Why Shepherds?
Today was a good day for me. I had a early morning fitness workout. My last one with my trainer for this year. Outside of that it was office work and getting ready for these final few days before Christmas.
BIBLE VERSE FOR TODAY… “That night, some shepherds were out in the fields near Bethlehem watching their sheep. An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord was shining around them. The shepherds were very afraid” Luke 2:8.9 ERV
As Jesus was born in Bethlehem, the town was busy and overcrowded, yet it was shepherds on a nearby hillside that received the announcement about the birth of the Savior. The darkness of the night sky was broken by the brilliance of angels. The understandable response of the shepherds was fear.
The angels announce that a “Savior has been born, He is Christ the Lord.” The shepherds are given instructions on how to find and recognize the baby. The intensity of what is taking place goes to a whole new level when a “host of angels” appear in the sky praising God. That image is one of magnificence that is hard to picture.
These shepherds represent not just the common people of the day, but those who were despised and rejected. So we find it interesting the one who the prophet described as being, “despised and rejected by men” (Isa. 55:3) would be first visited by those who were, “despised and rejected by men.” When the angels declared, “…news that will make everyone happy“(Luke 2:10 ERV), they could not have found a more appropriate audience.
We then see the response of the shepherds. They quickly made their way to Bethlehem to look for the child. The magnitude of what they experienced would have been difficult to ignore. But we still see that having heard the news, their priorities were changed. What was important as the night began, we radically changed in a moment of time. That is what happens when we are confronted with the “good news” of a Savior. Our lives as they have been, cannot continue with the same focus and priorities.
They came and found out what they had been told was true. Their response was to tell others. That may included telling people about finding the baby, and the appearance of the angels that told them who the baby was. They could announce that, “this baby is not your normal baby.” The response, “Everyone was surprised when they heard what the shepherds told them.” (Luke 2:18 ERV)
These first ones to declare the news of Jesus would be much like the disciples Jesus would later call to follow Him. They were ordinary men who would surprise people by what they declared.
Finally we see as they returned to their fields, they did so praising the Lord and thanking Him for all that they had seen. These shepherds whose mannerisms and language would have been viewed course and unacceptable were demonstrating the change in their life after their encounter with the Christ-child.
Jesus came a light to the nations. We see a glimpse of that when He was born and the full meaning of that would be revealed through the word of His disciples after His death, resurrection and ascension. For these shepherds their response to good news and their encounter with the Christ-child have been reflected in the lives of many down through time who hear good news and “come to Christ.”