Three Groups of Worshippers - Part 2: The Shepherds

Luke chapter two. We're going to read verses eight through 20 Of the Christmas story, what we commonly call the Christmas story. Luke chapter two, and we're going to begin reading in verse eight. And there were in the same country shepherds abiding in the field keeping watch over their flock by night and low the angel of the Lord came upon them And the glory of the Lord shown round about them and they were sore afraid. 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 savior, which is Christ the Lord. And this shall be a sign unto you. You 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, goodwill 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 and they came with haste and found Mary and Joseph and the babe lying in a manger and when they had seen it, they made known abroad the same which was told them concerning this child And all they that heard it wondered at those things which were told them by the shepherds. And Mary kept all these things and pondered them in her heart. And the shepherds returned glorifying and praising God for all the things they had heard and seen. As it was told unto them. Let's go to the Lord in prayer once more.

Lord, we thank you. Today, for Jesus Christ, our savior. We thank you Lord for the salvation that you so freely give to all those who will come in faith to Jesus Christ. Lord, we thank you for the sacrifice that you made for us. A sacrifice that we cannot entirely appreciate, Lord.

Lord, we just know that without you, we would be hopelessly lost but today, we can rejoice because in Jesus Christ, there is salvation, redemption, forgiveness of sins, and everlasting life. Lord, we pray for our family members, our friends, our coworkers, our neighbors, who do not know Christ as savior this Christmas. May they hear the gospel message. May they not only hear it but may they receive it and may they put their faith and trust in you. Lord, we pray that Jesus Christ would be exalted here this day.

In Jesus name, we do pray. Amen. As I said last said earlier this morning, last week, we looked at the first of three groups of worshipers and those were the angels. There were only a few times that the angels sang in the Bible. They sang at creation.

We read in the Psalms. They will sing with the saints in the end times of the crowning of the Lord Jesus Christ and his ascension to the throne. They sang at Christ's birth and they sing when just one soul comes to know Jesus Christ as savior. The angels do rejoice. They rejoice in seeing the redemption of mankind through Jesus Christ and this story is the main part of it.

For our salvation is not of us. It is not by the will of man. It's not by the will of the flesh but it is by the will and the power and the sacrifice of almighty God. We do not read this morning of just a baby in a manger. We read of a savior.

Which is Christ the Lord. We are going to look here at the second group of worshipers this morning and those were a slight bit different from the first group. And these are the shepherds. When I went to visit Israel back a few years ago, we spent a good bit of time in the countryside and on several occasions, you can still see shepherds in the fields keeping watch over their flock. This was a fairly common sight particularly in Middle To Southern Israel around Jerusalem.

You still see shepherds and sheep. This is in a town called Beth Shemesh that is just a little bit Northwest of Jerusalem and but this is a little bit different I think than the picture we're going to read about. A, it's daylight. In this story, it was night. B, there were no cars.

You see the car at the top of the picture? There weren't any cars back then and if you'll see the shepherd standing out there in the middle of the field, he has his right hand up to his ear. He was talking on his cellphone and I don't think they probably had these cellphones back then either. So, the picture exactly portray our story this morning but just a reminder, this continues and it will continue. Sheep still need shepherds.

As we need the good shepherd, Jesus Christ. What are shepherds? We'll start there this morning. What are the this this group of worshipers we're looking at? What what are shepherds?

Well, they are they're lowly laborers. They lived out in the fields with the sheep. Sometimes, day and night. We're told that often times, the sheep would be brought into the sheepfold at night. The sheepfold did not have a door or did not have a gate.

Just had an opening and the shepherd would sleep in the opening so that any thief or predator would have to go over the shepherd to get in or the sheep would have to go over the shepherd to get out and the shepherd was the door. The Bible tells us, Jesus tells us that he is the what? He is the door to the sheep, to the fold. He is the door to salvation and it is through Jesus Christ that we enter in to salvation. We enter into his fold and are safe and secure.

In his hands. These lowly laborers were stereotypically somewhat antisocial in their day because they spend all their time out in the fields with dirty sheep. They were not normally considered to be highly educated, wealthy, or particularly religious because they didn't participate in a lot of the religious activities because again, they couldn't leave the what? They couldn't leave the sheep and so they were there day and night. Keeping watch over their sheep.

In this particular case, it was night when the angels came. These shepherds were not slackers. These shepherds were keeping watch over their flocks even during the night hours. When Joseph came before Pharaoh and asked that his family could come to live in Egypt. They were given the land of Goshen which which happened to be the perfect land for having sheep and cattle and that sort of thing.

