Glory to God in the Highest
On December 25th each year most Christians celebrate the birth of Jesus in what is called Christmas. Like the angels sang “Glory to God in the highest” among the shepherds (Luke 2:14), we also sing that but often times in Latin (e.g., “Gloria in excelsis Deo”) from the song, “Angels We Have Heard On High”. But why do we celebrate Jesus’ birth? Why does it matter? Why do we give glory to God? Consider the following as responses to these questions.
Why do we celebrate Jesus’ birth?
Simply stated, Christians celebrate Jesus’ birth to remember Immanuel - God With Us. Jesus’ birth marks when God sent His Son to save people from their sins and when God fulfilled His promise of a Messiah. There is much written about how December 25th became the day that is designated to celebrate the birth of Jesus. That discussion is beyond the intent of this blog post. I will say though that I am not aware of anything in scripture that tells us we should or shouldn’t celebrate the birth of Jesus at all or at a particular time of the year. I believe there is Christian liberty as to if or how people celebrate the birth of Jesus.
With that said, Jesus’ birth is worth celebrating. It is part of God’s story of redemption for mankind. There was nothing ordinary about Jesus’ birth. It was all extraordinary and orchestrated by God. It was fulfillment of when the Word became flesh and dwelt among us (John 1:14). God’s Son, who is one of three persons in the Trinity, entered His creation as truly man and truly God.
There has never been nor will there ever be a birth like Jesus’ birth. God miraculously enabled a virgin named Mary to conceive a child. Angels announced His coming and His birth. Jesus was sent so that He could save His people from their sins. Wise men came to see Jesus when He was about 1-2 years old to give Him gifts of Gold, Frankincense and Myrrh, with each of them representing something about Jesus’ life. Gold was used in the ancient world for kings or royalty. The Gold represents Jesus’ Kingship. Frankincense is an aromatic resin burned as incense in worship. The first time we hear of frankincense in the Bible is in Exodus 30:34, where it was mixed with sweet-scented spices to be burned on the altar of incense before the holy of holies. The recipe for the compound was strictly forbidden to be used for common purposes, it was called “most holy.” Frankincense speaks to Jesus’ divinity and holiness. Finally Myrrh is a resin used in perfumes, anointing oil, and especially in burial and embalming, as seen later in Jesus’ own burial. Myrrh represents the suffering and death Jesus would endure for people to be saved from their sins.
Celebrating Jesus’ birth is a way to thank God for sending His Son to a world that desperately needs Him. Even though society has commercialized Christmas and seems to focus on things that don’t have eternal significance, Jesus birth is the reason we celebrate Christmas. Everyone should be thankful that God is with us, not just one day out of the year, but every day and every where!
Why does it matter?
Many people make promises. People mean well, but sometimes the promises made aren’t kept. This can have ripple affects on all relationships we encounter because trust is corrupted. We all know how hard it is to have a relationship with someone that we can’t trust. Sometimes we say, trust must be earned. Trust can be earned by people acting trustworthy to others. That typically looks like people following through with their word and simply being honest (e.g., not lying).
Jesus’ birth gives a reason to trust God. Thousands of years before Jesus was born, God promised His plan of salvation for all mankind! Satan would be defeated! After Adam and Eve sinned against God in the garden, God told the serpent (representing Satan) that He would “put enmity Between you and the woman, And between your seed and her Seed; He shall bruise your head, And you shall bruise His heel” (Genesis 3:15). The Believer’s Bible Commentary says the following regarding verse 15:
This verse is known as the protevangelium, meaning "The First Gospel." It predicts the perpetual hostility between Satan and the woman (representing all mankind), and between Satan's seed (his agents) and her Seed (the Messiah). The woman's Seed would crush the Devil's head, a mortal wound spelling utter defeat. This wound was administered at Calvary when the Savior decisively triumphed over the Devil. Satan, in turn, would bruise the Messiah's heel. The heel wound here speaks of suffering and even of physical death, but not of ultimate defeat. So Christ suffered on the cross, and even died, but He arose from the dead, victorious over sin, hell, and Satan. The fact that He is called the woman's Seed may contain a suggestion of His virgin birth.
