Shepherds Watched The Sheep By Night
Sunday, December 9, 2012
By Rev. James May
Luke 2:8 And there were in the same country shepherds abiding in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night.
Luke 2:9 And, lo, the angel of the Lord came upon them, and the glory of the Lord shone round about them: and they were sore afraid.
Luke 2:10 And the angel said unto them, Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people.
Luke 2:11 For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord.
Luke 2:12 And this shall be a sign unto you; Ye shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger.
Luke 2:13 And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God, and saying,
Luke 2:14 Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men.
Luke 2:15 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.
Luke 2:16 And they came with haste, and found Mary, and Joseph, and the babe lying in a manger.
Luke 2:17 And when they had seen it, they made known abroad the saying which was told them concerning this child.
Luke 2:18 And all they that heard it wondered at those things which were told them by the shepherds.
The hills of Bethlehem were quiet on this night. Shepherds had already settled the flocks and had prepared for a long vigil until the sun would rise on a new day and then they would lead the sheep to greener pastures. Sheep tend to eat every single blade of grass and wipe an area clean of food in a short period of time so the shepherd had to continually find new pastures.
I’m reminded of Psalms 23:1-2 where David said, "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." I’m also reminded of the command that God had given the Israelites in the wilderness that they could only gather enough of the Bread of Heaven, called manna, for just one day at a time. They had to get up every day and search for their sustenance for that day, but God always provided something fresh and new every morning.
Our Great Shepherd still does the same for us! Lamentations 3:22-23, "It is of the LORD'S mercies that we are not consumed, because his compassions fail not. They are new every morning: great is thy faithfulness." Several times in the New Testament we are instructed to “take no thought for tomorrow, what you shall eat, or what shall you wear”, for God will provide all your needs. The Shepherd of our souls does not ignore His flock, but leads us every day into green pastures where we will receive his provisions for the day.
The shepherds on the hillsides surrounding Bethlehem had a very special flock to care for. According to Jewish history and tradition, these were flocks that were destined to provide the lambs that would be used for sacrifice in the Temple at Jerusalem.
The Jewish law required that every household had to sacrifice a lamb at Passover time. This amounted to a very large number of lambs. The Law also dictated that each lamb had to be without blemish. In order for that many unblemished lambs to be available, huge flocks of sheep had to be carefully monitored and raised according to strict standards. This, of course, was not left to chance, but the priests of the temple established a method for making sure the Law was complied with and that there would be a sufficient supply of unblemished lambs.
As with most things that man becomes involved in, this whole system of raising and providing lambs for sacrifice in the temple on Passover became a very corrupt business from which the priests and the temple would gain much wealth and have power over the people beyond what God had designed from the beginning.
If a family brought their own lamb to sacrifice, it had to be inspected by one of the Temple priests and the chances were high that it would be rejected as having some blemish. There was probably some cost incurred in having a priest do this inspection to begin with. Then, if the lamb was rejected, there was no choice but to buy a lamb from the Temple itself, one that had been pre-inspected and preapproved for sacrifice. These lambs, naturally, commanded a high price. After all, when you have the only lambs that qualify, and God’s judgment for the sin of your whole family hangs in the balance, what price would you pay for a chance to be forgiven?
To make matters worse, no lamb could be bought from the temple without changing your ordinary money into temple money, which of course, was exchanged at an unfair rate. That’s why there were moneychangers at the temple like those whom Jesus would later drive from the Temple because they had made the House of God into a profitable business and not a House of Prayer. These moneychangers were no more than what we would call “Sharks” today; making exorbitant profits off of people who could least afford it because of the controlled market in which the Temple operated.
The temple would not accept normal money probably because it had been tainted with the sin of idolatry. Rome controlled the nation and the economy, and Roman Law set the value of the money. In addition, much of the normal money contained images and inscriptions of Caesar and Roman symbols. No law abiding priest would ever consider taking this idolatrous money into the Holy Temple, so it had to be exchanged for Temple money with the right symbols and images. And since the Temple money was holy and consecrated money, it was worth much more than ordinary money. But then, once you had it, the Temple money wasn’t legal to use in public. Roman law would not allow the use of this privately produced money, but would likely considered it as counterfeit. Thus, the temple money would only be good for buying sacrifices and services at the Temple and nowhere else.