However, it was also a land that was set apart from the rest of the civilization there in Egypt because the shepherds were kind of stigmatized. They were considered kind of outcast and antisocial and they weren't to be near the rest of the people. And so this is the way shepherds were often viewed in the ancient world. A good shepherds were also diligent as you can imagine, focused on their task, very good with animals, very caring people because they had to care for the sheep. Physically able-bodied and at times called on to take risks to protect the sheep of their flock.

In first Samuel 17, it says this, actually David said this, unto Saul. Thy servant kept his father's sheep and there came a lion and a bear and took a lamb out of the flock and I went after him and smote him and delivered it out of his mouth and when he arose against me, I caught him by his beard and smote him and slew him. I'm sure there were times when shepherds lost their lives to the bear and to the lion trying to protect their flock. You see, this was Jesse's flock. These were his sheep.

They were of great value to him and apparently, great great value to his son, David, who put his life at risk time and time again to keep watch over the sheep. In John 10, we read this, Jesus says, I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd giveth his life for the sheep but he that is an hireling and not the shepherd whose own the sheep are not, see it the wolf coming and leave it the sheep and flee it and the wolf catcheth them and scattereth the sheep. The hireling flee it because he is an hireling and careth not for the sheep. You see, the shepherd, the one whose sheep, the one who owns the sheep, would care a lot more for them than the person he paid an hourly wage to to take care of them and the good shepherd, he doesn't run when danger comes and leaves his sheep vulnerable.

Instead, he gives his life if necessary for the sheep. Well, in this particular instance, we are the sheep. Jesus is the good shepherd who gave his life for us. So, though shepherds were considered to be lowly servants, lowly workers, and those days, they were very important people. They were often very good people, very diligent people, very caring people, and people who were willing to take risks for things that were of great value to them.

As Jesus laid down his life for us. Their task that they fulfilled was vital to the economy and lifestyle of the people in that day. Imagine the world without sheep. Sheep were important. Now, we may think, hey, I can live without sheep.

But in most of the world and still today, sheep are a vital important part of world's economy. First of all, you get clothing. I need to get back over here, don't I? Lapel is not working today. So, I forget sometimes.

So, here, I'm going turn this this way. Maybe that'll help me when I forget. Alright. Clothing Two primarily sources for clothing. In much of the world over the past several hundred years, that sheep or wool and cotton.

Wool and cotton and in that day, large percentage of their clothing came from wool. It came from sheep that they would shear and so this was vitally important not only for the people that needed the clothing but for the merchants that sold the clothing and the people that raised the sheep. Also, another thing was food. In The United States, we consume a lot of chicken and we consume a lot of beef. We don't consume nearly as much lamb but in this day and in many parts of the world, lamb is a a very normal part of their daily diet and people would often eat a whole lot more lamb than they would beef which was often times quite expensive and so when we went over to visit Israel, we ate a lot of lamb while we were over there.

A lot of sheep, a lot of what's it called? Mutton? Yeah. Anyway, so we ate that in several different forms while we were there because it's still a regular part of their diet in that part of the world. So, these shepherds were important.

Clothing came from the sheep that they watched. Food came from the sheep that they watched and what's the third thing that was vitally important in Israel? Sacrifices. You see, part of the system that God established to approach God to have their sins forgiven. All hinged upon the sacrifice of animals and particularly the sacrifice of what?

Sheep. Particularly the sacrifice of a lamb. You see, sheep are sort of viewed as this very innocent animal. Sheeps do not have much wherewith to defend themselves. They are not aggressive.

They are not seemingly all that intelligent. But they're they're innocent and God chose therefore a lamb as an illustration of his son, Jesus Christ and the sacrifice and the shedding of blood of a lamb to represent the coming shedding of blood and sacrifice of Jesus Christ. The innocent death of one a lamb for the unrighteous, guilty party, us, them in that day. The righteous sacrifice of Jesus Christ for we who are sinners without hope apart from him. This is particularly the case with the Passover.

We won't go back to Exodus chapter 12 this morning and look at the details but in Exodus chapter 12, God gives Moses the instructions concerning the keeping of the Passover and they were to take a lamb of one year without blemish and without spot and they were to kill that lamb. They were to put the blood on the doorpost of their homes so that the death angel might pass over. At the firstborn would be redeemed and would be saved from the judgment. And then they were to eat the lamb. All part of the Passover feast.

