Whilst there is a striking contrast, between the Divine dignity of our Lord and the lowly earthly circumstances of His birth, there is at the same time a no less striking harmony between the events, and dispositions, and persons attending it. The time, the place, the tidings, the listeners, are all in unison. The shepherds were upon historic ground. On those same slopes, on those same hillsides, David of old had fed his father's flocks; and it was from those same fields that he went forth at God's command to change his shepherd's crook for the royal sceptre; and his lowly dress for the purple of a king. When the angels came to earth, they came to the peaceful hillsides, where the dew was upon the grass, and the flock was sleeping in the fold; and there to humble and prepared hearts they gave their message and revealed their glory.
I. And that humble shepherds were the first to receive the glad tidings is as instructive as it is strange. It shows us plainly that there is no respect of persons with God; that in His eye the loftiest and the lowliest are as one; that in the blessings of the everlasting Gospel there is no difference between the monarch on the throne, and the beggar on the dunghill.
II. Not only was the message of the angel given to shepherds, it was given to them whilst they were pursuing their work. Idle men do not receive visions. Industry rather than idleness qualifies for the blessing of God. These were not the kind of men to start at shadows. They were strong, sturdy men, holding a position of danger and difficulty, and yet their humble hearts were waiting upon the Lord.
III. The shepherds at first were "sore afraid." "Flesh and blood were not made to inherit the kingdom of heaven," and thus the "mercifulness of God is seen in the very commonplaces of life." The shaded light, the veiled heaven, the hidden glory, testify as much to His goodness as the open vision and the third-heaven revelation. But the fear of the shepherds soon gave place to action; they took the proper attitude to the Divine announcement, they instantly believed it. How different this journey of the shepherds to the manger, from the hasting of the disciples afterwards to the tomb! These men went "to see the thing which had come to pass," but when Peter and John ran to the sepulchre it was to see if it had come to pass; and the one journey was marked by confidence and truthfulness, while the other was all impatience and haste.
H. Wonnacott, Christian World Pulpit,vol. xvii., p. 285.