“That night there were shepherds staying in the fields nearby, guarding their flocks of sheep. Suddenly, an angel of the Lord appeared among them, and the radiance of the Lord’s glory surrounded them. They were terrified, but the angel reassured them. “Don’t be afraid!” he said. “I bring you good news that will bring great joy to all people. The Savior—yes, the Messiah, the Lord—has been born today in Bethlehem, the city of David! And you will recognize him by this sign: You will find a baby wrapped snugly in strips of cloth, lying in a manger.” Luke 2:8-12 NLT
I guess some kinds of REALLY good news doesn’t require a command or an invitation. This announcement, proclamation, FYI was so huge, so earth-shattering that the angels didn’t say, “GO.” They didn’t make the shepherds do anything. Yeah, there’s some assumption the sheep-guys would want to go, “you will recognize, you will find,” but still no “go thou.”
Some news is just like that. We send invites out to the big occasions in our lives, “You’re invited…” birthdays, bris, birth announcements, showers and weddings, because they are HUGE celebration moments in our life and we want family (for sure) and close friends to be there to celebrate. I guess the arrival of angelic beings bursting from the sky could be considered and shepherds invitation?
But, look who received the biggest announcement known to humankind. SHEEPBOYS (I figured if cow herders can be called cow-boys, the sheep guys should get equal title). Not family, not close friends of Mary and Joseph. Ah, but they were very close friends of God! And these guys weren’t some kind of young, knuckleheads, poor and forgotten out on the prairie.
They were the upper-classmates of the priestly training school. And these sheep and lambs were not just some run-of-the-range sheep – these were sacrificial sheep, the top-quality of the herd. These guys were special class, highly trained in veterinary skills to birth new lambs, protect from predators and heal their injuries. These lambs weren’t allowed to have ANY blemishes, ZERO broken bones and be perfect.
Get rid of the old “poor, teens” out their in the field picture we’ve been given in the Christmas stories.
In fact, think of it this way. This announcement, this experience was GIVEN to the future group of priests, possibly even “high-priest” material in twenty years or so, just about the time these young men would later hear of a messiah that would die on a cross and fulfill his destiny EXACTLY like those highly specialized sheep in their care that amazing night.
These sheepboys didn’t need a command, the news was worth going and seeing for themselves. After the Angels left, they took off for Bethlehem and found Jesus!
PRAYER:
Dad,
I am thrilled to know that you, in your clever love, reached out to the religious leaders long before they became powerful, wealthy or stuffy-snobby smart.
You got some of their attention as a group of sheepboys while they were in priest-school. Was Nicodemus one of them? What ever happened to them as they got older and began serving in the temple. Did they remember that night? Of course they did!
And you knew exactly who you wanted to hear the news and be among the first to see the son of God – future religious leaders.
Maybe King David was watching the whole scene play out from heaven and said to you, “nice touch God!” I agree, a very nice touch indeed.