Why the Shepherds? Why the Sheep?

Did you ever wonder why God chose the Bethlehem shepherds to visit the Baby Jesus immediately following His birth? What made them so special that God would choose them over the elite in society? Perhaps it was because they were good, gentle, humble men, always on the lookout for injured or lost sheep. And it’s pretty much a known fact that they would fight to protect their flock, even risking their own lives. It would be easy to see them as heroes!

But then I learned something!

Despite their commitment in caring for the lambs and sheep, at the time of Christ’s birth shepherds were often looked upon as unclean and outside the law. They were poor, uneducated, rough characters on the fringe of society, so much so that their testimony was not even admissible in court. Religious leaders often considered them on the same level as prostitutes, so when it came to the religion of the day they were always the “outsiders” looking in.

And then God made His choice!

As the Bethlehem shepherds kept watch over their flock by night where the only light came from the stars in the heavens, where the only noise was the bleating of thousands of sheep, and where the shepherds themselves quietly talked in the stillness…

… the angel of the Lord came upon them,
and the glory of the Lord shone round about them:
and they were sore afraid.

The Bible does not tell us how many shepherds were in the field when the angel appeared. It just states “And there were in the same country shepherds...” But we can be sure that despite the number, these men were all terrified! And rightly so! For the “glory of the Lord” filled the sky.

And the angel said unto them, Fear not: for, behold,
I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people.
For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour,
which is Christ the Lord.
And this shall be a sign unto you;
Ye shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger.
And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host
praising God, and saying,
Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men.
And it came to pass,
as the angels were gone away from them into heaven,
the shepherds said one to another,
Let us now go even unto Bethlehem,
and see this thing which is come to pass,
which the Lord hath made known unto us.

We don’t know how many shepherds left for Bethlehem. We often assume two or three based on the nativity scenes we see at Christmastime. We do know that they walked about five miles, following the star but not knowing where it was leading them. And although the Scriptures are silent, it would be safe to assume that someone had to stay behind to tend the sheep!

So, I return to my original question: Why the shepherds? Why did God choose to reveal the birth of His only Son to these poor, uneducated and rough characters?

One thought is that the shepherd represents the common man and woman for whom Jesus came as Saviour and Lord. In Mark 2:17 Jesus declared that He came “not to the righteous but to the outcasts and sinners.”  The shepherds were a representation of the very thing Jesus came to save.

A second thought is that the shepherd is symbolic of our Lord, the Christ, the Saviour of the world. In Psalm 23, King David acknowledges the Lord as his Shepherd. In John 10, Jesus states: “ I am the good shepherd. I lay down my life for the. sheep… I know my own and my own know me…My sheep hear my voice…”

And now I am forced to consider another question: Why the sheep? How do they fit into this world-changing event?

Sheep are mentioned in the Bible more than 500 times, more than any other animal. They are recognized as a prey animal, making them defenseless and vulnerable. And yet they have an intensely social instinct that allows them to bond closely to other sheep, sometimes resulting in serious consequences. Although they are surprisingly intelligent, with impressive memory and recognition skills, at the same time, they can be stubborn and willful, bent on doing their own thing. They foolishly stray from safe paths and are unable to find their way back. And they depend totally on the shepherd to take care of them.

When I think of how a shepherd cares for his sheep I am reminded of a verse in the 23rd Psalm when King David writes: “he anoints my head with oil.”  There are many references to the anointing with oil in the Bible, but I found it interesting to learn that in the ancient shepherding community, shepherds would anoint their sheep by pouring olive oil over the sheep’s head and working it into its face, ears and neck area. Insects—whether ticks or lice—would get into its skin and bite. The sheep would bang its head on rocks and against trees to ease its suffering. The olive oil would sooth and protect it from harming itself and getting sick. With such gentle caring, it’s no wonder that Bethlehem sheep knew the voice of their shepherd.

When we consider the sheep and lambs in the birth of Jesus, again we can look at a couple of thoughts.

One is that being a willful, disobedient creature who cannot care for itself, a sheep represents us—human beings—who foolishly stray from doing what is right to doing our own thing, wanting our own way regardless of the consequences. Isaiah 53:6 states that “We all, like sheep, have gone astray, each of us has turned to our own way.” As a result, life becomes difficult, perhaps at times unbearable, and we lose our way to peace and purpose. We need a shepherd. We need The Shepherd to guide, protect, and rescue us from all that prevents us from living a righteous and God-honouring life.

A second thought is that a sheep, specifically a lamb, represents the Lord Jesus, Himself. According to Exodus 12:5, when a sacrificial lamb was selected it had to be a year old male, without blemish or defect. Much care was taken to establish its perfection. In 1 Peter 1:19, Peter describes Christ as a lamb free from blemish or defect, a concept immediately understood by His Jewish audience. For us today, it means that Christ, The Great Shepherd, the sinless, perfect sacrificial Lamb, paid the ultimate price by offering Himself as a sacrifice to redeem us and give eternal value to our lives that would otherwise have been futile and empty.

And they came with haste, and found Mary, and Joseph,
and the babe lying in a manger.

Did the shepherds understand the mission of this precious baby boy lying in the manger, that He was to become the Sacrificial Lamb that would reestablish peace and reconciliation between God and humankind? We’re not sure. But…

…. when they had seen it, they made known abroad the saying
which was told them concerning this child.
And all they that heard it wondered at those things
which were told them by the shepherds.*

God knew the shepherds, the “outsiders of society,” would do exactly what He wanted them to do. That’s why God chose them! They took the good news of His Son’s birth and shared it abroad.

The Babe in the manger not only changed the shepherds, but changed the world… forever! And the shepherds were the first to be part of this eternal change. I’d like to think that until their last breath, they talked of nothing else!

*Luke 2:8-18 (KJV)