Read: Luke 2: 8-20
“And there were shepherds ... keeping watch over their flocks at night. An angel of the Lord appeared to them, ...” - Luke 2: 8,9
The good news of the Savior’s birth came first to the shepherds, a most unlikely group of people. Shepherds were uneducated and unskilled, viewed as dishonest and unreliable people by the society. They were in the bottom of the social ladder. Because sheep required care seven days in a week, shepherds were unable to fully comply with the Sabbath regulations developed by the Pharisees. As a result, they were considered as ceremonially unclean as they violated the religious laws. Kent Hughes says, “The only people lower than the shepherds at that particular time in Jewish history were lepers!” Shepherding was also a lonely occupation, particularly at night, as a shepherd stood his watch, making sure that the sheep did not wake up and wander, and that the prowling predators did not attack and devour the sheep. We may wonder as to why these shepherds were chosen for the angels’ announcement of the birth of Jesus. The answer is clear - God chose shepherds to show that the gospel is for the simple, not for the sophisticated. These shepherds represent all ordinary people with low reputation, who received the gospel by God’s grace and proclaim it joyfully to others. These men were probably illiterate, but that did not hinder God from revealing Himself to them.
Dear friends, we may be considered as plain, ordinary people by the society, but the encouraging news is, Jesus loves us as we are. He reveals Himself to us always when we least expect Him and sends us as His messengers of Good News to the broken world. PRAYER: Dear Lord, You sent the angels to proclaim the good news of Jesus’ birth to the lowly shepherds, who were considered as outcasts by the society. I am not highly educated, nor do I have great reputation, but I thank You that You graciously chose me to be Your messenger of hope to the dying world. Amen.
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