Luke 2: The Shepherds

LUKE 2:1 – 20: THE SHEPHERDS

Luke anchors the birth of Jesus in its historical (verses 1 & 2) and geographical (verses 3 – 5) setting. There is some debate among scholars about which census Luke is talking about, and exactly when the date was. The most significant aspect of Luke’s report, from a biblical perspective, is that the census required people to register in their ancestral town. This meant that Joseph and Mary had to go to Bethlehem, the town of his ancestor David.

God, in his sovereign power and authority, worked in and through the decisions of men who did not even acknowledge him, to ensure the fulfilment of his plan of salvation promised right through the Old Testament. In God’s eternal plan for salvation, the Saviour would be born in Bethlehem, the town of David. We have already seen the David connection in Luke 1 – in Gabriel’s announcement to Mary, and in Zechariah’s song of praise.

What does the Old Testament tell us about Bethlehem?
Ruth 2:4

Ruth 4:11 – 22

Micah 5:2 (see also Matthew 2:16 – 18)

A. ON JUST AN ORDINARY NIGHT...

Read Luke 2:8 – 20. Imagining you are one of the shepherds, answer these questions:
What time of day was it, and what were you doing?

Why were you suddenly terrified?

Why did it seem foolish to you that the angel said ‘Do not be afraid’?

What reason did the angel give to back up his impossible ‘Do not be afraid’?

What two things did he say in verse 11 that do not seem to fit together?

What practical proof did he give by which you could test the truth of his words?

What part of the song sung by the angelic choir impacted you most?

This first human encounter with Jesus occurred on the day of his birth. It was a silent encounter: the breathless shepherds simply stood, and looked, and thought. When the angel and the choir and the radiant glory of God had left, they had decided to go into Bethlehem and check out what the Lord had told them.

They had cowered in horrific fear back there on the hillside among their sheep, fearful of the heavenly messenger, fearful of the glory of God that blazed brilliantly all around them. Fearful that they might die, for no sinner can survive in the awesome presence of the God who is holy.

But the angel had said 'Fear not!' Amazing words, unbelievable words, until he added 'I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. Today in the town of David a Saviour has been born to you; he is Christ the Lord.'

Here in this baby, this Christ, this Anointed One, is the ultimate answer to the deepest of our human fears. Because of this child, comes liberation from that dread of death and judgement that none of our personal efforts can permanently silence.

Fear not, good news, great joy for all people: because the Saviour, long promised, long expected, has now come.

So the Shepherds ran to Bethlehem, and with the words of the angel ringing in their hearts, they stood and looked and wondered. And their thoughts were deep and powerful, for what they saw there was just as the angel had told them it would be: a new-born baby lying in a cow's feed box.

From deep in their hearts a well of gratitude and joy sprang up, overflowing. Too great to be contained within them, so great that they had to let everybody know what they now knew: that God's salvation, God's deep peace, had now come. In this human baby. In this divine Saviour. In this Lord.

B. THE THEOLOGY WOVEN INTO THIS STORY

Luke’s report about the shepherds is far more than a nice Christmas story. It is grounded deep in biblical theology.

B.1 Our alienation from God
Here in this story we encounter, we see, we feel, the rightful fear of human sinners in the presence of the holy God against whom we have sinned. These shepherds, being Jewish men, knew their Old Testament. They knew that whenever there is radiant brilliance God is present, and whenever God is present, humans are afraid.

It happened at Mt Sinai to the newly liberated Hebrews (Exodus 19 & 20).
It happened to Isaiah (Isaiah 6:1 – 5).
It happened to Ezekiel (Ezekiel 1:25 – 28).

And, later, in the New Testament -

It happened to John (Revelation 1:12 – 18).
And to Saul (Acts 9:1 – 5).
It also hit the disciples, when they began to realise that their rabbi, Jesus, might actually be God – Luke 5:8; 8:25.

When Moses asked to see God’s glory, God’s reply was ‘you cannot see my face, for no one may see me and live’ (Exodus 33:20). When God gave Moses instructions for building the Tabernacle, those instructions included a thick curtain, embroidered with cherubim, barring human access to the Most Holy Place (Exodus26:31 – 33). Our alienation from God, and our condemnation in the presence of God are real and are intense.

The shepherds were rightly terrified at the appearance of the angel, and of ‘the glory of the Lord’ that shone around them. They knew they were in the presence of God. The glory of his presence was both undeniable and inescapable.

B.2 The reason for the angel’s ‘Do not be afraid.’
So the first thing the angel said to them was ‘Do not be afraid.’ What seemed impossible to them – to not be afraid in the presence of God – was made possible by the baby who had just been born. Because of him there is great joy, because of him there is peace. Joy and peace in the presence of God, instead of fear and dread. Note that the angel does not say ‘a baby has been born’, which, although true, does not communicate the truth about him:

He is born in David’s town.
He is ‘a Saviour’.
He is the Christ – the Messiah.
He is the Lord.

Embedded in the angel’s description of the baby is the mysterious truth of the incarnation – that this human baby is God. The only part of the angel’s description that mentions the humanness of Jesus is that he ‘has been born’ in the town of David. The birth of a baby is a very human thing. The ‘town of David’ links this baby with David, his human ancestor, as Romans 1:3 points out.

But this human baby is also, as Gabriel told Mary ‘the Son of God’, and as Isaiah foretold, ‘Immanuel – God with us’ (Isaiah 7:14), and ‘the Mighty God’ (Isaiah 9:6). This baby is God in human flesh:

He is ‘a Saviour’. The Old Testament strongly affirms that God is the Saviour, in truth, the only Saviour – Isaiah 43:3, 11 – 13; 45:14 – 18, 21, 22.

He is ‘Christ’, that is, the Messiah. Repeatedly, the Gospels identify the ‘Christ’ and ‘the Son of God’ – see Matthew 16:16; 26:63; Mark 1:1; 12:35; 14:61; Luke 4:41; John 11:27; 20:31.

He is ‘the Lord’ – that is, he is God.

The presence of God that the shepherds feared in the radiance that shone around them, is even more present, more close, here in this baby. The very thought that identifies the two, that unites the two – the human and the divine, man and God – is a fearful thing. It is an impossible thing, a totally confusing thing; and as the gospel writers later report, such a concept – that this human being is God – was considered a blasphemous thing.

Yet they stand and gaze upon him ...and they do not die. They are in the presence of God ...and they still live.

Here, speaking to the shepherds, the angel, and the choir, do not say anything about how the peace and the joy would be accomplished - nothing is said here about his sin-bearing death. Everything is about him. And that was enough for the shepherds.

B.3 The salvation mentioned, but not explained
The angel’s message, ‘Do not be afraid’ speaks beyond the shepherd’s immediate fear in the presence of God to that deep alienation from God that characterizes the human race. The angel is saying to each of us: Do not be afraid. And the alternative that he and the choir promise – peace and joy – is not just for the shepherds, but all ‘on earth’ who are the recipients of God’s grace. But nothing is said about how the peace and great joy are accomplished. Nothing is said about what must happen, what this child must do, for that peace and joy to be possible.

Here we understand that, because of this child and what he will do – fear is removed, there is great joy, and there is peace.

Check these verses for New Testament affirmation of this:
Romans 5:1, 2, 11

Colossians 1:19 – 21

Hebrews 2:14, 15

1Peter 1:8, 9

1John 4:16 – 18