The Sign for the Shepherds

Luke 2

8 And in the same region there were shepherds out in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night. 

9 And an angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were filled with great fear. 

10 And the angel said to them, “Fear not, for behold, I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. 

11 For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord.

12 And this will be a sign for you: you will find a baby wrapped in swaddling cloths and lying in a manger.”

Mangers - or feeding troughs in those days were made of stone; and around the time of Spring, would be widely used by shepherds on the hills around Bethlehem. Why? because this was the time that the Passover lambs for temple sacrifices would be born: 

5 “Your lamb shall be without blemish, a male a year old.”

Read Exodus 12

So the shepherds would be looking for such lambs as these (without blemishes or defects of any kind) and, when they found one, they would take extreme and prestigious care of it.

How would they do this?

Once they found a lamb that met the Biblical criteria, they would wrap it firmly and securely in swaddling clothes - and then - for added protection - place the lamb in one of the stone feeding troughs. This, they would have done many times…over many years:

So imagine how astounded the shepherds were; not only at the sight of the angels (this would have been shock enough) but at the revelation as to where they would find this “Savior”.

“…wrapped in swaddling cloths and lying in a manger.”

“And this will be a sign for you”. (vs.12)

This was a sign that only these shepherds (who year after year, wrapped perfect Passover lambs in swaddling and laid them in mangers) would have recognized. It truly was a special sign for them!

Did they make any kind of connection: Between the Savior…the Messiah…the Lord announced by the angel - and the Passover lamb laying in a manger; born for one purpose: to be sacrificed? 

We do not know. All we know is this:

15 When the angels went away from them into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, “Let us go over to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has made known to us.” 

16 And they went with haste and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby lying in a manger.

20 And the shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all they had heard and seen, as it had been told them.

{vs.7 And she gave birth to her firstborn son and wrapped him in swaddling cloths and laid him in a manger, because there was no place for them in the inn. 

God became a human being: But from the outset displayed nothing but humility; being born, not in an upper room among relatives and friends, but down below, among the animals - and where even lowly shepherds, were able to find him and recognize him. The un-searchable wisdom of God - who orchestrated all of this.}