8 And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night. 9 An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. 10 But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid. I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. 11 Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is Christ[a] the Lord. 12 This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.”
13 Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God and saying, 14 “Glory to God in the highest,
and on earth peace to men on whom his favor rests.”
15 When the angels had left them and gone into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, “Let’s go to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has told us about.”
16 So they hurried off and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby, who was lying in the manger. 17 When they had seen him, they spread the word concerning what had been told them about this child, 18 and all who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds said to them. 19 But Mary treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart. 20 The shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things they had heard and seen, which were just as they had been told.
When I think of Christmas . . . I can remember “The Living Christmas Tree” at Byesville Assembly of God filled with a mass choir and adults and children acting out the Christmas Story. But for now let us step out of the world of the cute and the dramatic for a second and into what happened with the shepherds.
Shepherds were hired hands from lower class families or maybe even newcomers to the land. We need to understand that they were not at the very bottom of the social order and they were not involved in an unholy job by any means (not like being a pig farmer), and don’t forget about King David – The Shepherd King! Each day they faced weather challenges, dirty and rough surroundings, long hours and little pay – a hard life! The lived out in the fields most of the time, leaving them with very few friends and the friends they do have our also shepherds. They just could not leave the flock because of the ever present dangers of predators or theft. These shepherds were just working that night doing what they always did keeping watch over their flock that night – yes, they had to work through “holiday” too!
Have you ever wondered, why the Angels brought these tidings of great joy to the shepherds? Luke is silent on the matter. Did it have something to do with their poverty? But there were other people in the area that had even less than this group of shepherds. The truth is we do not even know how many shepherds . . . was it two, three, four, five or more. My impression is that the Heavenly Multitude, well, they were making a lot of noise! Such big doings for such a little baby. All I know is that when the shepherds heard what the heavenly host had to say about the baby born in a manger, they booked it to find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes. Maybe they let the Angels watch the flocks for a while?
The infant Jesus had already come out before the shepherds were told, so he was laying there in his feedbox crib. When the shepherds arrived and saw that the choir wasn't joking, they understood that the rest of what they were told was true too: the child was a Savior. The Messiah, their rescuer, had come. God had taken action, and came into their presence. So now they started picking up on the angels' carol, praising God to all who were nearby along the way back.
God came to us as a Baby (Jesus), Died on a Cross as an Adult and lives as God with Us . . . Let’s spread the Good News!!
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