The Angels' Song - A Call to Undeserved Peace

NOTE:

This is a manuscript, and not a transcript of this message. The actual presentation of the message differed from the manuscript through the leading of the Holy Spirit. Therefore, it is possible, and even likely that there is material in this manuscript that was not included in the live presentation and that there was additional material in the live presentation that is not included in this manuscript.

Engagement

We’ve already seen that angels play an important role in the Christmas story. The angel Gabriel appeared to Zechariah to tell him that he and Elizabeth were going to have a child in their old age. He later appeared to Mary to reveal that she was going to be the mother of Jesus. And another angel, possibly also Gabriel, appeared to Joseph to instruct him to go ahead and take Mary as his wife even though he wasn’t the father of the baby she would bear.

Tension

But angels are not just important to the Christmas narrative. There are over 300 references to angels in the Bible and angels appear in over half of the books of the Bible. But unfortunately it seems that many people today get our ideas about angels not from the Bible, but rather from classic movies like “It’s a Wonderful Life”.

[Show clip]

In the movie, Angel Second Class Clarence Odbody is portrayed as a human who became an angel upon his death. That same idea is reinforced later in the movie when a bell rings on the Christmas tree and George Bailey’s daughter says, “Teacher says every time a bell rings an angel gets his wings.” But these ideas are certainly not consistent with what we know about angels from the Scriptures.

Truth

This morning, as we continue our current sermon series - The First Songs of Christmas - we’re going to study the song of the angels found in Luke chapter 2. But in order for us to fully understand the significance of that song, we need to talk for a few minutes about the role of angels in the Bible.

Angels serve three major roles and the song that we’ll look at thing morning accomplishes all three of these things:

Three main roles of angels:

To magnify God

This is the most important role of angels. Whenever we are given a glimpse of heaven in passages like Isaiah 6 or Revelation 4, we see that the angels that surround the throne of God are praising God. And in Job 38, when God speaks to Job, He reveals that the angels, who He calls the “morning stars”, were singing God’s praise at creation:

Job 38:4–7 ESV

4 “Where were you when I laid the foundation of the earth? Tell me, if you have understanding. 5 Who determined its measurements—surely you know! Or who stretched the line upon it? 6 On what were its bases sunk, or who laid its cornerstone, 7 when the morning stars sang together and all the sons of God shouted for joy?

We also learn here that angels are a separate class of created beings completely apart from humans. The angels that we see in this passage existed long before Adam was created. And the Bible is clear that no human ever becomes an angel after his or her death.

To be messengers of God

Both the Hebrew and Greek words for “angel” literally mean “messenger.” And throughout the Scriptures we see God sending His angels to proclaim God’s message to His people.

Sometimes that involves announcing good news like the birth of His Son. But far more often the message is a message of judgment. If you don’t believe that, just read the messages the angels deliver in the book of Revelation.

So angels are certainly not the cute little chubby babies with wings that are portrayed in our art or which are made into Christmas ornaments to put on our trees. So it’s not surprising that when angels do act as God’s messengers, the first reaction of their audience is almost always fear.

To minister to people

The writer of Hebrews described this role of angels:

Hebrews 1:14 ESV

14 Are they not all ministering spirits sent out to serve for the sake of those who are to inherit salvation?

Most of the time, angels are not seen – they minister behind the scenes. But occasionally, they enter our world, often in the form of a human, for a short time, to minister for a specific purpose. Once again we get some insight from the writer of Hebrews:

Hebrews 13:2 ESV

2 Do not neglect to show hospitality to strangers, for thereby some have entertained angels unawares.

When it came to the incarnation, the event was so important and so critical, that no earthly channels were adequate to communicate this amazing event to the world. So it is no wonder that there is no other event in the Bible where so many angels were an integral part of the story.

With that background in mind, go ahead and follow along in your Bible as I begin reading in Luke chapter 2, verse 8:

Luke 2:8–13 ESV

8 And in the same region there were shepherds out in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night. 9 And an angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were filled with great fear. 10 And the angel said to them, “Fear not, for behold, I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. 11 For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. 12 And this will be a sign for you: you will find a baby wrapped in swaddling cloths and lying in a manger.” 13 And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying,

First, a single angel appears to the shepherds. And true to form, when that happens, the shepherds are afraid - I actually love how the King James phrases it - “they were sore afraid”. But the angel told them not to be afraid and shared with them the good news that the Savior had been born in Bethlehem. And the angel gave them a sign to help them find the baby although I often wonder just how helpful that sign would have been given the number of babies that might have been born in Bethlehem that night.

