And behold, an angel of the Lord stood before them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were greatly afraid. 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. For there is born to you this day in the city of
God’s
messengers are sent to flood the Judean hillside with the light of hope—and it
would be shepherds who heard this celestial confession of Christ.
It
was a confession of THE GLORIOUS PERSON (v.9-12).
That
such a lofty announcement would come to such a lowly assembly is
incredible. Shepherds were despised—they
were dirty and smelled of sheep. It was
a job you didn’t want. Yet such are the
very ones who would be receptive. A
message of hope is most appreciated by the hopeless.
The
good news is about a glorious Person—a Savior, Christ the Lord. As Savior, He is the Son of Man who
came to give His life as a ransom. As Christ,
He is the Son of David who is rightful heir to David’s throne. As Lord, He is the Son of God, “And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us,
and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full
of grace and truth.” (John 1:14 )
This
confession was not only about the Glorious Person, but was in and of itself A GLORIOUS
PROCLAMATION (v.13-14).
It
was all about giving God glory. The
glory of God is the chief end of all things.
It is preeminent. The universe is
moving to this ultimate goal of the glory of God.
When we give ourselves to His glory, we experience His
peace. Sin is when we seek to give ourselves His glory—of being our own
god. God’s goodwill comes when we repent
and submit to Him. When we are elevating
ourselves, we are assailing Him and are at war with God—and that is always a
losing proposition. But, when we bow to
Him, and promote His glory, then we are a peace with God.
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