The Birth of Christ story gives a prominence to some men on watch who had a fright one night, which turned out to be really something, something beyond, imagining... They were just minding their business (or someone else's business) looking after sheep. It is clear they were out "in the field" and there were two, or more, and one flock, which perhaps (somehow) belonged to them. No hillside mentioned, though it would be unsurprising if a grazing "field" was on elevated land. Being night, perhaps the sheep were in an enclosure with one shepherd sleeping across the door.
"Their sheep": These seem to have been "small businessmen" of the day. Who were they? What were their names - they had names, for sure. Not recorded, which perhaps indicates something about their status in their society and community. Unknown to us, but never unknown to God. (I do not think shepherds should be talked down so much. They had their glorious King David to imagine, and we now know Jesus is The Good Shepherd.)
At least one shepherd was awake to be scared by the arrival of a messenger from heaven, accompanied by God's glory shining around them. By that stage all the watchmen were alert! There was a message for all of them, and for all. Here it is:
But the angel said, “Don't be afraid! I have good news for you, which will make everyone happy. This very day in King David's hometown a Savior was born for you. He is Christ* the Lord. You will know who he is, because you will find him dressed in baby clothes and lying on a bed of hay.”
Suddenly many other angels came down from heaven and joined in praising God. They said:
“Praise God in heaven!
Peace on earth to everyone
who pleases God.” (Luke 2:10-14, CEV) Nothing upper-class in a hay box and wrapping cloths!
They were told that they were being given the good news: that for all "the people" a saviour was born. A deliverer who was Christ*; a rescuer who was Lord.
A Saviour who would make peace on earth possible. Possible.
(The) "Christ" (the) "Lord" is a very unusual expression. We might expect "The Lord's Christ", but that is not what it says.
(BTW many English Bibles often render Christ as "Messiah", the relevant meaning of Christ for the Jewish people of the day.)
In what language did the angels sing or speak? Aramaic, Hebrew, Greek, and Latin, are heard in the land. I wonder. The word Christ comes from Greek. The Greek original word has the meaning of anointed. "The anointed Lord" was an alternative here (1881 RV margin). "Lord" is a word used frequently in the Greek New Testament and is very often applied to Jesus (a future topic?).
We can read the account this way:
But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid. I bring you good news that will cause great joy for all the people. Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is the Messiah*, the Lord. This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.”
Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God and saying,
“Glory to God in the highest heaven,
and on earth peace to those on whom his favor rests.”
(Luke 2:10-14, NIV)
There are clear points being made.
- Good news was being delivered.
- Joy was to be expected.
- To all "the people".
- A Saviour had been born and could easily be found.
- That Saviour was(is) Christ who is the Lord.
- The whole happening was to bring glory to God.
- Peace was central. Peace from and with God.
What about the peace? To whom is the peace? Is it more than an individual matter? Does it depend on peaceable people? Does good will bring about peace? Does it depend on relationship with God? Surely God wants our lives to be peaceful. Sadly, men (with power) choose to make war.
God has clearly shown goodwill towards us (see further). No matter of favouritism; God offers peace.
(However, there are questions related to best translation of the heavenly message, and the sources. See below re translations and choices).
The grim final stage of the account of Jesus' life contrasts with that glowing start, for he was executed by the cruel means of the rulers of the time. After that execution, if we look 7 weeks still later on, we find Peter laying it on the line with a disturbed crowd in Jerusalem, these representatives of "the people":
this man, handed over to you according to the definite plan and foreknowledge of God, you crucified and killed by the hands of those outside the law (Acts 2:23, NRSVUE). God planned that Jesus' own people (the people) would be free to refuse him and seize him, and even more, they would be able to use Godless men (with plenty of gods) to kill him. And they did. That's news - but is it good?....
That was far from the end of the story - as we see in the final pages of Matthew, Mark, Luke and John. The primitive reports were surely then yet to be turned into writing, but Peter had been with the risen Christ. That day he went on and spoke the key words: Let all the house of Israel therefore know for certain that God has made him both Lord and Christ, this Jesus whom you crucified” (Acts 2:36, ESV). Yes, just as the announcing angel had said, Jesus was(is) Lord and Christ. Or, Christ the Lord. The killers from the people could not cancel out the fact the Risen Jesus is Lord, that Jesus is Christ. Not just a matter from the past. News that is good. This Saviour is, today, Lord and Christ. A lord who can be refused, or served.
