The Shepherds

Luke 2:8-9a: "And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night. An angel appeared to them."

Recently, I was reading through the Nativity story and I came upon the shepherds. I decided to read through several commentaries and books just to learn more about these pasture "roamers" who accompanied their flocks both day and night.

One commentary mentioned that the job of a shepherd was not esteemed at all. It cited the Midrash, a collection of Jewish opinions concerning the Law, as saying that there is "no more disreputable an occupation than that of a shepherd." The commentary further commented that shepherds were considered lower class by the Jewish people, and they were as despised as gamblers and tax collectors.

Isn't it just like God to herald His Advent first not to the wealthy nobility or the arrogant religious leaders, but to those who were most despised within their society. Though the shepherds were despised by their fellowmen, they loved the Lord and were faithful to their much-needed responsibility for the Jewish people. I say "much-needed" because these particular shepherds were raising the very lambs that would be offered as atonement sacrifices in Jerusalem. Bethlehem was only 5 miles southwest from Jerusalem, and it was the place that the lambs would be raised and eventually herded to the temple as burnt offerings. Thus, it is a noticeable act of irony that God, the Paschal Lamb, would communicate His coming to those who faithfully prepared the lambs that were to be sacrificed as a foreshadowing of the One True Lamb to come, Jesus Christ!

After the quite fearful encounter with the Heavenly hosts praising God, the shepherds made haste to follow obediently the charge to go to Bethlehem and see the Christ Child. There was no hesitation on their part, for they knew that it was the LORD who had spoken to them (see Luke 2:15).

After they had seen the Messiah, the shepherds hurried off to share all that they had seen, resulting in much amazement from those who heard their powerful message. Then the shepherds returned to their fields in a spirit of celebration, glorifying and praising God.

This Christmas story is a wonderful reminder of our Ultimate Good Shepherd who entered into the world to lay down His very life for His sheep (see John 10:11). It also reminds us that God is not interested in one's social status or temporal affluence; rather, He is looking for those who would glorify Him through their faithful obedience and reverential awe. God Himself has told us that He esteems the one who is "humble and contrite in Spirit, and trembles at His Word" (Isaiah 66:2). God also chooses those who are weak and despised to accomplish His purposes, for He knows that these "despised ones" are more apt to boast in the Lord rather than in their own, vain accomplishments (I Corinthians 1:20-31).

Let us remember that the shepherds who prepared the lambs for sacrifice were the ones to whom God approached to be the first evangelists of the arrival of the Messiah. Though these shepherds were despised by their peers, may we today strive to have a heart similar to these shepherds . . . ones who were ready for the message of God, ones who followed faithfully the dictates of the angels, ones who worshipped Christ directly, ones who shared the good news of Christ's arrival, and ones who celebrated the redemptive work of God in the world.

Oh, to be a modern-day shepherd!