DrIBEX Ideas

Today I offer some observations on the role of the shepherds in Luke 2, some of which I have adapted from Ben Witherington.

The episode about the shepherds, which takes up more space than the discussion of the birth itself, has a real historical plausibility to it, since Bethlehem was one of the main areas near Jerusalem where sheep were raised for the sacrifices in the Temple. Due to their profession, shepherds were viewed as unclean peasants by some Jews, but Luke sees them as exemples of the marginalized, for whom the birth of a savior would be seen as good news indeed (Lk. 1:52, 4:18).

Throughout the Bible, angels are harbingers of divine activity and messengers of God, and the angel of Luke 2 is no exception. Lk. 2:9 speaks of the glory of the Lord shining around the angel and the shepherds, a reference to the bright and shining presence, or Shekinah, of God. Naturally, the shepherds are frightened by the sight. Verbrugge in A Not So Silent Night develops the idea that the use of the term “host” to describe the angels stresses a military role as they enter into conflict with the “legions” of Satan, a term used of wicked and good angels in the Gospels (cf. Mark 5:9 and Matt. 26:53). Their song then could be compared to an ancient “Hail to the Chief.”

“Do not be afraid,” the angel reassures the men, “for see—I am bringing you good news of great joy for all the people: to you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Messiah the Lord” (Lk. 2:10–11). The angel emphasizes that the savior is born “to you,” the shepherds—that is, to the least, the last and the lost.

The “savior language” used by the angel draws on the rhetoric of the imperial cult in Luke’s day. Throughout the empire, boastful inscriptions celebrated the birth of the emperor who had “pacified” the entire region around the Mediterranean. Caesar is described as a god walking upon the earth in the flesh. In his gospel, Luke is using this same language, portraying the Jewish infant of humble origins, Jesus, as the real savior and the real Lord whose coming will bring peace on earth, compared to the Emperor Augustus, who is just a pretender or counterfeit. In other words, the message of the angels to the shepherds was that Jesus is Lord. Therefore, Caesar is not.

When the shepherds hear the news “which the Lord has made known to us” (Lk. 2:15), they go to the manger in haste to see with their own eyes the confirming sign. They then go forth as the first evangelists or proclaimers of the good news. How insightful that the first messengers of Jesus’ birth were despised shepherds, not the professional clergy in Jerusalem! Over thirty years later the first messengers of Jesus’ resurrection were despised women, not the fearful male disciples (Lk. 24:22-24).

Let’s all of us - males, females, laypeople, ministers - be faithful witnesses this Christmas to the One whose birth has changed our lives forever!