The hearers knew all too well that response was called for. They needed, more than ever, a Saviour. What of us, for we are not involved (are we?). "Everybody needs a Saviour". https://youtu.be/AW2LEU5v8VA
The coming of Jesus has momentous implication; our need is met:
“For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him may not perish but may have eternal life (John 3:16, NRSVUE).
There is good will from above to us. The implication is for people, surely people everywhere ("the world"). Now the focus is "everyone who believes in him", ie, Jesus. (That is a wider viewpoint than the shepherds heard from the angel, isn't it? Well, they do mention "earth"...) To live eternally. To not perish. Everyone, in addition to death, faces the destiny of perishing, but that does not have to stand...
Paul sums it up for us: You were saved by faith in God, who treats us much better than we deserve.[a] This is God's gift to you, and not anything you have done on your own. (Ephesians 2:8, CEV). God is the one who gave. The one who gives. Nothing to do with deserving. You may now receive the gift. Then tell God of your thankfulness.
Peter later explained to a gathering of outsiders how he had come to a new understanding. Finally, he knew: but in every nation the person who fears him and does what is right is acceptable to him. He sent the message to the Israelites, proclaiming the good news of peace through Jesus Christ—he is Lord of all (Acts 10:35-36, CSB). Not now a matter of race, right religion, or heritage, but of what Christ offers. Writing to all of you in Rome who are loved by God and are called to be his own holy people, Paul put it briefly: Therefore, since we have been made right in God’s sight by faith, we have peace with God because of what Jesus Christ our Lord has done for us (Romans 1: 7; 5:1, NLT). Peace with God. That is God's gift, available to all.
Incidentally: A song about shepherds on watch one night is sung/heard a lot at this season. The lyrics put these words in the mouths of the subsequent heavenly host:
All glory be to God on highAnd on the earth be peaceGoodwill henceforthFrom heaven to menBegin and never cease.
(Nahum Tate, 1652-1715. Not very inclusive language? Note that it was a man, writing about 320 years ago…)
What of the sentiment?
Doubtless Mr Tate based his words on the Luke, chapter 2, verse 14, in his then recently authorised (King James Version 1611) Bible:
Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men (Luke 2:14, KJV).
That line is read differently today. - see below.
* The Christ (Messiah)
We get glimpses of what contemporary people and followers thought about the Messiah. Here is a partial survey, focussed on what Jesus said.
In a lengthy conversation between Jesus and a Samaritan woman we read a strikingly clear statement by Jesus of his Messianic identity.
But an hour is coming, and is now here, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in Spirit and in truth.[a] Yes, the Father wants such people to worship him. God is spirit, and those who worship him must worship in Spirit and in truth.”
The woman said to him, “I know that the Messiah is coming” (who is called Christ). “When he comes, he will explain everything to us.”
Jesus told her, “I, the one speaking to you, am he.”(John 4: 23-26, CSB)
Jesus wants people to pray for the coming of God's kingdom. He also said something that could have been mistakenly interpreted.
For the Son of Man is going to come with his angels in the glory of his Father, and then he will repay each person according to what he has done. Truly, I say to you, there are some standing here who will not taste death until they see the Son of Man coming in his kingdom.” (Matthew 16:27-28, ESV). That generation would see! (Refer to Peter's words, above.)
From the following approach made by the sons of Zebedee, it seems what Jesus was saying was misinterpreted by friends. Combined with popular ideas, there was a strange result.
The mother of James and John[a] came to Jesus with her two sons. She knelt down and started begging him to do something for her. Jesus asked her what she wanted, and she said, “When you come into your kingdom, please let one of my sons sit at your right side and the other at your left.”[b](Matthew 20:20-21, CEV). The boys, or she, or all three, were holding common attitudes.
Jesus was aware of the difference between what he was really doing and what people hoped. From the final journey to Jerusalem:
As they were listening to this, he went on to tell a parable, because he was near Jerusalem and because they supposed that the kingdom of God was to appear immediately. (Luke 19:11, NRSVUE) That following parable indicates there is work to be done prior to the return of the king. Any who, soon after that, called "Hosanna" in hopes of an uprising, were doomed to disappointment that week.
