First Encounter With Jesus: Shepherds

“Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is Christ the Lord” (Luke 2:11 NIV84).

That was the message the Shepherds received that night, over 2,000 years ago, as they cared for their sheep near a small town called Bethlehem.  While the glory of the Lord surrounding them and the voice of the angel announcing the “Good News” must have been enough to scare them out of their wits, once they recovered from the shock, their curiosity got the best of them.  The Scripture tells us that they hurried to find the baby that the angel had told them about.  We don’t know exactly what happened as they approached that baby, lying in a manger, wrapped in cloths, but we do know how that first encounter with Jesus affected them.  “When they had seen him, they spread the word concerning what had been told them about this child” (Luke 2:17 NIV84).  They wasted no time in telling everyone what they had seen and heard!

The Shepherds realized that their first encounter with Jesus was not solely for their benefit.  His coming was for the benefit of the whole world, so they began immediately sharing the Good News.  We can learn a great deal from their example.  They encountered Jesus and wanted everyone else to encounter Him also.  That should be our message as well. 

Notice, it doesn’t say that they stayed to mentor the people or to try to persuade them to believe.  It simply says, they “spread the word.” In other words, they told people about Jesus and let God take it from there.  That’s our mission as well.  Too often, we think we must know the Scripture completely, have a Bible College degree, or be able to answer all the skeptics’ questions, when all we need to do is exactly what the Shepherds did—tell what we have seen and heard.  Tell what God has done in our lives.  Tell about our personal encounters with Jesus. 

I have often wondered what happened to those shepherds after their ten minutes of fame were over.  Did they follow Jesus as He grew to manhood?  Were any of them there when He was crucified?  How did their message impact those whom they told?  Did any of those people have encounters with Jesus? 

We may also wonder about the impact on the people we tell about Jesus.  We may never know whether some of them had encounters with Jesus and became His followers.  That may be a large part of the celebration in heaven, as we meet those individuals to whom we told everything that we have seen and heard about Jesus. 

Who do you need to tell today?

Luke 2:8 – 18