Saturday September 07
“Glory to God in the Highest”
Luke 2:8-14
8 Now there were in the same country shepherds living out in the fields, keeping watch over their flock by night. 9 And behold, an angel of the Lord stood before them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were greatly afraid.
10 Then the angel said to them, "Do not be afraid, for behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy which will be to all people. 11 For there is born to you this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. 12 And this will be the sign to you: You will find a Babe wrapped in swaddling cloths, lying in a manger."
13 And 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, goodwill toward men!"
I really think we could continue to look at these verses in Luke 2:8-14 every day for several months and never exhaust the eternal golden nuggets of truth that are in them. I believe it is even possible that we will spend eternity in heaven meditating on this wonderful message by the angels to the shepherds that dark night two thousand years ago, as we sit in the very presence of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ! Today we are going to again look at several powerful truths that should both impact our lives and encourage us.
As we have already noted, this message “of good tidings of great joy” is not only for “all people”, but also it is for you and me personally! The heartbeat of the message is that it is all about “a Savior, who is Christ the Lord”. Isaiah prophesied some six-hundred years earlier in Isaiah 9:6, that “unto us a Child, unto us a Son is given!” Unto us!!!!! Wow! “For us”, the Son of God, God Himself robes Himself in flesh and is born as an infant Child in a dirty stable in the “City of David”, the little town of Bethlehem. And His name is Jesus Christ!
Peter later would proclaim in one of his first public messages before the rulers and elders of Israel, after the resurrection of Jesus in Acts 4:10-12, “Let it be known to you all, and to all the people of Israel, that by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom you crucified, whom God raised from the dead, by Him this man stands here before you whole. This is the 'stone which was rejected by you builders, which has become the chief cornerstone.' Nor is there salvation in any other, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved."
There is only one Savior for the world and His name is Jesus Christ! Only one name, that will bring salvation, bring peace, bring forgiveness of sins, bring great joy into our lives and hearts! He is “the Christ”, He is the Messiah, He is the Anointed One, He is the Promised One, He is the fulfillment of all God’s plan and purpose for all eternity as the Old Testament prophesied! And my friend, He is coming again! He is the King of kings, He is the Lord of lords, He is the Most High One! Yes, that is our Jesus!
The shepherds were given a sign, which was they would “find a Babe wrapped in swaddling cloths, lying in a manger”. Today we have been given a sign, and that sign is the Holy Spirit. He is our guarantee! Paul wrote it this way in Ephesians 1:13-14, “In Him you also trusted, after you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation; in whom also, having believed, you were sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise, who is the guarantee of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession, to the praise of His glory.”
At this point, this one angel was joined by “a multitude of the heavenly hosts”. What were they doing? They were “praising God and saying: "Glory to God in the highest, And on earth peace, goodwill toward men!" I can’t even begin to imagine how the shepherds must have been standing there in awe at this sight and upon hearing these words! Think about this additional message of the heavenly host! They give us the purpose of the Savior coming to earth! And what is that purpose?
The purpose of Jesus coming, the purpose of the Holy Spirit of promise, the purpose of our redemption and salvation, is “to the praise of His glory”! (Eph. 1:14). And the multitude of angels make this purpose very clear as they are, “praising God and saying: Glory to God in the highest”! My friend, it really is all about the glory of God!
Let me conclude with some of my favorite verses in Psalm 96:1-4: “Oh, sing to the LORD a new song! Sing to the LORD, all the earth. Sing to the LORD, bless His name; Proclaim the good news of His salvation from day to day. Declare His glory among the nations, His wonders among all peoples. For the LORD is great and greatly to be praised; He is to be feared above all gods.” (Please read the rest of this chapter.)
This is exactly what happened that night on the hillside with those shepherds two thousand years ago!
God bless!
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