Today – Shepherds.

---

“A Savior has just been born in David’s town,
a Savior who is Messiah and Master.
This is what you’re to look for: a baby
wrapped in a blanket and lying in a manger.” 
Luke 2:11-12

Good News

Shepherds

“Where are we going, you ask? Didn’t you see the sky light up to the south, just two leagues down the road toward Tekoa?”

I tend my sheep with a band of shepherds. We migrate from hillside to valley all around Jerusalem. My home is further north near Bethel, but we move our flocks often, always looking for the best pastures.

Our flock numbers about 600 at this time of year. In a few short months we will be selling off the best of them to the temple merchants for Passover. Meanwhile, we have to keep them out of trouble. If they’re injured or marred in any way, the temple merchants won’t buy them. We get a much better price from those who seek lambs for sacrifice than we do from those who want their wool and even less from the butchers.

Some despise shepherds or simply mock us. Some consider us lower than slaves. Often I receive less respect than the sheep I tend. But not tonight! I am still working through it in my mind.

Have you ever stepped out of total darkness into the full light of day? That’s what it’s like tonight as we set about our nightly watch.

Of course it’s rarely completely dark on the Judean hillside. The Almighty One set such an array of lights in the sky! Sometime I think He did it just for us shepherds. As I look into the stars, I remember God’s promise to Father Abraham. God told him to count the stars. I’ve tried that. The longer I look, the more stars seem to appear.

Even though the night was clear, with the moon and stars in their full glory, the brightness that lit the hillside washed it all away. It was brighter than the full sun of noonday. You can imagine the terror I felt. I was fully awake, part of me ready to fight and part of me ready to run.

A man stood in the midst of the field and called to us:

“Don’t be afraid.”

That’s easy for him to say, but I move closer.

“I’ve come to announce joyful news meant for all people, everywhere.”

With every step toward the being, I sense peace.  I didn’t know what it was, but it didn’t seem dangerous.

“A Savior has just been born in David’s town, a Savior who is Messiah and Master. This is what you’re to look for: a baby wrapped in a blanket and lying in a manger.” 

David’s town? He must be talking about Bethlehem, where King David—that shepherd turned King of Israel—was born.

At that, the brightness that surrounded us materialized into an army of angels, thousands on every side. No, not an army. A choir. The hillside rang out with all the voices of heaven singing:

“Glory to God in the heavenly heights, Peace to all men and women on earth who please him.”

And then it was dark, all but one light to the north.

Now, I know the stars, and this one was new. It looked as though the heavenly host that had surrounded us minutes before had moved up to Bethlehem.

That’s where we’re headed now. Won’t you come and see this Messiah, this Savior, with us?

~~~

To read the original story, see Luke 2:8-19.

---

If you would like to get your hands on a copy of the entire book check the right side of the page and follow the link to Amazon.

Thanks for coming by,

See you again tomorrow,

Ben