And if you tried to exchange it back if any were left over after offering your sacrifice, the reverse exchange rate also favored the temple and the moneychangers because once you held it in your “sinful hands”, the temple money lost some of its value and had to be “re-consecrated”. What a racket the Temple had going for itself! It’s no wonder that Jesus became so angry at the whole thing! The House of God was more like an amusement park where everything was designed to steal from the poor and make the rich ever richer.
The Temple treasuries were filling all the time from the sale of sacrificial lambs, and they had huge quantities for sale. There was a full industry in place for the providing of sacrificial lambs. Where did these lambs come from?
There were many fields around Jerusalem, including those on the hillsides of Bethlehem. Every one of these lambs was born and raised under very controlled conditions. After all, this was a highly profitable big business and there were priests who were assigned the task of “Quality Control” and lamb production.
Whenever a new lamb was born, it was the duty of the shepherds to immediately inspect the new born-lamb to determine whether or not it had any blemish. A lamb that had any deformity, or any blemish whatsoever, was of absolutely no use for Temple sacrifice, could not be sold, and therefore was not worth the investment of feeding and caring for it. It was slaughtered immediately.
According to Jewish tradition, even the shepherds who watched over these flocks for the temple weren’t ordinary shepherds. Most of them were Jewish Rabbi, trained in the care and feeding of God’s sheep. Of course, there were probably normal shepherds there too. Someone had to handle the dirty work that was too good for the Rabbi shepherds, like for instance, discarding of unworthy lambs or cleaning up the birthing places, etc.
The place where the angels appeared to the shepherds is traditionally known as the “Tower of the Flock,” or Migdal Edar, which is very near Bethlehem.
This watch tower was used by the shepherds for protection from their enemies and wild beasts. It was also the place where ewes were brought to give birth to the lambs. In this sheltered building or the caves below, the priests would bring in the ewes which were about to lamb for protection.
According to Edersheim in The Life And Times Of Jesus The Messiah, in Book 2, Chapter 6, he states, “This Migdal Edar was not the watchtower for the ordinary flocks that pastured on the barren sheep ground beyond Bethlehem, but it lay close to the town, on the road to Jerusalem. A passage from the Mishnah, which was the original Oral Torah, given long before the Torah, or Jewish Bible was ever written, leads to the conclusion that the flocks which pastured there truly were destined for Temple sacrifices…”
When a lamb was born in the Tower of the Flock, it was the job of the trained Rabbi shepherds to do their royal duty and make sure the lamb was perfect, then to protect it from any possible harm. As they were born, the lambs would be wrapped carefully in swaddling clothes, just like those that would be used to wrap Jesus when he was born. The stable itself was kept ceremonially clean to allow no room for error in the birthing process.
According to many scholars, this Tower of the Flock, and its birthing caves below, is where Jesus was born. Jesus was God’s perfect sacrificial lamb, born in the same place where many other lambs had been born; but Jesus would be greatest, most perfect and final sacrificial lamb that ever have to be offered.
In looking at this whole scenario, there are so many parallels that can be drawn with the church of today and how we are preparing for the Second Coming of Jesus.
If there ever was a darkness that was across the land, we are living in that darkness right now! The whole world today is groping for answers in the darkness of sin and despair. I can’t help but believe that we living in the darkest hour of the night; that darkness just before the dawn!
God has trained and called pastors, teachers, prophets, evangelists and apostles to the work of tending to the sheep in God’s house who are destined to live with Jesus forever.
I believe that Pastors, more than any other of the 5 fold ministry are more responsible for the care and feeding of the flocks of God, but God uses all of the ministers to do an important work in these last days.
These ministers are here, living in the darkness, right along with the sheep; and we must do our best to see to it that God’s sheep are always cared for, taught correctly and prepared for the time when we shall all enter the gates of Heaven.
