Shepherds Who See Jesus

(Luke 2:8–9 NKJV) Now there were in the same country shepherds living out in the fields, keeping watch over their flock by night. (9) And behold, an angel of the Lord stood before them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were greatly afraid.

I love these shepherds; we have so much to learn from them. For a start, God spoke to them, they saw angels, they experienced God’s glory, and they were the first outside of Joseph, Mary, and Elizabeth to understand who Jesus was.

This is the message God sent to them via the angel:

(Luke 2:10–12 NKJV) Then the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid, for behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy which will be to all people. (11) For there is born to you this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. (12) And this will be the sign to you: You will find a Babe wrapped in swaddling cloths, lying in a manger.”

Suddenly, God’s overflowing joy at the birth of his only begotten son was expressed through a great display of heavenly artistry. (Note: read this and the following passage word for word, and learn something very important about angels.)

(Luke 2:13–14 NLT) Suddenly, the angel was joined by a vast host of others—the armies of heaven—praising God and saying, (14) “Glory to God in highest heaven, and peace on earth to those with whom God is pleased.” [1.]

Why did Father select these shepherds? Why did he choose to overflow his joy and celebration to them? I know that there many good reasons why; perhaps they were the shepherds watching over the birth of the sacrificial lambs—looking for the perfect, flawless ones, etc. But for now, let’s simply stay with what this passage says:

The first thing we note is that, out of all the people in that region, God chose to share insights about Jesus and his coming to birth with shepherds. This speaks of those who look after the welfare of others. They tend God’s flock, look after his lambs, and make sure they are protected and fed.

Second, we see that God revealed remarkable truths about Jesus to those who—were not only shepherds—but who were actually “out in the fields.” These weren’t “rancher” style shepherds, who hired others to care for the flock over which God made them overseers; they were out in the field of service themselves. In other words, they were out where the sheep are, experiencing what they experience. These shepherds weren’t shielded from the elements; they were exposed to the same harsh environment, subject to the same wolves, thieves, and insects, etc. They were on hand for their flock, ready to heal, care for, nurture, protect, keep them together, and love on them.

Third, Scripture records that these humble shepherds were “keeping watch.” These pastors—to whom God revealed the overflowing abundance of his heart and revelation about the birth of his dream—were very close to their flock. Watching by day and night to ensure its wellbeing. In spiritual terms, this is like flock-tenders today that watch and pray continually over those God has entrusted to them.

Fourth, they were doing all of this “by night.” Despite being in a season of no light for themselves, these faithful, humble, serving people continued to do the best they could for their flock.

I call these people, true shepherds. They were in the field of ministry; they weren’t sitting in cafés talking about how bad things were, murmuring about the current state of affairs, or criticizing how others do their shepherding. These humble servers were not off at the big city, trying to climb the religious ladder of prominence and prestige; they were out in the field, keeping watch … at night! This is the kind of people to whom God revealed the most startling, profound, far-reaching, life-changing revelation ever: Jesus!

With the true on-the-job shepherds, God shared his father’s heart, his secret, his joy, the birth of his only begotten son, the parturition of his dream for a family, and his celebration. They saw angels and felt heaven’s heartbeat. In other words, these true shepherds have shown us how to live in tune with, and to touch, God’s heart in a way that he finds irresistible. Then, when he just simply needs to tell someone the overflow of his amazing heart; they were the ones he confided in. They had been in a season of personal darkness while caring for God’s flock, but suddenly were flooded with the light of revelation they so desperately longed for.

This is amazing. Today, I guess we can all see the characteristics of these true shepherds that we can all emulate: shepherds, out in the fields, keeping watch over their flock, by night. This can be you.

Don’t chase for title, promotion, or position on the religious hen-peck order. Simply focus on God and what he has assigned for you to do. Live attending to what is close to his heart, and you will be close to his heart. Then, when he wants to overflow his life, joy, celebration, communication, and revelation, he will pick you. You will see Jesus coming to birth in all kinds of situations; you will see signs, and you will be filled with such joyful, living revelation that it will overflow in life-giving ministry. Then your ministry will be recognized, because like the shepherds, heaven will record of you …

They “were living out in the fields, keeping watch over their flock by night.” (Luke 2:8 NKJV)

And then they:

“… told everyone what had happened and what the angel had said to them about this child.” (Luke 2:17 NLT)

In other words, they began to have a trans-local ministry that involved sharing their testimony and ministering to others the overflow of what God revealed to them. This can be you too.

[1] We note also a very important doctrinal statement made by the angels: “Peace on earth to those with whom God is pleased.” The niv translates this passage as: “on earth peace to those on whom his favor rests.” Meanwhile, the kjv translators probably misled the Christmas card makers by rendering this phrase as: “on earth peace, good will toward men.” This mistranslation has led to many believing the doctrine of Christmas cards and songs that says: “Peace on earth; good will towards all mankind.” In truth, the correct rendering has it as God only offering peace to those who have received his grace by faith (Rom. 4:16), or those “on whom his favor rests.” Let’s never forget what Jesus said about his mission in relation to general peace:

(Matthew 10:34 NKJV) “Do not think that I came to bring peace on earth. I did not come to bring peace but a sword.”