Advent: The Shepherds
Pause for a moment and consider the shepherds depicted here. Who are they? What do they bring? What is their posture as they encounter the King of Heaven?
The Adoration of the Shepherds painted by Juan Ribalta circa AD 1620
The shepherds are relatable for us
There is something special about the shepherds in the Christmas account. We resonate with people just going about their ordinary business. But we long for something more. We long for the extraordinary. We want to be carried away (if even for just a moment) to another world. Transcendence!
This is what God did for the shepherds. They beheld with their very eyes earth filled with God’s glory for just a moment. Let’s walk through Doctor Luke’s detailed account of the Shepherds encounter:
And in the same region there were shepherds out in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night.
Luke 2:8
There’s nothing surprising here. Most Jewish farmers were shepherds. What do shepherds do? They watch and protect their sheep. And so here they are, doing their job, sharing the most recent gossip, enjoying simple scraps of bread. Then the extraordinary breaks over their ordinary.
And an angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were filled with great fear.
Luke 2:9
Suddenly the darkness gave way to light. The Lord’s glory filled earth with a little bit of heaven! And the angel. Messengers usually break big news to the most influential people. Kings, presidents, businessmen, and cultural influencers are the likely suspects for breaking news. But our holy God sent heavenly messengers to humble folk.
But the humble audience did not dim the glory of the Lord. It shone in the darkness. Darkness is never any match for light (John 1:5). Even before receiving the message, the glory filled the toughest, bravest shepherds with “great fear.”
“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.”
Luke 2:10-12
Now came the big reveal. The moment that heaven and earth waited for in expectation. The news that would reverberate across all time and space. Joy for all people.
The Savior is born!
And in His grace, God provided a sign. This was a way for them to know for certain that they had found the Promised One. They would find the King of Heaven wrapped in simple rags and lying in a feeding trough.
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!”
Luke 2:13-14
At the giving this news, the multitude of heaven could not contain themselves! The glory of heaven that shone around one angel suddenly expanded into a “multitude of the heavenly host.” Their mouths were filled with praise. Words of glory to God and peace to earth. God’s glory veiled in flesh (John 1:14) in order to bring peace between God and man (1 Timothy 2:5).
When the angels went away from them into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, “Let us go over to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has made known to us.” And they went with haste and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby lying in a manger. And when they saw it, they made known the saying that had been told them concerning this child. And all who heard it wondered at what the shepherds told them.
Luke 2:15-18
There is so much going on here. The angels leave. All seems normal, but it is not. The shepherds have been given a promise. And so they go to see the Savior with their own eyes. As promised, they find baby Jesus in a humble circumstance. They believe the promise and they can’t contain it!
How about you?
Pop culture says to dream big dreams and believe in yourself. This is not the gospel. The good news of the angels to the shepherds (and to you) is not “you are enough”, but that Jesus is enough! May you be like a humble shepherd believing God’s promise of salvation and filled with great joy because God chose to fill earth with His glory.
If you would like to gather under the stars like the shepherds this Christmas, we invite you to join us for Christmas Under the Stars at the Earl May Garden Center greenhouse in Ankeny, IA.