When I read Luke 2:8, I can’t help but hearing Linus in the Peanut’s cartoon voice. “In the same region there were shepherds staying out in the fields and keeping watch over their flock by night.” In Charlie Brown’s Christmas, Linus’ fellow characters needed to be reminded or hear for the first time the true story of Christmas. In our familiarity we forget or don’t know as much as we think we know. In this lesson, we are going to reintroduce ourselves to those who came to visit this very new family of three and why they were significant.
“In the same region” refers to the area around Bethlehem, a very small farming community that was approximately 5 miles from the religious and political center of Judea, Jerusalem. It was in this area that the entrepreneurial priesthood grazed the sheep they sold for “acceptable” sacrifices, especially when they deemed that the ones the worshippers brought were not good enough. They were known to buy these “inferior” ones for their “perfect” ones, at a high mark-up of course, then send the “inferior” ones to the pasture to be sold later as “perfect.” (30 years later when Jesus cleaned out the temple markets, this practice was still going strong.) It is quite possible that these shepherds were among those hired to care for these “perfect” substitute lambs. If these were temple shepherds, they would have always been on the look out for a “perfect” lamb and would know it when they saw it.
Shepherds have been a part of Israel’s history from the beginning. Their most famous king, King David, had been a shepherd before being anointed by God for the throne. From his experiences as a shepherd, he wrote the very popular Twenty Third Psalm: “The Lord is my Shepherd.” However, it goes much further back to Jacob, from whom Israel derives its name. (God had changed his name after radically changing his character.) Jacob/Israel told his son, “God has been my shepherd all my life.” Gen. 48:15 He too had been a shepherd.
With this kind of history, you would think that shepherds would have been held in high regards. However, by the time of Christ’s birth, they were outsiders (literally). They were not able to keep all the laws of cleanliness and daily rituals, thus religiously shunned. Socially, they were minimized. Do you identify with the shepherds, feeling on the outside of society? Yet these were the very first ones with whom God intentionally shared the birth of His Son. No cigars, just angels. “And an angel of the Lord suddenly stood before them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them; and they were terribly frightened. But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid; for behold, I bring you good news of great joy which will be for all the people; for today in the city of David there has been born for you a Savior, who is Christ the Lord.” Luke 2:9-11 How does it make you feel that God went to special effort to include them in all of this?
These men, of various ages, had been raised on God’s word. They knew God promised to send a Messiah. And from childhood they had heard stories about angels bringing God’s message to His people. Obviously, in their wildest dreams, they never imagined that it would happen to them. Their fearful reaction is understandable. Yet God had been preparing them their whole life to bring them to Jesus.
He continues to work that way to bring people to Himself: Bible stories heard at home and church, a family history of faith, a culture that respects religious belief and teaching. God is in no way limited to working this way, but it is one of His favorites. This is how God prepared me to find Jesus. I was a “cradle Christian” raised singing “Jesus loves me this I know.” I have never not known about God and His love for me. Every night I was put to bed with a Bible story and prayer. Did God introduce you to His Son the same way? Despite my childhood upbringing and child faith, there was still a time when I had an divine encounter where it became a personal invitation to seek and know Jesus as my Savior and Lord. Like these shepherds, that moment came in the middle of their everyday life.
God sought them out, but they too had to seek Him. The angel knew exactly where this precious child laid. He could have given them specific directions. Instead, they were told, “You will find the baby wrapped in swaddling cloths and laying in a manger.” V12 If they looked, they would find Him. They were given the opportunity, but it remained their choice.
The invitation and promise still stands “Seek the Lord, and you will find Him if you search for Him with all your heart.” Deut. 4:29
And so they went searching. “When the angels had gone away from them into heaven, the shepherds began saying to one another, “Let us go straight to Bethlehem then, and see this thing that has happened which the Lord has made known to us.” So they came in a hurry and found their way to Mary and Joseph, and the baby as He lay in the manger.” v 15,16 They checked every feed trough they could find. It took effort and desire. They “found their way to Mary and Joseph, and the baby as He lay in the manger.”
