Why The Shepherds?

News about the birth of a baby is usually greeted with joy, especially news of the birth of a baby from a kingdom, for example, England. In 2021, Caroline Picard and Charlotte Chilton wrote the article "38 Royal Baby Traditions You Didn't Realize Existed." I will share some of them with you:

1. Before the news about the birth is conveyed to the public, somebody must inform the King/Queen and their children first.

2. Buckingham Palace posted a birth notice. Today, the royals released the news on social media, too. The official announcement includes the baby's gender and the time of delivery.

3. The Tower of London sets off a 62-gun salute.

4. Another park fires off 41 more guns. Gun salutes also mark other important occasions, like the Queen's birthday and the State Opening of Parliament.

5. Landmarks light up in honor of the birth.

6. The baby often appears in public soon afterward. Princess Diana established this practice of standing outside the Lindo Wing for photos in her time. The Queen used to take her newborns out on the balcony of Buckingham Palace.

And now, let's see how the birth of Jesus was announced. He is more than a royal baby. He came from heaven and came to be the Savior of the whole world. But the way His Father in heaven announced His birth is very different from how the royal families announce the birth of their family members.

The birth of Christ was not announced to the most influential people in the nation, like political leaders – kings, governors, magistrates, even Caesar, nor to religious leaders – Priests, rabbis, synagogue officials, the head of the Jewish ruling council, the Sanhedrin. It was not announced to military leaders, wealthy merchants, and prominent men and women. None of them got the word. None of them were invited. But it was announced by angels to the shepherds. Who are they?

First of all, they were religious outcasts. According to Jewish religious law, these men were unclean. Their line of work prevented them from participating in the feasts and holy days that made up the Jewish religious calendar. Why? Well, somebody had to watch the sheep. When everyone else was making the trip to Jerusalem to make sacrifices at the Temple or to participate in one of the annual feasts, they were out in the fields, watching over the sheep. They were looked down on from a religious point of view. They couldn't fully participate in the community's religious life.

Not only that, but shepherds were also borderline social outcasts. Since they were constantly on the move to find new pastures for their flocks, they were looked on with suspicion. The way people today might look at gypsies or carnival workers. They were often accused of being thieves. If something came up missing – it must have been those shepherds. They were not permitted to give testimony in a legal proceeding because their words weren't considered trustworthy.

And on top of all that, they didn't have much contact with other people. Most of the time, they were "living out in the fields" (v. 8). This was not a 40-hour-a-week job. They didn't come home at night. They were with the sheep 24 hours a day, seven days a week. During the day, they led the sheep to grass and water. They watched while the sheep grazed. They kept an eye out for predators like wolves. At night, they slept in the sheep pen with the sheep to guard against theft and animal attack. A good shepherd could identify each one of his sheep by sight. He knew his sheep, and they knew him. – John 10:2-4.

A shepherd's work is monotonous, tedious, and sometimes very dangerous. Shepherds often feel lonely. They don't have much social contact because they rarely come into contact with other people. This gives them a lot of contact with their sheep and free time. No wonder David, the shepherd who became king of Israel in the Old Testament, was an accomplished musician. Many shepherds learned to play the flute or other musical instruments because they had hours with nothing to do but watch the sheep eat grass.

If so, why did God choose the shepherds? Why did He send His angels to announce the birth of Christ to them and invite them, and only them, to come and see the baby Jesus?

* Were the shepherds more pious and very holy? Even though they cannot participate in religious organizations, are they actually people who genuinely believe in God? This is not very certain, although the verse says that when they received the news, they believed what the angel said and did what the angel ordered. But nothing in the text shows that they were more religious than anyone else.