Just as that single angel finished his message, an entire angel army appeared - that’s what a heavenly host is. And I have to believe that the shepherds are really afraid now. I sure know I would be. So the angels reassure them with a song. Will you read that song out loud together with me”

Luke 2:14 ESV

14 “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace among those with whom he is pleased!”

It is a brief song – only 11 words in the original Greek. And by now you’re probably already figured out that...

The angels’ song is a call to undeserved peace

That undeserved peace is manifest in two important aspects of who God is that the angels focus on in their song:

God’s glory

God’s grace

Let’s look first at God’s glory:

Here we see the angels doing what they always do – magnifying God – and thus fulfilling the first purpose that we looked at earlier. And there was certainly good reason for their praise.

Keep in mind that these angels knew the significance of the incarnation. They had observed Jesus, the second person of the triune God, in all His glory in heaven. They understood that He was fully God and they worshipped Him as God. They also understood the consequences of man’s sin that separated him from God. And they were also aware of the prophecies that promised a Messiah who would save the people from their sins and restore their relationship with God.

So now that those prophecies were being fulfilled, their first response was to give glory to God. The phrase “in the highest” is the translation of a single Greek word that can either mean that which is highest in rank or highest in location. Here it seems to encompass both meanings. God’s glory is “in the highest” in the sense that it is highest in rank – it is the glory to the highest possible degree. But it is also “in the highest” because it is glory that is manifest in the highest heavens.

The focus on God’s glory in the highest is also a reminder that salvation must come from the heavens – from God and not from man. The salvation that will result in peace on earth does not arise from the earth and climb to the heavens – instead it must originate with God in the heavens and descend to the earth.

Now let’s look at God’s grace:

The song of the angels heralded the end of the longest lasting and most destructive war in the history of mankind. It is a war that began when sin entered the world and which could only be ended by Jesus coming into the world as a little baby who would grow up and die on a cross. It is a war that has cost countless lives – in fact this war is what brought death into our world in the first place. But the angel’s song is the proclamation that this war can be ended and that there can be “peace on earth”.

This is where the angels fulfill their other two roles. In this song they are messengers of God who proclaim the birth of the Messiah who will bring peace on earth. And through that message they also minister not just to the shepherds but to the multitude of generations who have also heard the words of this song through the pages of Scripture.

Unfortunately our understanding of “peace on earth” doesn’t always match up to the way the angels use it here.

Originally the Greek word that is translated “peace” in the New Testament was used pretty much the way we use it in English - the absence of conflict. But its use in the New Testament is undoubtedly influenced by the Hebrew idea of “shalom”, which focuses much more on relationships than on conditions.

So the idea of peace in the Bible is not associated primarily with the resolution of political conflict, or even good health, personal well being or financial prosperity, but is focused instead on right relationships which influence every area of life. This peace is not just something that the shepherds and the rest of the earth could experience some day in the future. It is a present moment fullness of life that all can enjoy right here and now.

That kind of peace must begin with God’s presence. That is why the incarnation is so critical. It was not until God put on a body of flesh and came to the earth that his kind of peace was possible because only then could man experience God’s presence in a tangible way. Any form of peace that is built on any foundation other than a right relationship with God is certainly not peace at all – at least not in Biblical terms.

Because of the incarnation, it is possible for all to have peace with God that then gives us the ability to have peace in our other relationships as well. But, as the song of the angels reveals, not all choose to accept that gift of peace. Notice that there is a condition attached to “peace on earth”. That peace only occurs “among those with whom he is pleased”.

Many of you, like me, are probably familiar with the KJV translation of verse 14:

Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men.

Unfortunately, that is not an accurate translation and it could easily lead us to draw some erroneous conclusions about what the angels are communicating here. In the underlying Greek, the phase “with whom he is pleased” or “good will toward men” is just one word. The ESV, along with other modern translations like the NASB and NIV, all do a good job of translating this single Greek word in a way that indicates that God’s peace comes only upon those who are the object of God’s pleasure - not to mankind in general.

So what does it mean to be the object of God’s good pleasure? Let me illustrate.

Mary is the object of my pleasure. That means it gives me pleasure to serve her – to provide for her, to protect her, to honor her. So if someone does something to harm or dishonor her physically, emotionally, or spiritually, I am going to jump to her defense immediately. In that case, my actions are not going to be dependent on how I feel about her at that moment. Even if we have a disagreement or she has done something to irritate me, I’m going to come to her rescue if I see her in danger because of my love for her. She does not need to “earn” my love in order for me to serve her.

The same is true with God. He didn’t send His Son to this earth to be born in a manger in Bethlehem and to die on a cross because we have somehow earned the right to have God provide for our peace in that way. He did that because He loves us and because we are the objects of His pleasure in spite of what we might do to offend or rebel against Him.

That is why we have said this morning that...

