This is a re-post from a couple years back. I really enjoyed this project, and so I revised and expanded it for this Christmas, adding some more details and such. However, the general point of it is the same. Enjoy!
“Angels we have heard on high, sweetly
singing o’er the plains…” Christmas songs like this—along with stories,
nativity scenes, paintings, and numerous other media—have seemingly permanently
engrained a certain approach to the Christmas story on our minds; so much so
that we gloss over what is right in front of our eyes, and instead we read into
the text what we believe it to say. However, there is much more depth to what
is actually happening in the Christmas story than what is seen in the more
popular conceptions of the event. I will not be trying to tackle all the
various imagery that is in this narrative, but rather I will be focusing on the
appearance of the Heavenly Host and related terminology and imagery.
The first thing to notice when
looking at the entire section of the narrative is the remarkable similarity between
the appearance of the angels to the shepherds and the story of the man throwing
a feast in Luke 14:23, where the invited guests made excuses to not come, and
eventually the master had his servant compel people in the highways and hedges
to come in: the lowest of the low—this is especially intriguing since the
master was most likely an extremely rich person: the ultra-rich inviting in the
lowest in society. Similarly, those in the katalyma,
or guest room, could have witnessed the birth of the greatest king, but instead
had decided to shun their own kin—and in response, the master sent his servants
(angels) to compel some of the lowest in society (shepherds) to go see the birth
of the Messiah.
After the birth of Jesus, a
character who is only described as ἄγγελος κυρίου appears in the sky outside
Bethlehem. In the Septuagint (Greek Old Testament), this is the phrase used to
translate the Hebrew phrase “the Angel of the Lord.” Most English translations
translate this phrase as “an angel of the Lord,” to reflect the fact that there
is no definite article on either word. However (those who have not studied
Greek syntax, bear with me for a moment), Apollonius’ Corollary dictates that
in genitive constructs that are anarthrous, the two nouns will share the same
semantic force, making “an angel of the Lord,” the least defensible option
available. The most likely would be either, “the Angel of the Lord,” or “an
angel of a lord.” In the context of the passage, it seems fairly clear that the
former is to be preferred (see Dan Wallace, Greek
Grammar: Beyond the Basics, 250-252). This then attaches a special
significance to this messenger, as the Angel of the Lord was His special
messenger who spoke throughout the Old Testament, often with the power of God
Himself.
When the angel “appeared” to them,
the Greek word that is employed (ἐπέστη) almost always carries a somewhat aggressive
connotation, such as coming to rebuke or argue with (Lk 4:39;
10:40), defend true doctrine against heresy (1 Tim 4:2), coming to someone to
arrest them (Ac 4:1; 6:12), or outright attacking someone (1 Th 5:3; Acts
17:5). While there are a few more passages that employ the term differently,
they are the clear minority for this item. In addition, this connotation could help
explain another item that is coming up shortly.
The phrase, “the glory of the
Lord,” is an important part of understanding this passage. The Old Testament
showed glory as something associated with God’s awe and power. It “combines awe
and terror, and it simultaneously invites approach and distance.”[1] The
term is used to describe the splendor of a king (such as in Mt. 4:8, 6:29; Rev.
21:24, 26). This makes it clear that these angels are not just apparitions; they
are the messengers from the King,
announcing a royal birth.
The next thing that deserves
mention is that the shepherds were in fear. If the angel in question is the
spokesman for some type of Heavenly Choir, as we often picture it, then there
would be no reason for the shepherds to fear! I have never in my life had a
choir director have to tell me to not be afraid of the choir, nor do I know of
anyone who was terrified by a choir. Obviously, something in our picture is
missing. However, most people would be terrified by having the king’s direct
messenger appear to them, especially if the way
in which the messenger was coming didn’t seem like the most friendly of
appearances. Anyone would be terrified by that!
“And the angel said to them, ‘Fear
not, for behold, I bring you good news of great joy…unto you is born this day
in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord.”[2]
This phrase presents all kinds of opportunities for shedding light on
Christmas, as well as the theme of the Gospel. Why is this? Because the Greek
verb used, εὐγγελίζομαι,
is frequently translated in the New Testament as “I preach the gospel.” So, if
the gospel is only that Christ died
for our sins so we can have eternal life, then how could the gospel be preached
at Jesus’ birth, before He had an opportunity to sacrificially die? Again, something is most probably missing in
our understanding of the terminology. However, the text provides the answer for
us! A savior, who is the Christ, is the
message of the gospel being preached by the angel. In the shepherds’ minds,
what connotation does the Christ, or Messiah, bring? The connotation was that the Messiah would be
the one who would establish The Kingdom— the one without end, and without
borders (that would also do away with sin and correct the nation’s standing
with God). Israel’s long awaited King was
being born that very night! As presented in Luke 2, this is the Gospel! So, what is the connotation of the term,
“Lord?” Calling someone Lord was a very
simple way to make everyone angry. The Caesars were often called Lord (although
this usage became more standard after the time of Jesus’ birth). But in the Septuagint, the Tetragrammaton (YHWH)
is translated as Lord. So, when this baby is declared to be Messiah and Lord,
He is most probably simultaneously being declared the King of all, as well as having
His own divinity confirmed.
