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December 23

A Good Night To Be A Shepherd

Text: Luke 2:8-11

Shepherds. Not exactly the someone you set up for your daughter, if you are a righteous Jew. A scholar once wrote: 

“They were uneducated and unskilled, increasingly viewed in the post-New Testament era as dishonest, unreliable, unsavory characters, so much so that they were not allowed to testify in court. Furthermore, they were always ceremonially unclean because sheep required care seven days a week and therefore, unable to fully comply with the man-made Sabbath regulations.” 

Again, not someone you want to bring home for the holidays. This is why the words of Luke are quite frankly, shocking. 

And in the same region there were shepherds out in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night. And an angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were filled with great fear. And the angel said to them, “Fear not, for behold, I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. (Luke 2:8-11)

Shepherds, really? Those are the people God chose to send an angelic choir to? Those are the ones God revealed His plan to? Those are the favored ones He entrusted with the message of the good news? Apparently, so. 

And yet choosing the shepherds says a lot about God. He shows no partiality. He didn’t go to the religious leaders. He didn’t go to the popular, the elite, the powerful. He went to lowly shepherds, the unclean, reinforcing that this good news is really for everyone. 

I like to believe these shepherds were forever changed. I like to believe they are in Heaven, enjoying that baby, who now forever lives in His resurrection body. The story of Christmas is timeless. It is almost here.