In the gospel of Luke 2:8-20 is the short account of the shepherds that God decided were the very first people he wanted to send a birth announcement to for His only Son and the Savior of the whole world. 

In reading this account, I feel like this is a really important event in the Nativity story and yet Luke is the only one who recorded it as a part of the account of Jesus’ life.  Matthew talked about His royal lineage and how the wise men and the king became aware of his birth; a much less spectacular announcement in my opinion.  Mark and John skipped right over His early life and went straight to the beginning of his earthly ministry.

While I am glad that Luke included this detail, I have to admit that I have always been somewhat puzzled by it.  Why shepherds?  Why not kings or church leaders or even the families of His parents?

Through the years of studying my Bible, it occurs to me that God has a special affinity for shepherds.  Moses was shepherding his father-in-law’s flock when God spoke to him from the burning bush and David was caring for his father’s sheep when God called him to be king.  But it still begs the question; why?  Their job is dirty and rough.  They sleep outside with the animals and spend their days and nights watching over beings that don’t thank them for that care.  This is not a job that anyone could mistake for glamorous or even one that I can imagine anyone choosing.

The Bible specifically says that these shepherds were awake when the announcement came.  They were “watching their flocks by night.”  They were making sure that no harm came to them and ensuring that the sheep rested.  Most jobs, even back then, had a quitting time when you could go home and care for your own needs but not this one.  They were on-call night and day.  They ate and slept at work.

Initially, only one angel came to them.  Luke says that when the angel appeared “the glory of the Lord surrounded them.”  From this we can take that something about this encounter was not like an encounter with a regular person.  In movies it’s usually depicted as a light or sound that lets the shepherds know that this was an angel.  In reality, we don’t know, but it was somehow apparent that this encounter was unusual.  

The angel immediately has to reassure them that they don’t need to fear.  This single messenger delivered the news of the birth of Jesus saying:

“Do not be afraid.  I bring you good news that will bring great joy to all people.  The Savior-yes, the Messiah, the Lord-has been born today in Bethlehem, the city of David!  And you will recognize him by this sign: You will find a baby wrapped snugly in strips of cloth, laying in a manger.” (Luke 2:10-12 NLT)

Then Luke says that the angel was joined by “a vast host of others-the armies of heaven.”  This is where we get the image of the choir of heaven singing: 

“Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men.”

(Luke 2:14 KJV) 

I will venture to assume that this was not usually part of the job.  If it was me, I would probably look to my nearest neighbor and say, “Did that really just happen?!”  Call me a skeptic, I guess, but I know I would be questioning that message.  

“I’ll find the Messiah-the one we’ve all been waiting for since Isaiah prophesied about him 700 hundred years ago-in a barn?!  Wrapped in strips of leftover cloth?!”

But they didn’t question, as I would have.  They just jumped up and said, “Let’s go see!”  (No one thought it was weird to pop in on some strangers immediately after child birth?)  At this point it is also safe to assume that the angel gave them more precise directions to find Jesus because they were able to find him in one night.  Bethlehem was not a small city even back then.  

Finally, scripture tells us that once they had seen Jesus, they told everyone what happened and that the angels said He was the Messiah.

After all of this study, I still don’t know why God chose the shepherds but a lot of what God does leaves me with questions I hope I get a chance to ask when I get to Heaven.  However, God did show me some things that draw a parallel to my own life and maybe it will to yours as well.

First, I sometimes feel like I have a dirty and rough job.  Whether it’s my job outside my home or my job as a mother and homemaker, I have felt like I work with people and for people who do not thank me very often.  As if I am insignificant and guilty for not doing enough-even though I eat and sleep at work a lot.  My kid had a chocolate milkshake for breakfast yesterday.  (To some, that sentence seems entirely unconnected to this point but most of you will get what I mean.) 

But I thank God that we do not live by our feelings but we are sustained by His word (Matthew 4:4).  His word tells us that He sees us as worthy of speaking to directly.  He sees us as worthy of a purpose.  I may never live in a palace here on earth but He has a plan for my life; a plan to prosper me and not to harm me.  He has a plan of hope and a plan for my future. (Jeremiah 29:11) And He has one for you too.    

Secondly, I worry about not having the time to hear from God.  I make time for my daily devotion and praise but often it takes place in my car on my way somewhere or while I’m washing dishes.  I think we have this idea that we need to be sitting in a pristine office or kneeling at an altar to hear from Him.  But God came to the shepherds while they were working.  He spoke to them on the night shift.  God sees our efforts to set aside time to spend with Him and he also sees us trying to fulfill the responsibilities He has given us.  He honors them both.  He can come to anyone, anytime, any place He wants to.  And He wants to talk to you whether you am a shepherd or a king.

Finally, I often wonder, “why me?”  Why did God send His Son for me?  Why did he entrust me with His words to share with people?  And to those questions, I still have no answer but I am thankful and humbled everyday that He did.  I pray that we would all become more like those shepherds who heard from God and immediately took off to share it without hesitation; without self doubt or fear.

Father, thank you for coming to this earth. Thank you for being willing to wrap your divinity in human skin, to live a human life with all of its pain, and to carry our sins to the cross for our salvation. Thank you for choosing to tell the shepherds in a field outside Bethlehem about your Son in such a spectacular way. God, help us this Advent season, to remember that you have a plan for our lives that is not dependent on any great accomplishment of our own. Most of all, help us to tell everyone who will listen about a God that regards shepherds as highly as kings.

In Jesus’ Name, Amen.