Luke 2:1-20
“Notice what you notice.” A couple of things today… First, my NKJV text had in verse 17 that the shepherds made it “widely known” what they had heard and seen. But that verse had a footnote that “widely” was omitted in (presumably) an earlier translation. To my mind the NKJV added “widely” because of the next verse, “And all those who heard it marveled at those things which were told them by the shepherds.” Both the ESV and the NASB say simply in verse 17 that “…they made known…”, while the NIV is more like the NKJV “…they spread the word…”. For any of those translations, verse 18 makes it clear that the stable birth was probably well known to the locals. I can imagine that Mary and her newborn baby spent very little time in that manger setting.
Second, in verse 8 the NKJV and the NIV have the shepherds “living out in the fields”. The NASB is a bit lighter, with the shepherds “staying” instead of “living” and the ESV has them simply “out in the fields”. Most sermons that I’ve heard on the topic have shepherds as society’s castoffs – among the lowest ranks of working people. But I guess I never imagined them LIVING out with the sheep. I probably assumed that they pastured them during the day, then brought them in at night. Further reflection has my earlier thoughts to be wholly unrealistic; they had to roam far and wide to find fresh grass for the sheep every day. But, “living” jumped out at me…
Finally, “firstborn” in verse 7… Why “first” if not a second born or third or more? Hearkening back to my thoughts from yesterday’s reading…
Feel free to share your own thoughts on these readings. It would be good to hear from more of you.
Slava Bohu!