This is all a picture of Jesus Christ who died on the cross to pay the price for our sins that we through faith in him who is the lamb of God that taketh away the sin of the world. Would have the judgment of God to pass over. So, you see, not only the picture of Christ as the lamb who takes away the sin of the world but in context here, the importance of the task that shepherds fulfilled in their day. Lowly laborers, diligent, caring shepherds with a vital task. And though they had and though this task was so important, still often looked down upon by their fellow men.

A task that without which the sheep would not survive. Because sheep are not only innocent, but as I mentioned a moment ago, sheep are not all that what? Smart. They have to be led to water. They have to be led back to the sheepfold at night.

They have to be kept together or else they scatter and they get lost. They become easy prey for predators because they have no way of defending themselves. Sheep direly need a shepherd. We're reminded of that in Psalm 23. The Lord is my shepherd.

I shall not want. He maketh me to lie down in green pastures. He leadeth me beside the still waters. He restoreth my soul. He leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for his name's sake.

Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil for thou art with me. Thy rod and thy staff, they comfort me. Thou prepare us a table before me in the presence of mine enemies, thou anointest mine head with oil, my cup runneth over. We'll we'll stop there but you get, you see the picture here. David is saying, without you, Lord, I am lost.

I will not find water for my soul. I will not kind comfort and peace and security. I will not find the green pastures. I have no way of restoring my soul. Without Jesus.

We are sheep. Desperately need of a shepherd. In Matthew nine thirty six, it says, when Jesus saw the multitudes, he was moved with compassion on them because they fainted and were scattered abroad as sheep having no shepherd. As Jesus looked at the multitudes that flocked to him in Galilee for healing. And for direction.

He looked out and he saw them. As lost sheep, who needed a shepherd, who needed a guide, who needed a savior, who will be lost forever without him. In Ezekiel thirty four five, it says, and they were scattered speaking of Israel because there is no shepherd and they became meat or food to all the beasts of the field when they were scattered. Ezekiel says, the shepherds of Israel had failed Israel. And the people had no shepherd to guide them and so therefore, became food.

They became vulnerable to the nations around them. Who spoiled them and killed them, took them captive, but one day, this true shepherd will bring them back. He will and that again is Jesus Christ and yet this and so we see what shepherds are and of course, how they're used as a type of Christ but continuing on this morning, in scripture, who were shepherds? Just think about this from. I was thinking about this message here and thinking about all the different people in scripture who we meet that are shepherds.

One of the first people we meet in this Bible is Abel. Well, who what was Abel? He was he was a shepherd. And then, we meet Abraham. Now, we think of Abraham as this this wealthy man who was had all these servants and all these things but among the things that Abraham had were flocks of sheep.

He was a shepherd. As was Isaac, as was Jacob, as were Jacob's sons. Remember when Jacob sent Joseph to find his brothers, what were they doing? They were shepherding. They were they were keeping watch of the flocks that belong to their father.

They didn't find good grazing land in an area that they had went to. So, they moved a few miles away to where they found good grazing land for their sheep and cattle and other animals that they shepherded. How about Moses? You think of Moses. Hey, he he was, he became the the son of Pharaoh's daughter.

He lived in a palace. He was brought up to be the king. But what the world gave Moses for forty years, God undid for forty years on the backside of the desert as Moses became a what? He became a shepherd. And God taught him what he needed to know.

Not in the halls of the palace to lead his people out of Israel. But in the lowly, menial task, day by day, for forty years of being a shepherd. And when we meet David, we find him as a what? A shepherd. For for us, that's what David was.

Before he became a warrior and a king. First, David was a shepherd. First comes humility. And then, God exalts the one. God exalts the humble.

The first shall be last and the last shall be one. First, he that who will be greatest among you, first, he must be the servant of what? The servant of all. This is something we see taught all throughout scripture. Great men of God began their lives as humble shepherds, caring for their livestock, living out, living outside the limelight, learning to be people of strength, of true character, not hypocrites showing off for the crowd.

There was no crowd to show off for. The sheep didn't care. People of humility, endurance, and courage, characteristics which God requires in his leaders. Not necessarily a great smile, or a charismatic personality, or a great authoritative voice. But true character, integrity, humility, endurance, courage, things that God instills in the human heart.

Not the nature of man, but the nature of God. We who are Christians can learn from shepherds. For those things that God instilled in these men, God also desires to instill in us. That we might be great servant leaders for Jesus Christ. These men were all types of Jesus.

