The saying of James should come into our mind, as we read the words of Luke's narration of the Angels visting the shepherds the following comes to mind - "Has not God chosen the poor of this world, rich in faith and heirs of the kingdom, which he has promised to those who love him." (James 2:5.) The lack of money debars no one from spiritual privileges. The things of God's kingdom are often hidden from the great and noble, and revealed to the poor. The busy labor of the hands need not prevent a man being favored with special communion with God. Moses was keeping sheep, Gideon was threshing wheat, Elisha was ploughing, when they were each honored by direct calls and revelations from God. Let us resist the suggestion of Satan, that religion is not for the working man. The weak of the world are often called before the mighty. The last are often first, and the first last. (JC Ryle - Luke chapter 2). Others also come to mind - we see David being the shepherd of the family being called by God to be the deliverer of Israel.

The primary roles of a shepherd with his sheep were guiding, providing food and water, protecting and delivering, gathering scattered or lost sheep, and giving health and security. The needs of sheep are primarily physical. Not being abundantly endowed with intelligence and lacking the capacity to find food and water for themselves in marginal environments, they require a benevolent and capable human leader who will guide them to places where these essentials can be found. Since sheep tend to wander, a concerned shepherd must search for them and bring them back when they become lost or when for some reason the flock has become scattered. A sheep’s lack of natural defenses leaves it susceptible to the attacks of predators. (Thomas Golding)

I see another picture here, the angels comes to those that are the most capable of understanding what a saviour is – the one who is able to protect and deliver the sheep from the wolf.

The good shepherd gives His life for the sheep. But a hireling, he who is not the shepherd, one who does not own the sheep, sees the wolf coming and leaves the sheep and flees; and the wolf catches the sheep and scatters them. The hireling flees because he is a hireling and does not care about the sheep. (John 10:11b- 13a)