What is meant by “Glory to God in the highest” (Luke 2:14)?
Glory to God in heaven.
What did the angels express after giving glory to God?
“Peace” and “good will
toward men” “on earth” (Luke 2:14).
Why would they express peace and good will toward men on earth?
The shepherds had been “terrified” (Luke
2:9)
upon seeing the first angel (see
shepherds and
angels) and risked being even more terrified by seeing a
“large army” (Luke 2:13) of them.
What did the shepherds do upon being told about Jesus?
They “hurried” (Luke 2:16) to
“see” (Luke 2:15) for themselves.
What did they do next?
“Having seen” (Luke 2:17) that
“everything” was
“as they had been told” (Luke 2:20) - i.e., having searched
and confirmed the evidences for themselves
-
“they spread the word about what they had been
told” (Luke 2:17) - concerning Him to people who didn’t know about
Jesus.
How did the hearers react?
They “were amazed at what the shepherds told
them” (Luke 2:18).
What are at least some of them likely to have done next?
Go and see Jesus for themselves.
Mission accomplished, did the shepherds congratulate
themselves?
“The shepherds
returned, glorifying and praising God for everything ...” (Luke 2:20).
Does what the shepherd did above differ
from what people should do today upon being told about Jesus?