The Shepherd’s Surprise

Shalom!

Welcome fellow wonderer!

If you’re the type that thinks deeply about things, you’re in the right place. I, too am prone to pondering scripture. For instance, I ‘wonder’ how long Anna waited at the temple before Mary & Joseph arrived with the baby Jesus. What was that like for her? I ‘wonder’ how old Simeon was when he learned God would allow him to live long enough to see the Messiah. I ‘wonder’ why God chose to tell shepherds about the birth of His Son? 

I’ve discovered that asking such questions always takes me on a little adventure that leads to new insights or observations that make things more meaningful. This short Christmas devotional is one of them.

Good news of great joy

Advent: (from Latin- adventus, which means “coming”)

What’s happening in our world today is remarkably similar to what was taking place at the birth of Christ…the years 6 to 3 BC. It was a crazy time. Rome controlled a lot of territory; Greece, Spain, northern Africa, the entire region around the Mediterranean Sea including Ancient Palestine. To folks back then, it was the known world. No wonder the Bible says that Caesar’s census decree (for tax purposes) went out to “all the world”. (Luke 2:1)

History records it as the “Pax Romana”, but in reality, it was peace by might. They meant it too; as seen by the crucifixions on the road outside the city gate. This was a period when some of the worst characters were in positions of power. Bands of militant Jews called ‘zealots’ sought to overthrow the Romans and resisted their authority. So, there was a great deal of political tension.

Never had it been so close to God’s appointed time to send His Son into the World. Yet, for the most part, in that first nativity, no one it would seem was even thinking about the Messiah; although they should have been.

All the while, for shepherds watching their flocks in the fields outside of Bethlehem, it’s just another day at the office. That same night, however, their lives will be forever changed. (Luke 2:8-18)

Were the shepherds watching for Jesus?

Like other stories in the Bible, we’ve heard the account of the shepherds over and over and over, such that it begins to lose it’s impact. We’ve become too familiar with it. I hear from so many people that want to recapture some of the wonder and excitement surrounding the Christmas story. One way to do that is by taking the time to reflect and ponder. It helps to ignite our imaginations so that our hearts might share in some of what those shepherds experienced.

There had been a long period of silence from heaven. For hundreds of years, there was no prophet…no ‘voice’ for God in Israel. Even so, in each generation, there were those longing for the promised Messiah. They kept the prophecies alive as they watched and waited. Think about Anna and Simeon. Both were devout people who led godly lives. In fact, everyone associated with the Christmas story has these characteristics in common. Mary, Joseph, Elizabeth and Zechariah.

And although shepherds in that day didn’t have much of a reputation, I think it’s a good bet that this group of shepherds were likewise reverent people. God always has a remnant of followers who are in tune with His Spirit.

That didn’t mean they were expecting anything out of the ordinary. But don’t you think there was a yearning in their hearts? After all, if we talk about events in our world, most certainly so did they. You’d have to do something to stay awake and alert. So what are those conversations they are having among themselves during those long, lonely nights in the fields?

For sure, they grumbled about Rome and the social upheaval of the day, just like we do. Under those circumstances, it’s no stretch to suppose they also discussed the prophecies of old and hoped the time of the Promised One was near. Use your imagination and listen in:

Shepherd 1: “Rome this and Rome that! They tax everything; I wish Masiah (מָשִׁיחַ) would come!” Shepherd 2: “Yeah, then he’d kick Rome out of Jerusalem, forever!” Shepherd 3: “Guys, remember what the Prophets said; what if this is all a sign? Maybe it will be soon!” Shepherd 2: “How soon, do ya think?”

And then….

Hark the herald angels sing

An angel of the Lord appeared to them and the glory of the Lord shone round them and they were terrified. (Luke 2: 9-11) And the angle said to them: “Don’t be afraid; behold, I bring you good news of great joy which will come to all the people; for to you is born this day in the city of David, a Savior who is Christ the Lord.” Doesn’t that sound just like Isaiah 9:6? “For to us a child is born, to us a son is given.”

Although they were startled to death by the angelic hosts, the message was… “Hey, the event you’ve been waiting for has arrived!” 

There had to be some deep yearning in their hearts such that they leaped with joy upon hearing the news. “Let’s go see!” And immediately, they left their flocks–the Bible says they went with haste (Luke 2:16)–, and walked (or even ran) the mile or so into Bethlehem. There, they found Mary and Joseph and the newborn Savior wrapped in swaddling cloths laying in a manger, just as the angel had said.

Peace on earth

The baby in the manger is the same One who is coming again to call His faithful to heaven. “In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed.” (1 Cor 15:52)

This Christmas, we celebrate the first advent of Christ while standing on the cusp of His second coming. Never have we been as close to the next stage of His marvelous plan. We can put ourselves in the shoes of Anna & Simeon. The shepherds were watching, too. And in a distant Eastern land, a group of magi are also watching for Jesus.

I think I know how they felt…well, a little bit anyway.

Companion devotionals

Watching for Jesus: Anna’s Story

The Faith That Waits: Simeon’s Story