Who humbled himself to be the shepherd of men, caring for the lost, the needy, and the hungry, demonstrating compassion, giving his life. For the sheep. Moses and David and Abraham and Abel, they were insufficient. They were imperfect types. Jesus Christ is the perfect savior.

He is the good shepherd. Turn with me to John 10 if you would. You're still in Luke two. Turn over a few pages to John 10 and we'll read this passage that I quoted just a moment ago but we'll we'll read a few verses further if you would with me. John chapter 10 verse 11.

Jesus said, once again, I am the good shepherd, the good shepherd giveth his life for the sheep. He that is in hireling and not the shepherd whose own the sheep are not, see it the wolf coming and leave it the sheep and flee it and the wolf catcheth them and scattereth the sheep. The hireling fleeth because he is in hireling and careth not for the sheep. Verse 14, I am the good shepherd and know my sheep and am known of mine. As the father knoweth me even so, know I, the father, and I lay down my life for the sheep, and other sheep, I have, which are not of this fold.

Them also I must bring and they shall hear my voice and they shall be one fold and one shepherd. There Jesus, I believe is talking about Gentile believers. Verse 17, therefore, doth my father love me because I lay down my life that I might take it again. There Jesus speaks of his death and his resurrection. No man taketh it from me but I lay it down myself.

I have power to lay it down and I have power to take it again. This commandment have I received. Of my father. Praise God, Jesus Christ came. He came to Earth as a humble babe in a manger.

He was born among sheep. And laid in their feeding trough. And he came to lay down his life for us. Sheep in need of a shepherd. The lost in need of a savior.

For that is what he is called in Luke two. He is called the savior. That is who he is. So, it seems quite fitting that humble shepherds were the ones God chose back to Luke two. The ones God chose to announce the savior's birth.

Shepherds who were forgotten and often unappreciated by the world around them But not forgotten by who? Not forgotten by God. Though all the rest of the world lay sleeping in Bethlehem that night, not the whole world but those in Bethlehem. The shepherds were keeping watch over their prized possession in the fields. And Jesus knew they were there and the angels knew they were there and God chose to announce his birth not to the king.

Not to the powerful and the mighty. The influential, the religious per se but to the humble shepherds in the fields. In first Corinthians chapter one, It says this, Paul wrote this and he says beginning in chapter one and verse 26, he says, for you see your calling brethren, how that not many wise men after the flesh, and not many mighty, and not many noble are called, but God hath chosen the foolish things of the world to confound the wise. God hath chosen the weak things of the world to confound the things which are mighty. The base things of the world and things which are despised hath God chosen, yea, the things which are not to bring to not the things that are.

That no flesh should glory in his presence. But of him are you in Christ Jesus who of God has made unto us wisdom and righteousness and sanctification and redemption. That according as it is written, he that glorieth, let him glory in the Lord. Why did the angels come to shepherds that night to remind us? That our glory should be in who?

The Lord and not in ourselves. That God exalts the humble and brings low the mighty. That Christ Jesus came to save sinners. Those who recognized their sin. Not those who didn't think they needed a savior, Who thought they were good enough.

Not the kings. Not the rabbis. But the angels came to the shepherds that night. The gospel comes often to those in this world who are needy and those who recognize most importantly, the spiritual need that they have. Jesus spent the majority of his time.

With the poor. He spent the majority of his time with the lowly. And not with the mighty, the rich, or the famous. People like us. The shepherds were not forgotten by God The shepherds typified the humility of Christ and the purpose for which he came.

The Bible says in Philippians two verse five, let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus. What mind is that? It is a mind of humility. It is a mind of submission to God. It is a mind of sacrifice.

For others. For he thought it not robbery to be equal with God but he made himself of no reputation. He took upon him the form of a servant was made in the likeness of man and being found in fashion as a man he humbled himself and became obedient unto death even the death of the cross. Christ humbled himself. He left heaven's glory To become a man, to become a baby in a manger, to sleep his first night in a feeding trough.

That's what a manger is. To become a minister for he came not to be ministered unto but to minister and give his life a ransom for many. To become a savior and die in our stead. To become the risen Lord. Who intercedes at the right hand of the father on high.

For all those who trust in him. Jesus is the good keeper, shepherd who cares for his sheep. We may be guilty, unrighteous, wayward, spiritually ignorant. Praise God, we have a good savior. For where would we be without him?

