Luke 2:8-11 And there were in the same country shepherds abiding in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night.
9 And, lo, the angel of the Lord came upon them, and the glory of the Lord shone round about them: and they were sore afraid.
10 And the angel said unto them, Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people.
11 For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord.
The announcement of the birth of Jesus was first to the common people of the land – shepherds. These were definitely the “blue collar” workers of the day. They were not very well thought of among society and especially those in authority. They were not considered to be proper witnesses in trials to some, yet God chose them to be the recipients of the announcement by the angels.
Jesus was not born into royalty or in a palace, but in a lowly manger. Here any and all could come to worship and bow down before Him. If He had been born in a palace then only a select few would be permitted to come before Him, but since He was born in a manger even the most humble and ill-respected could come to see Him and worship Him.
When the wise men came they came first to Jerusalem because they knew the star they had seen represented royalty, so they traveled first to the capitol of the land to find Him. But they were very humble as well as wise men, so it did not bother them that they had to travel to the small and seemingly insignificant town of Bethlehem to see the King of the Jews.
There are many groups today to which most of us could never be a part of because we are not of a high enough social order. The Washington crowd often exhibits that type of “air” that looks down upon the commoners; the Hollywood elite also reflect that type of air just as though many singing stars do to which we are excluded. Even sports stars often exhibit the high status of “super athlete” and “standoff” from their fans because they feel they are too high to mingle among the “little” people (Not all sports personnel are that way, for recently I have seen a number who use their influence to help those much less fortunate).
But God made Jesus accessible to any and all who would seek Him. Jesus was often accused of being too friendly with the sinners and downcast – “Then drew near unto him all the publicans and sinners for to hear him. And the Pharisees and scribes murmured, saying, This man receiveth sinners, and eateth with them.” The religious leaders of the day thought they were too “high” to associate with sinners – they would rather condemn them than try to lift them out of their sin and ruin. Jesus proceeded to tell three parables regarding God’s desire to redeem sinners. The first two were about a lost sheep and a lost coin in which He showed God’s desire to search high and low to find the lost one. The third was about a son who squandered all and then desired to return home – empty of all. Jesus showed how God feels even when we come back to Him bankrupt and broken and receiving them. The Pharisees were more interested in judging and condemning than rescuing. Jesus declared His mission was to seek and save the lost – even if it means getting messy.
This is the message that God has sent to the world through the first witnesses (the shepherds) that whosoever will may come to Jesus. It does not matter what your social status is, what your financial status or any other thing the world attaches to importance. The thing that God looks for you to come to Him is you recognize your need as a sinner and your desire to be part of His family