Glory to God in the Highest | Luke 2:8-14
Whether we fully sense the profound wonder of it, the doctrine of God become man, aka the “incarnation” is, nevertheless, a mind-bending mystery. The OT prophet Micah wrote,
But you, O Bethlehem . . . from you shall come forth for me one who is to be ruler in Israel, whose coming forth is from of old, from ancient days.
—Micah 5:2
The mystery of the birth of Jesus is not merely that he was born of a virgin – which, in itself is a wonder. The miracle of God become man is intended to proclaim an even greater one – i.e. that the child, the born at Christmas was a person who, listen, existed “from of old, from ancient days.” How do you wrap brain around that? And the glory revealed in an ancient infant, a God-Man, is so fantastic, so spectacular, so powerful - it is meant by the Lord, to stir our hearts to wonder - and to hope – and to worship. And so, there are songs – Spirit-inspired songs for this Savior – that celebrate this mind-bending, and glory-revealing mystery.
We have looked at Mary’s song – known in history as “the Magnificat” – a song that praises God for His magnificence. And we looked at Zechariah’s song – known, as “the Benedictus” – a song that blesses God for visiting and redeeming His people. And today, we’re giving our attention to the song the angels sang – the song history has entitled, “Gloria In Excelsis Deo” – Latin for “Glory to God in Highest.” May the Spirit of God bring supernatural illumination.
And in the same region there were shepherds out in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night. And an angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were filled with fear.
And the angel said to them, “Fear not, for behold, I bring you good news of a great joy that will be for all the people. For unto you, is born this day in the city of David, a Savior, who is Christ the Lord.
And this will be a sign for you – you will find a baby wrapped in swaddling cloths and lying in a manger.” And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying, “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace among those with whom he is pleased!”
—Luke 2:8-14
Luke spends the first two chapters of his biography of Jesus, lingering on the account of Jesus’ birth. And his purpose in doing so is that we would marvel at the mystery of God become man. And he highlights and punctuates these two chapters with four songs of praise to God for the coming of the Christ. Luke means for us to feel something.
But there’s another theme running through this narrative that magnifies the wonder of Christmas. And that theme is that what’s happening in Jesus’ birth, what’s transpiring at that point in history is NOT simply the convergence of several random, unrelated circumstances that coincidentally, happened to come together right then, and right there. Rather, we are clearly meant to understand and, again, be affected by the reality that what takes place in these two chapters is part of a plan. What’s happening here is the beginning of the climax of a larger storyline that was spoken of by prophets, and promised in Scripture, revealed and recorded centuries earlier, and ultimately, was shaped entirely in the heart and mind of God before history even began. The glory of the birth of the Son of God is that it happens precisely according to the purpose and providence of God. Don Carson writes,
“Jesus didn’t rise out of a contextless situation. God didn’t choose him from any random family, nor did he just drop in from out of nowhere. Jesus was connected intimately with what God had been doing with Israel through ages past. Indeed, the story Luke tells about Jesus isn’t a new story, but rather the continuation of one reaching back thousands of years.”
—D. A. Carson
Just let that cast a tint on your thinking about the familiar events described here. Consider the providential coordination of countless strands of minute details related to the circumstances of dozens of people’s lives, in order for all of this to happen the way it happened, when it happened, in precise fulfillment of the way God meant it to happen.
For instance, do you see in Luke 2:1-7, how God ordained the Messiah to be born in Bethlehem, in accordance with the prophesy I just read from Micah 5. Is it not astounding that God ordered the details of the lives and circumstances of two, seemingly ordinary people living in Nazareth, in such a way that when the time came, and in order to fulfill his purpose and fulfillment of his Word, they are brought, by virtue of no small inconvenience and discomfort, to Bethlehem that first Christmas. And God does it by putting it in the heart of Caesar Augustus that all the Roman world should be enrolled each in his own town. That is amazing!
Do you ever feel like, on account of some hard thing, some inconvenience, or some frustrating adversity you may be experiencing, that that’s all it is? Just another day of problems. And so it’s pretty common, isn’t it, to feel disheartened, or perhaps, overwhelmed while big things are happening with the big people of the world, while unimportant, and insignificant me, I’m just doing life, with all my headaches and heartaches, on some dead street. But that’s the thing we’ve got to see. The deep and unshakable and life-giving sub-structure of the birth narrative of Jesus is but another evidence that God is accomplishing all things according to the purpose of His will. All the massive political forces, and all the ginormous, complex industrial systems of the world are simply being guided by God. And it’s not merely for their own sake, but for the sake of little people, like the Mary’s and Joseph’s who have to be gotten from the Nazareth’s to the Bethlehem’s in order to be blessed by their heavenly Father.