The angels’ song is a call to undeserved peace

The peace that was made possible by the incarnation of Jesus is not something we deserve at all. But, God, in His mercy and grace offers that peace to us anyway. But even though God offers that gift to all, not all choose to receive it. But the response of the shepherds to the angels’ song is a great illustration of how that gift is received.

Application

HOW TO RECEIVE THE UNDESERVED PEACE OF GOD

Follow along beginning in verse 15 as we read about how the shepherds’ response.

Luke 2:15–20 ESV

15 When the angels went away from them into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, “Let us go over to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has made known to us.” 16 And they went with haste and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby lying in a manger. 17 And when they saw it, they made known the saying that had been told them concerning this child. 18 And all who heard it wondered at what the shepherds told them. 19 But Mary treasured up all these things, pondering them in her heart. 20 And the shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all they had heard and seen, as it had been told them.

I must make a personal choice

You’ll notice first that they had to make a personal choice about what they were going to do with Jesus. They basically had three possible choices:

They could have chosen not to believe the angels at all. Now admittedly, in their particular case based on what they had just witnessed that night, that wouldn’t have been real likely. But they could have just attributed what they saw to some bad Mexican food and gone on with tending their sheep.

They could have believed what they heard from the angels, but not done anything about it and just continued tending their flocks.

What they did choose to do to was to listen to the angels, believe what they had heard and then personally respond to what they had observed by immediately going to find Mary and Joseph and the baby Jesus. They chose to receive the gift that God was offering.

All of us also have to make a personal choice about what we are going to do with Christmas. And whether God gets the glory He deserves and whether we get the peace He desires for us depends on that decision. Like the angels, we can basically make one of three choices when it comes to Christmas:

We can choose just not believe that God would humble Himself and come to earth as a baby for the purpose of dying on a cross for our sins. Obviously our world is filled with people who do exactly that every Christmas. They may decorate houses or trees, buy gifts, sing some Christmas songs or even attend a Christmas Eve service. But they really don’t believe that what God did at Christmas has any bearing on their lives at all.

We can choose to intellectually assent to the facts of Christmas without really letting the wonder of the incarnation change our lives in any way at all. My guess is that the majority of people in our country fall into that category. They believe the Christmas story, perhaps even put up a nativity scene and read the account of the birth of Jesus in the Bible. But they aren’t willing to go so far as to commit their lives to Jesus in a way that transforms the way they live their daily lives.

Or we can choose to not only believe in the incarnation, but in response to that belief we can commit to making Jesus both our Savior and our Lord. And as a result, out of gratitude for what Jesus has done for us, we then attempt to live a life of obedience to Him. That is the only one of the three options that gives God the glory He deserves and also gives us peace on earth. And, unfortunately because so few people choose to do that, our world is not characterized by either God’s glory or man’s peace right now.

I must pass on that gift to others

Once the shepherds grasped God’s glory and their peace by personally responding to God’s revelation, they didn’t just keep that good news to themselves. That news was so good that they naturally wanted to pass that good news on to others. God didn’t need to command them to do that; it was just the natural outflow of hearts that were overflowing with joy because of the great gift that God had given to them and they wanted to share that gift with others.

If you’ve received the gift of God’s peace, it is not just for you to hoard for yourself. Once you’ve received the gift you need to share it with others. If Jesus truly is your Savior and Lord, then one of the natural results of the peace that He brings to your life is that you are going to want to share that good news with others. Frankly, if you don’t have the desire to do that, then you really need to examine your heart and make sure that your faith in Jesus is genuine.

Action

We’ve seen this morning that...

The angels’ song is a call to undeserved peace

Do you have that peace in your life? Have you responded to the good news of the incarnation by putting your faith in Jesus alone and making Him both your Lord and your Savior?

If you have, then take a moment right now to thank Jesus for making it possible for you to have that kind of peace in your life. If not, would you receive that peace today? We’d love to talk to you more about how you can do that. And in a moment I’ll explain how you can let us know you’d like to do that.

If you already have that peace, then what are you going to do with it? It’s interesting to me that as humans who know Jesus personally, we are called to do exactly what angels do - albeit in a different way. So in the next two weeks, will you consider how Jesus wants you to:

Magnify God

Be messengers of God

Minister to people

That is how we make sure we don’t just hoard God’s peace for ourselves, but pass it on so others can experience it, too.

Inspiration

Unfortunately we live in a world that is not characterized by God’s glory and God’s grace right now. And frankly, there is not a lot we can do as individuals, or even as a church, to change that on any large scale. But what we can do, and what we’ve been called to do, is to do what we can to make a difference in the lives of those who God brings into our lives. So let’s heed the song of the angels and bring God’s undeserved peace to a world that desperately needs it one life at a time.