Luke 2:13-14 13And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying, 14“Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, to people good will!”
Another sign is given to the angels to demonstrate the significance of what had happened on that day. The one angel was joined by a great multitude in one of the greatest choirs ever witnessed by humans. The word host was used in the Old Testament to refer to an army or large group (1 Kings 22:19; 2 Chronicles 33:3, 5; Jeremiah 8:2; 19:13). An unstated and unknown number of angels serve God’s purposes. Luke uses the word that is translated into English as “plethora” (plēthos), meaning many, a large group.
Luke records another song. There was much singing and praising surrounding the birth of Jesus. The angels’ song was simple but significant. Most of the song is easy to translate except the last phrase. The angels begin by attributing glory to God. Glory (doxa) is a word used to describe God’s awesomeness and majesty. Only God can truly be glorified, although humans can reflect this glory and experience it in degrees the closer we get to the presence of God or the more we become like his image (2 Corinthians 3:18). Glorifying God means acknowledging God’s attributes, including love, grace, and holiness. In the case of the birth of Jesus, God has shown mercy and compassion by providing humanity a Savior. God’s dwelling is in the highest, a reference to heaven, what is beyond our imagination and perspective.
As humanity experience God’s glory come to earth in the baby Jesus (1:79), the result will be peace (eirēnē). Peace is what people seek but never quite find outside of God. Jesus would come as the “Prince of Peace” (Isaiah 9:6). Humanity will experience peace in several ways. First and foremost is peace with God (Romans 5:1). Because of our sin and rebellion, we have made God our enemy and fight against the way of life and light. Jesus came as both the Light and the Way to Life, making it possible for us to be reconciled with God (2 Corinthians 5:17-21). Peace with God will provide an open door and resource to have peace with other people. Sadly, people pursue peace with others without peace with God. Any human-based peace is only temporary at best. Jesus is the only true source of peace (Ephesians 2:14).
The last phrase of the song is difficult to translate and interpret. A literal translation is “among people good will.” Different translations insert other words to show that it is God’s favor that has come to humanity, which seems the intention from the context. The old King James Version is almost literal but the wrong word order: “good will toward men.” Good will (eudokias) is the mindset that seeks the best for someone out of goodness and favor. God loves people and seeks their best, but we have to receive his grace by trusting and believing. There is a sense that when Jesus came, all humanity experienced a sweeping wave of grace, but to fully experience God’s purposes for us, we must put our trust in the salvation brought by Jesus. Through the birth of Jesus, the offer is made because God is merciful and compassionate to his creation. The angels’ simple announcement through this short song of praise opened the floodgates of heaven and let God’s glory shine upon lowly shepherds, the first to experience the glory of the King.
For older posts, click here.