Text: Luke 2:8-14, Hebrews 1:3
This is the best part of the story! The celebration, the exaltation of Jesus, the telling of His Coming. It’s all twinkle and joy and beholding; it’s a covenant kept and hope fulfilled.
This is a triumphant moment. It’s the scene of the Christmas play all the kids want a part in. The angels are announcing that time has indeed been torn in two—one time before the Hope of the World was born and everything after. An angel comes to a group of men who are tending their sheep and tells them, “Behold! I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all people.”
Then, suddenly appearing with that angel is a whole skyful of heavenly host, praising God and saying,
“Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace among those with whom he is pleased!”
Finally, the baby king is born. Finally, true Hope has come, and it is for us all.
God has sent His Son down to earth, made like us but still wholly God. A baby Savior! We all know the great joy and amazement that comes with the birth of a baby. Cheers! A huge sigh of relief and overflowing love! But, imagine the ruckus and praise from Heaven when the baby Jesus made it safely into the world, God tangibly with us—Emmanuel.
I have goosebumps thinking about it. This is the moment in history when the angels and the whole company of heaven get to welcome this tiny miracle they’ve been anticipating for ages. It is the fulfillment of a generations-old promise, one stretching from the fall of Adam, foretold through so many prophets, and finally coming to fruition there in tiny Bethlehem.
Hebrews has this beautiful gem of Scripture that just puts the majesty of Christ into words. It says,
“He is the radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint of his nature, and he upholds the universe by the word of his power. After making purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high.” – Hebrews 1:3
The radiance of the glory of God. The exact imprint of his nature. Upholds the entire universe by just the word of his power. This is the baby king the angel is announcing. This is the glory of that evening. He is the One the shepherds were seeking, and the One we’re all seeking today.
Glory be to God that Jesus was born so that we might find Him— the perfect imprint of God’s nature, the Savior for all people.
For an added layer of worship during this sweet season of adoration and expectation, we’ve created a Spotify playlist for Advent 2014! You can find the complete SheReadsTruth | O Come Let Us Adore Him playlist at this link, or listen to today’s track on the player below. Enjoy!
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41 thoughts on "The Angels Proclaim the Birth of Christ"
Thanks for the post. Pregnancy is a very precious things for women life. When she bringing a new life in her body. This is really amazing feelings for women. This time, all women is getting very nervous, After reading this post, I think that, they will overcome their nervousness. So, that, Every pregnant women should read this post.
Yes! Jesus is Lord! He is due all the glory and praise! He deserves my entire life! He deserves more! This life is all I have to give. Have to remind myself multiple times a day. To live is Christ, to die is gain!!
“Hallelujah! Christ is born!
All glory be to God on high
And to the Earth be peace.
Good will henceforth from God to man
Begin and never cease.” -Andrew Peterson
http://youtu.be/y7HPWlBKg9M
"Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace among those with whom he is pleased!"
(Luke 2:14, ESV)
"Glory to God in the highest": the only thing we can do is receive Christ's gift with humble adoration and praise.
"On earth, peace among those with whom he is pleased!": Guys, He is pleased with us. Isaiah 62 has been a HUGE passage of scripture for me this year, one Christ has really imprinted on my heart for how He sees me, and the Chibok girls I'm currently praying and blogging for:
"No longer will they call you Deserted,
or name your land Desolate.
But you will be called Hephzibah,
and your land Beulah;
for the Lord will take delight in you,
and your land will be married."
(Isaiah 62:4, NIV)
The fact that God's favor rests on us, because we are His children, coming close to Him by the sacrifice of Christ (Heb 10:19-22), blows my mind. His favor resting upon us– Him being pleased with us– grants us peace. Both the concepts of His favor resting upon me and His peace ruling over me (Colossians 3:15) have been truths I've slowly but surely been accepting as true in my heart. What a beautiful, blessed verse. <3
Merry Christmas, all of you!
–AnnaLee
Amazing! Merry CHRISTmas everyone
In verse 10, the angel says he brings them "good news."
HELPS word studies says this is different than just bringing a good message (hey guys, you just won $1,000,000!); it is about "sharing the full Gospel of Christ – literally, 'gospelizing' that announces the complete message of 'the good news."
The good news was "of great joy," which, according to HELPS, means "joy because of grace," which is so much more than good feelings.
In verse 14, the angels sing "peace" on earth, which is specifically "the Messiah's peace, the way that leads to salvation, prepared for us in heaven" and "God's gift of wholeness, when all the essential parts are joined together."
