Luke 2:1-20 focuses on the birth of Jesus and how that event brings the Word of God. Once Mary gave birth to the Davidic Jesus, angels from God appeared to the shepherds that were in that same region. The angels informed the shepherds that the Savior of all people had just been born, wrapped in strips of cloth lying in a manger. They had then gone off to search for the Messiah, fulfilling the gospel and also fulfilling the prophecy of salvation to the people. HISTORICAL SETTING: THE BIRTH (Luke 2: 4-7) A crucial element to Bible history is knowing the Davidic heritage of Jesus. Jesus is known to be a lineage of David1. This is what makes the birth happening at Bethlehem so significant; Bethlehem is the “city of David”. Luke states, ..to have …show more content…
It is said that the significance of the shepherds represents an “appeal to Greek and Jewish culture and literature”, possibly the humble people of the land. Since this is essentially a narrative, it makes sense to have a group of well known “good” and “humble” people represent the origin of this prophetic event. The angels said, I announce to you good news of a great joy which will be for the whole people (Luke 2:10). This is the start of the prophecy. The angels announced something good for everyone has just occurred. The angels continued, saying, To you this day there is born in the city of David a Savior who is Messiah and Lord (Luke 2:11). The angels first start off stating the current setting, repeating the note that this is exactly where this event should be. Luke references the place of this event twice to make known how prophetic it is. The angels then go on to describing Jesus as the Messiah, like a “quest for salvation”.Salvation, here, means to speak forth the Word of God to cause specific things to happen. It is the salvation of the good news that becomes a reality. Furthermore, the diction of the message the angels told sets off the notion of prediction: And this will be your sign: You will find a baby wrapped in strips of cloth and lying in a manger (Luke 2:12). This verse is significant in that Luke sets the prediction up