Ordinary shepherds were tending their sheep in the fields near Bethlehem. Suddenly the sky opened. They saw and heard angels there among them. This supernatural event took place in an ordinary moment in everyday life. These men were not celebrities. They were very ordinary guys. This was not a pastel colored, mystical experience. They were in a pasture with their sheep and suddenly they were surrounded with heaven’s blazing glory. One of the angels announced, “I’ve got good news for you, today here in King David’s hometown your Savior was born. He is Christ the Lord.”
The angel gave them this sign to look for. The baby would be wrapped in a blanket-- that’s normal. He would be lying in a manger-- that’s different.
After they got over the shock of what just took place, their response was completely natural and straightforward. They said, “let’s go straight to town, and see this thing that’s happened that the Lord God has made known to us.”
In town they found the parents, Joseph and Mary, and there was the baby lying in a manger. After seeing him these shepherds started telling the story of what the Lord God had shown them about the child to everyone. These men were not theologians. They probably couldn’t read. But the story they had to tell was the Gospel Truth.
This baby is Master over all. He is the Savior of the World. Those shepherds believed that. We will see them, and anyone else who believed their story, in heaven.
