Luke 2: 15 20 Visit Of The Shepherds

Target year level: Year Five

Scripture text

Introduction

The Gospel is the first of a two-part work, Luke-Acts. Luke-Acts is sometimes thought of as a novel in two parts: the Gospel gives an account of the life and mission of Jesus and the Acts of the Apostles tells the story of the rapid expansion of the early church. The two books were probably written in the latter decades of the first century.

Even though the works are anonymous, authorship is traditionally attributed to Luke. Today, many scholars accept that the author was an inhabitant of Antioch in Syria and a companion of Paul. Luke was writing for Greek speaking, Gentile (non-Jewish) Christians. Luke’s interpretation of events is influenced by his desire to show how Christianity is compatible with citizenship in the Roman Empire, that is, how one can believe in Jesus and, at the same time, be loyal to (if not worship) the emperor.

The author paints a portrait of Jesus who is the fulfilment of God’s promises to Israel. The promises are fulfilled in unexpected ways, in that they include everyone: Jews and gentiles, men and women, tax collectors and outcasts.

Luke draws Jesus as hospitable and caring for the poor and the marginalised. Mary and a number of women disciples play an important part in the gospel.

For further information, see the Teacher Background information, Who wrote the Gospels and when? and the New American Bible, Revised Edition (NABRE), Introduction to Luke.

World behind the text

Luke lived in Antioch in Syria (now Turkey) which was an important centre in the Roman Empire. Also, Antioch was one of the earliest centres of Christianity and it was there that the followers of Christ were first called Christians. The city had a pluralistic society and the Christians who lived there were both Jews and gentile, There were tensions between the two groups, who disagreed about how to be faithful followers of Jesus: the Jews believed it essential to follow traditional devotions and practices, including circumcision, Sabbath observance as well as dietary and purity regulations; the gentiles, on the other hand, saw no need for these old ways.

The destruction of the Jerusalem temple by the Romans was a major blow to the confidence of both groups. This catastrophe shook their faith in the God of Israel, who made so many promises to the chosen people and whose Kingdom was proclaimed by Jesus. So, it was important for Luke to write about Jesus in a way that showed that he was the fulfilment of God’s promises.

In the infancy narrative, Luke is consciously making connections between the history of Israel, especially the prophets, and the birth of Jesus. His aim is to show that Jesus follows in the long line of Israel’s prophets and that he is the fulfilment of God’s promises. However, because Luke’s audience was the gentile group, his vision of God’s promises encompassed a wider group than the traditional ‘chosen people.’ God’s kingdom was for all.

World of the text

Luke’s use of shepherds in this scene aligns Jesus with the shepherd-king, David (1 Sam 16:1-13). Further, Luke chose to foreground the poor and the lowly throughout his Gospel. The shepherds represent social poverty and sinful humanity and yet it was they who received the message about the birth of the Messiah (not influential politicians or priests) and it was they who ‘made known’ the good news. In God’s Kingdom, peasants are prophets and the first shall be last (Lk 13:30). Jesus comes into the midst of ordinary life – even into poverty, as signified by the manger - to live among sinners in order to save them.

World in front of the text

Mary plays a small, but significant role in this scene. Clearly, she does not understand everything that is happening, but she saves up all her memories of the events so that, over time, she can work through them. Mary is our model here. Lots of confusing things happen in our lives and Mary shows us how to cope with them: she does not let anxiety get the better of her, so she is able to trust in God’s plan and ‘go with the flow,’ as it were.