The Significance of Shepherds...

This week, we are looking at an event from history that we know as the Christmas story. Yesterday, we looked on as Luke recorded for us the reality that the Roman Empire called for a census. This census required every Jewish family to travel to their ancestral home town to register for the census so that they would be counted for tax purposes.

And for Joseph and Mary, that meant traveling to Bethlehem, as Joseph came from the family tree of David, who was the most famous king to ever ruler the Jewish nation. So Joseph and Mary left Nazareth and made the trip to Bethlehem. After arriving in Bethlehem, Mary discovered that she was not just with child; it was time to have the child. There was a problem, however.

You see, Bethlehem was not a bustling metropolis filled with hotels and motels; Bethlehem was a small rural community that was busting at the seams because of all the out of town visitors that were required to come to register for the census. So there was no place for people to reside, unless there were close family that still lived in town. Bethlehem was so crowded that the only place that they could find for Mary to give birth and stay in was with domesticated animals. Most likely this was in a cave on the outskirts of town where animals where kept for their safety. Instead of a crib, all Mary could lay her newborn in was a manger, which was a feeding trough for animals.

Today, as we jump back into this event from history, we will discover that Mary and Joseph were not the only ones who would be impacted by the arrival of the Messiah into the world that first Christmas. Luke introduces us to another group of people who would be impacted that by the arrival of Jesus that first Christmas in Luke 2:8:

In the same region there were some shepherds staying out in the fields and keeping watch over their flock by night. And an angel of the Lord suddenly stood before them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them; and they were terribly frightened.

You think? Of course they were frightened. Wouldn’t you be frightened? It’s not every day that an angel of the Lord, who was God’s personal servant, named Gabriel, just shows up. And if that was not frightening enough, Luke tells us that the glory of the Lord shown around them. When Luke refers to the glory of the Lord, he is referring to the awesome presence, splendor and radiance of God displayed for others to see. This is God in His greatness revealed.

Throughout the Bible, when we read about the glory of the Lord, we usually discover two things. First, we discover that people usually cannot handle being in the presence of the glory of the Lord. Usually, people respond to being in the presence of the glory of the Lord by falling on their face or fleeing. Second, when we read about the glory of the Lord, we usually read about God’s glory being revealed either in the tabernacle or the temple in Jerusalem, which was the only church in Mary and Joseph’s day.

The glory of the Lord did not just show up in a field in the middle of nowhere. And the glory of the Lord did not show up around shepherds. The glory of the Lord may have been revealed to kings or priests, or to really religious people; but not to shepherds.

You see, during the time of Jesus’ birth, to be a shepherd was almost as socially toxic as being a leper. Shepherds were outcasts. For example, even though shepherds raised animals for use in the temple sacrifices, they themselves were considered “unclean” and, as such, were not permitted to set foot into the temple.

Not only were shepherds engaged in a smelly, dirty, and nomadic profession, they were considered to be unreliable witnesses in matters of law. In fact, if you were a shepherd who witnessed a crime, you were unworthy to give testimony in a court of Jewish law. Shepherds were considered outsiders who spent their time disconnected and distant from Jewish culture. Shepherds were peasants who were located on the bottom of the scale of power and privilege.

So of course the shepherds were frightened; this was most unexpected and frightening; “what’s going to happen to us now” was what they probably were thinking. Luke tells us what happens next in verse 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; for today in the city of David there has been born for you a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. "This will be a sign for you: you will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger."

The angel basically said “I have good news for you, which is for you to tell all the people. Down the road from you has been born the savior; you know the promised one that you have heard about since you were a child that is coming to rescue and deliver you and your people from your selfishness and rebellion. This baby that has been born is the Christ, the Messiah, the promised one of God. And this rescuer, this deliverer, this Savior, Christ, that has been born, oh by the way, He is the Lord. He is God in a bod. Now go and check it out for yourself. This is how you will know that you have found your God, your rescuer, your deliverer, your Messiah. You will find your God, your rescuer, your deliverer in the cave on the edge of town, where He is wrapped up in clothes in a feeding trough”.

Now, I want us to take a minute and imagine ourselves in this event from history as one of the shepherds. You have just had an encounter with a heavenly being. What would you be thinking? What questions would be running through your mind? Here’s what I think was running through their mind. “Why would God send an angel to tell us? Why us?

However, while the shepherds were frightened and were pondering all that they had heard, there were another group of beings who were about to enter this event from history which we know today as the Christmas story. And it is this group of beings, upon entering this event from history that we know today as the Christmas story, would compose and sing a song that would become a part of the original Christmas playlist.

Friday we will look at this song together…