The Shepherd's Message

When the angels visited the shepherds on the hillside that night, they made sure those men would know that they had the right child! Afterall, I'm sure Jesus was not the only baby born that night! He started with a description of where to find him - in the town of Bethlehem - the city of David! They were pointing to his lineage as proof that this child was the one foretold in the prophecies of old!!

Significant is the fact that they were the first to be told of the child's birth!! They alone received the incredible visit from the angels!! They were the only ones who knew, that night, that what all of Israel had been longing for, had come to pass!

And the sign they were instructed to look for - (Luke 2:12 NIV) "This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger." This too is significant to a shepherd of those days!! The flocks that were their livelihood, also produced lambs, the most perfect of which would be brought to the temple as the sacrificial Passover lambs. For years they had observed this holy ritual that God had given them, designed to remind them of the cost of deliverance!

The carers and protectors of the lambs were the ones the angels sent to find him! The one who was to be the fulfilment of what Passover stood for!! The lamb who would give his life for mankind! That we might live!!! So it was shepherds who got to hear and see - and run through the city sharing the good news!!! That precious lamb had been born!