Why do you think desire and effort is required in the process of finding Jesus? Its about choice – about willingness. Effort proves the validity of both.
These surprise (and surprised) visitors told Mary and Joseph about the angels’ visit. For this couple it was a confirmation that this seemingly ordinary birth truly was a divine event. They had someone to share their joy after all. Verse 19 tells us that “Mary treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart.” It was something she never forgot.
For the shepherds finding Jesus didn’t stop there. They couldn’t keep it to themselves. “When they had seen him, they spread the word concerning what had been told them about this child, and all who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds said to them.” v 17,18 They told everyone and anyone what they had seen, heard and experienced. What was your response the first time you encountered God’s incredible love and grace in His Son, Jesus? Is that still your response? [I was all in to the point of obnoxious. My senior year (1973) I was voted as “most likely to replace Billy Graham”! Its convicting how easy it is to settle into comfortable and assumptions that “everyone one knows” how I feel and believe.]
Though they went back to their ordinary lives as shepherds, it was a life changing encounter. “The shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things they had heard and seen, which were just as they had been told.” v 20 What difference has finding this precious baby, the Savior, Christ the Lord had on your life?
Another group of men were also sent to find Jesus. For them, God didn’t use family faith or childhood’s immersed in His reality and love. For them it was their curiosity, an insatiable hunger for knowledge and understanding, as well as their culture and circumstance.
We don’t know when their search began. Like the shepherds, it may have been the very day Jesus was born. Like so many who do not have the blessing of a faith-based background, it took them a lot longer to find Him. The events recorded in Matthew 2 occur almost 2 years later.
These men (we do not know how many) came from the east, most likely from Arabia, which was heavily influenced by Greek and Persian beliefs. Within this culture these men, known as magi, were highly regarded scholars, philosophers and often priests/religious men. They were men of science and extensive learning. They were continually searching for something significant and meaningful in their lives. Before you found Jesus, were you like the magi seeking something/someone more without really knowing who or what that more was?
What did God use to bring you face to face, heart to heart, with Jesus? For these men, God used the extraordinary in their ordinary. They studied cultures, histories and religions that existed throughout the world. They also studied and charted the stars. They connected significant historical and current events in history with what they observed in the heavens. When unexpectedly an extraordinary star appeared, they concluded something significant had occurred such as a birth of a great king or world leader.
They had two choices: (1) wait 20 or 30 years to see who rose to prominence; or (2) seek out the One at the heart of this heavenly phenomenon. They chose the later. So, they charted their find, determined the quadrant of the skies where this unusual star appeared was associated with Israel. Somewhere someone started assigning consolations with birth months (astrology) and clusters/galaxies with earthly kingdoms and regions. God was NOT confirming this but met them at their point of belief, even if flawed, to bring them to Jesus.
They packed up for the journey west, including gifts to given in honor of this great newborn king. Deducing that a new king would be born to a royal family, they traveled with their entourage directly to the capital city of Jerusalem. “Now after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of Herod the king, magi from the east arrived in Jerusalem, saying, ‘Where is He who has been born King of the Jews? For we saw His star in the east and have come to worship Him.’” Matt. 2:1,2 They were so confident in their mission, that when they arrived in Jerusalem, they didn’t ask if a king had been born, only where. To their surprise, no one knew what they were talking about.
Their arrival created quite a stir in Jerusalem. But in the palace, it triggered King Herod’s greatest fear. He was so paranoid about losing his kingship that he even had his nephews killed. Where others anxiously waited for the promised Messiah, Herod saw Him as His greatest threat.
