Luke2-6&7

Bethlehem (“house of bread”) Ephrathah (“fruitful”) is located five miles south of Jerusalem in the Judaean hill country. The region is known as Ephrath, hence the secondary designation. Bethlehem Ephrathah was the birthplace of David and Jesus (1 Sam 17:12; Matt 2:1).^[1]   FaithLife Study Bible

Shepherds are given a high position in God’s eyes.  They were to tell others of this birth and they did so.

Luke 2:7 (NLT)
⁷  She gave birth to her first child, a son. She wrapped him snugly in strips of cloth and laid him in a manger, because there was no lodging available for them.

Luke 2:7 (NKJV)
⁷  And she brought forth her firstborn Son, and wrapped Him in swaddling cloths, G4683 & LN49.6)  and laid Him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn.

LN49.6 σπαργανόω: to wrap a child in swaddling clothes (long strips of cloth)—‘to clothe in strips of cloth, to wrap up in strips of cloth, to wrap in cloths.’ ἐσπαργάνωσεν αὐτὸν καὶ ἀνέκλινεν αὐτὸν ἐν φάτνῃ ‘she wrapped him in cloths and laid him in a manger’ Lk 2:7.^[2]

It would be well to note that Shepherds would be assigned to the temple to take care of the lambs to make sure they would be ‘unblemished” lambs ready for the sacrifice.

Though the Angels did NOT tell the shepherds were Jesus was, they would know by their knowledge of how the lambs were cared for by shepherds to ensure they were ready to be given in sacrifice offerings where such a place would be in their community and the temple.

Care of the Unblemished Lamb –  From the Pulpit Commentary – Numbers…

The constituents of the offering. The lambs, the flour, the oil, the wine. These were parts of the actual product of Israelite industry. In presenting the lamb there was the thought that Israel had shepherded it, had watched over the little creature from the day of its birth, and taken all care to obtain the unblemished yearling for the burnt offering. All the shepherd’s thoughtfulness, vigilance, and courage are represented in the offering. And mark, these, not as the qualities of one man, but of all Israel. The service of the particular man is merged in the shepherd-service of Israel as a whole. So with the offering of the flour; in it there is the work of the ploughman, the sower, the reaper, the miller. The oil is there because the labour of the olive has not failed, and the wine because men have obeyed the command, “Go work to-day in my vineyard.” In presenting so much of the result of its work, Israel was thereby presenting part of the work itself. But these offerings were not only the result of work, they were also the sustenance of Israel, and the preparation for future work. The lambs, the flour, the oil, the wine were taken out of the present food store of Israel. The Israelites were therefore presenting part of their own life. If these things had not been taken for offerings they would soon have entered into the physical constitution of the people. The acceptability of the offering lay to a great extent in this, that it was from Israel’s daily ordinary food. There would have been no propriety in making an offering from occasional luxuries. The significance of the unblemished lamb thus becomes obvious. The lamb for God was to be unblemished; but surely this was a hint that all the food of Israel was to be unblemished, as far as this could be attained. The presumption was that if Israel would only give due attention, there would be much of the unblemished and the satisfying in all the products of the soil. We are largely what we eat, and unblemished nutriment tends to produce unblemished life. The constituents of this offering further remind us of the great demand on us as Christians. It is the weighty and frequent admonition of Paul that we are to present our bodies to God as a living sacrifice. The offering is no longer one of dead animals, grain, &c., mere constituents of the body, and still outside of it. We are to offer the body itself, made holy and acceptable to God. We must so live then, we must so eat and drink, we must so order habit and conduct, that all the streams from the outside world which flow into us may contribute to the health, purity, and effective service of the whole man. Let everything be tested according to its ability to make us better Christians, and therefore better men. In relation to this great offering which is asked from us, let us ponder earnestly these typical offerings of ancient Israel, and set ourselves to fulfil the law connected with them. Here almost more than anywhere else let it be true of us that we are advancing^[3]

Why were they there?   (Quote from the Essay on the Book of Numbers.)

Following Jewish custom, the people registered according to their ancestral property divisions. For Mary and Joseph, this meant traveling to the territory of the clan of David, which was in the southern region of Judah in the area of Bethlehem—about 80–90 miles from Nazareth, which was located in the northern region of Galilee. Luke skims over the details of the couple’s arduous journey, saying only that Joseph “went up” from Galilee to Judaea (Luke 2:4). We can presume that they most likely traveled with a caravan of people making the same trip (see Chapter 2). Mary may have been required to register as well since she was Joseph’s wife, or Joseph may have brought her with him simply because he did not want to miss the important event of the birth. Even without the exact details, we can imagine Mary’s discomfort and anxiety in traveling during the late stages of her pregnancy.