The magnitude of what was revealed to the "simple shepherds" is striking; this wasn't about warm fuzzies or admiration of a cute little newborn. God's message given through the angels was a revelation of His complete plan of grace and wholeness fulfilled in Jesus. Amazing!
Having just had a baby 7.5 weeks ago, the connection of the joy everyone around us felt when she was born to the rejoicing in Heaven when Jesus safely made His entrance into the world is a fresh one for me. I can't even begin to imagine what a celebration must have been taking place as God's rescue plan for humanity was finally put into action. Merry Christmas!
Merry Christmas sisters! Thank you for a year of wonderful studies, for sharing your hearts, and for being present. I'm so excited for 2015!!!!Praying for you all. Love, Princess Sky
I have ALL the goosebumps!!
Rejoice! That was beautiful. Thank you and Merry Christmas!
This is so beautiful. This is the thing that gets me so excited for Christmas. It makes everything worth it.
What a wonderful way to start this day! Splitting time in two in that night,,, so awesome to think. Wishing all of you precious ladies a wonderful day and a Merry Christmas! Prayers and love to you all.
I love to think of the anticipation that Heaven must have had in expectation of Christ’s birth. I just had a nephew born yesterday and I know these last 9 months were filled with anticipation of his birth. But to imagine that anticipation times 10 knowing that the Savior of the world was to be born! Gives me goosebumps and reminds me of the humility of Christ to come as a helpless babe!
I love how today’s reading gives me two different examples to look to: the angels being bold in their praise, and the humble shepherds who listened and obeyed. It’s such a good picture.
This post also reminded me of this Christmas song by For King and Country: http://youtu.be/6CxFb4J-DHg
Merry Christmas Eve!
The night that time was split in two…amazing!!! How callous I’ve become to the story I’ve heard my whole life. How easy to forget the magnitude of Christ’s birth. I am in complete awe of our God and His extreme love for us. These verses and devotional were the perfect way to start Christmas Eve! I’m overwhelmed with emotions of awe, gratitude, humility and love. Thank you, Lord, for coming to earth as a baby to reconcile us to you!!
I absolutely love how you put it. We become so callous to the story. I pray that God reveals to us new facets of His story
Love this: “Finally, the baby king is born. Finally, true Hope has come, and it is for us all”. Hope. Such a simple word, but such a powerful concept. Life, love, joy. All of these are absolutely centered on hope! Especially THIS Hope. God saw us in our wretched, miserable existence. And He intervened. In a way that no one else could have done! He sent Light into our darkness. Joy into our sorrow. Hope into our despair. Freedom into our bondage. Amazing love … Amazing grace!
Once again we see the Angel saying "Fear not". Throughout the entire Christmas story, God instructs His people to "Fear not" and to trust Him and HIS plan. I can only hope to be as obedient and trusting as Mary, Joseph and the Shepards. Fear is not from our Lord. When we find ourselves fearful, discouraged, questioning….we need to turn to our Lord for strength and peace. I know that I am always struggling with this. I allow doubt and fear to impact me more than it should. This is such a good reminder and I pray that we all find HOPE and PEACE in our Savior, Jesus Christ.
Hallelujah, Christ is born today! What a great way to start the morning. I have enjoyed reading this devotional to prepare my heart this year.
What a wonder that the Ruler of the universe and Savior of mankind–of me!–came as a tiny baby in more than humble surroundings. That the hosts of heaven joyously announced his coming to lowly shepherds and gave them an invitation to be the first to welcome him. I must keep reminding myself to ponder this, and not get stressed over last minute preparations. I admit tend to get a little…well, maybe a lot sometimes–snippy trying to get everything done. Instead, Lord, help me to remember the wonder of what we are celebrating, and let the praise for Your magnificent Gift be first in my heart and mind and on my tongue! Hallelujah! Amen.
This was the moment. God came down. Oh God, that my life is never the same. Hebrews 1:3!!
I love the idea that Jesus upholds the world with his word. Every time we go to the water, I think of Revelation 1:15, "…his voice was like the roar of many waters." What a powerful God we serve.
I also had never really thought about how magestic that moment was. The great dividing line. What an amazing sight – what an amazing promise – what an amazing Savior.
