LEARNING DAILY

Luke 2:8, Now there were in the same country shepherds living out in the fields, keeping watch over their flock by night.

The virgin birth is almost impossible for me to grasp. It is central to this season, to the birth of “Immanuel, God with us”. God chose the city Bethlehem for His son to be born. He chose the lowest of society to be the first to witness His birth.

I am fascinated by this part of the story of the birth of our Lord.  Shepherds were considered the least of society because they were ceremonially unclean. They were considered unclean “because they invariably had to engage with Gentiles; therefore, they were not allowed to worship in the temple. Neither were they allowed to testify in court, because they were considered unreliable witnesses” (David Jeremiah Study Bible). Yet, the Bible does not record any other visitors who met Jesus on the night of His birth.

Can you imagine what the shepherds, on what began as an ordinary night for them, suddenly had an “angel of the Lord appeared to them and God’s glory shone all around them”? Their reaction is common by individuals in the Bible when angels appeared to them – they were afraid. The sudden appearance had to have been pretty dramatic! Can you imagine what you would do in their situation? The angel told them not to fear that he was bringing news to them of “a Savior, who is Christ the Lord” is “born to you this day”. The birth of Jesus was an announcement to the shepherds that He had come to save all mankind, even the lowly and poor. That is why the angel came to them first. Once the shepherds had calmed down, the angel told them where to find the baby and they went to see Him; as they returned to their flock, the shepherds were “glorifying and praising God for all the things that they had heard and seen, as it was told them”.

When we were in Jerusalem last year, we visited the traditional place of where this event happened. We were told that the shepherds brought their flock into a cave for protection from the weather and predators. The cave was made of limestone and before the shepherds brought the flock into the cave, they wrapped their knee joints in strips of cloth known as “swaddling clothes” to protect them from the limestone as they laid down. These strips of cloth were also used as wicks for the menorahs. We were told that these shepherds were watching over the flock of sheep to be used as sacrificial lambs in the temple.  Do you see the symbolism of this “Immanuel, God with us”, come to be the sacrificial Lamb of God, was wrapped in swaddling clothes and became the light of the world.

The shepherds had a choice regarding how they would react to this news. They chose to go see the Savior and they left proclaiming what they had seen. They became the first evangelists who told all what they had seen and heard.

Did you catch the significance of the shepherds? Our experience, our walk on the narrow way into eternity in God’s kingdom must continue to be fruitful and not become nonchalant or cooled over time. Christians ought to be the happiest, the most joyful people because of what Jesus Christ has done for us. We ought to be the evangelists God desires us to be every day. They shepherds should be our example by “glorifying and praising God for all the things that they [we] had heard and seen, as it was told them [us]”.