“There were shepherds in the fields, watching over their flocks by night.” Shepherds were poor people, they were not paid good wages. Usually they did not own the sheep, but were just paid to look after them by the owner. Jesus talked about the hired shepherds running away from the sheep when there was any danger. The shepherds were expected to protect the sheep from wild animals like wild cats and from people who wanted to steal the sheep.
It must have been a boring job just sitting down all night watching sheep – I’m sure they must have fallen asleep a lot if they had to count sheep all the time to make sure none had strayed.
The first people to find out about the birth of Jesus the Messiah were the poorest of the poor, simple shepherds out in the fields. God has a special love for poor simple people.
Working it Out
1. Are there still shepherds in the fields around Bethlehem?
2. Jesus called himself the ‘Good Shepherd’. What do you think he meant by this? See John 10: 1-16
3. What happened to the Shepherds in the Fields the night Jesus was born and what did they do? See Luke 2: 8-18
4. Imagine you had to look after sheep in the fields at night? What do you think you might do to pass away the time? Could the shepherds at the time of Jesus do this?