This promise means everything! God had a plan for people to be saved from their sins all along. God even displayed His grace and mercy to mankind before He pronounced the consequences of the sin Adam and Even committed. Jesus was the plan from the beginning of time. God not only made this promise about 4,000 years prior to Jesus being born, He continued to make promises about Jesus through the ages. There are hundreds of promises God made as it relates to Jesus and Jesus fulfilled all of them. To get a glimpse of the significance of this, consider the following from Evidence Demands a Verdict by Josh McDowell and Sean McDowell:
“We find that the chance that any man might have lived down to the present time and fulfilled all eight prophecies is 1 in 1017 [10 to the 17th power). That would be 1 in 100,000,000,000,000,000 (17 zeroes after the one). In order to help us comprehend this staggering probability, Stoner illustrates it by supposing that] we take 1017 silver dollars and lay them on the face of Texas. They will cover all of the state two feet deep. Now mark one of these silver dollars and stir the whole mass thoroughly, all over the state. Blindfold a man and tell him that he can travel as far as he wishes, but he must pick up one silver dollar and say that this is the right one. What chance would he have of getting the right one? Just the same chance that the prophets would have had of writing these eight prophecies and having them all come true in any one man” - McDowell, Josh; McDowell, Sean. Evidence That Demands a Verdict: Life-Changing Truth for a Skeptical World (p. 231). Thomas Nelson. Kindle Edition.
This calculation was just based on eight prophecies about Jesus and Jesus fulfilled approximately 300 prophecies. This gives us evidence that when God says something, not just once, He will see it through in His time. For that He can be trusted.
There is another reason though God can be trusted. He cannot lie (Hebrews 6:18). Part of being trustworthy is being honest. Honest is being free of deceit and untruthfulness. Jesus is the TRUTH and He is the second person of the Godhead. Therefore, God, Jesus and the Holy Spirit all can be trusted with no hesitation. This matters because in order to be saved from our sins, we must believe in Jesus Christ. We must not lean on our own understanding, but trust in the Lord. If we believe in Jesus Christ, we will then repent of our sins. Godly sorrow leads to salvation through repentance (II Corinthians 7:10). So Jesus’ birth matters because without His birth, He wouldn’t have lived a perfect life, died on a cross for sins, or raised Himself from the dead so we can have eternal life.
Why do we give glory to God?
Let’s read the following scripture passages for discussion.
Now there were in the same country shepherds living out in the fields, keeping watch over their flock by night. 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 David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. And this will be the sign to you: You will find a Babe wrapped in swaddling cloths, 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, goodwill toward men!" - (Luke 2:8-14)
A multitude is a large number. A heavenly host is like an angel army. This large angel army was praising and worshipping God for His AWESOMENESS, His TRUSTWORTHINESS and His FAITHFULNESS. Finally, after hundreds of years, “…a child is born, to us a son is given; and the government shall be upon his shoulder, and his name shall be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. Of the increase of his government and of peace there will be no end, on the throne of David and over his kingdom, to establish it and to uphold it with justice and with righteousness from this time forth and forevermore. The zeal of the LORD of hosts will do this” (Isaiah 9:6-7).
This is praise and worship of the heavenly host is an example for us today. We give God the glory because He sent Jesus to be Immanuel - God With Us. Jesus is the Messiah - The Anointed One. God is Jehovah-Jireh - The Lord Provides. God is Jehovah-Tsuri - The Lord Our Rock. God is Jehovah-Shalom - The Lord is Peace. Jesus means The Lord Saves.
From the moment Adam and Eve sinned against God in the Garden of Eden, man has been destined to destruction. Each person inherits a sinful nature and is inclined to disobey God. Because of this disobedience and rebellion against God Almighty, the consequence is an eternity in Hell, separated from God for ever! But glory to God in the highest, He made a way for the whole world to be saved. God so loved the world that He gave us only begotten Son, whoever believes in Him will not perish but have everlasting life! That is why we give God all the glory!