Matthew 1:18-24. Can you imagine what Joseph thought when he found out that his fiancé was pregnant? How disappointed he must have been to think that the woman that he loved had been with someone else. But when the angel appeared in a dream to explain he immediately married her. What great obedience! Joseph doesn’t get much credit in the story but I’m amazed at his courage and strength. I’m not a man but I can only imagine how tough that would be. I’m sure they probably kept their mouth closed about what happened. Who would believe it? And who would believe that this ordinary couple would birth our Savior? The One who would eventually save them. Where would I be without this great gift given to me? Ha! My mind can only imagine. I’m so thankful that He cared enough about me to find me and save me. Father thank you for the gift that You have given to us all.
Before I celebrated Advent, it really never sank in the grandiosity of this moment. God made him self human– a defenseless baby– to be born in the most humble way. And I LOVE that the first announcement of his birthday was to simple shepherds as he would become The Great Shepherd of men. I get goosebumps just thinking about it. And I thank The Lord I started this tradition of celebrating Advent as a way of preparing my heart for the birth of the baby Jesus.
Another thing on my heart- it’s this exact passage on which the song “O Come Let Us Adore Him” comes from. And when I look at the lyrics again I realize, these shepherds are the faithful. They are the joyful and triumphant ones. They are the ones beckoned to come and adore this Baby King. And I truly want to be just like that!! Please please Lord find me faithful! Let me adore you!!
" Jesus was born so that we might find Him." He's not hidden! He's find-able! It is unfathomable that He would make Himself available to a sinner such as I, but He has… He does! One thing that struck me from the passage in Luke is how we are such a people for seeking "peace on earth" without first seeking "Glory to God in the Highest." The peace is for those with whom He is pleased. The one pleasing aroma to God is the covering of His Son's blood over my sin and the giving of glory to Him in that salvation. The message seems clear to me: Glory to God first, peace follows. Not the other way around. A very Blessed and Merry Christmas Eve, precious SRT ladies!
This is a great perspective! Thank you for sharing!
Oh how He loves us!!!
All praise, glory, and honor be His! Today will be a busy, possibly stressful one, here. What a comfort and encouragement to start it off reading God’s joy – filled Word! Merry Christmas everyone!
Beckey
http://reallyreallyrealhousewives.blogspot.com http://www.etsy.com/shop/queenbsbusywork0
So with you, Beckey. I’m nervous about my heart today, scared of being stressed while preparing for a multitude of in-laws over tonight, and it was so nice to begin the day in this study! I’ll pray for you when I think of it today!
Praying for peace and calmness Stefanie! Oh and loads of laughter!
How amazing that this multitude of Heavenly host appeared to Shepherds. Such a humble profession, probably tired guys, dirty, possibly hungry, but the only ones whose hearts were prepared for the angel’s announcement. The Angels could have appeared to anyone, Herod, the Scribes or Pharisees, Preists. But they chose Shepherds. Oh that my heart is like the Shepherds’! May I be prepared at any time for the coming of my Lord. I know this is going back to yesterday but may I always have room for him.
Stefanie, this is what struck me too! I haven't understood the significance of the angels appearing to the shepherds before this Advent season – and to think, it wasn't just one but a whole host of angels!! And, I think I'm correct in thinking the shepherds were the first to see Him, these "lowest of the low" we're the first to see the radiance of God's glory, the exact representation of his being, who would sustain all things by his powerful word – after providing purification for our sins. Then he would sit down at the right hand of the Majesty in heaven. Heavenly Father, I echo Stefanie's prayer, "May my heart be like the Shepherds, may I be prepared at any time, and may I always make room for You."
So wonderful to begin such a busy day with my SRT sisters and the Word of God!
Hope was born that day and it continues to live inside each of us if we invite Him in. If we make Him ROOM. I pray I have room for the Savior of the world today and tomorrow as we celebrate His birth, His coming.
I pray I continue to make room for Him in the days to come as we anticipate His return!! I want Him to be FIRST. And yet I know that is not always the case. I keep striving. I keep pushing toward that mark.
Praying you all will have a blessed Christmas with your family and friends. Blessed to study with you each day. Merry Christmas! ♥
Light has come into darkness! Majestic angels sing to lowly shepherds. The radiance of the glory of God lay sleeping in a wooden feeding trough. This is how He loved us, how He loves us still. He stoops low to wash our feet while still maintaining his royalty and holiness. Glory to God in the highest and on earth peace to men on whom his favor rests!
Beautiful. At a time where I’m struggling so hard to trust this brings a new found hope.
Praying for you Jodi! You are so loved!
–AnnaLee
I'm not sure I've ever read Hebrews 1:3 before, but my oh my, how powerful it is! I'm praying for that to sink in all day today – "He is the exact imprint of God's nature". Thanks for sharing, Haley!