Annunciation To The Shepherds - Theological Interpretation

Theological Interpretation

It is generally considered significant that this message was given to shepherds, who were located on the lower rungs of the social ladder in first-century Palestine. Contrasting with the more powerful characters mentioned in the Nativity, such as the Emperor Augustus, they seem to reflect Mary's words in the Magnificat: "He has brought down rulers from their thrones but has lifted up the humble." The shepherds, taken as Jewish, also combine with the gentile Three Magi, in later tradition thought to be one each from the three continents then known, to represent the first declaration of the Christian message to all the peoples of the world.

The phrase "peace to men on whom his favor rests" has been interpreted both as expressing a restriction to a particular group of people that God has chosen and inclusively, as God displaying favor to the world.