Luke 2:15
And it came to pass, as the angels were gone away from them into heaven, the shepherds said one to another, Let us now go even unto Bethlehem, and see this thing which is come to pass, which the Lord hath made known unto us. And it came to pass, as the angels were gone away from them into heaven, the shepherds said one to another, Let us now go even unto Bethlehem, and see this thing which is come to pass, which the Lord hath made known unto us.
On the hills around Bethlehem at night, as soon as the angels returned to heaven and the glory faded into darkness, the shepherds agreed together to go and see what the Lord had revealed to them.
Their fear gave way to rejoicing trust, so they hurried at once to seek and worship the newborn Saviour and found Mary and Joseph and the babe lying in a manger wrapped in swaddling bands exactly as foretold.
What they saw filled them with amazement, love, gratitude and joy, and they believed, worshiped, and spread the tidings abroad with praise to God while all who heard marveled and Mary pondered them in her heart.
God sent the glad news from His throne directly to humble shepherds keeping their flocks by night instead of to the priests, rulers and learned expositors in Jerusalem.
The leaders missed the greatest event of the ages through selfish indifference and pride that looked for a mighty temporal king, while the faithful shepherds who longed, talked and prayed for the promised Saviour were met in deep sympathy where they were, showing that God reveals Himself to the lowliest who heed the light given.
Shepherds' Immediate Response
The moment belongs to the hills and plains around Bethlehem at night, just after the angels went away into heaven, when the bright glory disappeared, the light faded, and the shadows of night fell again, while the brightest picture ever seen remained in memory. The shepherds spoke to one another, saying to go even to Bethlehem to see this thing which had come to pass which the Lord had made known to them. Their words were at once an agreement together and an urging of one another to act on the heavenly message and seek the newborn Saviour.
Their fear was dispelled, and astonishment and terror gave way to joy. All aglow with the glad tidings, rejoicing and trusting the angel's message, they immediately hastened in search of the Saviour to see Him and worship Him. They found Him exactly as the celestial messengers had testified, and where they had told them to find Him: Mary and Joseph and the babe lying in a manger, wrapped in swaddling bands.
What they found confirmed the message and deeply impressed them, filling them with amazement, love, and gratitude that God in infinite mercy had sent His Son into the world for the salvation of men, and with great joy. They believed the heavenly Guest, received Him, and worshiped Him.
Then they spread the joyful tidings abroad, making known the saying told them concerning the child, telling of the wondrous glory, the leading angel's message, and the vast heavenly throng's united proclamation of glory to God in the highest and on earth peace, good will toward men. They went away returning with glory and praise to God for what they had seen and heard. All who heard wondered and were amazed at the things told them by the shepherds, while Mary kept all these things and pondered them deeply in her heart.
Why Shepherds Were Chosen
The glad news was sent by bright messengers from the throne of light directly to humble shepherds keeping their flocks by night, instead of to the priests and rulers, the learned Jews, the expositors of the Sacred Oracles, the ministers of God's house, and the indifferent leaders in Jerusalem. Angels had watched to see how God's people would receive His Son clothed in humanity, and came unseen to Jerusalem first, yet heaven's embassy then turned to the few who were longing to behold the Unseen. The shepherds' resolve to go to Bethlehem to see what the Lord had made known was the joyful obedience of those humble men after the angelic glory disappeared.
Jerusalem was not preparing to welcome her Redeemer, and priests and teachers did not know that the greatest event of the ages was at hand. The nearness of Christ's coming had already been announced to Zacharias, and tidings of the forerunner's birth and mission had been spread abroad. The Jewish nation had been preserved as a witness that Christ was to be born of the seed of Abraham and of David's line, and the morning and evening sacrifice daily pointed to the Lamb of God.
Selfish, world-engrossed indifference pervaded Israel. Pride made the priests and rulers expect a mighty temporal king who would make them rich and great, and made them too proud to think of the Messiah as a helpless child. He came as an infant of days of poor parentage, and delusive hope for a temporal prince led those who ought to have been first to welcome Jesus to misapply Scripture, since He was not the one their ambitious hopes desired.
The shepherds were good and faithful men who watched by night, talked together about the promised Saviour, prayed earnestly for His coming, longed to behold the Unseen, and heeded the light they had received. They were therefore among the few seekers to whom the announcement was sent, and God reveals further truth to those who heed the light given. Their going to see what had been made known shows that pattern.
The verse belongs to Christ's humble birth, in which though His divine glory was veiled in a helpless infant, angels announced His coming while the learned and powerful were unaware of it. His divinity was clothed with humanity with majesty and lowliness combined, exactly as prophecy declared. The shepherds received an intimation of His lowly estate, which the wise men had not received before finding Him in Bethlehem.
God in deep sympathy for the humblest and lowliest came to the shepherds directly on the plains of Bethlehem in the way He could best reach them. He works in every place after the manner He can best reach the people, so His revelation to the shepherds was different from His revelation to the Magi through a star.
The angels' report reached Jerusalem, and the priests and rabbis could have gone to Bethlehem to see whether it was true. Pride and envy led them to dismiss it and refuse to seek Jesus, and that refusal began their rejection of Christ. Continuing in the false path they had entered, they became unteachable, self-righteous and self-sufficient.
Because Jesus came in humble circumstances and lived lowly, the story teaches that people in even the humblest occupations can cherish holy purposes and serve God.