SHEPHERDS
LUKE
2:8-20 – THE SHEPHERDS WORSHIP
THE
GOOD SHEPHERD
Luke
2:8 And there were in the same country shepherds abiding in the field, keeping
watch over their flock by night.
Susan: Shepherds were the least esteemed of the working class in that
day.
Susie: They were on one of the lowest rungs of society’s ladder.
These particular shepherds may have been guarding the flocks used for
sacrifices in the temple. This would include the Passover lambs that had
to be completely without blemish or defect.
Susan: That God chose to announce the birth of His Son first to this
group of people shows that He has no favoritism of class. His interest is
solely in the hearts of humanity, not where they are on the socio-economic
strata. Later, it would become clear that God’s grace extended to Gentiles as
well as Jews. This borne out in the New Testament as the apostles saw Gentiles
come to know the Lord. Peter testified to the Christian leaders in Jerusalem:
Acts 15:8-9 (HCSB) And God, who knows the heart, testified to them
by giving the Holy Spirit, just as He also did to us. He made no distinction
between us and them, cleansing their hearts by faith.
Susie: He invited the shepherds who tending the sacrificial lambs
to be the first to worship the perfect Lamb of God.
Susan: They were allowed VIP access even before the Magi, the wise men,
from the east.
Reformation Study Bible:
Shepherds were a despised class
because their work prevented them from keeping the ceremonial law, and as they
moved about the country it was common for them to be regarded as thieves. They
were considered unreliable and were not allowed to give evidence in the courts.
Luke
2:9 And, lo, the angel of the Lord came upon them, and the glory of the Lord
shone round about them: and they were sore afraid.
Susan: When angels appear, the first response is to fall on your face
afraid. (365 “fear nots” in the Bible) This is meaningful to me because
there is one for each day of the year.
Susie: Imagine how you would respond if you were out in the middle of
nowhere on a pitch-black night, and suddenly the sky lit up like daylight!
Luke
2:10 And the angel said unto them, Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good
tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people.
Susan: The fact that the good news was for ALL people would be most
important to these shepherds who were considered second-class citizens. They
were viewed almost as the homeless are today – dirty, unworthy, and possibly
criminals.
Susie: The angel’s words signify that this message was not for the Jews
alone but for the Gentiles as well.
Luke
2:11-12 For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is
Christ the Lord. And this shall be a sign unto you; Ye shall find the babe
wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger.
Luke 2:11 (VOICE) Today, in the city of David, a Liberator has
been born for you! He is the promised Anointed One, the Supreme Authority!
Susie: Angels almost always begin with “Fear not!” because their
appearance can be overwhelming.
Susan: This angel declared he had something good to tell them.
Susie: Joyful news of the Messiah’s birth.
Susan: All three names – Liberator (Savior), Anointed One
(Christ or Messiah), and Supreme Authority (Lord -used for God in the Old
Testament) – were used to describe the baby that had been born in
Bethlehem. The amazing thing to these men was that He was born for them! He was the Messiah of the underdog
as well as the top dog!
Susie: To their astonishment, they were told that this Baby King was born
in a stable and would actually be lying on hay where the cattle fed!
Susan: The shepherds themselves had probably been born somewhere better
than a stable.
Susie: The God-Man who would identify Himself as the Good Shepherd (John
10) revealed Himself first to a group of shepherds. They, of all people, would
eventually understand the words of the prophet Isaiah as they would apply to
Jesus before Pilate and on the cross.
Isaiah 53:6-7 All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned
every one to his own way; and the Lord hath laid on him the iniquity of us
all. He was oppressed, and he was
afflicted, yet he opened not his mouth: he is brought as a lamb to the
slaughter, and as a sheep before her shearers is dumb, so he openeth not his
mouth.
Susan: The shepherds were told one sign that would help them identify the
baby Messiah was that He would be wrapped in “swaddling clothes.” In our research we found many things we did
not previously know about “swaddling clothes.”
1.
They could also be used as burial clothes - http://living4jesus.net/dynamic/in.swaddling.htm
- and these may have been strips of cloth carried by Joseph in case one of them
died on the journey.
2.
It was the custom in the Middle
East to wash the newborn baby in salted water and wrap them in swaddling
clothes.
