God Can Use Anyone

Shepherds God Can Use Anyone 

Read Luke 2.1–20 

People often say that one man’s trash is another man’s treasure. Maybe you’ve experienced this in your own life. Perhaps you have an old shirt you love, but your mum thinks it should be thrown away. Or maybe your mum has home decor she loves, but you think it’s incredibly outdated. Something’s value is typically a matter of individual taste, but we know all too well that value can also be determined by earthly standards. 

The men we meet in our reading today have a job, shepherding, that their culture does not value. However, as we will learn, God chooses what is considered unimportant by the people of their day and makes it something to be treasured. In this way, the shepherds’ story reminds us that we can have joy because God cares for us and desires to use us, no matter our earthly status. 

Meet the Shepherds 

The scene is set. Jesus has been born in Bethlehem, and at the same time, right outside the city, a group of shepherds watches over their flocks. These men would not have had rooms to sleep in or beds to keep them comfortable. Like their sheep, they stayed out in the fields of grass, sleeping on the ground. Their job was to keep watch over the sheep, to keep them from running off and to protect them from predators. They had to care for the sheep outside the city gates and often only had each other (and their sheep) for company. 

Shepherds were typically poor, and they were considered social outcasts because of their nomadic lifestyles and because they were often smelly and disheveled in appearance. 

The Shepherds Were Chosen 

But God doesn’t send His angels to the elite to announce Jesus’s birth; He lets the religious leaders and the governors of the region sleep comfortably in their beds on the night His Son is born. Instead, He sends His angels to these lowly shepherds. 

They are minding their own business, likely on edge as they have to be prepared for anything that might attack their sheep. And then, suddenly, an angel appears to them, and they become terrified (Luke 2.9). The angel tells them about good news of great joy that is for all people, not just for them (Luke 2.10). 

Amazingly, God has chosen these lowly, smelly, outcast shepherds to be the first people to hear about Jesus’s birth. And the implication is clear: if God is proclaiming this news to the shepherds, of all people, the ones who are on the bottom of the social ladder, then surely, this news is for everyone, no matter their status or perceived value in society. 

After the angel’s announcement, a multitude of angels also appear, giving glory to God in a magnificent display before returning to heaven. And the shepherds are amazed. They go and see Jesus, and then they spread the news of His birth to others (Luke 2.16–17). They return to their duty, praising and glorifying God, knowing that He values them enough for them to have been witnesses to the angels’ good tidings (Luke 2.20). 

God’s choice to declare the news of Jesus’s birth to shepherds aligns with the overall message of the Christmas story. We, like the shepherds, were lowly and unworthy in our sinful state. Yet God sent His Son, Jesus, to deliver and redeem us. Jesus came to these shepherds as the true Good Shepherd, who lays His life down for His sheep (John 10.10). He took on our lowly humanity, and then He willingly died on the cross so that we might be made valuable in His sight. 

What Does This Mean for Me? 

Maybe you’ve found yourself feeling like these shepherds, up all night, on edge about the tasks in front of you. Maybe you feel alone, outside of the action, or you struggle to feel valued. The message that the angel brought to the shepherds is for you, too,

“good news of great joy that will be for all the people” (Luke 2.10). 

That includes you! Just as God chose lowly shepherds to be the first people to hear and share the news of Jesus, He has chosen you to play a part in His plans, no matter how you measure up to the world’s standards. Jesus came to earth for you, and this news brings great joy! 

We encourage you to share this joy with all of those around you, just as the shepherds joyfully shared the news of the Saviour’s birth! 

Application Questions 

Are there areas in your life where you feel like an outcast or second best? 

How does this story of the shepherds encourage you?

List some people in your life who need to hear the good news and great joy of Jesus.

Pray for those people and ask God to give you the boldness of the shepherds to share Jesus with them.