Shepherds--Nativity Scene Series

 Shepherds--Nativity Scene Series

While thinking about Christs birth I think about the Nativity Scene which all Christians put up during their Christmas celebrations. One of the figures that has always interested me are the Shepherds. Why were they invited to the birth? Who were they? What are they? Below are some of thoughts as I studied about these enigmatic individuals.

Luke 2:8
And there were in the same country shepherds abiding in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night.

Luke 2:15
And it came to pass, as the angels were gone away from them into heaven, the shepherds said one to another, Let us now go even unto Bethlehem, and see this thing which is come to pass, which the Lord hath made known unto us.

The shepherds in Luke who the angels appeared to were obvious spiritually sensitive and could recognize that the angels were from the Lord

Luke 2:16 
...they came with haste...

They were obedient to the angels and went right away to find the Lord. Are we making haste to find the Lord? We've been told where to find him--do we look where we've been told to look or do we look somewhere else?

Luke 2:17
And when they had seen it, they made known abroad the saying which was told them concerning this child.

They recognized who the Lord was and they were truly converted. A sign of someone being converted is that they share the message with others.

Luke 2:20
And the shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things that they had heard and seen, as it was told unto them.

They showed gratitude right away for what they had experienced as well as continued to. 
They recognized the importance of the Lord's birth--do we? Do we give thanks, glorify and praise the Lord for what He's done for us? Due to His birth, life and death, we will have immortality and can have eternal life.

Shepherd Characteristics

Protective toward their sheep
Will risk their own life for the lives of their sheep
Look for lost sheep
Nomadic men and young boys who don't have an inheritance--they don't necessarily have a home---when they sleep they often sleep in a small cabin with their sheep
Dirty--due to working outdoors in the fields
Humble
Loners from the larger society--separate but very important to the economy
Leaders of sheep---the sheep will only listen the their shepherds voice

The Cambridge Companion to the Bible

The flocks were protected from wild beats at night by men who watched them with their shepherd dogs. Shepherds...go before the sheep, and the sheep follow, being apparently more or less attached to their masters, whose voice they instantly recognize. 

In The Bible as well as in The Book of Mormon the Lord is referred to as The Good Shepherd

John 10:11

I am the good shepherd: the good shepherd giveth his life for the sheep.

John 10:14

I am the good shepherd, and know my sheep, and am known of mine.

John 10:15

As the Father knoweth me, even so know I the Father: and I lay down my life for the sheep.

Psalms 23:1-4
The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want.
He maketh me to lie down in green pastures: he leadeth me beside the still waters. 
He restoreth my soul: he leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for his name’s sake.
Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me.

Christ the Good Shepherd Characteristics

Saves His sheep's lives (gives us immortality freely and eternal life as we allow him to guide us)

Died for His sheep

Looks for His lost sheep

Born in a manager, where other animals live (shepherds live with their animals)

Traveling with his sheep continually 

Traveling never really having a real home, even after his birth he had to leave his home land to go to Egypt so he wasn't killed by Herod

Not excepted by main stream society in His times---lived among the outcasts--not excepted by his own people (the Jews) who wanted to kill him.

At birth wasn't excepted by the ruler of his nation, Herod who tried to have him killed

Humble

His Sheep hear his voice and follow Him

John 10:27 
My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me:

Below is a beautiful illustration (story form) of the comparison of the shepherds who watched sheep in the fields and the Lord, The Good Shepherd

The Voice of The Good Shepherd, Sherry Cartwright Zipperian, The Ensign, April 2009

"As a Montana rancher for most of my 70 years, I treasure the parable of the good shepherd, found in John 10:1–18, for I have lived it. The following experiences were particularly powerful in bringing this parable to life.

In biblical times each shepherd vocally summoned his personal flock from the many herds pooled together into a nighttime sheepfold (see vv. 3–4). Likewise, whenever I move my sheep, I simply call, and they follow.

Years ago my spry 96-year-old neighbor, Alice, who also raised sheep, became ill during lambing season, so I offered to do her night lambing. When I entered her lambing shed my first night “on duty,” Alice’s nearly 100 ewes were peacefully bedded down for the night. Yet when I appeared, they immediately sensed a stranger in their midst. Terrified, they instantly sought safety by huddling together in a far corner (see v. 5).

This continued for several nights. No matter how quietly I entered, the sheep panicked and fled. I spoke soothingly to the newborn lambs and ewes as I tended them. By the fifth night they no longer stirred as I worked among them. They had come to recognize my voice and trust me.

Sometime later I told Alice I would feed her dozen or so bum lambs their bottles. (A bum lamb is one whose mother has died or cannot produce enough milk.) Imitating Alice, I called to her lambs, “Come, BaBa! Come, BaBa!” I expected the lambs to hungrily stampede me as they did her. But not a single lamb even glanced up. Alice then stepped out her kitchen door and called. Hearing her voice, they eagerly rushed toward her, clamoring for their milk.

Intrigued, Alice and I conducted an experiment. Standing in my corral, Alice mimicked my call: “Here, lamby, lamby! Here, lamby, lamby!” and received no response whatsoever. But when I called with the exact same words, my sheep quickly surrounded me. Even though the words we used to summon the sheep were identical, our unfamiliar voices went unheeded. The sheep loyally heard only their true shepherd (see v. 4).

John 10 distinguishes a shepherd from a sheepherder. A shepherd, whose sheep are his own, has loving concern for their safety. In contrast, a sheepherder is merely the “hireling” and “careth not” (v. 13). The parable also teaches that while the hireling flees and deserts his sheep (see v. 12), the shepherd willingly lays down his life for his sheep (see v. 11). This is certainly true of our Good Shepherd—our Savior, Jesus Christ—who lovingly gave His life for us (see vv. 15, 17–18).

To me these experiences confirmed one of the critical messages of the parable: striving to personally know our Good Shepherd and to readily recognize His voice will prevent our mistakenly following the hireling. By faithfully heeding the voice of our Good Shepherd—and none other—we will be guided to eternal safety."

Are we listening to the Good Shepherd? What is he saying?

Other Scriptures that refer to the Lord as a shepherd

1Nephi 13:4

Isaiah 40:11

Ezekiel 34:12

Hebrew 13:20

Alma 5:37

Mormon 5:17

An incredible article about where the Lord was actually born, The Birth - Revisited by haRold Smith 

Pictures

https://stpaulcenter.com/why-shepherds/

https://www.stlukes-hospice.co.uk/events/christmas-concert/

http://www.crayola.com/free-coloring-pages/print/christmas-shepherds-coloring-page/