Imagine a long awaited king has just been born. One that was prophesied off long ago and the whole nation has been waiting for hundreds of year for this king of whom it has been prophesied that He would bring deliverance to His people. How do you think the announcement of this new born king would be made? What kind of people do you think would get an invitation to see this new born king?
I am sure just like me, you may think that the most respected people in the society would get the invitation to be part of this amazing once in a lifetime occasion, right?
Luke 2:8-12 AMP
8 In the same region there were shepherds staying out in the fields, keeping watch over their flock by night. 9 And an angel of the Lord suddenly stood before them, and the glory of the Lord flashed and shone around them, and they were terribly frightened. 10 But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid; for behold, I bring you good news of great joy which will be for [f]all the people. 11 For this day in the city of David there has been born for you a Savior, who is Christ the Lord (the Messiah).12 And this will be a sign for you [by which you will recognize Him]: you will find a Baby wrapped in [swaddling] cloths and lying in a manger.”
For us today it does not seem such a big deal that the angels appeared to the shepherds and not any other group of people. To understand the significance of this we have to understand the place of a shepherd in the society at that time. Shepherds belonged to the unschooled, poor uncultured group of people. They were rough and looked upon as religious outcasts, considered unclean. They were the kind of people you would not want to be associated with yet God in all His wisdom sent the angels to make the announcement to them that a savior had been born.
God chose to associate the birth of Christ with the lowest of the low showing us that Christ had come for all regardless of their status in society. Can you imagine how things would have turned out and the perception that would have been created if the angels had appeared to the king, prince and those affluent in society? It would have been said that Jesus is only for the affluent in society.
God chose to associate with the lowly in society and we see the same theme throughout the life and ministry of Jesus.
This is so relevant for us today because we still put people in classes based on what they possess and this is even evident in the house of God. We think some people are too far below and we should not associate with them. I wonder, who are the “shepherds” in my circles and how do I interact with them?
