While Jesus obviously loved everyone, there is no doubt he gave special attention to some more than others. There were those he sought out, and it was usually those that culture and society had pushed aside and wanted nothing to do with.
Shepherds definitely were in that group. Even at Jesus’ birth, it’s shepherds who get to hear the great news first. They’re first over everyone else on the entire planet to hear of the birth of the long awaited Messiah.
You have to ask yourself, why? Why specifically shepherds? I think we pick up a clue in Luke 2:8 when it states shepherds were living out in the fields keeping watch over their flock at night.
Read that again. These were people who kept watch and gave their lives, including all the comforts of home, for the sake of their flock, and even to the point of not being accepted in their own culture. Jesus later encourages—and sometimes disciplines—his disciples by telling them to “keep watch.”
Jesus himself is called the Great Shepherd and we are his flock. As he ascends to heaven, he leaves the shepherding duties to his disciples, who in turn hand it down until almost 2,000 years later, here we are being called to do the very same thing.
The angels, in their great announcement, declare they are bringing good news of great joy that will be for all people. This is quite strange, particularly in the day and time in which we live. This is news that is for all people. Can you think of anything today that could be heralded in the world that could be for good news everyone?
Today there would be those who would agree to the great news but definitely another group that certainly would not see it as good news at all. Some of this goes to the very fact that when God says it is good news, then we need to be able to see it and accept it that way. Why? Because God has said it’s good news, and since he said it, it must be true.
Then an interesting thing happens, the angels go from telling the shepherds about this good news for all the people to being very specific—and singular—with them and say the Savior has been born “to you.” They repeat this phrase in verse 12 when they say, “this will be a sign to you … .”
What a wonderful thought during the holiday season; yes, Jesus came to be the Savior of the world but he also has come to be your Savior. It’s important for us not to miss that. When God came in the flesh, he came to you. He intentionally and purposefully went to individuals so God could be near them and they could be near God as well.
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Two things to keep in mind: first, God didn’t come for everyone else and not for you; second, God came for others and not just for you.
Back to our shepherds. After the angels sing their amazing song, the shepherds say to one another, “Let’s go to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has told us about.” Interestingly enough, you don’t really see the shepherds being commanded to go, but when the angel tells them they will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger, I believe the angel knew who he was talking to. These were people that would move when God moves; not wanting to miss out on anything and everything that God has for them.
What about for you and me, what happens when—notice I didn’t say “if”—God speaks to us? Do we find ourselves moving when God tells us he is moving in a particular direction or in a specific place? Or do we remain where we are and just thank God for the information?
Want to pray something dangerous? Let God know you are saying yes to him no matter what he says. It’s a blank check of sorts that he gets to fill in on your life and you’ve already said yes to whatever he urges. This is part of what it means to be a shepherd and have a shepherd’s heart, full of faith, adventure and obedience.
But, there’s more. The shepherds also find themselves being heralds themselves. In verse 17, after they had seen the baby Jesus, they spread the word about what had been told to them and come about.
If we’re honest with ourselves we would probably have to admit that we would have probably just stayed next to Jesus and not gone out and spread the word. You see, we are a mountaintop people; we like the mountaintop experiences and find ourselves wanting to stay on the mountaintop or try to recreate a mountaintop experience. But the harsh reality is that God has not called us to stay on the mountaintop but to go out and spread the good news, which should really be a mountaintop experience. And watch how people will be amazed (v. 18).
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