What is the meaning of Luke 2:18? And all who heard it • The report traveled beyond the stable, reaching neighbors, extended family, and anyone gathered that night (Luke 2:17). • Scripture often notes how God’s news spreads quickly: consider how fear and wonder “came upon all who lived around them” at John’s birth (Luke 1:65), or how news of Jesus later “spread through all Judea” after He raised the widow’s son (Luke 7:17). • God ensures witnesses so His acts are not hidden (Acts 1:8); here, the shepherds become the first evangelists of the newborn Messiah. were amazed • “Amazed” captures genuine astonishment—not mild interest—but a deep, soul-stirring wonder (Luke 4:36, Luke 5:26). • Such amazement is the appropriate human response when God breaks into ordinary life, just as the disciples later marvel when Jesus stills the storm (Luke 8:25). • The amazement affirms that the message resonated as true and carried divine authority (Mark 1:22). at what the shepherds said to them • Shepherds, socially humble yet divinely chosen, convey exactly what the angels announced (Luke 2:10-12). • Their testimony highlights God’s pattern of using unlikely messengers—similar to Naaman’s servant girl (2 Kings 5:2-3) and the Samaritan woman who told her town, “Come, see a man who told me everything I ever did” (John 4:29). • The content focuses on “a Savior…Christ the Lord” (Luke 2:11), anchoring amazement in the fulfilled promise of Isaiah 9:6. • Faithful gospel witness is simple: relay the message received, trust the Spirit to stir hearts (1 Corinthians 2:1-5). summary Luke 2:18 records the immediate, widespread wonder produced when ordinary shepherds shared extraordinary news: God’s promised Messiah had come. Everyone who heard their report sensed the divine in-breaking and marveled. The verse encourages believers today to speak plainly of Jesus, confident that the same Spirit who prompted amazement then continues to awaken awe and faith now. |
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