The Shepherd’s Christmas

THE SHEPHERD’S CHRISTMAS

LUKE 2:8-20

INTRODUCTION

A. HUMOR

1. Q: What’s the difference between the Christmas alphabet and the ordinary alphabet? A: The Christmas alphabet has Noel.

2. Q: What do you call people who are afraid of Santa Claus? A: Claustrophobic.

3. Q: What do you call an obnoxious reindeer? RUDEolph.

4. Q: What nationality is Santa Claus? A: North Polish.

5. Q: What do you call a kid who doesn't believe in Santa? A rebel without a Claus.

6. Q: What do you call Santa's helpers? A: Subordinate clauses.

B. TEXT & TITLE

1. 8 And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night. 9 An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. 10 But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid. I bring you good news that will cause great joy for all the people. 11 Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is the Messiah, the Lord. 12 This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.” 13 Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God and saying, 14 “Glory to God in the highest heaven, and on earth peace to those on whom his favor rests.” 15 When the angels had left them and gone into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, “Let’s go to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has told us about.” 16 So they hurried off and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby, who was lying in the manger. 17 When they had seen him, they spread the word concerning what had been told them about this child, 18 and all who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds said to them. 19 But Mary treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart. 20 The shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things they had heard

and seen, which were just as they had been told. Lk. 2:8-20

2. Let’s look at “The Shepherd’s Christmas.”

I. WHY THE SHEPHERDS SEEMED A BAD CHOICE

1. Why did God choose shepherds to tell the news of His Son’s birth? Why not fishermen, potters, or Jewish leaders?

2. Now if I had been the heavenly spin doctor - advising the Lord God how to advertise the birth of His Son - I would have suggested a different group of people to inform, but it would definitely NOT have included shepherds on the list.

3. WHY? Shepherds didn’t have the best reputation in Jesus’ day! They weren’t the sort of people you’d want “proclaiming the birth of God’s one and only Son!”.

4. What do I mean?

A. SHEPHERDS WERE CONSIDERED UNCLEAN

1. Their line of work prevented them from participating in the feasts and holy days that made up the Jewish religious calendar.

2. When everyone else was making the trip to Jerusalem to make sacrifices at the temple, or to participate in one of the annual feasts, shepherds had to be out in the fields, watching over the sheep.

B. SHEPHERDS WERE LOOKED UPON WITH SUSPICION

1. Because shepherds were one of the lowest paying jobs they were usually poor, and the higher classes often accused them of being thieves. If something went missing – its loss was usually attributed to the shepherds.

2. They were constantly on the move because their jobs fluctuated a lot, so the long-term residents, not knowing them, were suspicious of them.

C. A SHEPHERD’S WORD WASN’T ADMISSIBLE TO JEWISH COURTS

1. Shepherds weren’t allowed to act as witnesses in a Court of Law because their word was not considered trustworthy.

2. The Talmud stated, "No help should be given to heathen and shepherds."

D. SHEPHERDS WERE ROUGH, UNEDUCATED MEN

1. They had a hard life. They were "lived out in the fields" with the sheep, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

2. When Joseph wanted to keep his family separated from the Egyptians, all he had to do was say they were shepherds, “for all shepherds are detestable to the Egyptians” Gen. 46:34.

II. GOD SEEMS TO HAVE A SOFT SPOT FOR SHEPHERDS

Here’s 5 reasons why God chose shepherds;

A. GOD DOES THE UNEXPECTED

1. God seldom works as we expect, which is one of the best evidences for its authenticity.

2. If you had been a Jewish writer wanting to make up a story about the entrance of the Messiah--the Savior of the World--into human history after two thousand years of prophecy, would you have invented a tale in which He was born in a stable and laid in a feed bin? Would you have made the announcement to a bunch of shepherds? Of course not.