THE CHARACTERS OF CHRISTMAS - Shepherds
This morning we are going to take a look at a majestic and glorious part of the Christmas story. The main characters in our Christmas series are the shepherds.
In 1st century Judea, being a shepherd was a lowly position, not despised, just common. Tradition portrays them as despised and looked down upon, but the reality is that the wealthy relied upon them to care for one of their greatest commodities.
These were probably elementary or middle school aged boys. Most likely peasants but because the theme of shepherd is used by God often, we know that they were important for the role they held. They were just ordinary blue color fellas doing a job.
It’s wonderful that the birth announcement of the Messiah wasn’t made to King Herod or the temple priests. It wasn’t proclaimed to the upper classes. It was mad to regular, hard working shepherds who were about to encounter something they would never forget.
So let’s set the scene. Bethlehem literally means House of Bread. The hills were covered with fields of grain. After the harvest, the shepherds were allowed to bring their flock into the fields to eat the leftover stalks and grain. In return, they would fertilize the ground for the next year’s crops.
The Bible tells us that it’s nighttime. The shepherds are awake and watching over their precious flock. Only the wealthy had flocks of sheep that they would sell to the temple and the people for sacrifices. Every single day 2 lambs were to be sacrificed, not just at passover time.
So we get a picture in our mind of these young men lounging amidst the sheep or pacing back and forth trying to stay awake. When the unexpected happens.
Read Luke 2: 8-20
Why do you think God chose shepherds to announce the birth of the Messiah?
They were common people, hard workers who were sometimes looked down on but they were ready to receive the message and then go and tell everyone they could.
Shepherding is a theme throughout scriptures:
a. Moses was a shepherd - Moses was married to Zipporah, the daughter of Jethro, an accomplished priest..Jethro hired Moses to be a shepherd for his sheep.
In Jewish tradition it says that one day, Moses noticed that a sheep had wandered away from the rest of the flock. He ran after the sheep and found it resting in a shady spot and drinking from a water cistern. Moses exclaimed: “I did not realize that you ran away because you were tired,” and gently picked it up and returned it to the flock. When God saw this act of compassion on Moses’ part, He declared: “As you have such mercy on the flock of a human being, I guarantee you that you will become the shepherd of My people.”
b. David was a shepherd and a man after God’s own heart. When man would have chosen his strong older brothers to be anointed as the next king, God chose the shepherd boy because He knew the state of David’s heart.
c. In Ezekiel 34, God rebukes the priests by calling them shepherds.
Ezekiel 34: 1-2 And the word of the Lord came to me, saying, 2 “Son of man, prophesy against the shepherds of Israel, prophesy and say to them, ‘Thus says the Lord God to the shepherds: “Woe to the shepherds of Israel who feed themselves! Should not the shepherds feed the flocks?
d. In Psalm 23, God calls himself a shepherd in David’s song.
Psalm 23: 1-3 The Lord is my shepherd;
I shall not want.
He makes me to lie down in green pastures;
He leads me beside the still waters.
He restores my soul;
He leads me in the paths of righteousness
For His name’s sake.
e. Jesus calls himself the Good Shepherd
John 10:11 “I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd gives His life for the sheep.
The fact that God chose to announce the birth of His son to shepherds, is a significant piece of information. God cares about every person no matter how humble their station in life. As our shepherd, He understands us in the same way that a shepherd in the natural knows his sheep. It was a foreshadowing of the kind of king that Jesus would be.
3) There is deep symbolism in this part of the story.
Shepherds were caring for lambs who would be used at Passover and other sacrifices for sin. This was a declaration that Jesus had come to be the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world.
And so, these ordinary boys became the first to hear the wonderful news, and it came straight from the angels! Put yourself there; a dark night doing work that was hard and probably a bit unrewarding. You’re caring for someone else’s animals knowing that your lambs will one day be sacrificed for the sins of the people.
You’re sitting in the darkness chatting with your friends when all of a sudden you are blinded by the brightest light…so heavenly that it’s different than any light you have ever seen. But it’s not just a bright light, a voice rings down upon you, coming from the sky but seeming to radiate from all around you.
““Do not be afraid, for behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy which will be to all people. 11 For there is born to you this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord.” vs 10-11
And what did they do? These young men who were responsible enough to tend the temple’s lambs?
They told anyone and everyone what had happened to them!
They made haste to the stable to see this wonderful thing that had happened in their lifetime.
Verse 17, Now when they had seen Him, they made [f]widely known the saying which was told them concerning this Child.
2. They glorified God and praised him.
Verse 20 says, Then the shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things that they had heard and seen, as it was told them.
3. They went back to work.
They weren’t physically rescued from their life of hard work and no recognition. Circumstances didn’t change but something had changed within them! That night they found hope, joy, faith, and awe of Yahweh.
Faith changes how you see things. It demands a response. Their response was to praise God and then get to work and tell everyone they came in contact with.
I believe their hearts were changed. Perhaps they began to love. Perhaps they looked at the whole relationship with God differently…as it should do for all of us.
If in hearing the Good News, you are not moved to praise Him, worship Him, and tell everyone about it, then maybe you missed Jesus. Maybe you stayed in the field instead of going to encounter the Savior!
Today I invite you out of the field!!
PRAYER / CLOSING
Last week we saw the wise men’s reaction to the birth of Jesus. They worshiped with exceeding great joy. This morning, the humble and ordinary shepherds reacted the same way.
No matter our station in life. No matter our income bracket. No matter our past. Every person’s reaction should be the same. We walk out of darkness and sin and into the glorious light of the redeemed!
