Despised and rejected

I was reading this week the results of a survey which looked at people's attitudes towards certain professions.  The three professions which came bottom of the pile were politicians (who were at very the bottom), journalists and bankers.  The results are not surprising because, rightly or wrongly, there is a general attitude of mistrust and dislike towards those who work in these professions.

I have often heard it said that in the culture into which Jesus was born in the 1st century the job of shepherd was one which came towards the bottom of the pile in terms of social status.  In preparation for a short talk I am due to be giving, I thought that I'd do a bit of research to discover the reality about the status of shepherds in 1st century life.  It transpires that the poor old shepherds were even worse off than I'd expected!

One website I came across stated, "In Christ’s day, shepherds stood on the bottom rung of the Palestinian social ladder. They shared the same unenviable status as tax collectors and dung sweepers."  Shepherds were officially labelled “sinners” - a technical term for a class of despised people.  Apparently The Mishnah, Judaism’s written record of the oral law, refers to shepherds in belittling terms. One passage describes them as “incompetent”; another says no one should ever feel obligated to rescue a shepherd who has fallen into a pit!  One commentator has written that, “To buy wool, milk or a kid from a shepherd was forbidden on the assumption that it would be stolen property.”  He also documents the fact that shepherds were deprived of all civil rights. They could not fulfill judicial offices or be admitted in court as witnesses.  All-in-all, we get a very dismal picture of the life of a shepherd.

Knowing these facts about shepherds makes the appearance of angels to announce the birth of the Messiah first of all to shepherds in a field all the more remarkable.  One would have expected that the amazing news would be announced first to priests or royalty.  Instead, the message of 'good news that will cause great joy for all the people' is given to humble shepherds watching over their flocks at night.

So what does this tell us?  Two important things, it seems to me.  Firstly, that Jesus Christ came into the world for ALL people, certainly not just for the rich or powerful. The good news proclaimed by the angels is for EVERYONE!   Jesus himself said, 'I have not come to call those who think they are righteous, but those who know they are sinners.' (Mark 2:17)  

The second point relates to the truth or otherwise of the account.  Some have suggested that the gospel stories were made up by the disciples to trick people into believing.  If that was the case, would they really make up a story which has shepherds (whose testimony is inadmissible in a court of law) as those who first heard about Messiah's birth?

The shepherds' involvement in the nativity story gives much cause for thought!