All that surrounds the birth of Jesus, and the awesome mystery of God become man, is meant to stir us to celebrate and to rejoice in the hope that, the entire course of history, and the entire story line of our personal lives – including our health, and our vocation, and our family, and finances, and every last detail - is following the sovereign decrees of our Father in heaven so that we might be conformed to the image of His Son, Jesus Christ – so that God might shape us and mold us for good works in which he has prepared in advance for us to walk. Therefore, I believe that God means to say to each one of us this morning, “Take heart.” Whatever you’re walking through, take heart this Christmas. And take heart every day, because, according to Isaiah 46:10, God says,
My counsel shall stand, and I will accomplish all my purpose.
—Isaiah 46:10
And it’s in light of that fundamental assumption, i.e. that God is ultimately in control of all that happens in world – that He is the author, and finisher, of this great drama we call history, and that He designs and disposes everything that happens in the lives of His people for the accomplishment of His purpose – it’s in light of that, that I believe, we can begin to recognize and be rightly effected by God’s ultimate aim/goal in the incarnation.
So, the question I want us to consider is this. According to Luke 2:8-14, “What is God’s ultimate aim/goal in becoming man?” And the answer to that question is imbedded in the refrain of one of the most familiar portions of the Christmas story – thanks, in part, to the “The Charlie Brown Christmas” – and, more significantly, thanks to one of the most dramatic performances of all time. A massive multitude of the armed forces of heaven, declare, in a way we can only imagine, “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace among those with whom he is pleased!” Or in other words, God’s Goal in Becoming Man is to Display His glory for the Joy of His People.
Or to say it another way, God’s purpose in the coming of Christ is to fill the earth with the knowledge of the glory of God, and that a people would be redeemed who will enjoy his glory forever. My outline - God’s purpose in becoming man is to 1) Display his Glory, 2) for the joy, 3) of his people. 1st, God’s purpose is to -
Display His Glory
Glory is one of those words Christians use a lot, but find hard to define. Most commonly, Scripture uses the word “glory” to mean the attributes of God made visible. In other words, “glory” defined most simply is “God’s greatness gone public.” When Luke 2:9 says, “The glory of the Lord shone around them,” it means that the brightness of God’s infinite perfections were on display in such a way, that human flesh and blood can barely endure. It’s like getting too close to the sun and knowing you’re NOT safe. So, the shepherds were experienced outdoorsmen. They could handle themselves. But, the King James version says, “They were sore afraid.” They were filled with fear. They were terrified.
We have registered throughout this series how the incarnation reveals God’s greatness, and perfections. In the mystery of God become man, infinite humility and condescension are put on public display. The distance Christ traveled from being very God of very God – creator of the world, putting the galaxies in place with his fingers - to being a man is unfathomable. But he traversed that distance to become not just any man, but a Jew – and not just any Jew, but a first century, blue collar Jew – that ended up dying a criminal’s death under trumped up charges - no mere man could have stooped so low. That’s glory.
In the conception of that which is divine in the womb of a virgin, is a display of infinite power. From the perspective of man, things, such as pregnancy apart from sperm, are impossible. But with God, all things are possible. That’s glory.
In the fulfillment of thousand-year-old prophecies regarding God become man, the perfections of divine faithfulness are put on display. God’s Word never fails. He always keeps his promises. That’s glory.
In guiding and directing and coordinating a multitude of providential circumstances surrounding the birth of Christ, absolute sovereignty is put on public display. That’s glory.
And in the birth of a Savior, who is Christ the Lord, that is, the God-man who lived a perfect life, fulfilling all righteousness, and who died a wrath-absorbing, and sin-cancelling death for the salvation of all who would entrust themselves to him, we behold the most dazzling display of the crown jewel of all God’s infinite perfections – i.e. his mercy. That’s glory.
So, when a million angels sing “glory to God”, they mean, to God alone belongs the glory, in God alone is the substance and fullness of glory, and through God alone do we behold the display of infinite glory. When a million, million angels praise God, saying “glory to God”, they mean no one and no-thing is more worthy to receive honor and exultation than God, and God alone. And when a million, million, million angels exclaim and proclaim “glory to God” they are fulfilling the aim and purpose for which all things are made, for which all things exist, and for which God of very God became flesh and blood and dwelt among us – i.e. the display of God’s glory – for what end? The display of God’s glory, 2nd point, for the joy of God’s people.
For the Joy
It’s for our joy! When Mary greeted Elizabeth, her elderly relative says,
“The baby in my womb leaped for joy.”
