And in the same region there were shepherds out in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night.
And an angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were filled with great fear.
And the angel said to them, “Fear not, for behold, I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people.
For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord.”
Luke 2:8–11
The Shepherds and the Angel
An angel appeared and told the shepherds that Jesus had been born.
Why did God choose to tell this news to shepherds, and not to others?
- Not to those in high positions of power,
- nor to religious leaders,
- but to shepherds.
These people were considered “lowly” at that time.
They were regarded as religiously “unclean,” their testimony was not trusted even in court,
and they were treated as poor and uneducated.
In other words, the shepherds were people who were not socially respected.
Why did God choose shepherds, and not the powerful?
What if the news of the Messiah’s birth had been told to those in high positions or to religious leaders?
They would have used it politically.
Just look at Herod.
When the wise men from the East came, he asked about the child’s location,
and when they returned to their country by another way,
did he not issue a cruel order to kill all the baby boys around the same age as Jesus, the child born King?
This was the way God revealed salvation to this world.
From the lowest place, in the quietest way, yet most clearly.
- Those who had nothing to boast of,
- those who had no one to rely on except God,
- those who could receive grace as grace—
to them, first, the “good news” was delivered.
The kingdom of God is not a reward given to the powerful,
but grace given to those who do not deserve it.
That is why the news of Jesus’ birth was heard
- not in a palace of power, but in the fields,
- not by the ears of a king, but first by the ears of poor shepherds.
In this same way, the grace of salvation came to me.
To me, who was poor,
God gave the gift of faith—to know Jesus Christ, His gift.
And what gives me hope is that even now,
through someone as small as me, through us,
God is spreading the gospel through what seems foolish preaching.
“I praise Jesus who came to this earth.
God, who revealed the greatest good news of salvation to the weakest first,
I thank You for that grace.
Please use us so that we may share this gift, freely given to us, with those who wander in despair without knowing Jesus.
We earnestly pray that our lives may become a channel of the gospel.
I pray in the name of Jesus. Amen.”