Echoes of CHRISTmas: shepherds

For the next few days up until CHRISTmas I'm going to be posting a series of posts on CHRISTmas from the different perspectives of the people involved. The first one being the shepherds. I'll hopefully get 4-5 more posts after this one by CHRISTmas. 

Luke 2:8

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

You wouldn't think it just by looking at it but this passage completely changed my view of Jesus's birth. The bible is full of mysteries, even that which may not look like much could completely change your life, so I encourage all of you not to take things at face value, especially not the bible. I found out the other day that the area outside of Jerusalem all the way till 6 miles out, which is where Bethlehem was, in a circle was used as pasture for the temple sheep. The sheep that were used for sacrifices. So these shepherds were not just guarding any old sheep they were guarding the sheep that the priests used for sacrifices. The sheep that the old covenant needed to make people clean. The sheep that were used as an atonement for sins. So when God said to these shepherds to go and see Jesus, he was telling them not only to leave sheep, but to leave the old covenant behind. To put aside the old and to come behold the new. To abandon the temporary covering for sin and to revel in the presence of the permanent covering for sin. Jesus Christ is the one and only lamb of God, and the shepherds knew this, and so they left all their other sheep to come behold The Lamb Of God. 

Luke 2:9-11

And, lo, the angel of the Lord came upon them, and the glory of the Lord shone round about them: and they were sore afraid. And the angel said unto them, Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, which is Christ the Lord.

Why were these shepherds afraid? Why were they cowering before the glory of the Lord? Because they were unclean. In this legalistic Jewish society the shepherds were among the lowest of the low, down there with tax collectors, and sinners. So these Jews were frightened because they knew the consequences of being unclean. They were raised in a society were being unclean was one of the worst crimes. They considered themselves the lowest of the low, unclean and forsaken by God. Day by day they guarded the sheep which made others clean and yet they themselves were labeled unclean. Then all of a sudden after 400 years an angel appears in front of them lighting up the darkness with the blinding brilliance of the glory of God. They were afraid, because they know that God cannot be in the presence of sinners. They had read in the Old Testament about mount Sinai and how anyone who touched the mountain died. Can you imagine living your life hearing stories about this God who is worthy to be feared, then one night when you are out in the cold of the night with sheep all around you out of nowhere an angel from the God, that you have been taught to fear, appears out of nowhere and the whole of the countryside is filled with the brilliance of this God. But what does the Angel say? Fear not. Those two simple words fill me with joy. Fear not. We are creatures of sin just like these shepherds were and we as sons and daughters of God do not need to fear our creator. Imagine the relief in the hearts of these shepherds when they heard that. Then the Angel tells them that the Christ the messiah is born, the messiah who they had been waiting for for thousands of years. Y'all we take this too lightly this was not just some birth, these people had been waiting for this baby for thousands, and thousands of years. Looking, watching, waiting for this deliverer to come and set them free, free from the sin which had compassed them round about like a wall between them and their God. These people had probably given up hope. Then when hope seemed lost in a sea of laws and years of waiting, there appears in the sky an angel who proclaims to these lowly shepherds, that their messiah is born. And what did they do next? 

Luke 2:15

And it came to pass, as the angels were gone away from them into heaven, the shepherds said one to another, Let us now go even unto Bethlehem, and see this thing which is come to pass, which the Lord hath made known unto us.

They left. They left their flocks, the flocks that were used to cleanse sins and they went to see the lamb, that would take away the sin of the world. Think about the joy in the hearts of these shepherds! Imagine it! The pure joy that shot through them, that this angel holy and mighty, filled with the glory of God so much so that the glory of God shown about them, told them, lowly shepherds who were considered the lowest of the low in the land, not to fear. And not only that but that the Christ was born the Christ, the son of God. Then they left their flocks and everything behind to behold this child. Imagine the years of sorrow etched on the hearts of these poor men. These poor men who had been labeled unclean by a society who had forgotten what love was. Imagine how many years they lived knowing that they could never be close to God, because they were considered unclean. These were outcasts ladies and gentlemen, and they believed themselves to be unworthy of God. Then imagine the joy that they felt at beholding that precious baby, that baby who would go on to change the world and to take away their sins. I can imagine them sitting their gazing at and worshipping no this little child, I can imagine all those years of sorrow, living in the shadow of those who were "cleaner" than them, all fading away as they beheld the lords salvation in a simple manger bed. How glorious! How do you treat the outcast? How do you treat the unclean? I believe in our modern culture, much like the Jews, we have forgotten what love looks like. We have forgotten how the lord treated the outcasts. Read again through the CHRISTmas story you will see how God treated the outcast. He loved them. In fact the outcasts were the first people he told about his son. So this CHRISTmas season I urge you too love the outcast, to remember those shepherds, and to remember the Angel that appeared to them. But most of all remember that little baby, that little baby who would grow up to die on a cross for you, and you, and you, and you, and me. 

Hear the echoes of those shepherds on that countryside, hear them calling you too love the outcasts. 

Luke 2:16

And they came with haste, and found Mary, and Joseph, and the babe lying in a manger.