December 22 Sermon: The Shepherd Who Brings Peace

In this Advent message from Micah 5:2-5a, we discover the humble King born in Bethlehem, the fulfillment of every longing, and the Shepherd who brings peace. See how Christ’s coming transforms darkness into light and provides eternal hope to all who trust in Him. Rejoice in the Good Shepherd, whose peace surpasses all understanding.

Consider these questions as you reflect on this week’s message:

1. How does the prophecy of Micah 5:2-5a reveal the humility and eternal significance of Christ’s birth?

2. What does it mean for Jesus to fulfill humanity’s deepest longing to be reconciled to God?

3. How does the image of Jesus as the Shepherd-King bring comfort and peace in your daily life?

Transcript:

As we start off today, I want you to imagine yourself in a dark room, a completely dark room. I'm talking about no light being in this room at all. It's that darkness where you use that cliché, you can't see your hand in front of your face. That's what I'm talking about here. If you've ever been in that type of a situation, you know that the more time you spend in that darkness, the more overwhelming it can feel. In fact, it can be a little bit unsettling to be someplace that dark. Even if you're not claustrophobic, you can start to feel claustrophobic when there is that much darkness around you. In fact, it might feel like the room is closing in on you. Now, imagine that you're in that scenario, but then suddenly someone strikes a match, and you hear it pop, and you see a tiny flame. There starts to be some light in the room. Then they make their way to a candle, and they light that candle, and that becomes a small beacon of light. 

Now, in a lightly lit room, a candle often doesn't make much of a difference. It's just lit. Now, we burn candles for different reasons than they did in the past. We probably are after the scent more than we are the light. In the past, they never would have thought of lighting a candle in a lit room, right? But when a room is dark, those candles that have insignificant light, they light the whole room. They can make a profound impact in darkness. It is a diminutive light. It's not very big, but it breaks through the darkness. It brings clarity It brings comfort. It even provides hope. The room is no longer closing in on you. Suddenly, you're able to see. You can make sense of what's around you. Now, I want us to have that image as an image of Christ coming, because here we are on the fourth Sunday of Advent, we find ourselves reading the words of the Prophet Micah. In Micah's day, Israel was in the midst of deep darkness. It was politically unstable. The people were spiritually adrift, and yet they were longing for deliverance. And into that darkness, through the prophet Micah, God promised a light. 

He promised a shepherd king from the humble town of Bethlehem who would bring peace to his people. And today, we celebrate the fulfillment of that promise in Jesus Christ. Just as a single candle can transform a dark room, Christ coming transforms hearts. It brings light, hope, and peace to a dark world that so desperately is in need of light. As we consider this passage from Micah today, in light of the call to repentance that we see during advent, we'll once again have three main points that we want to consider as we go through the passage. In the first part of the passage, we're going to see the humble origins of this great king that is promised. The plan of God is to use the significant for his eternal purposes. Second, we're going to look at the second half of verse 2 and also verse 3, and we're going to see that this coming king fulfills our deepest longings. He is the promised one that the people have been waiting for. Then finally, in verses 4 and 5, we find that this king is a shepherd, a shepherd who brings peace. He provides security for all of those who belong to him. 

As we have seen many times in our journey through God's word together, his plans often unfold in the most unexpected places and through the most unassuming means. Let's step into the Prophet Micah's words today and discover how the humble town of Bethlehem became the stage for the greatest hope the world would ever see. This passage that we are looking at today is arguably one of the best known parts of the Minor prophets because it has this specific prophecy of the Messiah being born in Bethlehem. It's important that we take a second and we look into what is going on just prior to this passage that we read this morning, because the first word that we have in verse 2 is but. This word is letting us know that what is going to follow that word is going to be a contrast. In the first verse of this chapter, we see that there are going to be troops who are going to lay siege over Israel, and with a rod, they will strike the judge of Israel on the week. Like I said, this is setting up for us a contrast with what we see in the rest of the passes that we read today. 

