Smell of Sheep
Last Updated 12.01.2008
12/21 – The Smell of Sheep (Community Service at the Civic Center)
From Luke 10:21 and Luke 2:8-20 and also Luke 10:25-37.
Luke’s stories about Jesus birth make clear that the ones through whom God chooses to bring the Messiah are those seeking God’s intervention into the awful situation for His people and God’s fulfillment of His Old Testament promises – these are known as the “pious poor” who are people who depended upon God totally. We meet folks like Joseph and Mary, Zechariah and Elizabeth, Anna and Simeon. These are righteous folks and they are looking for the “consolation of Israel” and for God to “redeem His people” – read Luke 1 & 2. But Jesus didn’t just come for this very small group in Israel. He came to them and through them, but he came for everyone! So the shepherds are a crucial part of the story, reminding us of God’s great love for all – these commoners of no account. They are the reminder of what unfolds in the rest of Luke’s Gospel – Jesus comes to seek and to save those who are lost of all walks of life and every nation of people.
While shepherds had a great heritage in the Old Testament – Abraham, Moses, and David were all shepherds – shepherds were not highly regarded in Jesus’ day. They were shunned, avoided, and in some cases despised. This was partially because they smelled like sheep and sheep stink. In addition, they were common, the ‘amme haaretz, meaning “people of the land” (They were the unlearned rural masses … The ‘amme ha-aretz did not give the prescribed tithes, did not observe the laws of purity … from Brittanica Online). They were simple folks. They were too busy trying to survive to have time to occupy themselves with religious stuff like the Pharisees and Scribes and Essenes. They were too poor and common to be good Sadducees.
In our story, the shepherds are part of a chorus of ordinary, everyday folks who recognized Jesus when he came to earth. While the wise and learned could figure out God’s prophecies about where the Messiah was to be born, they did not recognize Jesus when He came (1 Corinthians 2:8). In fact, Jesus rejoiced in the fact that God revealed Jesus to those who were not wise and learned (Luke 10:31). But for those willing to look … to really seek after Jesus, God makes His grace accessible. This grace is for all, but especially for those who are eagerly seeking something and someone to fix their troubled soul.
Drama/Video Piece:
While it is not on the official schedule, I’d love to see if Rob Marcelain could do the Philip Gulley piece found here:
It fits the theme perfectly.
I will probably introduce the message with one or both of the following press releases from last year:
Kernel Idea:
It’s called “The Stolen Baby Jesus Syndrome” and it happens every year. Baby Jesus is stolen out of nativity sets all over the country. Quite often when reported, the news anchor or newspaper writer says something like, “Who would do such a thing?”
But there is a much bigger problem than plastic baby Jesus figurines being stolen out of fake mangers in nativity sets. Folks claiming to follow Jesus have been hijacking the real Jesus for years with their religion. They want Him to endorse their views, or their politics, or their race, or their particular religious bent … or they simply want Jesus to be religious like they are. So the real Jesus gets lost in religious hype and holier-than-thou posturing. That’s why so many people today love Jesus, but hate churches.
But God made sure the real Jesus couldn’t get stolen or hijacked by religious folks. He did this very simply. While the religious powerbrokers figured out where Jesus was born so they could kill Him, outsiders like Shepherds and Magi found Jesus and worshiped Him. Think of it: dirty, stinky, out in with their flocks at night shepherds saw the angels sing and came and worshiped baby Jesus. Not sure many hospitals would allow them into the delivery room for the birth of any baby today, but God had them handy at the feed trough where the Son of God laid his head His first night in Bethlehem. And the Magi, well they were Iranians who were astrologers – a religion forbidden in Scripture – but who found their way to Jesus and brought Him expensive gifts. These folks remind us of all the common folks who were forgotten by religion and politics and the economic recovery of their day, but were the very folks Jesus ran around with.
LIFE Questions:
Why do you think Luke mentions shepherds and Matthew mentions the Magi in their accounts of Jesus’ early years?
Does it make any difference to your answer to know that Shepherds were considered “stinky hicks” that no one wanted around and Magi were foreigners who practiced a false religion?
Do you think Luke’s reminder of Jesus’ words in Acts 1:8 and Matthew’s reminder of Jesus’ Great Commission in Matthew 28:18-20 has anything to do with us meeting shepherds and wise men in the story of Jesus’ birth?
How can we steal the real Jesus from the story of His life and substitute our own version of Jesus?
What could you point to in Jesus’ birth, and also His life, that would help you answer a person who said, “I’m not sure I’d fit with Jesus, I’m not very religious?”
What do you think Jesus would say to these folks?
What Scriptures could you point to that would help you speak about God’s true love for them?