Unto Whom?

For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. (Luke 2:11 ESV)

"For unto you," the angels said.  Unto whom?

When Jesus was born, there were shepherds nearby taking care of their flock at night. Shepherds weren't the most noteworthy of people. They did a necessary but dirty job that kept them far away from home for much of the time. Very few people aspired to be a shepherd, even after the great King David. Shepherds were like our modern day janitors. Was it a necessary job? Yes. Does doing this make you any less of a person? No. Was this position looked down upon? Absolutely.

There must have been loads of people nearby Jesus when He was born. Bethlehem itself was packed because of the census. There was no room at the inn after all. There were plenty of people around. Perhaps some farmers, merchants, and traders were there. Romans were certainly present. Certainly there were people around that were more "important" than shepherds.

But whom does God choose to send His angels to? To whom does God choose to make a glorious declaration of the arrival of His Son? Out of all of the world or even just the nearby surroundings of Bethlehem, whom does God choose? Not the merchants, traders, farmers, Roman census takers, or innkeepers, but the bottom of the wrung shepherds. The nobodies. To whom was this amazing and precious and mighty Savior born? To the lowly.

That's not to say you have to be at the bottom to join in this amazing celebration. Remember the magi, wealthy men from afar joined in the manger scene as well. So the Messiah has come for the near and far, the Jew and Gentile, those looking for Him and those minding their own business, the rich and the poor, the high and the low. And as the chorus of angels on that beautiful night made so wonderfully clear, especially the low, poor, broken, and needy. What a beautiful Savior He is!  Unto whom was the Messiah born?  The ordinary, the lowly, the needy like you and me.  Have you received Him?