The Gospel According to The Shepherds
Series: The Gospel According To
Category: Our Pastors, Christmas, Gospel
Speaker: Ken Godon
Passage: Luke 2:8-20
Summary: According to Luke 2:8-20 God sent his angel to announce the birth of His Son to a surprise group. The Shepherds are really at 1st glance not the choice we would have made. Perhaps we would considered them just too common and ordinary to be the first audience to hear the greatest breaking news in all of history. But when we stop and realize the relationship God has with shepherds in the Bible a pattern begins to emerge. Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, his 12 sons, Moses and David were all shepherds. God referred to himself as a shepherd and of course Jesus called himself the Good Shepherd. The Shepherds who were watching their flocks by night may have been common but they were in good company. Perhaps you remember seeing the modern shepherd in his Subaru pick-up with his injured shepherd dog riding shot-gun chasing after sheep in the open fields. Isn't that what God does with people--always chasing us down in order to protect us. The sheep being tended by the Bethlehem Shepherds often ended up at the Temple as sacrifices--again reminding us Jesus our Good Shepherd who is also the Lamb of God who was sacrificed for our sins. No wonder the angel was sent to these shepherds on the night Jesus was born.
Tags: birth, christ, christmas, gospel, jesus, shepherds
According to Luke 2:8-20 God sent his angel to announce the birth of His Son to a surprise group. The Shepherds are really at 1st glance not the choice we would have made. Perhaps we would considered them just too common and ordinary to be the first audience to hear the greatest breaking news in all of history. But when we stop and realize the relationship God has with shepherds in the Bible a pattern begins to emerge. Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, his 12 sons, Moses and David were all shepherds. God referred to himself as a shepherd and of course Jesus called himself the Good Shepherd. The Shepherds who were watching their flocks by night may have been common but they were in good company. Perhaps you remember seeing the modern shepherd in his Subaru pick-up with his injured shepherd dog riding shot-gun chasing after sheep in the open fields. Isn't that what God does with people--always chasing us down in order to protect us. The sheep being tended by the Bethlehem Shepherds often ended up at the Temple as sacrifices--again reminding us Jesus our Good Shepherd who is also the Lamb of God who was sacrificed for our sins. No wonder the angel was sent to these shepherds on the night Jesus was born.