The Birth of JesusSample

The Shepherds Visit Jesus

After the angels leave to return to Heaven and the shepherds are left alone in their fields, they don’t waste any time in hurrying over to Bethlehem to see Jesus. Yesterday we discussed how God chose the shepherds to witness His Son’s birth because of their willingness to accept Him, and today we’ll see that in action.

In Luke 2:15 the shepherds say, “Let us go over to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has made known to us.” Without hesitation or questioning, they go to Bethlehem, not only trusting that these things were happening just as the angel told them, but that their flocks would be safe until they returned. Seeing Jesus was important enough that they would leave their sheep in the fields, unprotected.

When they got to the manger where Mary, Joseph, and Jesus were, the shepherds found everything exactly as they were told it would be. They had found the Christ, and they told Mary and Joseph everything the angel had told them about Jesus, as though Mary and Joseph didn’t already know Who He was!

We don’t know if more people had gathered around Mary and Joseph by this time, but we do know that everyone who heard what these shepherds were saying was amazed by their words. Was the shepherds’ testimony powerful enough that the people of Bethlehem and those who had come from all over Israel for the census now also believed that Jesus, this baby Who had just been born in a stable, was the Son of God?

The shepherds accepted Jesus with praises to God, just as the angels had done. And then they proclaimed this good news and returned to their fields and sheep with a new perspective on life. God had sent His angels to guide them to see His Messiah with their own eyes. How could life ever be the same?

But let’s not forget about Mary and Joseph. While the shepherds were telling everyone about the glorious vision they had seen, Mary was listening. God had chosen the mother of His Son well, because Mary “treasured up all these things, pondering them in her heart” (Luke 2:19). She didn’t boast to the shepherds about her own angelic visitation. Instead, she considered this new development with care and took it to heart. Mary and Joseph were beginning to see just how different their lives would be now that Jesus had come.

Reflection

How do you think the shepherds’ lives changed after this one eventful night? What might Mary have been thinking about while the shepherds told her and Joseph their story?