And there were in the same country shepherds abiding in the field, keeping watch unto their flock by night. And lo, the angel of the Lord came upon them, and the glory of the Lord shone round about them: and they were sore afraid.
Dirty, stinky, shepherds. Not the cream of the crop. They were despised by others.They were not revered or esteemed by society. Usually they were the younger sons of peasants who couldn’t do harder work, so they kept the sheep.
What did they think when they saw the angel, and the glory of the Lord? They were fearful! I’m sure the shepherds had no idea who or what they were seeing. And why would an angel appear unto them?
Think about it. You’re sitting around a campfire with friends. Laughing and joking, maybe even roasting marshmallows or hot dogs. Suddenly, you see a great light and an angel, and you are afraid!
The Bible says ‘sore’ afraid. Sore is an archaic modifier meaning extremely. Fear tightens us, causes stress, and makes our muscles ache. Sore afraid, you are so afraid, it makes you hurt. And this is what the shepherds were experiencing. But there’s more to the story. Memorize these scriptures and more will be added next week.