When we hear, “God so loved the world that He gave his only begotten Son,” we may think of God’s love for a whole globe full of people, kind of a wide-angle, planetary love.
But what did that love look like in person, up close, on the ground at the birth of Jesus? To whom did that love first come? Was it to very important people, rulers and leaders and upper-crust folks? Yes, they are in the story. The wise men, kind of peripherally, were there in that Jesus was born in their territory and in the time of their leadership. And Herod was there, too. Although quite important, Herod was actually an enemy of the Christ Child and rejected him violently.
The people we see closest to Jesus are Joseph, a bewildered man who worries about the implications of his betrothed’s pregnancy, and young Mary, innocent and accepting of this great work. She seems to have no close family present, no support other than Joseph and her relative Elizabeth. Mary and Joseph were so poor that the gift they offered at Jesus’s dedication in the Temple was two turtledoves, the cheapest possible offering. And in the above Scripture, some of the first to adore Jesus were shepherds—night-shift shepherds at that—smelly outdoorsmen, rough and ready, and unclean from handling the sheep. It is to them that God’s own angel choir appears, shimmering, singing, and miraculous.
God so loved the world, yes. But God loved specifically these simple, poor, everyday people and entrusted them with His Son. The angel said, “Do not be afraid; for see—I am bringing you good news of great joy for all the people.” God so loved us all!