When Herod the king heard this, he was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him. Gathering together all the chief priests and scribes of the people, he inquired of them where the Messiah was to be born. They said to him, “In Bethlehem of Judea; for this is what has been written by the prophet: ‘AND YOU, BETHLEHEM, LAND OF JUDAH, ARE BY NO MEANS LEAST AMONG THE LEADERS OF JUDAH; FOR OUT OF YOU SHALL COME FORTH A RULER WHO WILL SHEPHERD MY PEOPLE ISRAEL.’” Then Herod secretly called the magi and determined from them the exact time the star appeared. And he sent them to Bethlehem and said, “Go and search carefully for the Child; and when you have found Him,report to me, so that I too may come and worship Him.” V 3-8
For devious reasons, Herod too wanted to know where this great king had been born. A quick check with those “in the know” revealed the prophesied birthplace was Bethlehem. Under the guise that he too wanted to honor this newborn king, he gave the magi the needed information and requested they return to him with the exact location. However, what he really wanted to do was eliminate the threat to his power. Apparently, he feared them (or feared exposing the ruse) enough to not to send soldiers with them or spies following behind.
Leaving Jerusalem, they were pointed towards Bethlehem. They had to be discouraged and frustrated that everyone, especially those in charge were clueless to what they wanted so badly to believe was true and worth the time, effort and expense they had put into this search.
They could have given up, but instead they looked up. “After hearing the king, they went their way; and the star, which they had seen in the east, went on before them until it came and stood over the place where the Child was. When they saw the star, they rejoiced exceedingly with great joy.” v 9,10 Much to their amazement and delight, the star that had set them on this journey was right there. Miraculously it led them right to the home where they found this divine child.
Where God had used angels to bring the Jewish shepherds to Jesus, meeting them at their point of belief, for the magi, God used a star. In the past, they had worshipped the created, but now they were led directly to the Creator. God willing meets us where we are and uses the ordinary and extraordinary to make it possible for us to seek and find Jesus. He knows. He wants to be sought and found. Acts 17:26-28 tells us “He made from one man every nation of mankind to live on all the face of the earth, having determined their appointed times and the boundaries of their habitation, that they would seek God, if perhaps they might grope for Him and find Him, though He is not far from each one of us; for in Him we live and move and exist.”
When they entered the home of a humble tradesman and came face to face with the child they sought, they immediately bowed down and worshipped. “After coming into the house they saw the Child with Mary His mother; and they fell to the ground and worshiped Him. Bowing in respect to a king, even an infant or toddler, is expected, but to worship is an acknowledgment that this child was much more. He was God! v 11 When was the last time you bowed down and worshipped simply out of gratitude for finally finding Jesus, and in acknowledgment of all He is in your life?
They also presented this young family gift. Then, opening their treasures, they presented to Him gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh.” (Don’t miss that these were NOT offered to Herod. They knew he was NOT the one they were seeking.) They presented lavish gifts on this impoverished family. When they chose these gifts, I do not think they were aware of their significance, but God was. Each gift was symbolic of who Jesus was: gold – the tribute of a king; frankincense – an offering to God; and myrrh, a burial spice, – an acknowledgment of His being a man subject to death.
After finding Jesus, these magi were truly wise men. Previously a star had led them, but afterwards they were led directly by God. “And having been warned by God in a dream not to return to Herod, the magi left for their own country by another way.” V 12 Taking an indirect route, they returned to their own country bringing with them the good news: Truly a great king had been born – the King of kings and Lord of lords.
An angel also warned Joseph that when Herod found out he was going to be on a murderous rampage, and they too needed to flee. “Now when they had gone, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream and said, “Get up! Take the Child and His mother and flee to Egypt, and remain there until I tell you; for Herod is going to search for the Child to destroy Him.” V 13 These timely gifts would be just what this impoverished family needed as refugees in Egypt. How like God to bless others when we find Jesus!
Here is a Christmas challenge: Think of a symbolic gift you can give Jesus. What is it? What does it mean? When and how will you actually give it? Who will God bless in your giving it to Him?
