“And there were in the same country shepherds abiding in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night. 9. And, lo, the angel of the Lord shone round about them, and they were sore afraid. 10. And the angel of the Lord said unto them, Fear not, for behold I bring you good tidings of great joy which shall be for all people. 11. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, which is Christ the Lord.”
Why shepherds? I have asked this question many times, and I know that I have either written, or preached about it before, but it is a question that still intrigues me. Allow me to try to answer this question for my own edification and for your's.. When the angel came to earth to tell the good news about the birth of Jesus, he did not appear to Herod, Caesar or any other notable person, but he appeared to lowly shepherds. The first reason is seen in what happened when the Magi told King Herod about the star that they were following, he proceeded to kill all babies in that area who were two years of age..This was not good news to Herod, for he felt threatened about the birth of a king. God knew that the shepherds would do what they did: They went and told people about Jesus’ birth, and went to see for themselves and to further spread the word. The contrast between the reaction of Herod and the shepherds reveals why the angel announced it to shepherds. God knew the hearts of the shepherds and that they were ready for the birth of the Messiah. We .learn about their reaction in Luke 2:15: “And it came to pass, as the angels were gone away from them into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, Let us now go even unto Bethlehem, and see this thing which is come to pass, which the Lord hath made known unto us.” They actually felt honored that they had received this good news. God knew that they were ready for this announcement in their hearts and that they would be grateful enough to go and see the Messiah for themselves. God knew that the shepherds would go beyond going to see the Messiah for themselves, for we are told in verse 17: “And when they had seen it, they made known abroad the saying which was told them concerning this child.” They did not keep this good news to themselves, and they were not threatened by the birth of Jesus, but they received it and shared it as good news from heaven. We can say that this changed the shepherd’s lives in a positive way. We are not told anything about them from this point, but we can believe that they were changed by the experience. Furthermore, in verse 18 we learn that those who heard their message were affected by it as well: “And all they that heard it wondered at those things which were told them by the shepherds.” This has been my feeble attempt to answer the question “Why Shepherds?" I pray that their positive experience will encourage us to spread the good news about Jesus. Bro. Joe
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AuthorDr. Joe Beauchamp is the author of this blog and website. Categories
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September 2021
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