiler alert: the revolution has begun in a manger in Bethlehem!
The entire world has changed overnight, and nothing will ever be the same again!
This was a message far too important for the shepherds to keep to themselves. They felt compelled to share it with any who would listen and with all whom they encountered. These simple herdsmen were the first ambassadors of the gospel: Messiah has come, the kingdom of God has drawn near, heaven has stepped down and touched earth and has brought peace!
We are inheritors of that message and that mission. Our world is desperate for peace. Kings and emperors, generals and premiers have all promised some variation of peace in our time, and this broken world has made liars of them all. But God's people are ambassadors of a peace that transcends understanding; a peace that transcends borders and boundaries; a peace that isn't won at the barrel of a rifle or the tip of a bayonet but is achieved through who Christ is and what he has done.
This is a message we cannot afford to keep to ourselves. So, by God's grace and with God's help, may each of us and all of us follow in the footsteps of the shepherd missionaries and spread the word concerning what we have seen and heard and experienced for ourselves.
QUESTIONS FOR REFLECTION OR DISCUSSION
What does it look like to spread the word of Christ's gospel today, in a world where everyone knows what Christianity is and everyone already has their own opinions about it?
The author says, "Our world is desperate for peace." What does that mean? If the world really is desperate for peace, why don't we have it?
What does it look like to spread the word of Christ's gospel today, in a world where everyone knows what Christianity is and everyone already has their own opinions about it?
The author says, "Our world is desperate for peace." What does that mean? If the world really is desperate for peace, why don't we have it?
PRAYER
Write a prayer asking God to help you understand how to share the peace of Christ in a way that will be meaningful and useful to those around you.
Write a prayer asking God to help you understand how to share the peace of Christ in a way that will be meaningful and useful to those around you.