The King of kings

The King of kings

It's interesting that the Lord sent angels to announce the birth of Christ to shepherds. This was the greatest event in the history of the world, and it was proclaimed to some of the most humble of men. Why did the Lord bypass the "great" men of the day?

For one thing, God isn't impressed with the things men are impressed with. These shepherds may have been the great men of the day in God's eyes. Certainly, kings would have been afraid of a new king as Herod was. It could have been dangerous to let tyrants know of the birth.

Some scholars have thought that the time of Christ's birth was around the time of the Day of Atonement. Hence, these could have been temple shepherds that were keeping the sheep to be used as the sin sacrifice. Therefore, it would be appropriate for them to come inspect the Lamb of God to verify He was without blemish.

It could be as simple as the Lord chose the shepherds because His Son would be the great Shepherd of the sheep. Maybe they were the only ones who would listen to the announcement. At any rate, it was prophetic for these lowly shepherds to be chosen for the great announcement because Jesus would always associate with the common and the poor.

What an irony that the King of kings would be in a stable! I'm sure this was a puzzle to the shepherds. Yet, no earthly accommodations would have been adequate. Therefore, it really didn't matter where Jesus was born. Wherever it would have been would have been infinitely less than the glory He had with the Father. Jesus humbled Himself to become a man.

It's hard to imagine something like this happening and the shepherds not going to worship the Lord. Yet, today, people often hear this same proclamation and do nothing about it.

When we see the Lord for who He is, we will also make this known to everyone who will listen.

Luke 2:8-18 (NIV)
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 of great joy that will be for all the people.
11 Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is Christ 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, and on earth peace to men 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.