Here, what do we get? We get an image of power, an image of strength in the ways that you and I typically think of power and strength. What do we have? Troops that are laying siege. That is the typical power dynamic throughout history, right? That's what we expect. The answer to this prophetic word of the judgment of God coming through another nation to strike the cheek of the judge of Israel, we find that God is going to do something. Yes, this group is going to come and judge the people. But the answer, the prophetic word that we see here is not going to be that God is going to cause the king of Israel to go out and gather up an army full of bodybuilders who are the strongest people we've ever seen, and he's going to overcome power with power. That's the dynamic. Once again, That's the power dynamic of history. That's what we expect. That's how we think the world will go. We get a bigger army and we overtake the ones who have overtaken us. But like I said, there's a contrast here. Instead of power, the prophetic word that is given to us is the exact opposite. 

So Bethlehem, Ephreothah, is where the hope is going to come from. Now, we know Bethlehem as a small, humble little town that was the village that King David was from. But you likely wonder when you read this passage or you hear it, why is that word, Ephreothah, there? What's that all about? Well, that is a small clan of people within the tribe of Judah. We see this expressed for us here in the text. The text helps us out to interpret this. We see that they are too little to be numbered among the clans of Judah. The idea is that this town is tiny and the people there are insignificant. They are seen by the world as not mattering. Well, the king must come from the Davidic line, most certainly. But just like David being the youngest brother, this king will be from the most unlikely town. It's not going to be a natural, what we expect, expectation of power. It's from the low and the weak and the small and the insignificant. Now, when we consider Christmas, we are very used to the story because we celebrate it every year. We sing the songs and we proclaim the truth that Jesus came to save us from sin and death. 

We sing lines like God and sinners reconciled. We sing it loud because we know it. But we might pass over it without thinking about that too much because we're so familiar with it. I think every year we come to Christmas songs and we are surprised how well we know them. I know I am. You hear them in the car or wherever, and you're singing along without the hymn book in front of you. We know these, and so it's easy for us to pass over it. But it's important that we stop and we do our to consider these statements from the perspective of those who would have received this message because they are the people who have been oppressed, and the threat of greater oppression is upon them. Those people were not looking for a humble and lowly leader like anyone else. They were looking for power. They were looking for strength. They are looking for someone to come from Bethlehem Ephrathah. They're looking for someone to march in, take the throne, rally the troops, and push back those who wish to oppressed them. That's what they're looking for. But God's plans are not our plans. 

His ways are not our ways. Before moving on to our second point, I would like us to consider two reasons that this familiar story of the birthplace of Jesus is significant for you and I. First, the Book of Micah was written more than 400 years prior to the coming of Jesus. We have records of this Book of Micah dating to well before the first century. This is a really, really specific prophecy, and yet it came to pass. Jesus was born in Bethlehem, and this should give us confidence in the veracity of God's word of the identity of Jesus as the promised Messiah of the Old Testament. Second, this also shows us that God is the one who's in control. God ordains history to come to pass according to his will. Now, I'm certain that like us, there were those in that time who were struggling with what was going on in the world around them, wondering, why are the evils of the world allowed advance? Why is this happening? Why doesn't God do something about it? But in this passage, we are reminded that God is always in control. He works all things together for good for those who love him. 

Even the most insignificant things, like the Messiah being born in a tiny village in Judea. That is a detail that God used to fulfill his purposes and bring glory to himself. God is in control of history. So from the humblest of beginnings, God's plan unfolds with precision and with purpose. It defies human expectations. And so as we move on to our second point, we see that this humble king isn't just a part of the story. We see that he's the fulfillment of every longing and the answer to every promise. In the second half of verse 2, we see this idea that this is that is much more than just the birth of a king. It's a plan. He comes forth from of old, from ancient days. Now, this is more than just a statement that the promise of the Messiah has been around for a long time. The idea here is that the one who is coming, he himself is from of old. These expressions are used for a particular reason. These words are familiar. It's not just a way to express time. It's not just a way to say, Hey, the prophecy of the Messiah was made a long time ago. 

