A Message From the Shepherd

A Message From the Shepherd

Pretend for the next few minutes you are hearing an eyewitness account of what transpired in Bethlehem some 2,000 years ago, and the man standing before you is a shepherd. We need to see scripture as realistic as possible. I want to share this in the first person. So let us begin.

Prayer

I remember being a young boy. It was the first time I had been allowed to go with my father, my older brothers, and my uncle to watch the sheep on that Bethlehem hillside. I was so excited; I am 6 years old spending time with my dad. It was a perfect night. It was not too cold. It did seem the stars were brighter than usual. That is what my older brother said; he had done this before. We were sitting around a fire, and my father talked about some of the prophet Isaiah’s words telling about a Messiah who would come and change our world. As we sat looking at the sky and looking down toward Bethlehem, one of my uncles reminded us the prophet Micah said he would be born in Bethlehem. For a small boy looking at the city, I could not help but wonder and dream about how exciting it would be for that to happen tonight. I had just started to fall asleep when the wind suddenly started to pick up, and the stars seemed to get brighter then an angel appeared, let me tell you we were scared. Then in a soothing voice, the angel said these words, “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. And this will be a sign for you: you will find a baby wrapped in swaddling cloths and lying in a manger.” We were scared and did not know what to say. And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying,” “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace among those with whom he is pleased!”

We looked at each other, my dad, my brother, and my uncle. We all wondered what we should do. Being just a curious child, I said, “Papa, we should go. I want to see”. We got up and hurried into town. It did not take long to find the place. I think the angel led us there. It was not what any of us expected. He was not in the house. We went down past the house to a stable, which is where the baby was lying in with the hay. The new mom and dad are there loving on each other and their baby. The mom had him all bundled uptight and covered up real good to keep him warm. My dad had an extra blanket with him, and he asked if he could cover the baby; his mom said yes.

Being a little guy, I was able to sneak through between the adults and saw he had a hand sticking out from under the blanket. I reached over and started to play with him. He took hold of my finger and squeezed. I think he smiled. My big brother said babies do not smile. I think he smiled.

It was not too long after that we heard the family moved into a house while his dad did some carpenter work. We visited with them a few times. My mother even brought some clothes for the young boy. On one of those visits, I finally asked what his name was, and I was told he was called Jesus. Shortly after that, some really important men came to visit, they brought him some special gifts. The way everyone acted, they must have been pretty important. After that, my mom and dad would not let me go to town for a while. We had heard King Herod had ordered young boys were to be put to death. King Herod was afraid of this little boy. About this time, we heard this young family slipped out in the middle of the night and went to Egypt. Eventually, Herod died, good, I thought. Anyone who kills babies should not be around. I had not heard anything more from this family for several years until one time I was in Jerusalem going to the Temple. I think I was maybe 18, we were traveling to supply some lambs for the sacrifice at the Temple, we had finished our business, and I was wandering around the Temple, when I heard a familiar voice it was Jesus’ mother, Jesus was with them. She reminded Jesus who I was; he had not seen me since he was two or three. Later the next day, as I walked around through the Temple, I saw Jesus in with the Temple’s elders. He was sitting there talking to them and asking them questions. I thought it was strange that he had not left with his parents. I found out later they had to come back and get him.

I had seen him a few times over the years; our families got to be pretty close. Then I was in my thirties, and I went to a place on the Jordan river and heard this wild-looking guy named John talking about one who was coming after him and here is what he said about him, “I baptize you with water for repentance, but he who is coming after me is mightier than I, whose sandals I am not worthy to carry. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire.”

Matthew 3:11 ESV

“As it is written in the book of the words of Isaiah the prophet, “The voice of one crying in the wilderness: ‘Prepare the way of the Lord, make his paths straight. Every valley shall be filled, and every mountain and hill shall be made low, and the crooked shall become straight, and the rough places shall become level ways, and all flesh shall see the salvation of God.’” Luke 3:4-6 ESV I did not understand that at the time.

Then I saw him, my friend Jesus, it had been a few years, but I knew him right away he was coming to be baptized by John. Then John said it, Jesus was the Messiah. He was the one he had been preparing the way for. It was my friend Jesus. He was the One, the Messiah. After Jesus had been baptized, I heard a voice from heaven telling us that Jesus was his beloved son, and a dove landed on his shoulder.

A couple of months later, I had been invited to the wedding of a family friend. I was not surprised to see Jesus and his mother there. I witnessed a miracle. Jesus turned ordinary water into the most magnificent wine anyone had ever tasted. I could not help but think if Jesus could do this, what could he do to my life.

I began to follow him around; I heard him teach some pretty amazing things about living. I heard him teach on the side of a mountain. I found out many things were matters of the heart, and I started to look at my own life more than I had before, like starring at a woman was equal to committing adultery. Hatred was the same as murder. I learned that having his word in my heart was more important than just reading it. I saw him raise the dead and heal the sick. Then the most powerful lesson was that following him was the key to getting to the Father God.

We were traveling one day and came to a crossroad; as we started to head toward Jerusalem, he said, let’s go this way and headed toward Samaria. We always avoided Samaria. He sat down by a well and sent the others on ahead to get some food. I decided to stay behind. While we were sitting there, a woman came up, and he started to tell her all about her life. He tells her that a time is coming when we worship God in our heart and not in a special place. Before, I thought the place you worshipped God was in the Temple or Synagogue. Jesus said we would worship in the heart.

He told us he was going to go to Jerusalem, and there He was going to die, but it was not over because he was going to come back. His very inner circle of friends tried to talk him out of going because we needed him to lead us against the oppressors. He just looked at us and smiled. I turned and walked away; I had to think a little. The next thing I knew, I heard Jesus had been arrested. I was disappointed, I thought he would lead a rebellion, but he was being forced to take that death walk to Golgotha.

I stood along the road. I watched Jesus stumble down the road. If I did not know Him, I would not have recognized him. He was beaten and bloody. Along the way, he fell as I reached out to help him up, and just before the soldier grabbed him, he took my finger and squeezed, looked at me, and through the swollen eyes and split lip, smiled for a brief moment. My friend Jesus.

My encounter with Jesus did not end there. I followed to that awful place where I watched the soldiers nail him to the cross. The soldiers lifted the cross and dropped it into the hole, and it slammed down. I thought Jesus was going to come off the cross, but I heard Him scream in agony. He screamed, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” That night I watched his friends take him from the cross and place him in a borrowed tomb. I did see the empty tomb, and yes, I did see him rise to heaven. I heard Peter on the day the church started. Peter was calling for people to repent and to be baptized for the forgiveness of sins.

I do not know what is in store for me, but I will serve Jesus to the end.