After the discovery of the resurrection of Jesus there were some hours of confused uncertainty amongst followers. We read part of a Day 1 conversation between two of them and the risen, but unrecognised, Jesus. They had had such hopes for Jesus...
The chief priests and our rulers handed him over to be sentenced to death, and they crucified him; but we had hoped that he was the one who was going to redeem Israel. And what is more, it is the third day since all this took place. In addition, some of our women amazed us. They went to the tomb early this morning but didn’t find his body. They came and told us that they had seen a vision of angels, who said he was alive. Then some of our companions went to the tomb and found it just as the women had said, but they did not see Jesus.”
He said to them, “How foolish you are, and how slow to believe all that the prophets have spoken! Did not the Messiah have to suffer these things and then enter his glory?” And beginning with Moses and all the Prophets, he explained to them what was said in all the Scriptures concerning himself (Luke 24:20-27, NIV). What a lesson that was! He spelled it out.
The political/national hopes and expectations did not immediately fade amongst the followers. As the days went past they were still looking for the moment when Jesus would make Israel great again.
During the forty days after he suffered and died, he appeared to the apostles from time to time, and he proved to them in many ways that he was actually alive. And he talked to them about the Kingdom of God.
Once when he was eating with them, he commanded them, “Do not leave Jerusalem until the Father sends you the gift he promised, as I told you before. John baptized with[a] water, but in just a few days you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit.”
So when the apostles were with Jesus, they kept asking him, “Lord, has the time come for you to free Israel and restore our kingdom?”
He replied, “The Father alone has the authority to set those dates and times, and they are not for you to know. But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you. And you will be my witnesses, telling people about me everywhere—in Jerusalem, throughout Judea, in Samaria, and to the ends of the earth” (Acts 1:3-8, NLT). Something was coming. Was it their kingdom? So they hoped.
I do not understand how they could keep asking that. Evidently it took some time for the old ideas to fade!
So now, the kingdom grows, awaiting its King.
Variations: As to them (see above), we may, if we like, compare those differences and alternatives:
Christian Standard Bible has
Glory to God in the highest heaven,
and peace on earth to people he favors![a][b]
The footnotes for that sentence
a. 2:14 Other mss read earth good will to people
b. 2:14 Or earth to men of good will
New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition has
“Glory to God in the highest heaven,
and on earth peace among those whom he favors!”[a]
a. 2.14 Other ancient authorities read peace, goodwill among people
English Standard Version has
“Glory to God in the highest,
and on earth peace among those with whom he is pleased!”[a]
a. Luke 2:14 Some manuscripts peace, good will among men
New International Version has
“Glory to God in the highest heaven,
and on earth peace to those on whom his favor rests.”
Contemporary English Version has
“Praise God in heaven!
Peace on earth to everyone
who pleases God.”
New Living Translation has
“Glory to God in highest heaven,
and peace on earth to those with whom God is pleased.”
Thus - none of them prefer the translation on which Mr Tate depended, way back then. God has favoured humans by sending his Son. Humans may please God - Jesus said how. Then they said to him, “What must we do to perform the works of God?”
Jesus answered them, “This is the work of God, that you believe in him whom he has sent” (John 6:28-29, NRSVUE). Over to you.
God bless you!
Allen Hampton
Scripture quotations marked (CEV) are from the Contemporary English Version Copyright © 1991, 1992, 1995 by American Bible Society. Used by Permission.
Scripture quotations marked (CSB) are from the Christian Standard Bible. Copyright © 2017 by Holman Bible Publishers. Used by permission. Christian Standard Bible®, and CSB® are federally registered trademarks of Holman Bible Publishers, all rights reserved.Scripture quotations marked (ESV) are from the ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), copyright © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations marked (NIV) are taken from the Holy Bible, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®, NIV® Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission.
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Scripture quotations marked (NLT) are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright ©1996, 2004, 2007, 2013 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations marked (NRSVUE) are from the New Revised Standard Version, Updated Edition. Copyright © 2021 National Council of Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
Note: I retain in the publishers' text where they occur the references [ ] to footnotes, but usually not the notes. You can check them out by viewing the text on-line. Often they are replicated in different translations.
Bible passages accessed via BibleGateway.com
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