If you were able to meet someone from the Biblical record of the birth of Jesus Christ, who would it be?
I have great admiration for the shepherds. The shepherds were plain folk, who were not given a lot of respect in their society but they had an important job caring for the sheep—including the sheep that were used for sacrifice at the temple.
On this particular night shift an angel appeared to them and they were afraid. In Luke 2:10-14 we read “But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid. I bring you good news that will cause great joy for all the people. Today in the town of David a Saviour has been born to you; he is the Messiah, the Lord. This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.” Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God and saying, “Glory to God in the highest heaven, and on earth peace to those on whom his favor rests.”
They recognized that this was a message from the Lord and they chose to hurry to Bethlehem. They found the child with his mother and father and they could not contain themselves—they spread the word that had been told by the angels concerning this child. The people who heard their testimonies were amazed at what the shepherds said to them.
Then “the shepherds returned, (to their field, the sheep, their duties), glorifying and praising God for the things they had heard and seen, which were just as they had been told.”
The lowly shepherds became the first registered witnesses of God’s peace arriving on earth in the physical form of Jesus Christ. I would like to believe that this was a life changing experience for these people of the pasture. Could they ever be the same after they heard the angel’s announcement and then saw with their own eyes the child who had been announced to them?
They could have peace in their heart knowing that the great truths of God’s promise and presence, previously made known to them by their parents and teachers, were now being fulfilled in the coming of Jesus as a child in Bethlehem.
We have a need for peace. The world around us is filled with many types of conflict and division. Jesus did not say that every experience in life would be calm and peaceful. He does call us to peace in our relationship with Him through salvation. He also offers us a genuine peace in the midst of each day. An inner calmness of spirit and mind in the middle of the storms swirling around us.
Not long before his death on the cross Jesus said to his disciples: “Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.”
In our pursuits of peace today we should consider the example of the shepherds.
Randy Smart has been a pastor in Southern Manitoba since 1979.
