Christmas through the eyes of Angels

And in the same region there were shepherds out in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night. And an angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were filled with great fear. And the angel said to them, "Fear not, for behold, I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. And this will be a sign for you: you will find a baby wrapped in swaddling cloths and lying in a manger." 

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 among those with whom he is pleased!" 
(Luke 2:8-14)

As a child and in my years as a pastor, I have always heard this account through the lens of the shepherds.  Probably because I can readily relate to the shepherds as one in need of a savior and who rejoices as the announcement of the angels that God has given us the Savior we needed in the person of Jesus.

But it wasn't until a few weeks back that I first considered this account from the perspective of the angels.

Angels are created beings, but they also are immortal beings.  So consider this...

The angels were there to see the perfection of Eden.  They saw the world God had created and declared to be very good (טוב  מאד).  They witnessed the perfection of God's creation before it was shattered and warped by sin.  The angels knew just how good things were for Adam and Eve, because they had witnessed it.  They were witness to a world in which man vs. man, man vs. nature, man vs. God, and man vs. himself was non-existent. Death and pain were unknown in this perfect creation.

The angels had seen this perfection and how good it was for man.

The angels had also seen how badly sin had wrecked everything.

The angels were there to witness how difficult and dangerous farming and childbearing would be because of sin.  They saw how sin resulted in in death.  But they had also been there to hear the promise from God that He would send one who would make things right again. 

They were there when Cain murdered his brother Abel.  They saw the rise in wickedness in the world as people turned away from God and how even after God sent a flood, mankind returned to wickedness in no time flat.  

The angels had seen God raise up a runt of the litter shepherd boy to king of Israel, establishing a strong kingdom.  They had also seen how the descendants of David had bungled things so badly that the kingdom receded so greatly that it was unrecognizable.  Yet they were also there to hear God's promise that He would give David a descendant who would rule eternally. 

The angels existed when the prophets first spoke as they were carried by the Holy Spirit and foretold the coming of the Messiah, the Savior of mankind.

Considering all of this, I don't doubt that the joy of the angels was greater even than that joy of the shepherds to whom they brought the message.  For the angels knew far better than the shepherds just how much the birth of Jesus meant for mankind.

You can imagine the great joy of the angel who got to tell the shepherds the good news as he did what he was created to do (angel means "messenger").  And you can imagine the great joy of the angel army who couldn't wait to glorify God as soon as the good news was announced.

I picture the angels, who knew Eden and knew that Jesus had come to restore Eden for mankind, bubbling with joy and excitement as they glorified God saying "Glory to God in the highest!" and rejoiced for mankind at the good news of great joy that Jesus was born. 

This Christmas, as you hear that familiar account from Luke 2 again, consider the joy of the angels.  Then joyously join them in singing "Glory to God in the highest!"

Here is a link to the message this post is based upon.