When we think of shepherds today, we have a positive image of them. After all, Moses was a shepherd. David was a shepherd. And the Bible compares Jesus to a shepherd.
But in first-century Israel, a shepherd was about the lowest someone could be on the social ladder. The only thing lower were people with leprosy. Yet God chose to announce the good news of Christ’s birth to the shepherds.
Jesus always seemed to find His way to the outcasts of society. There was the Samaritan woman who had been married and divorced five times and was living with a man. She was such an outcast that she didn’t have a friend in town. And that is why she went to the well to draw water during the hottest part of the day.
Yet who was waiting there for her one afternoon? Jesus. And He wanted to have a conversation with her.
Then there was Zacchaeus, the tax collector. He was a Jew who worked for Rome. Thus, he was thought of as a turncoat, a traitor. He didn’t have a friend in the world. Yet Jesus took time for him.
When Jesus walked by, He looked up at Zacchaeus in a tree and called him by name. Then He said, “make haste, and come down; for to day I must abide at thy house” (Luke 19:5).
There was the woman who had been caught in the act of adultery and was thrown down at Christ’s feet. The religious leaders were ready to kill her. But Jesus stooped down and wrote something in the sand. Then He stood up and said, “He that is without sin among you, let him first cast a stone at her.” (John 8:7).
The Bible says they all slipped away one by one, starting with the oldest, until only the woman was left. Jesus said, “Woman, where are those thine accusers? hath no man condemned thee?” (verse 10).
She replied, “ No man, Lord.”
So Jesus said to her, “Neither do I condemn thee: go, and sin no more” (John 8:11).
Jesus always had time for people like this. Therefore, it’s only fitting that the angels announced His birth to the lowest of the low: the shepherds. In the dark world of the first century, the Good News came to them.
Luke’s Gospel tells us, “And there were in the same country shepherds abiding in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night. 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. And the angel said unto them, Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord.” (2:8–11).
God sent His Son to die on the cross and rise again from the dead so that we could live on earth and then live forever in eternity in Heaven. It is the gift of eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord. That is the real gift of Christmas that we all need.
