Havasu Christian Church
December 17, 2023
“Faces around the Manger”
“The Shepherds ”
Luke 2:8–20 In the same region there were some shepherds staying out in the fields and keeping watch over their flock by night.
9 And an angel of the Lord suddenly stood before them, and the glory of the Lord 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 all the people;
11 for today in the city of David there has been born for you a Savior, who is Christ the Lord.
12 “This will be a sign for you: you will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.”
13 And suddenly there appeared with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying,
14 “Glory to God in the highest,
And on earth peace among men with whom He is pleased.”
15 When the angels had gone away from them into heaven, the shepherds began saying to one another, “Let us go straight to Bethlehem then, and see this thing that has happened which the Lord has made known to us.”
16 So they came in a hurry and found their way to Mary and Joseph, and the baby as He lay in the manger.
17 When they had seen this, they made known the statement which had been told them about this Child.
18 And all who heard it wondered at the things which were told them by the shepherds.
19 But Mary treasured all these things, pondering them in her heart.
20 The shepherds went back, glorifying and praising God for all that they had heard and seen, just as had been told them.
INTRO: Today, as we look at the “faces around the Manger,” we see the Shepherds. We’ve always heard about them, so we are used to thinking about them being there. But when you really think about it, these seem to be unlikely characters in this scene. You have Mary, Joseph, a baby…. And a bunch of guys who take care of livestock?? Especially sheep? WHY them?? What can we learn from them?
- The Shepherds and the Angels….
- Did you notice that angels are involved with everyone we’ve talked about so far who were at the manger?
- Gabriel spoke to Mary.
- An “Angel of the Lord” appears to Joseph in a dream…
- Now we have Shepherds, getting a “special invitation” from a group of angels.
- Did you also notice that we do not see angels at the stable?
- Perhaps they were there, unseen, but we have no record of it.
- Why inviting Shepherds were a bad idea….
- In the old western movies… Sheep herders and cattlemen just didn’t get along….
- Shepherds didn’t smell very good!
- Their “social standing” was quite low!
- They were above tax collectors, but there probably weren’t too many other professions below them.
- They were out in the fields….
- They already had a job they were doing.
- It was late!
- They would have to leave their sheep and head to town.
- This might be inconvenient.
- It might even cost them time and money.
- What if a sheep goes missing?
- There are LOTS of reasons NOT to invite a bunch of Shepherds.
- Why was inviting shepherds a good idea?
- They are tough.
- If God wanted bodyguards for Jesus, Mary & Joseph, these guys were a good choice!
- These guys walked a lot, over rough terrain. They are in shape.
- They protected their flocks from predators.
- David mentions killing lion and a bear. He wound up taking on Goliath!
- They are “regular folks.”
- They don’t think of themselves as entitled…
- They don’t feel like they are “better” than anyone else.
- They aren’t kings, or princes or anything fancy or important.
- They seem to be just ordinary!
- But yet, these are the people that God saw fit to inform about the birth of His Son!
- God always had a higher opinion of Shepherds than society did.
- Abel was a “keeper of flocks..”
Hebrews 11:4 By faith Abel offered to God a better sacrifice than Cain, through which he obtained the testimony that he was righteous, God testifying about his gifts, and through faith, though he is dead, he still speaks.
- Moses was a Shepherd for 40 years…
- David was a Shepherd before he became the King of Israel.
- Elders are called “Shepherds of the flock of God.”
- Jesus even called Himself a Shepherd…
John 10:11 “I am the good shepherd; the good shepherd lays down His life for the sheep.
Conclusion: What difference should it make to me that some sheep herders got woke up in the middle of the night by a bunch of angels?
- First, let’s think about the Shepherds interaction with the angels….
- The angels appeared to them in a spectacular way! But is that the only way they ever appear to humans?
Hebrews 13:1–2 Let love of the brethren continue. Do not neglect to show hospitality to strangers, for by this some have entertained angels without knowing it.
- We don’t know where or when an angel might show up! How do we “show hospitality?”
- What about the Shepherds being low on the “people you want to invite to the party” scale?
- No one is beneath God’s love!
- If God loves them, so must we!
- We can’t just talk about loving people… We have to actually do it!
- God loves “regular folks…” But He also loves everyone else too!
- Do our best to treat them all the way God would! We are His “hands and feet!”
- The Shepherds left an important job to do a much more important job.
- When God calls us to do something, we may need to walk away from something important!
- But what God calls us to do will be even more important… and fulfilling.
- Even if the world sees what you do as unimportant, or difficult, or gross, or too time consuming, if you are doing it for Jesus, it is of supreme importance!
- Earlier, I read from John 10 where Jesus says “I am the Good Shepherd…”
- There’s more to this than we looked at earlier.
John 10:16 “I have other sheep, which are not of this fold; I must bring them also, and they will hear My voice; and they will become one flock with one shepherd.
- Those “other sheep…” THAT’S US!!!!!
- The Jewish people were chosen by God… to bring the Messiah into the world.
- But Jesus’ flock isn’t limited to the physical descendants of Abraham. We are, or can be, part of His flock as well!
Romans 4:13–16 For the promise to Abraham or to his descendants that he would be heir of the world was not through the Law, but through the righteousness of faith.
14 For if those who are of the Law are heirs, faith is made void and the promise is nullified;
15 for the Law brings about wrath, but where there is no law, there also is no violation.
16 For this reason it is by faith, in order that it may be in accordance with grace, so that the promise will be guaranteed to all the descendants, not only to those who are of the Law, but also to those who are of the faith of Abraham, who is the father of us all,
- This is the reason that Jesus came to earth in the first place! He wanted us to be a part of His family!
- That’s GOOD NEWS!!!!
