It’s not really Christmas time at my house until the nativity set is put up on the fireplace mantel. I am happy to report that as of a few days ago this is now the case. Putting up the set is no trivial matter for me. I have been adding to it for about 25 years now and it takes up a lot of space. It started when my first child was born, and the “starter set” I got consisted of a manger, Mary, baby Jesus, an angel, and two sheep. Now I have just about every figure and animal imaginable for the setting (this years’ addition is the donkey family). Sometimes I wonder why the starter set came with sheep. Why would sheep be there instead of other animals? Maybe the reason is biblical. Sheep are actually the only animals mentioned in the story. We might assume, since Jesus was born in a manger, that there were other animals, but they aren’t actually in the story. As far as animals go, all we really know of are sheep, and we don’t even know that any of them were in the manger.
Sheep are really very strange animals. For one thing, they are pretty much synonymous with domestication. Think about it. Have you ever heard of a wild sheep? They actually do exist, as there are about 5 or 6 wild species out there. But for the most part when we think of sheep we think of domestication. In fact there are more than 10000 breeds of domesticated sheep (livescience.com). Another thing strange with this animal is the ability for them to sometimes roll over onto their back. A sheep that has done so is called a “cast” sheep, and is in danger of dying soon due to stress. They also have an innate desire to follow the leader. They seem to do this without thinking about it, and can even follow each other to slaughter or will fall off a cliff if the one in front of them falls before them. Other than congregating, they don’t have any defenses against predators.
Sheep can’t function on their own for very long. You can see why it would take a full time profession to take care of these animals. This was (and is) the job of the shepherd. Shepherds feed the sheep, care for them, and keep them out of trouble. The job is not easy and certainly isn’t glamorous. In biblical times shepherds were often poor and uneducated. Jewish families that had sheep relegated the shepherding duty to the youngest boy. When another boy was born and (partly) raised, the job was handed down to him.
So knowing what we do about the job of a shepherd, why then were they specifically called by an angel to see the Christ child?
Luke 2:8-20
8 And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night. 9 An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. 10 But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid. I bring you good news that will cause great joy for all the people. 11 Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is the Messiah, the Lord. 12 This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.”
13 Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God and saying,
14 “Glory to God in the highest heaven,
and on earth peace to those on whom his favor rests.”
15 When the angels had left them and gone into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, “Let’s go to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has told us about.”
16 So they hurried off and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby, who was lying in the manger. 17 When they had seen him, they spread the word concerning what had been told them about this child, 18 and all who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds said to them. 19 But Mary treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart. 20 The shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things they had heard and seen, which were just as they had been told.
Why shepherds? Why not priests, or fishermen, or innkeepers (that would have been interesting. Imagine an angel of the Lord appearing to the same innkeeper that gave Mary and Joseph the manger telling of the importance of the child he turned away)?
One reason could be this: Luke’s gospel emphasizes the fact that Jesus was “God come down.” The common man and the poor, lowly people were called to be a part of it. This is a story of opposites. But it isn’t new in the bible. Look at David: the shepherd boy that became the king. Imagine that. Luke tells us that Jesus came for the poor and the overlooked as much as (or perhaps more than) anyone.
There is another probable reason. One of the great themes of the bible is that there is always a price to be paid for sin. Traditionally that price was in the form of a sacrifice of some sort. Guess what one of the appropriate animals to be sacrificed was? That’s right, the sheep. But the sheep couldn’t have any blemishes on them, and therefore they needed to be taken care of especially well to keep them “sacrifice-worthy.” These shepherds were close to Bethlehem, which was close to Jerusalem. Jerusalem had the temple in it of course, and this is where sacrifices were made.
The implications here are enormous. An angel of the Lord appears to the shepherds because they were the ones responsible for making sure that people could atone for their sins. But look what happens, according to the story. The shepherds leave. They drop what they are doing and go see the Christ child instead. And they told everyone about it. The symbolism is that their job is no longer needed. Jesus has come to take away the sins of the world. This kind of sheep sacrifice is no longer necessary. That role is being taken by the “Lamb of God.”
If you have a nativity set, I hope you get some sheep. Make sure you put them in a prominent position.
God Bless