ave you ever wondered why the Holy Spirit told us about the shepherds at the time of the birth of Jesus? Was it not enough to tell us that Jesus was born? Yet, the Holy Spirit tells us in Luke 2 that an angel appeared to a group of shepherds. We do not know how many shepherds were present or if they were kind, short, or fat. That was not important. God only wanted us to know that angels had visited the shepherds and that they then visited Jesus. Why? I believe the answer is simple. He wants us to know that the birth of Jesus was a cosmic event. Did angels announce your birth? They sure did not announce my birth. But the angels announced Jesus’ birth because God came to earth in human form. He was the Savior of the world. The angel said, “ . . . for today in the city of David there has been born for you a Savior . . . “ The angel did not say that Jesus would become the Savior. No, he said that Jesus was the Savior. God had already planned His death, and it was so certain that one could already say that He was the Savior. The stunning event of the angels and the shepherds was a sign that God was intervening in human history. God was among us.

Naming of Jesus. After the shepherds found Jesus, they left and delivered their flocks to Jerusalem and then returned home. Eight days later Mary and Joseph had their baby boy circumcised and named him Jesus.

John the Baptist had also been circumcised and named on the eighth day (Luke 1:57-66). Both sets of parents were obedient to God's command about circumcision in Leviticus 12:3. It was the custom of the time to name a male baby on the day of his circumcision. Modern medicine indicates that the eighth day would have been the best time for the circumcision to be performed.