Come and See, Go and Tell – Luke 2:15-20

What’s the last great movie or TV show you’ve watched? After viewing it, what did you do about it? Did you tell someone about it?

Of course, we all do that right? When we enjoy something, we want to bring others into our joy. Joy is never complete until it is shared.

Two seasons ago, Matt Vargo and I went to see the Browns play the Jets. It was the game that Tyrod Tayler got hurt and Baker Mayfield entered the game. The place was electric. It felt like a playoff atmosphere, everyone was curious to see what would happen. As the half began, Baker was slinging the ball and making plays to bring them to a victory! Even catching a pass for a 2-PT conversion!

As a Browns fan, it was a great moment! It’s a moment that brought strangers together. We high fived or hugged everyone in our section (pre-covid of course). It was big Browns family party. 

Why is that exciting to talk about? We saw the beginning of a QBs career, we saw our team come from behind and win, and we loved every minute of it. 

The amazing thing about Christmas, is that it is the event that proclaimed to the world that God wanted to bring us into His joy! He sent messengers, angels, to the lowly shepherds in the field with the message, “Come and See the new born King”! 

Could you imagine being one of those shepherds on a dark and lonely hillside. It was a night like any other night. Watching the sheep, talking with fellow shepherds. Maybe a night where you would be complaining about the mundane nature of your job, when all of sudden the sky burst forth in song, a host of angels singing and a message of “Fear Not!” (Check last weeks blog for more on this)

Right! Like that wouldn’t freak anyone out. But it would grab your attention. “Hey guys, you need to go check out the event in human history that will alter everything. The son of God was born this night in the stable. God wants you to come and see his Son!”

The divine birth announcement came to those shepherds and they went running to see if it was true. Sure enough, they found the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes as they were told. What a sight to behold!

Have you ever held a new born baby? It’s something else, isn’t it! What a precious experience and something to marvel at when a new life is born. I’ve had the privilege of holding all 9 of my nieces and nephews as newborns, and so many other precious children from church. The marvel never goes away. 

To take something so basic, so human and so beautiful as holding a new born babe, but then be told that the babe you are holding is the Creator of the Universe? Now that would be something! And it was for the shepherds!

That invitation, Come and See, is the invitation of Christmas. God called the shepherds and God is calling you. As an adult, Jesus said it this way:

Matthew 11:28–30

"Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.”

Or the Psalmist said it this way:

Psalm 34:8

Oh, taste and see that the LORD is good!

Come and see the goodness of God, take the risk and try, what do you have to lose? Lay your burdens down, recognize that God is inviting you into his rest, his joy, his family. 

Look to the manger of Christmas and see the Savior who was willing to bear your sins on the cross. Pause and see with your heart and soul, the goodness and the kindness of God presented in the Christ child. 

John 3:16–17

“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him."

Wow, now that is exciting! This is what the shepherds saw that night. What did they do about it? They went and told everyone they could about the birth of the Savior!

That’s the natural response when we see or experience something special. We have a desire to share it. This Christmas, come and see Jesus for the first time, or be refreshed by the beauty of the scene. Look deeply and find the joy, the hope and the excitement of the moment, then go and tell others like the shepherds did. 

Christmas is about receiving and about giving. It is about God sending His Son to be the Savior of the world, and it is about telling the world about that gift. Don’t lose the opportunity to proclaim His name to the world this year.

Come and see the new born King, go and tell of the risen Lord!