The Shepherd-King: A Christmas Meditation (Part 2)

After over 600 years of oppression by foreign rule, Israel eagerly anticipated her Messiah-King. God kept his promises to King David by sending the “son of David” – born in Bethlehem. But the birth of King Jesus was anything but kingly. No palace. No crown. No triumphant announcement to society’s elite. Instead, Israel’s king was born in a cave, wrapped in cloth, and placed in a feeding trough (Luke 2:7). His birth announcement rang just loudly enough that shepherds tending their flocks in the distant fields heard it (Luke 2:8-15). But the shepherd-audience would prove prophetic to the kind of king Jesus would be.

Israel longed for a political, military ruler to deliver her from Roman oppression. She anticipated a “son of David” that would re-enact all the vengeance of David himself, and then some. But God’s promises are based on his own expectations, not other’s. He sent a “son of David” to be sure. But this new king reflected the shepherding heart of David rather than his militant heart. Instead of a warrior-king God sent a shepherd-king. Israel was surprised, shocked, and saddened. How can a shepherd deliver a nation from hostile enemies? The scepter shall not depart from Judah (Gen 49:10). Oh, Jesus will rule with a rod of iron but in his own time, at his second coming (Rev 19). The defeat of his enemies will be more swift and decisive than that of David. But his victory is primarily a spiritual one. The revolution of Jesus is ethical, not militant.

There is more to being a king than having power. Even in the OT, the king’s reign was to be a compassionate and caring one. The OT reminds earthly rulers of how they should rule: “Defend the cause of the weak and fatherless; maintain the rights of the poor and oppressed. Rescue the weak and needy; deliver them from the hand of the wicked” (Ps 82:3-4). Jesus’ reign perfectly fulfills such expectations. He is compassionate and caring. He bridles his great power, not lording it over his people and not seeking impatient vengeance upon his enemies. He tends his flock as the shepherds who heard the angelic proclamation at his birth. Jesus is the “son of David” who reflects David’s own shepherd-heart.

I think this shepherd-king is exactly what Matthew has in mind when he calls Jesus “Son of David.” Jesus extends the compassion and care of a shepherd, not the sword and shield of a monarch. Matthew prefaces many of Jesus’ miracles with the phrase “Son of David, have mercy!” For a good glimpse of the reign of King Jesus see Matt 9:27-31; 12:23; 15:22; 20:29-34; and 21:14. The reign of the son of David is one of compassion and care and total fulfillment of Pss 23 and 82. “Son of David” is synonymous with shepherd-king.

Jesus’ kingship is defined by how he serves the oppressed and outcasts. This was not what Israel expected. Israel wanted a warrior but God sent a shepherd instead. The compassionate and caring reign of King Jesus is the real meaning Christmas.