He is the lamb of God who taketh away the sin of the world. First John two two says, and he is propitiation for our sins and not for ours only but also for the sins of the world. First John one seven, if we walk in the light, he, as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another and the blood of Jesus Christ cleanses us from all sin. Revelation twelve eleven is one of my favorite verses in scripture and they overcame him. That is Satan by the blood of the lamb.

By the word of their testimony and they love not their lives unto the death. By the blood of the lamb, we are overcomers in Jesus Christ. Not because we're so smart, not because we're so wise, powerful, important, or any of those things. Because we have become children of the king. And that should not make us proud.

It should only keep us humble. And finally, shepherds who simply believed what they were told. You see, salvation takes what? Faith. Faith.

Faith to receive the message of Christ's birth that night and not write it off as some other thing. Man looks for any way today to write off the miracles of God is some just freak coincidental occurrence. I've told on more than one occasion, the fellow that came to our church for a a senior saints meeting up in Georgia and he got up to he was talking about his visit to Israel and he was telling about the feeding of the 5,000 and he told the people there that the miracle wasn't that God fed 5,000 people with five loaves and two fish. No, the miracle was that when everybody saw that this boy was willing to share his meal, they shared theirs. But that's not what my Bible says.

My Bible says that Jesus took the bread and break it, that this boy provided, and that he fed over 5,000 people with five loaves and two fish, and he picked up 12 baskets full of leftovers. That is my savior. Sad to say, we lived in a world that is always very skeptical of the power of God. They believe more in the power of man. The power of man only brings destruction.

For there's a way that seems right unto a man but the end thereof are the ways of death. Shepherds who were willing to receive the message. Shepherds who acted upon the message. In Luke chapter two, what does it tell us? It says, in verse 16, and they came with haste and found Mary and Joseph and the babe lying in a manger.

They didn't wait. Those sheep are important but there was someone and something more important that night. And that was their opportunity to see the Messiah, the savior, with their own two eyes. So, they dropped what they were doing. I suppose they probably secured the fold and then they ran.

They made haste. The Bible says, as many as received him, that is Jesus, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name. And then this, they left Christ's birthplace to tell others what they had seen and heard. Verse 17, and when they had seen it, they made known abroad the same, which was told them concerning this child. They didn't keep their mouths what?

Shut. They told the world. They told their neighbors. They told their friends. They didn't care what was thought about them.

They had been given the privilege of telling others. They were excited. They were enthusiastic. And they told others of Jesus Christ. Likewise, we have been told, go ye into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature.

It is our privilege like those shepherds to not only to hear the message, not only to receive the savior, but to tell the world that he lives and that he can be their savior too. Oh, there is so much we can learn from these lowly shepherds which God chose to be the audience of heaven that night. Have you responded? Have you received Jesus as your Lord and savior? There could be no better time than today.

For Jesus is calling you. As he called those shepherds that night, Jesus is calling you. His message is here. You have heard it. Jesus came to die for you.

And the Bible says as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons or the children of God. Even to them that what? Believe on his name. He calls you to believe today. Are you listening?

Are we listening to our shepherd today, Christian? Are we being wayward sheep? Sometimes the shepherd had to go and had to find the sheep that was wayward, had to break its leg, and then the shepherd would carry that sheep on its shoulders until the leg healed. And then the sheep learned not to run away next time. We know we have a home in heaven if you know Jesus.

But there's much more to the Christian life here than just knowing that heaven is to come. God wants us, God calls us to be obedient children. And maybe there's something this Christmas that needs to change. And are we going into the world to tell others? Are we leaving that to others?

Well, God seems to have left it to who? He seems to have left it to you. For you are the one that he has brought the message to you who have trusted Christ as savior. He now calls to go and tell others about the good shepherd. Let's pray.

Dear heavenly father, we thank you Lord for this day. We thank you Lord for the story that you recorded in the word of God to remind us of the shepherds that night. The shepherds whom you chose to announce your birth. The shepherds who received your message. The shepherds who in faith believe that a baby in a manger was the Messiah of Israel and the savior of the world.

And told those they came in contact that Jesus was born. May we be just as excited Christmas about the opportunity that we have been given. To tell the world about Jesus. May we be humbled that this message has come to us. And that we as sheep without a shepherd have come to know the shepherd of our souls, Jesus Christ.

Not through anything that we have done but according to your mercy as you have saved us. Thank you, Lord. In Jesus name, we pray. Amen.