A sheperd’s journey
He pulled his rough woolen cloak tighter around his shoulders. The day had been pleasant, but now that night had come and the wind had stilled, it was unpleasantly cold. The small fire he had kindled wasn’t much help. Still, he considered himself lucky, sitting among his charges, the tightly packed herd of sheep he was tending. They provided some warmth as well.
He liked the night watch. There wasn’t a lot of activity, and it allowed him time to contemplate the details of his job, and his study of the Law and the Prophets. He was a Temple shepherd, responsible for providing lambs for Temple sacrifice. He would carefully inspect young lambs for blemishes or imperfections, and if they passed his scrutiny, he would bind them tightly in cloth and prepare them for their journey to the Temple Mount, four miles to the north. He didn’t particularly like to think about what would happen to them next, but he knew it was commanded by Yahweh, so it was necessary. Sometimes the remission of sins required sacrifice.
And there was something that was bothering him this night about his study of the Prophet Isaiah. A passage that was particularly troublesome spoke of the Messiah as a “suffering servant,” apparently dying for the sins of mankind. How did that even…
He heard a strange sound. Faint, but clear, like…singing? The sheep all stood up, startled, looking around. Some began to vocalize their distress. Then the shepherd stood up, not knowing whether to prepare to fight or flee.
A dazzling white light shattered the darkness on a hillside fifty yards away, blinding him. His knees buckled, and he fell on them. The light coalesced into a single figure, still bright but recognizable as passably human.
“Don’t be afraid!” the apparition said. “I bring you good news that will bring great joy to all people. The Messiah has been born today in Bethlehem, the city of David! And you will recognize him by this sign: You will find the baby wrapped snugly in cloth, lying in a manger.”
The shepherd hesitated. Was this for real? There was only one way to find out. Clicking his tongue – the signal for his charges to lie down – he took off toward Bethlehem.
A few minutes later he climbed a hill near the ancestral home of King David when he saw other shepherds approaching the house. Following them, he was perplexed when he saw them turn toward the stable that was carved into the foundation on the east side of the structure. It then occurred to him that – of course - a manger would only be found in a stable. He chuckled at the irony. Had the Messiah, of the “House of David”, been born in the house of David?
He approached the stable, and inside saw a young man, and young woman, and a baby, wrapped in swaddling cloths, the same cloths he used…
For the second time that night, his knees buckled, and he knelt. And the truth hit him like the sudden dawn on a clear day. This Child was the perfect Lamb of God, destined to be sacrificed for the sins of mankind on that mountain in Jerusalem. That was what Isaiah was talking about.
“He was led as a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before its shearers is silent, So He opened not His mouth…He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities; the chastisement for our peace was upon Him, and by His stripes we are healed. All we like sheep have gone astray; We have turned, every one, to his own way; And the Lord has laid on Him the iniquity of us all.” – Isaiah 53
Doug Chastain is a retired teacher and large-vehicle transportation specialist for the Siloam Springs School District. (OK, he drives a bus.) He is also a grass maintenance technician at Camp Siloam. (Yeah, he mows the lawn.) You can contact him at dougchastain@gmail.com.