The Shepherds, an Angel and a Message

Luke 2:8 ESV

And in the same region there were shepherds out in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night.

SHEPHERDS

Sheep and lambs destined for temple sacrifices were kept out in the open.

These animals were watched by shepherds.

The job of the shepherds was to make sure that the sheep were properly fed and watered, to ensure that none of them strayed away, and to protect them from predatory animals such as wolves.

In short, the shepherds ensured the health and safety of the sheep.

Shepherds are referred to fairly frequently in the Old Testament.

King David used to be a shepherd.

2 Samuel 7:8 (ESV)

Now, therefore, thus you shall say to my servant David, ‘Thus says the Lord of hosts, I took you from the pasture, from following the sheep, that you should be prince over my people Israel.

God himself is referred to as a shepherd.

Genesis 48:15 (ESV)

And he blessed Joseph and said, “The God before whom my fathers Abraham and Isaac walked, the God who has been my shepherd all my life long to this day,

Also in probably the most popular and oft quoted Psalm in history -- Psalm 23 -- God’s care for his people is compared to the way a shepherd cares for his sheep:

Psalm 23:1–3 (ESV)

The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want.

He makes me lie down in green pastures.

He leads me beside still waters.

He restores my soul.

He leads me in paths of righteousness

for his name’s sake.

But despite the high regard God seems to show for them in his word, at the time Jesus was born, shepherds were not seen in such a positive light.

In fact, they were looked down upon.

Because of the work they did, shepherds tended to move around a lot.

In addition to that, they were seen as ceremonially unclean.

Shepherds were also commonly assumed to be unreliable when it came to giving trustworthy testimony in legal matters.

Shepherds may not have been at the very bottom of the ladder of prestige, but they certainly were close.

And on this particular night, we have a group of these unclean, unreliable misfits, out in a field near the town of Bethlehem, keeping watch over their flock of sheep.

THE SHEPHERDS

THE ANGEL

THE MESSAGE

THE ANGEL