One of the most thrilling experiences for any young married couple is to welcome their firstborn child into the world. If, in the 1st century AD, that child proved to be the long-promised Messiah that the nation of Israel had longed for to bring them deliverance from their enemies, their joy would have been unbounded! Mary and Joseph experienced this joy, when the message came from God that she was the chosen vessel through whom He would bring the Messiah, His Son, into the world. Sadly, it was only a minority of people in Israel who received Him as such and desired to SEE HIM. Let us meditate this week on some of those who SAW HIM at, or shortly after, His birth.
SHEPHERDS
‘The shepherds said to one another, “Let us now go to Bethlehem and SEE THIS THING THAT HAS COME TO PASS, which the Lord has made known to us” . . . . Now WHEN THEY HAD SEEN HIM, they made widely known the saying which was told them concerning this Child . . . . Then the shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for ALL THE THINGS THEY HAD HEARD AND SEEN, as it was told them ’, Luke chapter 2 verse 15-20.
We have already noted in a previous meditation that the only people lower than shepherds at the time of Christ’s birth were lepers! They were despised by the community at large and regarded as thieves. Yet, the shepherds were the first to SEE CHRIST and the first to tell others that they had SEEN HIM. In God’s eyes, therefore, they ranked higher than those who were considered to be righteous. Again, we noted recently the words of Paul that God had not called many who were mighty or noble or rich but He had called the weak and foolish things of the world to confound the things that were seemingly mighty and strong.
It is not who the vessel is but what God puts into the vessel that counts!