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 on men with whom He is pleased."
Truth to Learn
We need to believe what the Bible says, not what tradition has taught us, no matter how good it might make the story.
Behind the Words
“Suddenly” is translated from the Greek word exaiphnēs, which means, ”without warning” or “suddenly.”
The word “multitude” is from the Greek noun plēthos, which refers to “fullness” or “an extremely large amount.”
“Host” is translated from stratias, derived from stratos, meaning “an army.” Stratias refers to God’s army of angels.
“Praising” is from aineō, which means “to declare the praises of and to give glory to someone or something.”
The word “saying” is the Greek verb legō, which literally means “to lay forth,” that is “to verbally deliver a message.” It is not a word that means “to sing.” There are three Greek words translated “sing.” They are adō (generic word for singing), humneō (to sing hymns), and psallō (to play music on an instrument or with the voice.)
The words, “among men with whom He is pleased” are translated from the words en anrhropois eudokias. The first word, en, means “in” or “on.” The word anthropois is a plural form of the word for “a man.” The word eudokias is from the verb eudokeo, which means “to please” or “to favor.” The noun form here is in the genitive case, meaning “of favor” or “of pleasure.” Now, we have to ask ourselves, “Of whose favor?” and the only logical answer is, “Of His favor.” Therefore, it is best understood to mean “of His favor” or “of His pleasure.” Thus, our translation of “with whom He is pleased.”
Meaning Explained
Every time I sing Gloria in Excelsis Deo (Latin for “Glory to God in the highest”), I imagine a sky full of angels singing in multi-point harmony with a few lowly shepherds and their flocks as the only audience. What a magnificent sound that must have been, coming from the voices of thousands of angels! There’s only one problem with that. The angels didn’t sing to the shepherds … Say what!?
Before we get into that, let’s step back a little bit. On this particular night there were few shepherds camping out with their sheep. These shepherds were banned from entering the Temple in Jerusalem, the very Temple where the sheep under their care would someday be sacrificed. In spite of that, they were faithfully doing their job when they were surprised by the sudden appearance of a magnificent angel hovering over them, casting his glorious radiance all around. This angel announced to them that the Messiah had just been born. Then, as if telling the shepherds that they must go find this Messianic Baby, the angel informed the shepherds that they would find the child wrapped in strips of cloths, lying in an animal’s feeding trough.
But before the shepherds could even process all this information, the sky was suddenly and unexpectedly filled with thousands of angels, giving praise to Jehovah God and they were saying, not singing, “Glory to God in the highest!”
“So what’s the big deal?” you ask. I agree that singing angels makes a better story, but I believe what the Bible says, not what I want it to say. I believe that we are all sinners, deserving of Hell. I believe that the blood of Jesus Christ, the Son of God, was shed to pay the penalty for my sins. I believe Christ died physically and rose from the dead physically. I believe these things, not because they’re reasonable and make perfect sense, because they don’t. I believe them because the Bible says so. Singing angels makes for a great Hollywood scene, but imagine what a wondrous sound it must have been when thousands, maybe hundreds of thousands, of angels proclaimed in unison, “Glory to God in the highest!”
Application
We may not understand why God tells us what He tells us in the Bible, but we need to believe what it says. Spiritual maturity comes from careful study, believing what the Bible actually reveals, not what tradition has taught us.
Laying all that aside, let’s remember what this passage of Scripture is here to tell us. The God of all creation, the Almighty, the All Knowing, the Everywhere Present Supreme Lord of the universe, humbled himself and took on the form of a poor carpenter’s son. His first bed was an animal’s feeding trough. He lived His life with little or no material possessions. He wasn’t forced to do this anymore than he was forced to die on the cross. He humbled himself for our sakes. Christmas is one of the greatest examples of God’s humbling Himself as an expression of His supreme love for His loved ones (you and me). And all that He asks in return is for us to humble ourselves as an expression of our gratitude to Him.
Let’s focus ourselves this Christmas on humbling ourselves before our Savior, the little baby lying in a manger.
In God's service, for His glory,
Copyright © 2015 Will Krause. All rights reserved