SHEPHERDS IN THE BETHLEHEM FIELDS

LUKE 2:8–20

God would not allow the birth of his Son to go without praise, recognition, and celebration! So after the darkness of night set in, he sent angels to shepherds who were watching their flocks in the nearby agricultural fields of Bethlehem (Hebrew for “house of bread”) so that the praise to God for the Messiah’s arrival might commence (Luke 2:8–14).

Several pieces of evidence in Luke’s Gospel help us understand the events surrounding this angelic birth announcement.31 First, these shepherds were staying in the agricultural fields (Greek, agruleo). Those who spend time on or near a farm are aware of the importance of keeping livestock separated from field crops. Our assumption is that the people in Bethlehem would have a similar concern—particularly since Bethlehem was famous for its grain fields—so we do not expect to see livestock in these grain fields before the harvest or times of sowing. However, when the harvest was complete, the shepherds were welcome to bring their animals into the fields so they could nose through the stubble for leftover kernels the harvesters had missed. In return, the sheep left behind valuable manure that improved the quality of the soil, increasing the yield of those fields in the following season.32 Thus after harvest, it is no surprise to find shepherds with their flocks in the agricultural fields located just east of Bethlehem.33

Shepherd near Bethlehem taking care of his goat.

Our curiosity rises, however, when we note that Luke’s Gospel mentions that the shepherds to whom the angels announced Jesus’s birth were “keeping watch over their flocks at night” (Luke 2:8). Typically sheep and goats grazed during the day and were brought into sheepfolds for the night. The unusual conduct of the shepherds who were in the field rather than a sheepfold at night may indicate that they were not ordinary shepherds but Temple shepherds in charge of the flocks that were destined for sacrifice.34 Those flocks required continuous supervision in order to ensure their unblemished quality.35

The fact that the Lord assigned an angelic proclamation of the Messiah’s birth to a group of shepherds—regardless of whether they were ordinary shepherds or Temple herdsmen—is surprising since in first-century Judaism being a shepherd was considered a despised vocation. Shepherds who were adults were probably hired to take care of another person’s flock. Otherwise the task fell to the youngest members of the family or the women (see 1 Sam. 16:8–13; 17:12–30). The vocation was particularly frowned on because it was thought to be a job taken up by thieves. As a result, rabbinic law forbade people from buying by-products of sheep or goats directly from a shepherd.36

Shepherd riding a donkey, leading his flock.

Rather than making the announcement of the Messiah’s birth to the rich and famous, the angel delivered this great news to those considered outcasts, who were doing the undesirable night duty in the harvested grain fields near Bethlehem. After the angel told them the amazing news that the Messiah had been born nearby and the angelic chorus filled the night with praises to God, these shepherds went to find the newborn King, Jesus. They found Mary and Joseph and the baby, who was lying in the manger. After seeing the baby, the shepherds spread the word of the newborn King and returned to their flocks “glorifying and praising God for all the things they had heard and seen” (Luke 2:20).

The Messiah was to be born of a virgin (Isa. 7:14) in Bethlehem (Mic. 5:2). And it was to shepherds in the agricultural fields east of Bethlehem that the angels of God proclaimed the Messiah’s arrival, personally inviting them to meet the Bread of Life, who was born in Bethlehem, the “house of bread.”

Shepherdess outside Bethlehem.