{"id":288,"date":"2019-01-08T07:30:21","date_gmt":"2019-01-08T14:30:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/drbobewell.com\/?p=288"},"modified":"2019-01-17T10:25:52","modified_gmt":"2019-01-17T17:25:52","slug":"shepherds-or-wise-men","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/drbobewell.com\/?p=288","title":{"rendered":"Shepherds or Wise Men?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

[To follow The Ewellogy<\/em><\/strong>, please click on Leave a Comment<\/em><\/strong> above, fill in your name and email, and check the box: Notify me of new posts by email<\/em><\/strong>. If your comment is, “Notify me,” it won’t post publicly. If you don’t start to receive the blog by email right away, please write to me at bob@ewell.com, and I will see that you get on the list.] <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Christmas stories in Matthew and Luke tell of two different events in two different places. Luke speaks of the angel’s appearance to the shepherds and their visiting the newborn Jesus in the manger<\/g>. Matthew tells of the wise men visiting the “young child” in a house some time<\/g> later.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I just read that the early church has always loved the wise men, but it largely ignored Luke\u2019s shepherds. Drawings of the wise men appeared in the catacombs 200 years before drawings of the shepherds for example. (E.A. Carmean Jr, art historian). The shepherds were low status<\/g> men, poor, and did not seek out the Messiah until the angels called them. The wise men, on the other hand, were high status, wealthy, and had to work really hard and travel a long way. 
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God used them both. The shepherds\u2019 appearance was a confirming sign to Mary and Joseph, and the shepherds started telling about him right away (Luke 2.17). The wise men came later and didn\u2019t tell anyone. However, their gifts would have funded the family for a long time. 
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Here are a few simple lessons:<\/p>\n\n\n\n