In our family, the little weeks starting in Fall are some of the busiest in the year. My family and I love potato and apple picking, walking in crunchy leaves, hot picnics, and yummy puddings. One of the best bits is that we know Christmas will soon follow, and my kids would say, “What’s not to love about Christmas?”
At Christmas time, the mother in me loves seeing my kids open their presents, write lists, and be generous in buying for others, sometimes even out of their little. It’s the slightly crunchy mama in me who loves homemade decorations, cozy nights on the sofa, games nights, comfort foods, and hot cocoa!
However, the Jesus-loving side of me wins every time. I love remembering Jesus's birth at Christmas. I adore rereading those stories of old and being reminded of the little things we often overlook. If we rest only in the knowledge we received at Sunday school, friend, we are missing so much gold!
As I read about Jesus, who is called Immanuel, God with us, I am also intrigued by the people present at his birth or in and around His birth. The Bible references two sets of strangers who come along and worship this babe, strangers who come from many miles away, yet to them, this is the highlight of their whole lives, not even just their day.
The shepherds are one set of people who visited Jesus, which has always intrigued me. We read about angels who come and visit and their subsequent journey to visit Jesus in Luke chapter 2, verses 8-20. Luke believes this visit is so important that he ensures it is written into his gospel. Luke was writing primarily to a Gentile audience. He began his gospel account by mentioning a man some believe to be a Roman official called Theophilus, proving this gentile theory. But I ask myself, what is Luke trying to show us by mentioning these shepherds in this wonderful story?
The angels' message was:
“Do not be afraid. I bring you good news that will cause great joy for all the people. Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is the Messiah, the Lord. This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.”
Like everyone else in the Jewish community, the Shepherds would have been prepared for a Messiah to come. They would have heard stories from grandparents and great-grandparents of what God did in the history of their people, which were passed down by oral tradition. They would have expected the Messiah to come one day and overthrow the Roman rule. I can imagine that when they saw the angels, they would have been fearful, curious, and surprised; it is no surprise that the angel's first words were, “Do not be afraid.” I doubt they thought the message would have finished as it did, proclaiming Jesus' birth.
Who Were the Shepherds?
To understand the surprise of their visit, it is worth addressing that the Shepherds, however lovely they were as people, lived and worked in a profession the Jews looked down on. They were outsiders to the community, unwelcome outcasts, and of low social status, similar to that of a tax collector or Leper. These men were deemed so unworthy they would not have been permitted to give testimony in a Jewish court due to perceived unreliability, even if they saw a crime firsthand.
They, as shepherds, were considered ceremonially unclean, and as a result, they would not have been permitted to even go into the temple to worship or pray. Despite being the very people who raised the animals needed for Holy sacrifices. Yet regardless of their lowly status and being outcasts to society, it is to these same men that Jesus' name is mentioned. Four hundred years of silence for the Jewish people had passed from the book of Malachi to the birth of the Messiah. Yet when the time came to herald the good news, it was done by angelic beings to the very people the Jews labeled outcasts and refused to associate with.
I also help but notice the direct connection between Jesus' incarnate birth being told to shepherds and Psalm 23, which begins,
“The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want.”
There must be a direct relationship here between Jesus in Psalm 23, the Jesus who would call Himself the good Shepherd, and the announcement of His birth firstly to shepherds.
I also find it very interesting that Jesus' birth was not just so He would live and give us an example to live by, but that one day, at the right time, Jesus would die and be the final sacrifice. This is addressed by Paul in Hebrews 10:12- 14:
“But when Christ had offered for all time a single sacrifice for sins, he sat down at the right hand of God, waiting from that time until his enemies should be made a footstool for his feet. For by a single offering, he has perfected for all time those who are being sanctified.”
The Shepherds were likely raising animals for sacrifices at the temple, yet the angels came and told them the Messiah had arrived. This message probably symbolized the end of all animal sacrifices required for the forgiveness of sins and instead the one for all sacrifices Jesus would soon make on the cross for our sins.
I love that the birth story includes them because including them makes me feel welcome, too. I am welcome despite my failings, what others think of me, how I think I look, my sins, and past mistakes. I believe Luke mentions this part of the story because scripture reveals that all are welcome. Come one, come all. No one is left out. Jesus’ birth was not for the rich, the elite, the perfect, but an open door for all of humanity, no matter how broken or shamed, outcasted or dirty, to come and worship, to come and find life, to come and be guided, loved, cared for by a Great Shepherd who gives us all we need, and loves us to overflow.
These shepherds were living their normal nomad lives, beginning this moment in fear and then becoming filled with a sense of adventure. They took off to see this babe the angels spoke of. What they found was beyond what they could have ever imagined. I wonder if we set aside our fear, anxiety, worry, questions, and circumstances and just ran to Jesus, what would we find?
We would no longer find a babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, but we would find a savior who loved us enough to say, “Send me,” and die in our place, rising again to give humanity a choice to reunite with our creator God the Father.
Friend, this Christmas, respond as the shepherds did: Run to Jesus, and when you find Him, worship Him there!
Photo Credit: SWN Design
