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THE NORTHERN KENTUCKY SEARCHER VOLUME 7, NUMBER 31, AUGUST 5, 2007 WHY SHEPHERDS? In Luke 2 we find the account of the birth of our Lord and Savior, Jesus. In the hill country pastures around the city of Bethlehem shepherds were watching over their sheep by night. As they watched, suddenly an angel of the Lord came upon them and there was a great brightness as the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were very afraid. I have asked myself from time to time, why appear to shepherds? I do believe that there is significance to this. First, they were Jews; but why not appear to the scholars in Jerusalem, or the elders of the people? Why not announce the birth to the influential Jewish leaders, perhaps at the meeting of the Sanhedrin? Interestingly, at this time shepherds were held in low esteem by the people. According to the Talmud (in the treatise “The Sanhedrin”), shepherds were not even allowed to be used in courts as witnesses. Why appear to men of such low estate? I believe that it serves to demonstrate something about the very nature of Christianity. It is for all men, from the least to the greatest. It recognizes no class distinction in terms of the love of God and the availability of salvation. On that day, in the city of David, a Savior was born. He was Christ – the Anointed One. The shepherds were given a sign to confirm their faith and to assist them in identifying the child. They would find Him lying in a manger, a feeding trough for animals, wrapped in swaddling clothes. Suddenly there was a multitude of heavenly beings praising God with the words, “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth, peace, good will toward men.” Can there be any question of the appropriateness of this praise? God had brought His Son into the world for man’s salvation. All that He had promised He was bringing to fulfillment. With haste the shepherds made their way to Bethlehem to see the thing that the angel had made known to them. They found Mary and Joseph, and the child Jesus lying in a manger just as they had been told. With that these men, on one of the lowest rungs of the social scale, became the first preachers of Jesus. They told abroad what had been told to them and those who heard it wondered at what they had been told. How thankful we should be that God does not abide by the barriers, walls and prejudices that we erect between each other! Greg Litmer A CENTURION APPEALS FOR HELP In Matthew 8:5-13 and Luke 7:1-10 we find the remarkable account of a Roman centurion appealing to Jesus for help because of his sick servant who was nearing death. A centurion was a Roman officer with command over a “century”, 100 men more or less. This centurion was recognized by the Jews of Capernaum as a good man. Their assessment of him is found in Luke 7:4-5, “That he was worthy for whom he should do this: for he loveth our nation, and he hath built us a synagogue.” By combining the two accounts we can see that the centurion first sent the elders of the Jews to Jesus with his request. Next he sent some of his friends. Out of respect for Jesus he had his friends ask the Lord to heal his servant from a distance, merely speak the word and his servant would be healed. In this way Jesus would not even have to come into his home. Finally, the centurion went to Jesus personally. What he said is such a marvelous example of faith. When Jesus heard it, He said, “I have not found so great faith, no, not in Israel.” The centurion first declared his own unworthiness to even come to Jesus, much less to have Jesus actually come and enter into his home. He also recognized that such a thing was totally unnecessary, for Jesus had only to say the word and his servant would be healed. Notice that the centurion understood the whole thing to be a matter of authority, and authority was a field in which he had some experience. He said, “For I also am a man set under authority, having under me soldiers, and I say unto one, Go, and he goeth; and to another, Come, and he cometh; and to my servant, Do this, and he doeth it.” This man’s statement is truly amazing. To paraphrase his words, he was saying, “I understand that this whole matter is one of authority. I know about authority in my own life. I have a certain degree of authority and people under my authority respond to it. But you have authority over all things. You can do whatever you think is right and proper. You don’t even have to come to my home. All that is necessary is for you to speak the word and it will be done.” Even Jesus marveled at this man’s faith and understanding. What an example of faith! What a depth of understanding! I thrill to Jesus’ final words of love, compassion, and kindness to this centurion, “Go thy way; and as thou has believed, so be it done unto thee.” That very hour the centurion’s dear servant was healed. Greg Litmer |