The First Advent: The First Shepherd

The first shepherd comes and angels announce his arrival.  The skies are full of singing and proclamations of good news for all people.  The skies light up, and people come from all around to see this shepherd lying in a manger.  Other, older shepherds arrive to see the first shepherd.

Older shepherds come to see the first shepherd?  How can that be?  I mean, after all there are shepherds all over the bible.  They are in the Old Testament and the New Testament.  King David was a shepherd before he was king.  Jacob, Abraham, Amos were all shepherds.  How can older shepherds worship the first shepherd?

Israel (Jacob) blessed his long, lost son Joseph with these words and shows us who is the First Shepherd:

And he blessed Joseph and said, “The God before whom my fathers Abraham and Isaac walked, the God who has been my shepherd all my life long to this day, the angel who has redeemed me from all evil, bless the boys;
    and in them let my name be carried on, and the name of my fathers Abraham and Isaac;
    and let them grow into a multitude in the midst of the earth.”

Jesus is our eternal shepherd. He is the I AM.  This is the season the world celebrates the First Shepherd’s arrival to earth.  This is when He incarnated to save sinners from their bondage.  This loving Shepherd came as an infant to redeem you and I and free us from our sin, from the sin of all mankind. 

This is our loving Shepherd shepherding a crowd:

When he went ashore he saw a great crowd, and he had compassion on them, because they were like sheep without a shepherd. And he began to teach them many things.

Here is what He tells us of himself:

I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep.

You can read the account of the First Shepherd’s birth in Luke 2 during this Advent Season.

Happy Advent!

Here is a link to another The Second Advent.