THE SHEPHERDS
Matthew tells of wise men coming to the Christ child some time after His birth, perhaps a few months after, but how long we don’t really know. Luke relates the story of the shepherds coming to Christ’s birthplace shortly after His birth. There is no indication of these people, the shepherds, seeing a star or any other such sign but of them just quietly tending their sheep. Can you picture it, a night just like any one of hundreds of others, that they must have spent tending to their flocks and just passing the time as best they could. They were doing their routine chores and surviving.
Shepherds were among the poorest in Judea and probably for the most part uneducated. Also, they were in the lowest echelon of Judean society. Nothing significant happened to shepherds. So, when out of the clear sky, beings suddenly appeared, it would not be surprising that the shepherds would be fearful. Thus, the first thing the angel spoke was “Do not be afraid” and then “…I bring you good tidings of great joy…For there is born to you this day in the city of David a Saviour, who is Christ the Lord. And this will be the sign to you: You will find a Babe wrapped in swaddling cloths, lying in a manger.” (Luke 2:10-12)
To the lowest of the low in Judea and with no warning came the message of Christ’s birth. Not to the rich or powerful or the prestigious was the announcement of the fulfillment of prophecy made. And it wasn’t made to the world as a whole but to “you good tidings” and “a sign unto you” and “you shall find”; personal messages to the shepherds themselves. And so the shepherds went, found, believed, and returned spreading the good news of what they had seen.
Thus was the birth of Christ. He came unexpectedly and without warning even though His arrival had been predicted hundreds of years previously. So also may be His next coming. 1 Thessalonians 5:2 says:” For you yourselves know perfectly that the day of the Lord so comes as a thief in the night.” While 1 Thessalonians 5:6 states: “Therefore let us not sleep, as others do but let us watch and be sober.”
The story of the shepherds tells us that events can happen quickly and without warning, but we must always be ready for that unexpected event. And also to believe when we hear from God. It may not be from a choir of angels but perhaps only a small quiet voice. Remember, the Bible reminds us that the Lord was not in the wind, or an earthquake, or a fire but in “…a still small voice”(1Kings 19:12).
What would the story have been like if the shepherds had not paid attention to the angels, or if they had not believed God? What if they had not gone to the manger or had not returned spreading the good news? Their lives probably would have gone unchanged and they would have missed out on the greatest event in history. What will our story be like if we don’t “keep watch and be sober” (1Thessalonians 5:6)? If we don’t expect the unexpected, and don’t believe God when He speaks even in a small voice?
If that were the case, our story may end differently than we wish. So this Christmas when we remember Christ’s first coming, remember that He promised to come again in an equally unexpected but different way, and that we should always be ready. It would be a great misfortune to miss the moment and regret it for eternity.
Just something to think about.
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