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Watching and Waiting for a Shepherd
The joy of Christmas is celebrating the grace found in Christ—that Jesus came to sinners such as us to give us life. While we look forward to Christ's second coming, this Christmas season we turn our eyes to celebrate his first coming: God becoming flesh in humble majesty.
The Humble Majesty of Christmas
Not Sentimental Stories
Christmas isn't about cute songs and Santa Claus. Let's be clear: Christmas is about God coming to earth to save sinners—you and me. He came into the world to save people from sin, death, and darkness.
He came not to be served, but to serve—to give his life ultimately on the cross as a ransom for many in order to make them righteous.
The Incarnation
We call Christmas we celebrate the Incarnation—when God in the Son became flesh and blood. He took on humanity, humbly taking on flesh to majestically display God's love.
At the cross is a glorious moment of majesty where God declares his love for the nations so that all who believe in Christ might be saved.
I Am the Good Shepherd
"I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep." — John 10:11
Gentleness & Care
The shepherd imagery conveys gentleness, care, and humility—a shepherd who is caring, pursuing, naming, knowing, loving, even dying for his sheep.
Divine Majesty
Jesus says "I am"—recalling Exodus 3 when Yahweh told Moses "I am that I am." This title proclaims not only gentleness but divinity itself.
Royal Authority
In the ancient world, "shepherd" was a kingly title. Yet Jesus came not with a flail to whip sheep into submission, but to draw them by his love.
Prophetic Shepherd Imagery
Throughout the Old Testament, shepherd imagery carries rich prophetic and messianic meaning, pointing forward to the coming Messiah who would be both humble servant and majestic king.
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Psalm 23
"The Lord is my shepherd"—God himself as the caring shepherd of his people.
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Jeremiah 23
"I will gather the remnant of my flock"—God promises personal intervention.
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Ezekiel 34
"I myself will be the shepherd of my sheep, and I will make them lie down, declares the Lord God."
4
Micah 5:4
A Messiah born in Bethlehem "shall stand and shepherd his flock in the strength of the Lord."
The Christmas Story's Shepherd Connection
The Christmas narrative is woven through with shepherd imagery. When you consider the manger scene, every detail points to the Good Shepherd's arrival.
A Manger
An animal feeding trough—the humble birthplace of the King of Kings.
Bethlehem
The city of David, a shepherding town that provided sheep for Temple sacrifices.
City of David
Home of Israel's greatest shepherd king, connecting Jesus to royal lineage.
Angels to Shepherds
Shepherds were among the first worshipers of Jesus—not coincidence, but divine design.

Is this simply narrative coincidence or part of a larger tapestry of biblical prophecy, showing just how far the Good Shepherd will go to pursue his sheep?
Jeremiah's Prophecy: Failed Shepherds
"Woe to the shepherds who destroy and scatter the sheep of my pasture, declares the Lord." — Jeremiah 23:1
Jeremiah prophesied around 627-586 BC, giving oracles of both judgment and hope. He addressed the failed shepherds of Israel—self-serving leaders who misled God's people with false promises.
The Happy Shepherds
These false prophets proclaimed with smiles: "It shall be well with you." They promised prosperity and vain hopes, saying nothing about sin or the need for a Savior. They filled people with false security, declaring peace when there was no peace.
The false prophets do not falsify truth with frowns—they do so with smiles and winsomeness, promising prosperity while ignoring sin.
Beware
If you've not trusted in Jesus Christ, you face eternal separation from God. Prosperity lies devoid of Christ and emptied of confrontation with sin offer no true hope.
The Righteous Branch
"Behold, the days are coming, declares the Lord, when I will raise up for David a righteous branch, and he shall reign as king and deal wisely, and shall execute justice and righteousness in the land." — Jeremiah 23:5
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God's Personal Intervention
"Then I will gather the remnant of my flock"—God himself steps into the shepherding role.
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Under-Shepherds Appointed
Temporary shepherds set over the people until the Messiah arrives.
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The Coming King
A final shepherd from David's line who will succeed where others failed.
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The Righteous Branch
Connected to the main stem yet different—a new lineage bringing righteousness.
Isaiah calls the Messiah both "root" and "branch"—the source of life and a different kind of life. He is of David's line yet distinct, righteous in himself. But remarkably, verse 6 declares: "The Lord is our righteousness." Somehow his righteousness becomes ours.
Luke 2: The Shepherd Arrives
Some 600 years after Jeremiah's prophecy, the faithful shepherd arrives. The entire Luke 2 narrative screams the aesthetic of shepherd—the manger, the shepherds, the city of David.
Caesar Augustus
Born 63 BC as Gaius Octavius, he called himself "revered one," "high priest," "commander in chief." He promoted himself as the unconquerable god with grand notions of self-aggrandizement.
Little did he know the real God was stewarding history to accomplish his ends, using even unfair taxes to move Joseph and Mary to Bethlehem where the Messiah was to be born.
The True King
In contrast, Jesus is born in a manger—an animal feeding trough in David's city, the shepherding town. Born in the line of the shepherd king, in humility and majesty combined.

God uses evil earthly magistrates and unfair taxes to fulfill his will. There are no conspiracies unknown to him—he's good enough to steward even evil without being stained by it.
The Angelic Announcement
The scene shifts from quietness to majesty. An angel of the Lord appears to shepherds keeping watch—not pudgy cherubim, but fearsome, powerful beings described as "burning ones" in Isaiah 6.
Born This Day
He bears flesh and humanity—he is like us.
City of David
He is of David's line—the rightful heir to the throne, a king.
A Savior
He is what we need—one who will save us from our sins.
Christ the Lord
He is not only like us but above us—both human and divine.
"Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace among those with whom he is pleased!" — Luke 2:14
The armies of heaven break forth in victory. But how can there be peace? How can God be pleased with sinners? Because Jesus is our righteousness—an alien righteousness that comes from without, not from within.
How Far Will the Shepherd Go?
How far will this shepherd lower himself? To a manger, yes—but ultimately to a cross. Make no mistake: the manger happened because the cross was in God's plan.
The Manger
Born in humility among the animals
The Cross
Our sins become his; his righteousness becomes ours
New Life
By his love and grace, he shepherds us into life in his person
"The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep." — John 10:11
Our standing before God has nothing to do with what we have done. When God asks, "Why should I let you into heaven?" we say: Jesus is our righteousness. We can stand before God with his pleasure upon us not because of our works, but because of what Jesus has done.
The shepherds heard, saw, and went and told others. They returned glorifying and praising God. This Christmas season, proclaim the humble majesty of a God who lowered himself to a manger and then to the cross to save sinners like you and me.
The greatest gift this Christmas: Share with family and neighbors their need for Jesus Christ. Glory in what he has done. Worship what he has accomplished. Turn your eyes fully to Christ and say with one voice: The Lord is our righteousness.