“And suddenly there was with the
angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God…” This is the central idea
in the passage that is probably most often overlooked. Whenever modern
Christians read the Christmas story, they most probably envision a large choir
in the sky with white robes, halos, and harps, such as we sing about in our
Christmas carols. However, the imagery at play here is militaristic, not
“angelic” in the common understanding of the word. The Heavenly Host is almost
always associated with being the Army of God. The word used here, στρατιᾶς, is
frequently translated as “army,” in other passages. In fact, in the Septuagint,
στρατιᾶ is
used twenty-eight times, and nineteen of those times are referring to earthly
armies; the other nine are all attached to “heavenly” and most of them refer to
an army, with a few possibly referring to the stars.[3] “This
heavenly host is a vast number of angelic beings, mighty and noble, who relate
to Yahweh as knights related to feudal kings: in homage, in service and in
battle. They are a vast army, loyal to the purposes and desires of God.[4]” A
new King had just been declared as such by the chief royal messenger of the
High King who was then surrounded by the Military of that King, who are there
to insure that there is no question as to the validity of the proclamation of
the baby’s Messianic responsibilities.
Furthermore, the fact that it is a
multitude of angels that appears further illustrates the fact that this is God
announcing a new King. A multitude insures that no one thought a lone angel had
gone off the reservation and gotten lost on his way to announce the birth of
some other king. A massive heavenly army shows without a shadow of doubt that
God was announcing that this baby was
the new King.
At the end of the earthly ministry
of Jesus, He references to having this army at His disposal: “Do you think that
I cannot appeal to my Father, and he will at once send me more than twelve legions
of angels?” (Matt. 26:53) We see here a “legion” which is another military
term. The Heavenly Host is the army that the Messiah has at His disposal if He
so chooses to make use of it.
“Saying, glory to God in the
highest, and upon Earth peace, among men goodwill.” This phrase is where I see the focus of the
arrival of the Heavenly Army. This is the ultimate display of “Peace through
strength.” With a background in politics, I am acquainted with the idea of
peace through strength: this is usually tossed around when trying to increase
defense spending by arguing that by building the most powerful army the world
has ever seen, a nation will promote peace since no one would dare attack the
nation—and if they did attack, then they could be quickly and efficiently destroyed
by overwhelming force. This is the exact same thing at play in Luke 2, only
magnified. Angels are many times invisible to the naked eye; they are never
recorded as being killed by a human; and, they are devastatingly effective at
wiping out an opposing army since a single angel can destroy 185,000 soldiers
in a single night (2 Kings 19:35). In short, it is a force that no other army
can even hope to be able to stand against.
But this army isn’t here just for show; they are here to back up the
proclamation of the new King of Israel, showing that He had the most powerful
military backing Him because He was the one appointed by God to provide
redemption for the nation, and the entire world. When the fiercest fighter
declares that a fight is over, it is over—even if he has to throw some more
punches to actually finish it. Similarly, when the Heavenly Army, on mission
from God, declares that there is a new King, and that peace has arrived, there
is peace, even if the Devil, and his actions through the nations, needs to be
defeated first.
“Let us go over to Bethlehem and see this thing that has
happened, which the Lord has made known to us.” This illustrates the earlier
discussion of using “Lord” for the name of God.
What I find interesting is that there is no question of whether they
were dreaming this, or if someone had spiked their drinks; rather, they all
know that this was from God, and they therefore go to see the new King.
“And all who heard it wondered at
what the shepherds told them.” Much like folks today, it was hard for whoever
was around to believe that the army of God had appeared, and told these
shepherds that this baby was the Messiah. I am sure that even if they did
believe the shepherds, they were wondering, “Why didn’t He tell kings, or the
richest of society, or at least some of the pillars of the community? How come
we didn’t see the army?” But God had chosen to go to the outskirts of society,
and bring in those who would most probably not be considered worthy of such an
honor because those were willing to actually believe the message and obey
without delay.
So, what is the point of all this?
Simple: there is a new king who is to rule over the entire world, backed by
Almighty God and the Heavenly Army. If He is an actual King, and we mean that
in a more significant way than simply using the title in our songs and prayers,
then that means that the Christian is actually a citizen of a new country—The
Kingdom of God. As such, his first and foremost priority is to follow Christ
and to be obedient to Christ’s commands.
However, the modern Christian often places allegiance to his country, or
some other source, above his allegiance to his Messiah. A good example of this misplaced allegiance is
the Christmas Truce of 1914. On Christmas Day, the British and German forces
stopped killing each other, celebrated the day together, and returned to their
war the next day. These were obviously people who at least had a passing
knowledge of Christ so that they wanted to celebrate His birth, but the very
next day they were killing each other again. Imagine how Christ would have
reacted to this! He who said to bless those who curse you, and return good for
evil, and yet His own followers kill each other at the command of their
government! These were brothers in Christ, citizens in His nation, killing each
other for an earthly nation which will pass away (Psalm 2).
Another example of misplaced
allegiance is the allegiance to materialism. Christ repeatedly told His
followers to sell what they have, and give to the poor. And instead, we have
turned His birth into a day of receiving even more things than we already
possess. And, yes, many will be more generous at this time of the year and give
to the poor, but the commands to clothe the naked and feed the hungry are not
things to be taken care of once a year, but should be a life long commitment of
the believer.
Keeping Christ in Christmas means
nothing if you do not recognize Christmas as the birth of the Christ, the birth
of the true king whose Kingdom is the
entire world, and respond as such.
[1]
Leland Ryken, James C. Wilhoit, Tremper Longman III. Dictionary of Biblical Imagery (Downer’s Grove, Ill.: InterVarsity Press, 1998), 330.
[2]
This and all other Scripture quotations are from the English Standard Version,
unless otherwise noted.
[3]
Verlyn D. Verbrugge. A Not-So-Silent
Night: The Unheard Story of Christmas and Why it Matters (Grand Rapids: Kregel Publications, 2009), 69.
[4]
Leland Ryken, James C. Wilhoit, Tremper Longman III. Dictionary of Biblical Imagery, 373.
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