The Shepherds Visit Jesus

The Shepherds Visit Jesus, Luke 2:16-20

So they came in a hurry and found their way to Mary and Joseph, and the baby as He lay in the [a]manger. 17 When they had seen this, they made known the statement which had been told them about this Child. 18 And all who heard it wondered at the things which were told them by the shepherds. 19 But Mary treasured all these things¹, pondering them in her heart. 20 The shepherds went back, glorifying and praising God² for all that they had heard and seen, just as had been told them.

Footnotes:

Luke 2:16 Or feeding trough

Commentary

This is a much shorter passage than the last few I have done, and that is generally my preference. Scripture is so rich with meaning and allusion and revelation that each word of a passage can really be considered closely if I spend more time on fewer verses.

As I mentioned in the last post, I saved this part of the nativity story, based on the assumption that once the shepherds determined to go see the baby, at least some time elapsed before they got to him (despite the fact that they came in a hurry). I also wanted to spend some more time considering the shepherds in their historical and cultural context. I read an interesting article about who these shepherds might have been and what physical proximity they may have had to Jesus’ birthplace https://www.johnbmacdonald.com/blog/why-shepherds-at-bethlehem. (Side note about articles, sermons, and other reference materials I find online: I try to look up some references about the authors to ensure they offer sound biblical teaching, but there isn’t always an abundance of information about their ministry. At the very least, I believe that the article itself has merit and does not directly contradict scripture. However, please know that there is a lot of heresy on the internet, so you should look on all teaching through the lens of Biblical discernment. You should also make it your business, if possible, to know the reputation and the general belief system of the authors on whom you are relying for Biblical teaching.)

The name of the article is “Why Shepherds at Bethlehem?” and it expands on a theory I have read in several places, regarding the specific type of flock for which these shepherds would have been responsible. The law at that time was clear that flocks kept in urban or suburban areas were only allowed if the animals were used for temple sacrifice. Due to the fact that the scripture says the shepherds were “nearby”, it is a reasonable inference that these shepherds were caring for animals that would be used as sacrifices to God. There was a watchtower between Bethlehem and Hebron, called Migdal Eder, which was used by shepherds to watch over these sacred flocks. It was erected in the place where Jacob camped after Rachel’s death, and Micah 4:8 refers to it when it says “O tower of the flock…to you it will come…the kingdom of the daughter of Jerusalem” (Zondervan Pictorial Encyclopedia of the Bible Vol. 2 pg. 201).

Once again, I am amazed by the little hints God gives us, which make very little sense at the time, but become so much clearer in light of the events that fulfill prophecy. Also, the perfect symbolism of these shepherds who tend to the animals used in Old Testament sacrifice, who are the first to see the ultimate sacrifice, the Lamb of God. I’m not sure I agree with the article’s implication that the shepherds may have been excited about an end to their livelihood, but I do agree that they, above anyone, understood what it meant to see the child who would represent an end to all other sacrifices, that He would carry the weight of sacrifice on His shoulders for the rest of time. Imagine their awe, as well, at finding a baby, just as they had been told they would, in a little stone trough in a cave (Zondervan Pictorial Encyclopedia of the Bible Vol. 4 pg. 68). Further, that the baby was wrapped in strips of cloth may also have been a rarity. Since Mary had no midwife, she did the best she could, wrapping the baby in similar fashion to the way bodies were wrapped for the grave, possibly foreshadowing His future purpose (Nelson’s KJV Bible Commentary pg. 1267). Another way the swaddling cloths may have been symbolic to the shepherds is that those shepherds caring for sacrificial lambs would sometimes swaddle their spotless lambs and keep them in mangers to maintain their flawless purity until it was time for them to be sacrificed. Additionally, the night shepherds would probably have been the ones grazing the sheep designated for sacrifice, since it was common practice to preserve the sacrificial livestock from the hustle and bustle of daytime activity. They were the absolute perfect audience for the angels’ message, immediately understanding what it meant to swaddle a pure, innocent thing and lay it in a manger.

The above-referenced article also asserts that, when Luke sets out to compile his narrative by interviewing witnesses, one of those witnesses may have been Mary herself. I looked this up, and it seems many theologians believe that Mary was one of Luke’s sources, particularly because it answers the question I stated in a previous post – how did the author of this book know what Mary said or thought in a possibly private setting? Answer: she told him. This would make sense of verse 19, as well as the verse it references, Luke 2:51. It also speaks to the nature of Mary and why she was a good choice to quietly carry the Son of God. Her tacit introspection contrasts the shepherds’ enthusiasm to tell everyone they saw, and while the shepherds weren’t wrong to want to share about what they had seen, if Mary had been the talkative type who drew attention to herself, it could have had any number of consequences for her marriage, her pregnancy, and/or Jesus’ life. When the shepherds explained the reason they had come (an angelic visit), this would have been the next in a series of confirmations of her son’s legitimacy. She had received a visit by angels, Elizabeth had affirmed her when Mary visited, Joseph had been visited by angels, and now when the baby was born in the night, the shepherds on third shift were visited by angels and came right away. It certainly would have been a marvel to her, as she continued to see this plan of God’s played out (Nelson’s KJV Bible Commentary pg. 1267).

Speaking of the shepherds telling others of what they saw, consider that they met others on their way back, giving the impression that it was daytime by then, since other people were about. It also suggests that they made their way through populated areas to get back. There is a theory that Jesus was born in the tower Migdal Eder itself, where there was a pristine manger on the first floor, for feeding the sacrificial lambs. However, the shepherds wouldn’t have had far to go to get back to the top of their watch tower from the first floor. Not to say that they couldn’t have gone out of their way to find other people to tell, but in my opinion, the verse implies some distance was covered when it says the shepherds “came” and “went back”.

See the next post here https://onthepath.online/2019/01/16/jesus-presented-at-the-temple/

Scripture References

¹Lk 2:51 And He went down with them and came to Nazareth, and He continued in subjection to them; and His mother treasured all these things in her heart.

²Mt 9:8 But when the crowds saw this, they were awestruck, and glorified God, who had given such authority to men.

Mic 4:8 As for you, tower of the flock, Hill of the daughter of Zion, To you it will come— Even the former dominion will come, The kingdom of the daughter of Jerusalem.