Luke 2:8-14 Angels visited the shepherds. In this part of the Christmas story we find no mention of the Holy Spirit. Perhaps in the role the shepherds played, the Holy Spirit was not needed, or perhaps they were not sensitive to His leading. In any event, the angels' worship is not recorded in nearly as much detail as that of Mary, Elizabeth, and Zacharias. A baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger is a sign... of what? A child born into poverty? A lamb might feed from a manager, some have suggested that the cloths speak of the embalmment process of the dead. A picture of the perfect lamb sacrificed from the foundation of the world?

            What would the multitude of angels singing sound like? We can only guess. But this brief peek into heavenly worship presages some of the scenes recorded in the Apocalypse of Jesus Christ, perhaps recapitulating the scene in Isaiah 6:1-3, although angels are not necessarily seraphim. We see the angels specifically identified in the worship of Rev 5:12. In Luke the angels promise, or bestow, peace on men with whom God is pleased, or at least connect this peace with the glory of God. In the Revelation, the angels worship the Lamb, worthy because He was slain. The peace that the angels promised the shepherds has proved elusive since that time, even among those who name the name of Christ. We have peace with God (Romans 5:1), but the history of religious wars and great church fights shows that we do not have peace with each other. This ought to be a humbling and shameful admission.

            Why shepherds? Maybe it is as simple as their availability - they were willing and able to respond to go. Perhaps ...this was the birth of the lamb slain from the foundation of the world. A manger could hold food for any number of animals. But shepherds tend sheep. This particular Lamb would be inspected later, before He was offered, as to being without blemish and therefore an acceptable sacrifice (Exodus 12:3, 1 Peter 1:19). But at the outset we must not miss that He was The Lamb, that all other ritual sacrifices of lambs throughout Israel's history presaged.