3.
We read that the shepherds to
whom the angels appeared were keeping watch over the lambs to be used for
Passover sacrifices. When an ewe would be ready to deliver, the shepherds would
take her into a cave and wrap the newborn lamb in swaddling clothes to prevent
it from injury and deformity because the sacrifice had to be perfect.
Susie: These shepherds would understand the concept of swaddling God’s
perfect Lamb. Many years later, some of them might have recalled seeing the
newborn Messiah who became the perfect sacrifice for their sins wrapped in
swaddling clothes like a sacrificial lamb.
Luke
2:13-14 And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host
praising God, and saying, Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good
will toward men.
Susie: I imagine the shepherds were now shaking in their sandals. If one
angel was terrifying, how much more fearsome would an army of them be?
Susan: But this army was announcing peace, not war. Peace had come
for all people who bring pleasure to God. You will have peace when you give God
pleasure. When you are not at peace, the question is “are you giving God
pleasure or are you breaking His heart because you are not being or becoming
what He created you to be?”
Susie: We need to ask ourselves, “What pleases God?”
Micah 6:8 (VOICE) “He has shown you, O mortal, what is good. And
what does the Lord require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk
humbly with your God.”
Susie: Walking humbly with God would involve surrendering to the Lordship
of Jesus, in other words receiving the gift of salvation with the full realization
that there is no way you could ever earn it. But you may say, “we do not have
peace.” Jesus did not come to bring “world peace” as we think of that term but
the inner peace that endures in a non-peaceful world.
Philippians 4:6-7 Be careful for nothing; but in everything by
prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto
God. And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your
hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.
Luke
2:15 And it came to pass, as the angels were gone away from them into heaven,
the shepherds said one to 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.
Susan: The shepherds were eager to go and see what the angel had reported
to them, this awesome baby King.
Susie: They said to each other, “Let’s go right now!”
Luke
1:16 And they came with haste, and found Mary, and Joseph, and the babe lying
in a manger.
Susie: The shepherds didn’t just talk about going to Bethlehem, they did
it right away. They didn’t lollygag but traveled quickly. They found everything
just as the angel had described it—Mary and Joseph staying in a stable and the
baby wrapped up in swaddling clothes and lying on top of fresh hay in a feeding
trough.
Luke
1:17-18 And when they had seen it, they made known abroad the saying which was
told them concerning this child. And
all they that heard it wondered at those things which were told them by the
shepherds.
Susan: Then the shepherds became a holy news crew spreading the Good News
to all who would hear them. They proclaimed that the angel had told them
the Messiah had been born in Bethlehem, and they, the shepherds, were
eyewitnesses to everything the angel had declared.
Susie: I’m sure the people were wondering, “Could this really be the
Messiah?”
Luke
2:19 But Mary kept all these things, and pondered them in her heart.
Susan: Mary wanted to file these memories in her heart, perhaps to be
able to recount these wondrous things to Jesus as He grew.
Susie: There were no “baby book albums” in those days, so Mary made a
point to commit every occurrence to memory. She was probably still amazed at
all that had transpired in her life those last few months since Gabriel had
appeared to her.
Luke
2:20 And the shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things
that they had heard and seen, as it was told unto them.
Susan: The shepherds’ response was to glorify God. They did not chalk it
all up to some kind of psychological breakdown but realized they had seen
something divine and totally real. At some point they may have wondered, “If we
tell people this, will anyone believe us, or are we going to be locked away
forever?”
Susie: But God revealed Himself to them in such a mighty way that they
could not doubt the reality of the encounter.
Susan: No matter what happened they were going to faithfully announce
this Good News, wherever they went, no matter the consequences.
QUESTIONS
1. Jesus was first revealed to a group at the bottom of the social
strata. He came for all kinds of people. Think of a specific way you can share
Jesus with someone this week without regard to race, color, or socio-economic
status.
2. Why was it significant that the shepherds may have been raising
sheep for the temple sacrifices?
3. The shepherds went “with haste.” Are you excited about worshiping
Jesus? This Sunday approach your place of worship with a sense of wonder, awe,
and urgency at the privilege of worshiping our Lord.
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