No, these phrases that are being used here are used in other places in the Old Testament to describe God himself. There's an association going on here. It's from ancient days. Well, what do we know of God? He is the ancient of days. You have to make that connection here. As we think on this, we We need to think back to the beginning of the story, the problem that is being solved. In the garden, humanity had communion with God. He dwelled with them, but sin separated humanity from God. This is our biggest problem. As humans, we continually think the biggest problems that we face are the difficulties that are immediate to us. The problem we are facing personally or the problem our people are facing that is in front of our face in the moment is the problem that we need solved. We're very short-sided. But the statement here in verse 2, that a king is coming from Bethlehem Ephrothah, is seen as one who's going to stop is not seen as one who is just simply going to stop the coming siege that we saw in verse 1. He's not just coming to reverse that problem. 

By pointing back to the ancient days We not only get the idea that this is one who is coming from God, but we are reminded that he's coming to solve a bigger problem. There is always a bigger problem than the one we are currently facing. The problems that we face, the things we see in the world, they're the symptoms. They're not the disease. But we are prone to treating symptoms, aren't we? We just want to feel better. So taking care of the current issues feels like the answer. But by calling back to the ancient days from above old, it is clear that while God is deeply concerned with the moment, he is deeply concerned of the oppression of his people. He is looking beyond that. He is looking to satisfy not just their need for protection in that situation, but he is also going to fix the bigger problem. The one who is coming solves a much greater issue, and it addresses their deepest need, their greatest longing. As we sit here on the precipice of Christmas, I want to challenge us to think about this deepest longing that all of humanity has. This desire, this understanding that there's something wrong in the world, something that can only be solved by being reconciled to God. 

The reason for the season is the birth of the savior, the arrival of the one who is the answer to our deepest longings. But yet during this season and through all of life, we become intoxicated with the short term wants and desires. We tend to focus on the temporal instead of the eternal, that which fades instead of that which does not fade. In this season of advent, this season of reflection and repentance. May the story of the humble Christ coming to Bethlehem point us to our greatest need and how that has been satisfied in Jesus. May every line of the Christmas hymns we sing build you up in faith. May you hear and believe each word of the great story and let it resonate in your heart and in your mind that the spirit might fill you with hope, joy, and love. Because in Christ, our greatest need has been fulfilled. To live on this side of the story is an amazing blessing. Yes, we are looking to the coming and return of Christ at the end of history when he will deliver his kingdom to his Father. But we know deeply the truth of his first coming. 

We have the Holy spirit ind dwelling us to comfort us with the The truth of salvation. This helps us to navigate our lives as God's children, living as light in a dark world. Before we move on to our third and final point, we see a reason to rejoice in the fact that we live in this era of knowing God's grace in Christ. Verse 3 tells us that there will be a time of waiting. There are going be waiting for this king to come. Now, yes, he is the one who is promised. He is the one from ancient days. But we read that the people are going to be taken over until the time that that child is born. There's going to be a time of waiting. As I mentioned a couple of weeks ago, there was a period of silence between the prophetic books of the Old Testament and the birth of Jesus. Remember, I told you the next time you flip from Malachi to Matthew and you see that blank page in your Bible to think about the 400 years where there was no prophetic word and what a blessing it is to have the New Testament. 

As we think about this, we need to rejoice that God has spoken to us and his son, that the silence was broken and we know his salvation. As I started up, I painted that picture for you of a dark room. Well, the time of this prophecy and the time that would follow would be a time of darkness, a time of silence, that blank page in your Bible. And that time of darkness would be long. The people who heard this good news of the ancient of days coming to rescue them, they were all going to be dead before it came to be fulfilled. It was going be beyond their lives. But at the same time, as God's people, they could read this word, they could hear this word, and know that it's good news because God keeps his promises to his people. God is faithful. When this promise came to fruition, when Christ came, it was more than just a small candle flickering in the darkness. The promised Messiah came, and he is the light of the world. We see that he brings peace for all people. As we transition to our third and final point, we see something interesting. 

