A Shepherd’s Heart

Who were these shepherds?

Shepherds were often younger family members. They were considered to be a lower class.

In fact, the rabbis considered them to be religious outcasts and their testimony was not admissible in court.

This was because they lived with the sheep and could not keep all the rules and regulations of the rabbis.

Of Course, in reality, its not about keeping the rules and regulations of man, but about faith in Christ!

The revelation of Christ to these shepherds would have challenged the values of many religious people, who despised shepherds.

They were despised because their work kept them from participation in the religious activities of their communities.

I think it's safe to say that many Christians often look down on others because they don't "do" enough.

Needless to say, even though they performed an essential and valuable service, they were not very highly thought of.

So why were the shepherds the first to hear?

Perhaps because shepherds would understand.

The Savior, now lying in that manger, was to be the Lamb of God. And as the Lamb, He was destined to die for the sins of the world, to die for these very shepherds as their Savior.

So perhaps shepherds, who cared for the young lambs, who sat through cold dark nights in the fields to guard and protect their flocks, might understand the shepherd’s heart of God the Father.

They might understand what it meant for Him to give His one Lamb for all.

Bethlehem was nearby Jerusalem, and many of the sheep used in the temple sacrifices came from there.

These shepherds may have been caring for the very lambs which were destined for sacrifice during the time of Passover.

There may even be some symbolic connection with David having been a shepherd in this same area.

Thus, the Messiah’s birth was announced first to Jewish outcasts!

Jesus is our shepherd, and these outcasts would understand exactly what that meant.

The shepherd's duties would have included the following:

In the morning he led his flock from the fold, which he did by going out before them and calling them.

Jesus goes out before us, calls us and leads us

John 10: 4

John 10:4 NKJV

And when he brings out his own sheep, he goes before them; and the sheep follow him, for they know his voice.

Arriving at the pasturage, he watched the flock, and, should any sheep stray, he had to search for it until he found it.

Jesus, today, still seeks out the lost

Luke 15:4

Luke 15:4 NKJV

“What man of you, having a hundred sheep, if he loses one of them, does not leave the ninety-nine in the wilderness, and go after the one which is lost until he finds it?

He supplied them with water, either at a running stream or at troughs attached to wells.

Jesus gives us living water

John 4:10

John 4:10 NKJV

Jesus answered and said to her, “If you knew the gift of God, and who it is who says to you, ‘Give Me a drink,’ you would have asked Him, and He would have given you living water.”

At evening he brought them back to the fold and checked to see that none was missing by passing them "under the rod" as they entered the door of the enclosure, checking each sheep as it passed, by a motion of the hand.

Jesus is the door, and He knows each of His sheep.

John 10:9

John 10:9 NKJV

I am the door. If anyone enters by Me, he will be saved, and will go in and out and find pasture.

John 10:14

John 10:14 NKJV

I am the good shepherd; and I know My sheep, and am known by My own.

Finally, he watched the entrance of the fold throughout the night, acting as gatekeeper.

Jesus is our gatekeeper

John 10:3

John 10:3 NKJV

To him the doorkeeper opens, and the sheep hear his voice; and he calls his own sheep by name and leads them out.

Psalm 23 was written by a shepherd (David) and it gives us insight into what a shepherd provides.

*expound, as lead, on this Psalm*

The shepherds would truly understand a shepherd, and the Lord Jesus Christ is our Shepherd.

Can you say that of Christ?

For the Lord to truly be your shepherd, you have to trust Him with all of your needs, Just as the sheep are totally dependent on their shepherd.

Without the shepherd, the sheep are helpless, defenseless animals.

Do you place that kind of trust in Christ? Is He your shepherd?

He was born to us, a gift from God. As a baby in a lowly manger on that first Christmas morning, the Messiah, a king, our Lord, our shepherd, our Savior was born.

The shepherds in the field would have understood His role better than anyone else.

They knew what it meant to give everything for your sheep.

They understood how a sheep is totally dependent on the shepherd.

They understood what it meant to be helpless and hopeless without a shepherd.

They understood what it meant to follow they shepherd, and what it meant to go astray.

They knew the love that would seek out a single sheep who’s gone astray.

They understood a shepherd’s heart.

We were given a shepherd, so that we don’t have to wander aimlessly into death and destruction.

Jesus is our shepherd, and He is the door to the Father.

We must only place our faith in Him, trusting our lives to His care.

That first Christmas morning gave the greatest gift of all, don’t leave it on a shelf.