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2:8 And there were in the same country shepherds abiding in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night. 2:9 And, lo, the angel of the Lord came upon them, and the glory of the Lord shone round about them: and they were sore afraid. 2:10 And the angel said unto them, Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people. 2:11 For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord. 2:12 And this [shall be] a sign unto you; Ye shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger. 2:13 And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God, and saying, 2:14 Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men.
This is a familiar passage that is often used to get one into the spirit of Christmas. It creates all kinds of moods and nice feelings. Even though it is a familiar verse of Scripture, we don't really stop and think about what we are saying. Let me try and explain.
Instead of "Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men," many translations actually render Luke 2:14 to say, "peace among men," "peace toward men of goodwill," or something similar. Since this tends to be the dominant interpretation, most people think that the angels were proclaiming that Jesus' arrival would stop division, end strife, and usher in a new era of peace on the earth. They believe this announcement means the Lord was coming to bring peace among men. Yet that's not what this verse is saying.
A SWORD
10:34 Think not that I am come to send peace on earth: I came not to send peace, but a sword. 10:35 For I am come to set a man at variance against his father, and the daughter against her mother, and the daughter in law against her mother in law. 10:36 And a man's foes [shall be] they of his own household.
The Lord also prophesied that one of the signs of the end times would be increased war, division, and strife.
24:6 And ye shall hear of wars and rumours of wars: see that ye be not troubled: for all [these things] must come to pass, but the end is not yet. 24:7 For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom: and there shall be famines, and pestilences, and earthquakes, in divers places. 24:8 All these [are] the beginning of sorrows.
You simply cannot defend the position that Jesus came to bring peace among the people. Now, it is true that there are benefits available for those who will receive the Prince of Peace iinto their hearts. I don't doubt that there is a tremendous amount of peace among people who receive salvation. However, that's not the message the angels were singing. That's not what Jesus Himself said He came to do.
2:14 Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men.
The angels came annoucing, "Peace, Good will toward men from God."
Prior to the advent of the Lord Jesus Christ, God was at war against man's sins. His wrath came upon the people because of the sin in their lives. Many Chrtistians haven't mentally separated this out and really looked at it. They just run everything in the Bible together. Howver, a closer examination of God's Word reveals there was a wrath and a judgment from God against people in the Old Testament that is totally unjustified and wrong in the New Testament. Why? Jesus ended the war between God and man. He made all the difference.
Yet most people run all of this together. They still think of God as being angry at their sins. They mistakenly believe there is still a war going on between God and man and that every time they sin, somehow or another it's a newe affront against Him. You'll hear people say, "God is ticked off! and quote the Old Testament scriptures about the wrath of God falling on people. "God is angry today. He's dangling our country over hell by a thin thread that's on fire, and He's just about ready to turn us over to the devil." People are proclaiming that God is the one who sent the hurricanes and tsunamis and that He's going to cause other disasters too. Well-known religious leaders stood up and declared that God was the one who sent the terrorist attacks and that this is the beginning of His judgment on our nation. They're still proclaiming that there is wrath from God toward men.
GOOD NEWS
Yet this isn't the message of the New Testament. These angels who announced the birth of Jesus understood the Gospel. They understood that He came to pay the price, to redeem us, and to stop God's wratah upon sin. The New Testament church should be proclaiming to people that their sins have been paid for. We ought to be telling people the Gospel.
The Gospel is good news. In fact, this Greek word translated "Gospel" actually means "nearly-to-good-to-be-true news." The Gospel is the nearly-too-good-to-be-true news that God isn't angry with you, that He loves you, and that He wants to extend blessings toward you.
As a whole, the Church isn't preaching this. We are still telling people that God is angry with them, and we wonder why they are not beating down the doors to get in. Instead of preaching "hell-fire" we should be preaching the goodness of God. It is the "goodness of God that leads to repentance." Romans 2:4
God is just, but Jesus paid the price. He totally changed the way God deals with mankind that's what these angels were singing about.
GOD ISN'T UPSET
While summarizing the ministry of Jesus, Paul made the same point in 2 Corinthians 5:17-18.
5:17 Therefore if any man [be] in Christ, [he is] a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new. 5:18 And all things [are] of God, who hath reconciled us to himself by Jesus Christ, and hath given to us the ministry of reconciliation;
To "reconcile" is simply to "make friendly" or to bring back into harmony. God is not upset with you. In fact, He is not even mad at you as a Christian, which many believers struggle with, and further more He's not mad at unbelievers either. God has reconciled the entire world unto Himself, and He is not judging or about to judge the world of sin. God's wrath has been appeased when He judged Jesus for our sin. Jesus spent 3 days and 3 nights in the belly of the earth to pay this awesome price. Let's not impute our brother's and sister's or the unbeliever's sins against him anymore. But let's show Christian love and witness to the goodness of Christ and His love.
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