They Went With Haste Devotional: Luke 2:15-16

· Devotionals

Updated for Christmas 2026 (Advent begins Sunday, November 29; Christmas Eve is Thursday, December 24).

“Let us go over to Bethlehem” (Luke 2:15, ESV) shows the shepherds’ response to God’s message: they “went with haste” (Luke 2:16, ESV) to see Jesus for themselves. Faith moves toward what God has revealed. This Christmas, make time for the one visit that matters most.

This shepherds devotional looks at what a handful of ordinary workers did the moment heaven went quiet on the first Christmas night. Luke 2:16 (ESV) tells us: “And they went with haste and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby lying in a manger.” They heard God’s message, believed it, and hurried to see Jesus. Eager, simple faith like theirs is still the way we find him today.

Key Verse

“And they went with haste and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby lying in a manger.” (Luke 2:16, ESV)

Key Takeaways

Once the angels left, the shepherds did not wait: they believed God’s message and hurried to Bethlehem, finding everything as they had been told (Luke 2:15-16). Then they could not stop telling others. Eager, simple faith that moves toward Jesus is still how people find him today.

  • Faith acts on God’s word quickly.
  • God’s promises proved exactly true.
  • Ordinary workers became the first witnesses.
  • Christmas joy naturally spills into testimony.

When the Sky Went Dark Again

Picture the hillside outside Bethlehem a few minutes after the angels left. Only moments earlier the night had blazed with glory and a whole choir of heaven had praised God (Luke 2:13–14, a sudden crowd of angels giving glory to God and announcing peace to people he favors). Now the stars were back, the sheep were restless, and the cold was creeping in again.

The shepherds had a choice. They could talk about the experience and then settle back into their routine. They could wonder whether it had really happened. Or they could act on the message they had just received. Luke tells us plainly which they chose, and his wording is worth noticing: they hurried.

Let Us Go and See

Luke 2:15 records the shepherds urging one another to head into town and see for themselves what God had told them about. Their response was immediate and practical. The angel had told them what sign to look for (Luke 2:12, a newborn wrapped in cloths and resting in an animal’s feeding trough). They did not argue about it or form a committee. They took God at his word and set out to find the child.

Notice, too, that they understood where the news came from. They said, in effect, that the Lord himself had made this known to them. They did not file the night away as a strange experience to analyze later. They treated it as a personal invitation from God, and an invitation from God always calls for a response.

That is the heart of this shepherds devotional. Faith is not only agreeing that a message is true. Faith gets up and goes.

The Beauty of Holy Hurry

There is something lovely about their eagerness. They did not wait until morning. They did not finish their shift first or arrange for someone to cover the flock. They left the fields and made their way into the little town as fast as their feet would carry them.

Most of the hurry in our lives is anxious hurry: deadlines, errands, traffic, the endless sense of being behind. The shepherds show us a different kind. Theirs was the hurry of joy, the kind you feel running to meet someone you love at the airport. When good news is truly good, it moves us.

Scripture is full of this same holy eagerness. Zacchaeus scrambled down from his tree and welcomed Jesus gladly (Luke 19:6). Peter and John ran to the empty tomb on Easter morning (John 20:3–4). Again and again, people who meet the real Jesus find that they cannot stay put.

Found, Just as God Said

When the shepherds arrived, everything matched what they had been told. They found Mary, Joseph, and the newborn in his makeshift crib. God’s word proved true down to the last detail.

The sign was not grand. A young couple far from home, a borrowed shelter, a baby laid where animals usually ate. Nothing about the scene looked royal. Yet to the shepherds it was the most glorious sight in the world, because the Savior the angel promised (Luke 2:11, a Savior born that very day in David’s town, Christ the Lord) was right in front of them.

God often works this way. He hides his greatest gifts in humble places, so that the proud walk past and the humble kneel down. Paul would later write that Christ, though rich, became poor for our sake so that we might become rich through him (2 Corinthians 8:9). The manger is the first chapter of that story.

They Could Not Keep Quiet

The shepherds’ visit did not end at the manger. Luke 2:17–18 says they told everyone what they had heard about the child, and the people who listened were amazed. Then Luke 2:20 describes them heading back to their flocks, giving God glory for everything they had witnessed.

Notice that they went back to the same fields and the same sheep. Meeting Jesus did not hand them a new job title. It gave them a new song. The same is true for us. Christmas does not usually change our circumstances overnight, but seeing Jesus changes the person who walks back into those circumstances.

The Movement of Faith

Put the whole night together and you see a pattern: hear God’s word, believe it, act on it, find Jesus, and then share him. The shepherds still had unanswered questions. They could not yet grasp the cross that lay ahead or the empty tomb beyond it. But they took the next step they knew to take, and they found him.

You do not need to understand everything before you come to Jesus either. You only need to take the next step.

Going With Haste This Christmas

Christmas invites us to do what the shepherds did. In the rush of last-minute preparations, it is easy to treat Christmas as something to get through rather than someone to go and see. We hear the familiar story again, but we may not hurry toward Jesus. We admire the nativity scene from a safe distance.

What would it look like for you to go with haste toward Jesus this season? Perhaps it means setting aside distractions to read the Christmas story slowly. Perhaps it means attending a service with an open heart instead of a tired one. Perhaps it means praying honestly for the first time in a long while.

If this season is heavy for you because of grief, loneliness, or a struggle you are carrying, you are not alone. Jesus came for people in exactly that place. Please reach out to a pastor or someone you trust, and if you are in crisis in the U.S., call or text 988 to reach the Suicide and Crisis Lifeline.

Jesus is not hard to find. He is right where God said he would be: near to the humble, the honest, and the hungry.

Today, Try This

Before you go to sleep tonight, set aside fifteen minutes free of distractions. Read Luke 2:1–20 slowly, and pray: Lord, like the shepherds, I come to see you.

Reflection Question

What distractions might keep you from going to see Jesus with eagerness this Christmas?

Prayer

Lord Jesus, like the shepherds, I want to come and see you. Help me set aside distractions and hurry toward you with eager faith. Thank you that you are found just as God promised. Amen.

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Frequently Asked Questions

What does it mean that the shepherds went with haste?

It means they hurried. As soon as the angels left, they set out for Bethlehem without delay. Their speed showed that they believed God’s message and wanted to see the Savior for themselves.

Why did God announce Jesus’ birth to shepherds first?

Shepherds were ordinary, often overlooked workers. By sending the news to them first, God showed that Jesus came for everyone, especially the humble and the forgotten, not only the powerful.

How can I respond to Jesus like the shepherds did?

Hear what God says in Scripture, trust it, and take a concrete step toward Jesus, whether that is prayer, reading the Gospel, or joining others in worship. Then, like the shepherds, tell someone what you have found.

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