The Shepherd's Good News (Part 1)

The Shepherd's Good News (Part 1)

Luke 2:15-18 "When the angels had left them and gone into Heaven, the shepherds said to one another, “Let’s go to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has told us about.” So they hurried off and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby, Who was lying in the manger.  When they had seen Him, they spread the word concerning what had been told them about this Child, and all who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds said to them." 

I want us to focus on three things about the Gospel that the shepherds’ part in the Christmas story can teach us.

-They were the only ones to receive a personal invitation to be there on the night of Jesus’ birth, and they were a very unlikely group to receive such an invite because they were despised and mistrusted by everyone of that day for several reasons. 

(1) First, since caring for sheep was literally a 24-7 kind of job, they couldn’t observe all the meticulous hand-washing rules and regulations required by the Jewish religion. To make matters worse, their flocks kept them away from the temple for weeks at a time which made it next to impossible for them to be made clean in the eyes of Jewish law.

(2) No job paid less than that of a shepherd which put these men at the bottom of the ladder financially. Plus they had the reputation for making off with things that did not belong to them, which led people to think of shepherds as crafty and dishonest.  In fact, their reputation was so bad that they were not even allowed to bear testimony in a court of law.  It was just assumed that people who worked as shepherds were people who would lie.

(3) On top of this they were illiterate because they had no formal schooling whatever. So to summarize, in most people’s minds, shepherds were like gypsies, vagrants, carnival workers, and con men all rolled into one. They were looked down on as being part of the lowest class of the lowest class of their culture. The only group lower were lepers.

Yet God issued His invitation to these men!  As the Christmas Carol puts it, “The FIRST ‘Noel’ the angels did say was to certain poor shepherds in fields where they lay.” Well, these guys are the exact OPPOSITE of the kind of person you and I would invite to a birth, especially the birth of the King of Kings and Lord of Lords!  The choir of Heaven only sang for a few, poor, smelly shepherds who were social and religious outcasts. As impossible and improbable as it seems the lowest of the low heard the heavenly hosts proclaim His birth before anyone else. 

I believe one reason our Heavenly Father intentionally chose the shepherds was because He wanted to let it be known that His love is all-inclusive.  He wanted everyone who would hear this story to realize that He loves all people. God wanted to make sure we know that He is not a respecter of persons. He does not show more respect to kings than He does to hourly wage earners. The point here is that the good news of the gospel according to Christmas is for everyone! Jesus was born for all people.

When the angel told the shepherds, “Unto YOU is born this day in Bethlehem a Savior,” he wasn’t just referring to those shepherds. He was referring all of us, and that is the good news of Christmas.

Our Heavenly Father does not limit His love.  God was announcing through these angels sent to humble shepherds that Jesus was not going to be the Savior of only the political, social, and religious elite.  He was to be the Savior of all people.  He doesn’t give preference to any group or class.  He doesn’t discriminate on the basis of intelligence, education, wealth, profession, political power, social standing, or any of the other qualities that human beings judge by. God’s love is offered indiscriminately to anyone who will repent and believe, anyone who will humble themselves and trust in Jesus as Savior.