Every Longing HeartSample

Unlikely First Witnesses & Their Greatest Joy

It had been a night like a thousand other nights. A band of shepherds gathered around the campfire glow to tell stories and sing songs. But suddenly, the sky split open, and the blazing glory of an angel blinded their eyes and filled their hearts with terror.

Surrounded by the glory of the Lord, the shepherds saw an angel (probably Gabriel) announcing the good news of Christ’s birth, followed by an encore of hundreds of thousands of angels singing praise to God. The whole scene was like a curtain that had peeled back just enough to give the shepherds a glimpse of the ongoing worship concert of heaven.

But of all the people this heavenly announcement could’ve been made to, why was it first given to a group of lowly shepherds?

God has always had a soft spot for shepherds. Israel’s greatest king, David, was a shepherd, and Moses served his father-in-law as a shepherd for a time. Despite big names in their ranks, shepherds were as close to the bottom of the social ladder as you could get. Their work made them ceremonially unclean and unable to participate in the rituals of Judaism.

Yet, God revealed this groundbreaking news to these anonymous, and maybe devout, shepherds. This story is full of contrasts and irony. A dark starry night, broken by blinding, glorious light. Terror-filled men, confronted with exuberant and happy angels. Simple shepherds transformed into evangelists. Most ironically of all, the shepherds were probably tending a flock of future sacrificial lambs, as the Lamb of God was born in a manger nearby. In their haste to see the Child, could they have known they were beholding the final sacrificial lamb – the Lamb of God?

That fact that God would share the good news with shepherds first is, in itself, good news. Not many of us are wise according to worldly standards, powerful, or noble birth. God chooses the foolish things of the world to confound the wise. If being counted among the foolish things in the world gets you a front-row seat to the greatest announcement ever made, let’s sign up! The angelic announcement was meant to bring them great joy, and it’s intended to bring you the same today. The Savior has been born! This good news brings us the greatest joy, both now and forever.

• How is God calling me to think differently about how I view others?
• How is God calling me to think differently about how I view myself?
• How does this angelic announcement impact my day-to-day joy?