This post is a follow-up message from Pastor Ben's sermon entitled "The Christmas Story". [Watch video]

Why shepherds? Why did the first public announcement of the birth of Christ go to shepherds? The usual reason given is because they were “lowly shepherds,” and Jesus came to the lowly. There is some truth to this, for Jesus did come as a Rescuer to the poor and downtrodden. These were seemingly insignificant people doing seemingly insignificant jobs. But God does not always value what we value.

The shepherds may have been “lowly” but they were not insignificant. No one is in the eyes of God. What’s more, they get a bit of a bad rap when we call them lowly, as if they were on an episode of Mike Rowe’s “Dirty Jobs.” No, shepherding was not a dirty job. In fact, shepherding plays a significant role throughout the Bible.

Think about shepherding in the Old Testament. Abraham did his share of shepherding. Even Moses did a stint as a shepherd. David was a shepherd. “The Lord is my shepherd” (for goodness sake!). The leaders of the nation Israel are often called shepherds; some are good and some are bad. And the Messiah to come is spoken of as a Shepherd. This should elevate our esteem of shepherds.

But in the New Testament, shepherding finds its full meaning and reaches a pinnacle of importance. Jesus is the Great Shepherd, the Good Shepherd, and the Chief Shepherd. If Jesus is a shepherd, then shepherding is indeed a significant occupation. And just as in the Old Testament, the New Testament leaders are called shepherds, for that is what the word “pastor” means.

On that first Christmas morning, Jesus was born in the city of David, the city of whom the chief priests and scribes said, “And you, Bethlehem, land of Judah, are by no means least among the leaders of Judah; for out of you shall come forth a Ruler, Who will shepherd My people Israel” (Matthew 2:6, citing Micah 5:2). The baby, born in a manger in Bethlehem, would be the Ruler of Israel. He would be a Shepherd, and those who received this joyous news that morning were shepherds. He was one of them: human, humble, shepherd.

Lowly shepherds? No. Humble? Yes. And so, like the shepherds, we too can identify with Emmanuel, God with us, the One who humbled Himself to become one of us that as He was highly exalted, we who are united to Him by faith will one day be glorified with Him. “Glory to God in the highest heaven, and on earth peace to those on whom his favor rests” (Luke 2:14).