And there were in the same country shepherds abiding in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night. And, lo, the angel of the Lord came upon them, and the glory of the Lord shone round about them: and they were sore afraid. And the angel said unto them, Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord. And this shall be a sign unto you; Ye shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger. Luke 2:8-12

But alas, the proclamation triggered different reactions from those who first heard it. We examine these reactions to prepare all who would be carriers of the last hour gospel of what they will certainly face.

To those who were rulers:

• The political rulers the proclamation sent them into a murderous frenzy over their fear of loss of status and power – Matthew 2:3,16; Psalms 2. They will visit this upon all who threaten their position;

• The religious rulers gripped by zeal without knowledge – Romans 10:1-3. Combine a lack of understanding with spiritual zeal, and you end up with everything from legalism to religious terrorism. Even worse, as long as people continue in such ignorant zeal, they remain alienated from Christ and on the path to hell. If anything characterized first-century Judaism, it was zeal for God and His law. The Jews in Paul’s day were descendants of those who had gone into exile for their flagrant violation of the Mosaic covenant and the progeny of those who returned when Cyrus came to power in Persia (2 Chron. 36). Hoping to avoid a second exile, the returned Jews emphasized the study and practice of God’s law, building synagogues in Palestine and everywhere else Jews were living outside of the Holy Land. This effort was commendable, but what started off as obedience motivated by repentance and gratitude for God’s forgiveness (Neh. 9) had by the first century AD devolved into a system of works-righteousness for many people. Many Pharisees, for example, became preoccupied with keeping the right rules at the expense of heartfelt trust in the Lord, and they justified themselves before men, making a display of their works-righteousness (Matt. 23:23-26; Luke 16:14–17). Before his conversion to Christ, Paul was at home with these individuals (Phil. 3:4-7).

The genuine believers, who understood, shared the message of salvation that was to appear before the execution of spoken judgment after the pattern of Genesis 3:21, Titus 2:11-14, 1 Peter 1:1-9 and Revelation 14:6-7.

So dearly beloved, understand these things and ready yourselves for the things that come with your obedience to the command to preach the kingdom of God.