Shepherds and Kings

"And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby keeping watch over their flocks by night. An angel of the Lord appeared to them" Luke 2:8-9.

"After Jesus was born in Bethlehem in Judea, during the time of King Herod, Magi from the East came to Jerusalem and asked, 'Where is the one who is been born King of the Jews? We saw his star in the East and we have come to worship him'" Matt. 2:1-2.

Looking at the accounts of Christ's birth it's interesting to see who did/didn't get the message and how this corresponds to His earthly ministry.

First, the shepherds. According to Edershiem's The Life And Times of Jesus the Messiah, (a voluminous book, but well worth the time taken to explore it) shepherds, in the eyes of the religious elite, held a very unique status. These guardians of sheep, some which would later become the Pascal Lamb...were despised.

Even though God equated Himself as the Shepherd of His flock (Israel) and Moses, who was revered and honored for his role in Jewish history was a shepherd, the Jewish leadership deemed those in this occupation as "sinners." Why? Who knows.

Prejudice doesn't need a logical foundation. Despite their lowly status, God made shepherds His first choice to learn of Christ's birth. During His earthly ministry, Jesus had ongoing association with all kinds of "sinners" and this upset the religious hierarchy. It was part of the reason they turned against Him.

According to Luke, the shepherds spread the news of their angelic encounter and visit to the manger. Their story would be regarded as worthless by the teachers of the Law. When commanded by Herod to account for the birthplace of this "King of the Jews" the shepherd's first-hand testimony was ignored.

Next there's the Magi. They were Gentiles. Schooled in astronomy and the orderly movement of the heavenly bodies, any anomaly was significant. These were thought to be portents of special events. The appearance of a star, like the one at Christ's birth, was believed to mark the birth of a new world leader. Therefore, upon arrival at Herod's court, without hesitation, they asked the then sitting king the whereabouts of this new King of the Jews (wrong person to ask).

When questioned the religious authorities quoted Scripture designating Bethlehem as the possible nativity site. It's hard to imagine that they hadn't heard about the shepherd's experience. But, considering their bias toward this group, it's not surprising that this wasn't considered important enough to mention.

The Magi's quest to find the King of the Jews also foreshadows the relationship between Jesus and the Gentiles. Considering the Samaritan woman's encounter with Christ at the well (a cultural no-no) and that women were deemed unqualified as witnesses to anything, even first-hand experiences, her community turned out in droves to hear this stranger.

The Gadarene demonic turned healed evangelist crisscrossed his area spreading the news of his miraculous deliverance. Upon Jesus' return, the crowds came and He ministered freely to them. Like the Magi, the Syro-Phoenician woman pro-actively sought Christ out, and none of them went away disappointed. Jesus was a magnet for sinners, outcasts and even Gentiles who many times warmly received Him, unlike His own.

From birth, the groundwork is laid for Christ's path of earthly ministry. His mission was primarily to the lost sheep of the house of Israel, and symbolically the caretakers of the sheep were the first to know of His arrival. However, the arrival of the Magi made it clear that God's salvation wasn't just for a select group. Sinners, and even Gentiles were to be part of the mix, a message we can't afford to miss out on today.

Christ's actions went against the grain of the deeply entrenched Jewish Messianic beliefs putting Jesus on a collision course with cherished traditions. That trajectory got Him killed. It can still get you killed today.

How about you? Have you ever noticed the link between the events surrounding Christ's birth and His ministry here on earth? What do you think of God's selection of two groups outside the prevailing Jewish religious mainstream receiving this important revelation from God? Could/would God do the same thing today? Maybe. In that case we better keep our eyes and ears open so we don't miss God's unorthodox means of communication and who he speaks through.