December, 2000

"Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace to men on whom His favor rests." Luke 2:14

We’ve heard the story of Christ’s birth for so many years and somewhere along the line, many have probably forgotten its significance. Maybe we can use this familiar verse to remind us once again of the Good News of Great Joy–Salvation to mankind–in and through Jesus Christ, the Second Person of God in heaven, no less.

To begin, we need to know the purpose of Luke who took great pain to record the birth of Christ. He stated in the beginning of the book that the records were handed down by eyewitnesses, and through careful investigation, he was convinced they were historically correct, and therefore, presented to the most excellent Theophilus (means "one who loves God"), who was a publisher at that time. For a publisher to print and distribute any material, he has a moral obligation to substantiate the accuracy of any historical facts. Luke recorded the time, place, and players in details so that Theophilus could verify that his work wasn’t fabricated; they were all factual history. The purpose of Luke’s writing is to convince the readers to believe in Jesus Christ; and if anyone wants to investigate through extra-biblical records, it would only increase his faith.

After the angels announced the Good News of Great Joy to the shepherds in the wilderness, they were joined by a great company of heavenly hosts to praise God. This is a Praise Hymn with two announcements. The first announcement is "Glory," which has a rich theological meaning in both the Old and New Testament. Glory is the highest honor one possesses. It must be remembered that God has Glory regardless of others’ opinion because He is in the highest realm. He is above and beyond all. In other words, His glory is immutable. Men cannot add even a small fraction to His glory when we praise Him. When praises are sung, it is merely an acknowledging of God’s glory rather than giving Him glory. The second announcement is "Peace," which means "absence of hostility." It refers to the relationship between the Glorious God and Fallen men. Peace is not assured at all to all men, but only to those who are pleasing to God. For the rest of the Book of Luke, we will study how to please God–believe in Jesus Christ.

If the Lord’s willing, we will go through this book in the months to come.