Why
choose Shepherds to bring the Good News? Did you ever wonder why God first told
lowly shepherds about the birth of his son? Why not Kings or the High Priest?
Why not some other noble official. God had all these important men at his
disposal. Yet, for all the likely people he could have told about the birth of
our Savior, he chose low-life shepherds.
What do we know about shepherds of those days? The shepherds are an important part of the nativity story and should not be forgotten.
Most of us has been taught that shepherds were lowlife, dishonest,
lazy and one who you couldn’t trust. However, three principal characters of
Jewish religion are shepherds, Abraham, Moses and David. These three figures
are totally important in the Jewish society. Therefore, shepherds may not be
thought of as such lowlife as scholars have portrayed for years.
Also, Jacob’s wife, Rachel, had been a shepherdess before Jacob
met her. Jacob, the father of Israel, also became a shepherd for Laban. He left
Haran to return to Israel with huge flocks and herds. A direct descendent of
David, Jesus the Christ, has been called the Good Shepherd. He still shepherds
his people, the Church.
There are scriptures in the Old Testament that portray God as
shepherd.
One of the most famous verses in all of Scripture proclaims this: “The Lord is
my shepherd” (Ps 23:1).
Another Old Testament scripture
says, “Yet his bow remained steady, and his strong arms were made agile by the
hands of the Mighty One of Jacob, by the name of the Shepherd, the Rock of
Israel” (Genesis 49:24.) Also, Psalm 80:1 says, “Listen, Shepherd of Israel.”
The Lord speaks in Ezekiel
34:12, saying, “As a shepherd looks for his sheep on the day he is among his
scattered flock, so I will look for My flock. I will rescue them from all the
places where they have been scattered on a cloudy and dark day.”
Although there are other quotes
about the Lord being the shepherd, I think these will suffice to cover our
point that the shepherds may not have been the societal lowlifes that they are portrayed
to be. However, shepherds of Jesus’ time weren’t royalty or of priestly
lineage. Perhaps there are reasons God came to them.
·
They
listened
·
They
acted on the word that they received
·
They
became God’s first evangelists
·
They
were believed (Luke 2:17,18)
·
God
chose them and told them first
·
They
saw God’s glory first, the Old testament glory and Jesus, the glory of God in
the New Testament
·
They
believed
·
They
could have been the first ever to see Jesus outside his mom and dad
Birth of John the Baptizer
Even
the birth of John the Baptizer was told from the point of view of a Priest from
the lineage of Aaron. Luke 1:5-38. John's story is told from a Priest who has a
definite lineage to his forefather. Although an important figure in Jesus'
birth, John's birth wasn't heralded by a group of shepherds. No, his birth was
reported by a man and woman from the local church body.
Gospel Writers
Another
thing that's ironic about the birth of Jesus, of the four Gospel writers:
Matthew, Mark, Luke and John the beloved, only one of them gives information
about Jesus' birth. Mark skips right to Jesus as an adult. John identifies the
deity of Jesus. Matthew brings us news of Jesus' genealogy. Only Luke gives us
information about Jesus' birth and how the world learns about it.
Birth of Jesus
Luke
begins with the news about John the Baptizer's birth in 1:5-38. Then, in
Chapter 2:1-20, Luke tells you that the Good News was brought to Shepherds:
Now in those days a decree went out
from Caesar Augustus, that a census be taken of all the
inhabited earth. 2 This was the first census taken while Quirinius
was governor of Syria. 3 And everyone was on his way to register for the census, each to his
own city. 4 Joseph also went up
from Galilee, from the city of Nazareth, to Judea, to the city of David which
is called Bethlehem, because he was of the house and family of David, 5 in order to register along with Mary, who was engaged to him, and
was with child. 6 While
they were there, the days were completed for her to give birth. 7 And she gave birth to her firstborn son; and she wrapped Him in
cloths, and laid Him in a manger,
because there was no room for them in the inn.
Introduction of the Shepherds
8 In the same region there were some shepherds staying out in the fields and keeping watch over their flock by night. 9 And an angel of the Lord suddenly stood before them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them; and they were terribly frightened. 10 But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid; for behold, I bring you good news of great joy which will be for all the people; 11 for today in the city of David there has been born for you a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. 12 This will be a sign for you: you will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.” 13 And suddenly there appeared with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying, 14 “Glory to God in the highest, And on earth peace among men with whom He is pleased.” 15 When the angels had gone away from them into heaven, the shepherds began saying to one another, “Let us go straight to Bethlehem then, and see this thing that has happened which the Lord has made known to us.” 16 So they came in a hurry and found their way to Mary and Joseph, and the baby as He lay in the manger. 17 When they had seen this, they made known the statement which had been told them about this Child. 18 And all who heard it wondered at the things which were told them by the shepherds. 19 But Mary treasured all these things, pondering them in her heart. 20 The shepherds went back, glorifying and praising God for all that they had heard and seen, just as had been told them.
Noted Things About the Shepherds
The first thing to note about the shepherds would be their fear. Fear that was real. Imagine sitting by a small fire on a dark night of camping. Suddenly, your world is lighted by the brightness of an angel. I think you most likely would be filled with fear.
Then the second think of note from this event. "The glory of the Lord shone around them." God's glory appears in the Bible as smoke, fire and cloud. The glory of the Lord led the Children of Israel out of slavery in Egypt. It continued to lead them as a cloud by day and fire by night.
Before Israel was taken captive by the Babylonians in 586 BC, the glory of the Lord left the Holy of Holies in Solomon's Temple, crossed the threshold, out the East Gate and to the mountain east of the city, the Mount of Olives, from where the glory of God returned to heaven (Ezekiel 10-11).
So, for over 400 years, the glory of God hasn't been seen in the entire world. Suddenly, the sky opens before the shepherds, and angel appears and then the glory of God is seen by them. King James says, "And they were sore afraid." The shepherds weren't just frightened. They were terrified at seeing the glory of God. Most likely they feared for their lives. No one was able to look upon the glory of God and live. At least that could have been their thought.
Now, it is possible that you may view the role of the shepherds of our Christmas Story differently. The fact that the shepherds believed and announced the birth of our Savior becomes paramount to the historical event of our Bible. I believe we can walk away from this post with an entirely different idea about the Shepherds' role in the Bible.
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Blessings,
Howard
Who You Are Isn't Based on Performance with God. Who You Are Should Have A Direct Bearing on How You Perform.
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