THE LIFE OF JESUS CHRIST – THE SHEPHERDS.

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THE LIFE OF JESUS CHRIST – THE SHEPHERDS.

LUKE 2:8-20 (KJV):

8 And there were in the same country shepherds abiding in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night.

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.

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.

11 For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord.

12 And this shall be a sign unto you; Ye shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger.

13 And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God, and saying,

14 Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men.

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.

16 And they came with haste, and found Mary, and Joseph, and the babe lying in a manger.

17 And when they had seen it, they made known abroad the saying which was told them concerning this child.

18 And all they that heard it wondered at those things which were told them by the shepherds.

19 But Mary kept all these things, and pondered them in her heart.

20 And the shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things that they had heard and seen, as it was told unto them.

About a mile from Bethlehem is fertile plain where shepherds in time of old grazed their flocks. Even today, they do the same.

The plain has a shallow cave where the shepherd could rest as they cared for their sheep through the long night.

According to tradition, in ancient time this plain belonged to
Boaz and it was here that Ruth joined his servants in gleaning the fallen wheat.

Remember, Boaz later married Ruth and they had a son named Obed who had a son named Jesse the father of David. It was through the lineage of David that Jesus was born into the world, which means that Ruth and Boaz were ancestors of the Lord.

The Shepherds in the field that night were audience to the most sublime message ever heard upon earth. (Lk. 2:8-14).

The striking words of that heavenly proclamation were “unto you” it was not said that Jesus was born unto Mary, or unto the Jews, but “unto you” his birth was both personal and universal , an event of glory and gladness to all who would and will by faith receive it.

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VI. JESUS WAS PRESENTED IN JERUSALEM.

Eight days after the birth of Jesus, Joseph and Mary, fulfilled the law concerning circumcision (Lev. 12:2-3) Following the forty days period of purification required by the law (Lev. 12:4), they took the child to Jerusalem for dedication in the temple.

There was at Jerusalem an elderly man named Simeon, a righteous and devoted man who God instructed that he will not die until he sees the saviour of his people Israel. The same took the child and blessed him, Lk, 2:22-32.

Also a widow named Anna; an aged prophetess recognized the son of God and spoke concerning him, while none of the religious leaders (the Pharisees or Sadducees) was aware of the birth of Christ, as they were too occupied with the affairs of religion.

VII. THE VISIT OF THE WISE MEN:

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Some time after Joseph and Mary returned to Bethlehem, wise men from the East came to worship Jesus, while the bible records the visit of these men, in a considerable detail, little is said of the men themselves, called Magi. They were astrologers, men who studies about heavenly bodies.

They discovered his star in the east and understood that he was already born. These men may have heard the Jews in the East speak about their expectation of a Messiah. They accepted the new star that appeared in Heaven to be a sign of this Jewish messiah, and followed the star to Jerusalem to pay homage to him.

However, they allowed human reason to make them lost the divine guidance the star was giving them; hence they went to Herod (an imposed King to the Jews) to enquire about the new born child because they were thinking that since he is a king he might be the one who give birth to a successor.

Now as they came to Herod for to enquire, Herod was surprise to that and called the Priests and scribes who gave first hand information of where the Messiah would be born, which shows that they were not ignorance of the event. Ironically, however, they did not join the wise men in their search for the king of the Jews. Their heart did not leap with Joy that messiah had come.

Herod on the other hand pretend that he liked the birth of the child and told the men to come back after discovering him so that he too will go and pay homage to the young child. But when the magi left the palace to which human reasoning had taken them to they saw the same star they ignored still waiting to guide them where the child Jesus was.

Because they presented three gifts to Jesus, it is commonly believed that there were three wise men. But the scripture did not say so. There gifts were typically Eastern, yet they were symbolic.

a. Gold is a gift for a King.

b. Frankincense is used as an offering to a god.

c. And Myrrh is used in preparing the dead for burial. It is not difficult to see in these gifts a symbol of Christ’s kingship, his deity and his atoning death.

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