Good Tidings to Shepherds
And the angel said unto them, Fear not: for, behold I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people. Luke 2:10
A particularly interesting word in the King James Version is tidings. The translators gave us a number of different translations for it. The word in the original language is εὐαγγελίζω (euaggelizō) and is translated to announce good news, to evangelize, to declare or bring the gospel or to preach the gospel or to declare glad or good tidings. The message that evening was indeed good news.
The birth of our Lord and Savior ought to bring about great joy, but the shepherds in the fields of Bethlehem were at first afraid. The sheep they were watching were for the most part destined for the sacrificial altar in Jerusalem.
Shepherds had little in the way of respect in Israel. Some of the Jewish people considered them outcasts. They would be in the fields with the unpleasant and smelly creatures for weeks at a time. This kept them from attending the temple or synagogue services. Their work made them both physically and ceremonially unclean. However, it was to shepherds that the angels first announced Christ’s coming.
Is there anything in that picture that seems inconsistent with the way we do things today? Should not the angels have come to someone higher up in society – perhaps someone who never missed a temple or synagogue service, someone everyone respected, someone who would have been chosen for great honor, someone who would have been considered godly? Why is it that Jesus did not come to the Scribes, Pharisees and other rulers of Israel?
John the Baptist, when he saw Jesus in John 1:29, said, “Behold, the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world.” The sacrificial lamb is in view here, the same kind the shepherds were watching over in the fields. The definite article with lamb shows that Jesus is not one among many lambs, but is the one saving lamb. The Shepherds immediately went to see the baby Jesus in the manger. What a scene! Jesus was their Savior and at the same time their sacrificial Lamb.
The Lord gave the shepherds a special honor that evening, but not one that was totally out of character in God’s plans and purposes. The Bible calls our attention to shepherds and shepherding more than two-hundred times. Moses was shepherding flocks when God called him to lead the children of Israel out of Egypt. David was tending the sheep in Bethlehem when God called him to be the King of Israel. The New Testament refers to a Shepherd and the sheep to illustrate Christ’s relationship to His followers. Jesus referred to Himself as the Good Shepherd (John 10:11, 14). Hebrews 13:20 refers to Jesus as the Great Shepherd.
Ask God to give you a greater understanding of the work He came to accomplish on Calvary’s cross on your behalf. Then thank Him for being both your sacrificial Lamb and your Good Shepherd.
George Stiekes held successful pastorates in churches in Michigan and Washington among other places. He currently resides in North Carolina and blogs at Reverent Reflections. We recommend his ministry and republish his material by permission.