Jesus has been born in Bethlehem to Mary and Joseph. An angel appeared to shepherds in the field, telling them that the Savior has been born, the anointed one has come. People who object to the December birth of Jesus typically point to the shepherds as their proof. Their assumption is based on an insular western view of shepherding limited to the scope of America and Europe. In the western world you cannot and would not attempt to shepherd in a hostile winter environment, Bethlehem however has mild winters and there was a necessity for lambs year round because of the sacrifices in the Temple. The shepherds do not “prove” the December birth but they definitely do not offer any evidence against it.
16 And they went with haste, and found Mary and Joseph, and the babe lying in a manger.
The shepherds, after hearing the proclamation of the angel, make their journey to the Christ child with “haste”. Their urgency highlights their willingness to accept the Messiah. They find Mary and Joseph with the baby Jesus who is “lying in a manger”. A manger is a feeding trough for livestock. This is where people get the idea of some separate building like a barn or a cave from but this comes from a misunderstanding of a common domestic practice of this time period and location.
If a building had multiple floors, the ground level, with a dirt floor would have been used for storage of items and animals. The second level of the home would have been where people ate and slept. This typically would be single room levels but the word in Luke 2:7 that gets translated to “Inn” is Katalyma which actually means spare room which implies a multi-roomed complex. There is no space in the spare room , implying another room for living perhaps the owners of the building,so they have to make board on the ground floor with the animals.
17 And when they saw it they made known the saying which had been told them concerning this child;
When the shepherds arrived they told Mary and Joseph what had been proclaimed to them. This would have been what the angel said in in Luke 2:9-12
And the angel said to them, “Be not afraid; for behold, I bring you good news of a great joy which will come to all the people; for to you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. And this will be a sign for you: you will find a babe wrapped in swaddling cloths and lying in a manger.”
They find the baby, wrapped in swaddling clothes and lying in a manger.This is the sign they are to look out for to know that this was truly a sign from God. Ancient Hebrews were very preoccupied with “signs” as proofs of divine intervention especially when things would differ from the norm. This is why the Pharisees will demand “signs” from Jesus in his ministry.
18 and all who heard it wondered at what the shepherds told them.
“And all who heard it wondered” this is not referring to Jesus’ parents, this is further evidence of the previous comment I made on the living arrangements and the particular arrangement of this home they are staying at. The main living quarters is full with the owners, the spare room is full, likely with a whole other family and Mary, Joseph and Jesus are in the ground floor room. There are likely at least two full families (as it is the time of the census) who are present this entire time, the text just does not explicitly name them. Based on the details in Matthew when cross-referenced with Luke we also know that it can’t be the Magi either, they will not arrive till much later. Staying with strangers is not very likely, Joseph went to the City of David because for the census you are to enrol in your home of origin, so this is most likely the extended family of Joseph himself who are present.
19 But Mary kept all these things, pondering them in her heart.
Mary has already received many wondrous words from Gabriel and has birthed the Christ Child. On top of all these things, she also ponders the mysteries of the revelation to the shepherds. Mary as the archetypal contemplative ponders all these things in her heart. This is a Lukan feature not expressed in the other Gospels. This can be attributed to the ancient tradition that Luke interviewed Mary personally to get these details. Contemplative prayer has the deepest richness of fruits but it is not flashy, it is not something anyone would have noticed without Mary herself telling someone. Luke’s consulting of eyewitnesses reveals this to us.
20 And the shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all they had heard and seen, as it had been told them.
The shepherds, after the fulfilment of all that had been revealed to them return to their flocks in the fields. They glorify an praise God because they had been selected as witnesses to God’s intervention in history.
21 And at the end of eight days, when he was circumcised, he was called Jesus, the name given by the angel before he was conceived in the womb.
After eight days has passed, Jesus is circumcised and as according to the custom, this is when he receives name, not at his birth as we typically do today. The naming authority is given to the father so Joseph would have been the one to actually name Jesus as Jesus. This is the name the angel told them they must call the child and in obedience they name him this.A fulfilment of what was spoken to them by the Lord.
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