No Ordinary Shepherds

According to Alfred Edersheim, these men tended a special flock of sheep at ...

"Migdal Eder, the watch tower of the flock. For here was the station where shepherds watched the flocks destined for sacrifices in the Temple...It seems of deepest significance, almost like the fulfillment of type, that those shepherds who first heard tidings of the Savior's birth, who listened to angels' praises, were watching flocks destined to be offered as sacrifice in the Temple...

"We can understand the wonderful impression made on those in the courts of the Temple, as, while they selected their sacrifices, the shepherds told the devout of the speedy fulfillment of all these types in what they had themselves seen...Thus the shepherds would be the most effectual heralds of the Messiah in the Temple, and both Simeon and Anna be prepared for the time when the infant Savior would be presented in the sanctuary" ( Sketches of Jewish Social Life, pgs. 80-81).

Along with the shepherds, another group of men brings the news of Jesus' birth, but in this instance, to the courts of Judea. These men, known as the Magi, are high-level dignitaries from another land.

Imagine the anticipation, not just of a birth, but eternity coming down into the world! (Our thanks to whoever sent this to me. I try to give credit, but the source got lost in the transfer by "copy and paste.")

- via THE SOWER, a weekly publication of the Arthur church of Christ, Arthur, IL. Ron Bartanen, who serves as minister and editor, may be contacted through the congregation's website: http://www.arthurchurchofchrist.com