—Luke 1:44
Then, when Elizabeth, filled with the Holy Spirit, blesses Mary, Luke 1:46 tells us that Mary said,
“My soul magnifies the Lord, and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior.”
—Luke 1:46
At the birth of John the Baptist, who would prepare the way for Jesus, Luke 1:67-68 says his father Zechariah is filled with the Holy Spirit and prophesies,
“Blessed be the Lord God of Israel, for he has visited and redeemed his people.”
—Luke 1:68
That’s joy. When the angel appears to the shepherds on the hillside at night and announces the birth of Jesus in Luke 2:10, he says,
“Fear not, for behold I bring you good news of a great joy.”
—Luke 2:10
And after the announcement of Jesus, the Savior and Christ, a multitude of the armies of heaven suddenly break out in praise saying,
“Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace among those with whom he is pleased!”
—Luke 2:14
After the shepherds check it out, and find the baby and the situation exactly as they had been told, Lk. 2:20 says,
They returned, glorifying and praising God for all they had heard and seen.
—Luke 2:20
You think they weren’t just a little juiced up by what they had just seen and heard? The result of beholding infinite beauty, infinite perfection, infinite glory, typically results in terror. But for God’s people, the end is pleasure. And since we naturally praise what gives us joy, the spirits of God’s people rejoice in the glory of God. They praise the glory of their Savior. And that’s God’s gift to us. If God means to give us the greatest, most soul-satisfying gift He can, what would that gift be? It would be Himself, because God’s purpose in becoming man is to display His glory for the joy -
Of His People
Now the reason I say that the aim of God in becoming man is the display of His glory for the joy of His people is because of the second line of the refrain of Luke 2:14. Do you see it?
Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace among those with whom he is pleased!
—Luke 2:14
In other words, the angels sing, “Praise to God! Peace to some!” Peace for whom? Peace for “those with whom he is pleased.” John Calvin writes,
“Christmas does not bring peace to all.”
—John Calvin
And we know that’s true. According to another Christmas text,
He came to his own, and his own people did not receive him. But to all who did receive him, who believed on his name, he gave the right to become children of God.
—John 1:11-12
How can that be? How could it be that NOT ALL receive him? John 3:19 says,
And this is the judgment. The light has come into the world, and people loved the darkness rather than the light because their deeds were evil.
—John 3:19
So, in the midst of all the praise and exultation, and noise and light on that sheep-covered hillside, there is a somber note in the angel’s song. Not everyone enjoys the peace and joy of the Lord. It was only to his disciples that Jesus said,
Peace I leave with you. My peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid.
—John 14:27
Who are the people who enjoy peace that surpasses understanding and that is unspeakable and full of glory? Well, the stories of Mary and Zechariah have already been instructive. But let’s rewind and review it again. According to 1 Peter 5:5-7,
Clothe yourselves, all of you, with humility toward one another, for “God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.” Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God so that at the proper time he may exalt you, casting your anxieties on him, because he cares for you.
—1 Peter 5:5-7
Do you remember how Luke drew our attention to Mary for her joy and her humility? It’s because God opposes the proud, but gives grace to the humble. And how is it, then, that we express humility before the Lord? By forsaking self-reliance and, according to 1 Peter 5:7, casting our anxieties on Him. So the first step to enjoying the peace God pours out on those whom He favors, is repenting of self-reliance, and telling him everything that makes you feel anxious.
Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.
—Philippians 4:6-7
Peace is for those with whom God is pleased. And God is pleased with those who humble themselves and pray – casting all their cares upon him. But there is another crucial element to pleasing God. Hebrews 11:6 says,
Without faith, it is impossible to please God.
—Hebrews 11:6
And the key to unlocking the treasure chest of peace and joy, we learned from Zechariah and from Abraham is entrusting ourselves to the promises of God.
No distrust made him waver concerning the promise of God, but he grew strong in his faith, as he gave glory to God, fully convinced that God was able to do what he had promised.
—Romans 4:20-21
If our joy and peace are disturbed, it is certain that we are relying upon something, or someone else, besides God and what he has promised, to satisfy our souls with comfort and joy. So, Paul prays,
May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that by the power of the Holy Spirit you may abound with hope.
—Romans 15:13
And when we trust the promises of God, and experience soul-satisfying joy and peace and comfort in all that He is for us, in becoming man in the person and work of our Lord Jesus Christ, then His purpose is fulfilled. He is praised for His glory. And we, His people are filled with joy. Glory to God in the highest, and on earth, peace among those with whom He is pleased.