This king is a shepherd. Now, remember, David was a shepherd, and his greatest son is going to be the good shepherd, the one who will stand and care for his flock in the strength of their covenant God, and they will rejoice in his Majesty. But this is an interesting statement because remember, we're reminded of this every Christmas. Shepherds were lowly. Shepherds were dirty. And yet this shepherd that we read about here is going to shepherd his flock in the Majesty of the name of the Lord. This is unexpected. Shepher are not normally kings. David is the one exception. But even after David, from that time on, I doubt very many of David's descendants spent much time watching the flocks. My point is that shepherds are not kings, and kings are most certainly not shepherds. But here we are told of a shepherd king who cares for his flock. While shepherds were lowly and dirty and disrespected, they would lay down their life for the sheep. They would ensure that the sheep were secure. That is what Micah wants us to know in this prophetic word, that there is one coming who will protect and care for his people. 

We see something important stated for us in yet another prophecy of the Messiah in this passage. He shall be great to the ends of the earth. He is not great merely to the confines of the nation of Israel. He is not going to be great, and then at the border, it stops. He is not just great for a few genetic insiders. His Fame is known to the ends of the Earth, to all the nations. We've seen these illusions all throughout the Old Testament that even the Gentiles are going to come to the Messiah because he is the savior of all flesh, not just those descended from Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. No wonder he's the good shepherd. He even brings sheep from outside of the flock into the fold, and he saves them, and he protects them. No wonder he stands in the Majesty of the Lord because he brings all of humanity into covenant with the Lord of Heaven and Earth. This is good news, even to people who will not see it fulfilled in their time because it means that there will be peace. Now, it might not be in their immediate future, but because this is a peace from God, they know it will be for all of eternity. 

The war with God began in the garden when our first parents committed cosmic treason against God. Our rebellion has been disastrous, and yet we think that we can somehow win this war with our creator, and we continue in our rebellion and sin. But peace with God comes in the promised good shepherd who suffers and dies for his sheep. He is our peace. You and I dwell in safety, and we have peace with God. The war is over, not because of anything that we've done, but because Jesus came to suffer and die for his people because he is the good shepherd who lays down his life for the sheep. While there will not be complete and total peace in the world until Christ returns to judge the living and the dead, We can live confidently because we know that we have been reconciled to God by the Prince of peace who is born in a manger in Bethlehem, our shepherd King who brings us peace. So as Christmas approaches, let us remember that the birth of Jesus is far more than just a holiday tradition. It's the fulfillment of God's eternal plan to bring light to a dark world. 

Peace to restless hearts and hope to weary souls. In the midst of the busyness and the distractions of the season, let the story of the humble king from Bethlehem refocus your heart on what truly matters. Rejoice voice in the good shepherd who laid down his life to bring you peace with God. Reflect on his grace as you sing the familiar carols and see his love in the gifts you exchange. As you celebrate, ask yourself, how is Christ calling me to trust him more deeply today, to love him more fully, and to reflect his peace that he brings to all people? So may this season fill with the love, hope, and joy, and peace that only Jesus can give, because it is a blessing from our good shepherd. Amen. Let us pray. Most gracious and merciful God, we are blessed to know the story. As the people who would have heard the message in Micah were looking to something far off, we know that you are near because you have come, you You have suffered and died. You are the good shepherd laying down his life for the sheep. Now you have given us your Holy spirit to indwell us, to give us that peace, that we might have joy and spread your love to all people. Through this holiday season, may that be our focus, that our lives might glorify you. Is in the name of Jesus, we pray. Amen.