Why Were the Shepherds First?

Recently I attended a concert that my granddaughter sang in. As I listened to the choir sing Angels from the Realms of Glory, my thoughts lingered on the second verse. 

Shepherds, in the field abiding,
Watching o’er your flocks by night,
God with man is now residing;
Yonder shines the infant light

Why were the shepherds the first to be notified of Jesus birth—and the message delivered by angels? Was it because shepherds cared for the sheep/lambs that were the sacrifice for sin?

An article posted by the C.S. Lewis Institute notes that shepherds usually had the sheep in the sheep fold at night. It speculates: The unusual conduct of the shepherds who were in the field at night and not in a sheepfold may indicate that they were not ordinary shepherds, but rather Temple shepherds in charge of the flocks that were destined for sacrifice. Those flocks required continuous supervision in order to ensure their unblemished quality.

Shepherds were poor, often treated as outcasts, and yet God sent angels to bring the message of Jesus birth to them.

As the years passed, did the shepherds understand the full truth of God’s message? The sacrificial lambs that were nurtured, carefully raised to be unblemished for sacrifice, were no longer needed after Jesus gave his life as the perfect sacrifice for sin.

And she gave birth to her firstborn son and wrapped him in swaddling cloths and laid him in a manger, because there was no place for them in the inn. And in the same region there were shepherds out in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night. And an angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were filled with great fear. And the angel said to them, “Fear not, for behold, I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. And this will be a sign for you: you will find a baby wrapped in swaddling cloths and lying in a manger.”

And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying, “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace among those with whom he is pleased!” Luke 2: 7-14

The concert was beautiful and the light of Christmas shone brighter. One of the final hymns was O Come All Ye Faithful. The choir raised their arms with joy and praise.

May your Christmas be bright with the light of Jesus. I will be pausing my posts for a couple of weeks and begin again on January 9, 2026.

An Angel Appeared to the Shepherds is the art of Leonhard Goffine (1898).