At the birth of Jesus it was a Heavenly Host, angels, that appeared as the glory of God shone around them; and they had a message of joy and peace and good news for all of mankind. But now, it isn’t the angels who appear to men to announce the birth of a Savior, but the ministers of God who have spent time in the presence of God and who will shine forth with the glory of God to preach the good tidings of the gospel and preaching of a time of peace that will come to the earth when Jesus comes again.
The angels had the glory of God around them because they had come from Heaven itself, right from the presence of God to bring forth their message. But today we have that glory of God dwelling within through the power of the Holy Ghost and being born again by the Spirit of God. That glory within should always shine forth into the darkness of the night to get the attention of those who are trapped in the darkness.
Like those shepherds on the hillside around Bethlehem; those who hear the good news of the gospel have to get up from where they are, choose to search for Jesus, and when they do; they will find him. Jesus is always there, ever waiting for that soul that will cry out to him in repentance. He’s not a baby in a manger anymore; but He is Mighty God, He is Prince of Peace, He is Savior and King! But before we can know him, we have to go and seek him.
As priests unto the Lord and shepherds to God’s flock, we must always be on guard never to cheapen the gospel through the use of man’s ideas and worldly means. Too many churches and ministries today have taken on the identity of the moneychangers, turning the House of Prayer that Jesus desires, into a place of personal and corporate profiteering.
Sometimes the emphasis is all about how great we are, how big we can get, how rich we can become, and all the things we do rather than on the message of repentance for sin and being born again unto salvation. We’re too busy counting the offerings, and numbering the seats and almost unconcerned about the condition of the hearts of the flock.
Like the shepherds that were birthing the sheep, we need to be ever on guard against those whose errors in doctrines would injure the sheep. Let us never forget, as ministers, that we are in charge of God’s people. We’ve been given a sacred duty and one that cannot be ignored. My job, and the job of every true minister of the Lord, is to preach the truth, and to get the people of God ready for the rapture. We are to guard against every attack of the enemy and to fight off every wind of doctrine, or every teaching that doesn’t line up with God’s Word.
Remember, Jesus is coming back after a church that is without spot, wrinkle or blemish. He’s coming back after a perfect church, a perfect bride; perfect sheep that he can call his own.
We are not perfect in ourselves by any means. If I were to be in the place of a Rabbi, seeking perfection, I dare say that none of us would survive the cut. Each of us deserves to die for our own sin. But thank God, our Father in Heaven provided his own perfect Lamb for the sacrifice. Jesus Christ died for us all; and now it is only through His shed blood that we are made perfect!
The only way we will be ready for the Marriage Supper of the Lamb; the only way we will ever be perfect enough to go in the Rapture; the only way we will ever be worthy of his sacrifice and rule and reign with Christ is through the power of the blood of Jesus!
If you are like those shepherds around Bethlehem, who were lost in sin, surrounded by the power of the darkness of this world, unable to dispel the darkness, and trapped in a world that demands more and more of your time. I have good news for you this morning!
The glory of God is in this place. His glory shines forth through His people and through his Word to illuminate your heart and mind. I’m here to tell you that you can have peace in your heart, no matter what the world is doing. You can have joy in spite of any circumstances. You can have victory in spite of every attack of the enemy of your soul.
For unto you is born a Savior, Christ the Lord! He was born in Bethlehem about 2012 years ago, born for but one purpose – to go to the cross and give his life for you! He’s no longer a baby in a manger; no longer a man upon a cross; no more dead and buried – But he is alive forever more!
And you can have life this morning! You can know the peace, joy, mercy and grace of Jesus by just confessing your sin; asking Him into your heart and being born again by the Spirit of God.
That’s the true meaning; and the true reason, that Christmas exists and that Jesus was born; and that God’s glory shone forth. That night, so long ago, marked the beginning of Hope for all humanity. Now is your chance. Will you get up, move out and come see Jesus for yourself?
All of God’s people are called to be priests. We all can be used as shepherds to watch over God’s family. Let us ever be vigilant to spread the light. Let us allow the glory of God in us to dispel the darkness and shine forth the light of God to a world caught in darkness.
