Glory to God

Glory To God In The Highest

LUKE 2 COMMENTARY ◄
Luke 2:8-12 Shepherds in the Fields

Luke 2:13-20 Glory to God

LUKE 2:13-14 13 And suddenly there was with the angel a large army of angels from heaven praising God and saying, 14 “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men!”

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.

LUKE 2:15-20 15 And it came to pass, when the angels departed from them into heaven, that the men - the shepherds - said to one another, “Let us indeed go over to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has made known to us.” 16 Then they hurried over and found Mary and Joseph, and the Baby lying in the manger. 17 And having seen, they spread the word about what they had been told about this Child. 18 And all who heard were amazed at what the shepherds told them. 19 But Mary kept track of all these things and pondered them in her heart. 20 And the shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for everything they heard and saw, which was as they had been told.

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?