As Mary trekked down the long, dusty road to Bethlehem beside Joseph, feeling more discomfort each day from the growing child, thoughts of giving birth to God’s Son—the long-awaited Messiah—on the roadside likely plagued her. Although God prevented her fear from becoming a reality, the circumstances under which He brought His Son into the world still fell short of Mary’s—and all of Israel’s—expectations. Following the glorious manner in which she had learned of her pregnancy, Mary may have held hopes for an equally incredible birth. Knowing that her son would “reign over the house of Jacob forever” (Luke 1:33), she may have expected His delivery to be a time of great celebration or coronation. When she went into labor in a stable, Mary was probably shocked to realize that she would give birth to this promised King in such lowly and lonely circumstances. Yet this was God’s will for the birth of His Son.

A Closer Look

Contemporary people have to make a huge imaginative leap to put themselves in Mary’s place. As the second chapter of Luke opens, nearly six months have passed since Mary left Elizabeth (Luke 1:56), and Jesus’ birth is imminent. Today doctors advise pregnant women to avoid any rigorous travel during their third trimester. This is apparently not the case for Mary, as she and Joseph set out on the long journey from Nazareth to Bethlehem to register, despite Mary’s rapidly approaching due date.

At first glance Luke’s brief treatment of Mary’s delivery may seem surprising; he focuses on the response to the birth more than the birth itself. Luke succinctly reports that Mary comes to full term, gives birth, wraps the baby, and lays him in a manger while they are in Bethlehem (Luke 2:6–7). Luke’s description lacks the details present in earlier scenes such as the angelic announcements and Mary’s visit with Elizabeth. The window into Mary’s heart and mind that opened during her encounter with Gabriel has mostly closed, and the reader is left to glean insights into Mary’s life and thoughts from a few scattered references to her reactions.

Luke then tells of the angelic announcement of Jesus’ birth, which further emphasizes the humble circumstances of the Messiah’s birth. Not only is Jesus born in lowly circumstances—His birth is announced to common, ordinary shepherds, and not to the privileged and powerful leaders of the day.

As Mary is enjoying her first tender moments with her son, a troop of local shepherds have already gathered together in the fields for the night, preparing to take turns at the watch, as was customary. They are startled when an angel of the Lord shatters the nighttime stillness with the joyous proclamation that the Messiah has been born (Luke 2:8). The divine light accompanying the angel’s sudden appearance would have been blindingly bright even in the daytime; in the darkness of the night, it must have been overwhelming. The angel’s appearance on this dark night symbolizes the spiritual reality behind Jesus’ birth foreshadowed in Isa 9:2: The light of salvation has come into the world.

Thus far in Luke’s Gospel, extreme fright has typified the reaction to angelic appearances. Each angelic appearance in Luke has followed the same basic pattern: The angel appears, the people are terrified, and the angel calms their fears and offers a sign to certify that his message is credible. The shepherds’ reaction aligns with this pattern. After calming their fears, the angel declares the “good news” that the “Savior,” the “Christ,” has been born that day in Bethlehem (Luke 2:10–11). In his announcement the angel draws on ot references to the coming day when God will intervene in Israel’s history to restore their relationship with Him (Isa 40:9; 43:11; 45:1; Dan 9:25). To emphasize the truth of his message, the angel offers the shepherds a sign: The baby will be wrapped in the usual way, “in strips of cloth,” but he will be found in an unusual place: “a manger” (Luke 2:12).

Before the shepherds can mull over the meaning of the sign, they are overwhelmed by the sight of a multitude of angels giving glory to God (Luke 2:13–14). With the angels’ hymn still echoing in their ears, they rush into Bethlehem to see the baby for themselves. We don’t know how difficult their search is, as Luke reports in one breath that “they went hurrying and found both Mary and Joseph, and the baby who was lying in the manger” (Luke 2:16).

Seeing the sign given by the angel fulfilled, the shepherds are inspired to recount their entire experience to Mary, Joseph, and apparently anyone else who will listen. Luke says “all who heard were amazed” as the shepherds tell their story (Luke 2:18). While all the other onlookers marvel over the news, however, Mary quietly reflects on all that is happening around her and all that she has been told (Luke 2:19).

As Mary “treasure[s] up all these words, pondering them in her heart,” she is likely struck by the simplicity of her surroundings and her unexpected visitors. Or maybe she is wrestling with what God’s sending His Messiah into such humble and ordinary circumstances might mean. Although Mary doesn’t understand everything perfectly, she realizes something profound and significant has happened. The full cost of her choice to be part of God’s plan only becomes clearer with time.^[4]