Luke 2
14 Glory to God in the highest heaven, and peace on earth to people He favors!

Putting it altogether, you can read it like this. May God, the Glorious One receive all glory and honor and praise and splendor because He is more real than Herod, He is stronger than Satan, He is higher than any power in heaven or on earth. His name is to be lifted to the highest heaven. And those who are able to see God for who He is and worship Him accordingly, there is peace for you. There is eternal peace for you because God favors you, He has chosen you, He saved you before the foundation of the world that you might glorify His name. This kind of peace is reserved for born again believers whose life is a continuous worship unto Jesus, who is Lord of all.

While there is so much chaos and unrest in the world and warfare in the spiritual realm, there is a pocket of people, the favored ones, the saved ones, the people of God who demonstrate a remarkable peace. And what is a common practice of those who display the peace of God? They were all worshipers of God. Peace flows from worship.

If you worship anything other than God, there is no peace. You might have temporary, shallow, emotional peace. But true, deep, lasting peace is reserved for the people of God who consistently worship Him. Let’s end by looking at a few worshipers.

First, let’s look at the wise men and the shepherds.

Matt 2:9-12 [READ]

Luke 2:15-20 [READ]

For both the wise men and the shepherds, their worship was preceded by obedience. Their goal was worship. They wanted to get to where Jesus was so that they could worship him. But in order to get to the place where the baby Jesus lay, they had put their plans on hold, gather the gifts and then embark on the journey. For us, we may have good intentions to get to where Jesus is and worship Him, but unless we are willing to obey concretely in the day-to-day decisions of life, we may never get there. Do you want to worship Jesus? If so, what are you doing to prepare yourself to get to the place where Jesus is? If not, what is preventing you from worshiping? Have you made time in your schedule to prioritize your relationship with Him? What concrete adjustments do you have to make to free up time and energy so that you can give Jesus the kind of consistent worship He deserves?

Lastly, we have Mary.

Luke 2
19 But Mary was treasuring up all these things in her heart and meditating on them.

What is she treasuring in her heart? To answer that, we have to go back a chapter to Mary’s Magnificat.

Luke 1:46-55 [READ]

These verses sound very much like Luke 2:14, don’t they?

Luke 2
14 Glory to God in the highest heaven, and peace on earth to people He favors!

What is Mary treasuring in her heart? She is treasuring the Lord. v46 – my soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord. v47 – my spirit has rejoiced in God my Savior. This is worship. She is treasuring Christ. She is also treasuring the Lord’s favor upon her. The reason why she is glorifying the Lord is because v48 – the Lord has looked with favor upon her. The Lord has chosen her, the Lord has saved her. She is treasuring the fact that v49 – the Mighty One has done great things for me. She is saying this BEFORE she became the mother of Jesus. So what great things has the Lord done for her? She is glorifying God for saving her and bringing her into a relationship with the living God. Basically, she treasures God and she treasures her salvation.

Examine your heart. What are you treasuring? Whatever your treasure is, that’s the thing you worship. Let’s commit to being worshipers of the living God. Begin each day saying, Lord, I give you my life. I want to worship you today. I want YOU to receive glory through my life today. I want you, Jesus, to be what I treasure most in my heart. I want to treasure the gospel because through Jesus’ death and resurrection, my sins were paid for and I was forgiven. This is what Christmas is all about.

Glorify God and watch the peace of God that transcends understanding wash over you. Life can throw you curveballs, people can be nasty to you, your circumstances may not be that great, but if you are a worshiper of God, you will be at peace no matter what is happening around you and to you. When things are going wrong and everyone else is panicking, you can remain grounded if you make worshiping God your priority. If you give glory to God consistently, you will be at peace consistently. You can thank the Lord in all circumstances because your goal is not to have everything go well. Your goal is to worship the Lord. Your goal is giving glory to the Lord in every circumstance. You want nothing more than to stay close to the Lord.

If you are a child of God, rejoice! You are favored by the Lord! Rejoice because the Prince of Peace has come. God has saved you in Christ. His peace is upon you. When you feel the peace of God starting to wane, get on your knees and give glory to God. Start each day by giving your life to Jesus. Let’s be consistent worshipers of King Jesus in 2014.

What about Joseph? Matt 1:18-19 [READ]

Joseph’s first Christmas did not start very peacefully either. Matt 1:18-19 [READ]

Put yourself in Joseph’s shoes. He is about to marry the love of his life. Then, he gets the news. I wonder how that conversation went down. Uh, honey, I have something to tell you. Why don’t you sit down. I know you are going to have a hard time believing this, but an angel visited me and told me that I am going to conceive through the Holy Spirit and we are going to become the proud parents of the Son of the Most High God. You know, the Creator of the universe, the God of our forefathers, Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, His Son is going to be our son.

How do you respond to news like that? Okay… alright…. How did Joseph respond? Was he silent? Did he fly off the handle in a rage? Not much is written, but I’m sure that some harsh words were spoken. Some tears were shed. Some donkeys were kicked. Walls were punched in. Whatever plans they had for their date night, I bet it went out the window. One thing is for sure – Joseph did not buy her story. He assumed she was lying. Maybe she had too much wine the night before. She must have been unfaithful.

To Joseph’s credit, whatever anger and hurt and brokenness he felt inside, he kept to himself. Many others in his shoes would have acted wrathfully. She hurt me so I’m going to hurt her. I’m going to tell all my friends. I’m going to post a drawing of her on the synagogue bulletin board because they didn’t have smartphone cameras back then, telling others what she did. I am going to shame her. Women back then could have been stoned for committing a sin like this. Joseph could have thought, this woman ruined my life, now I will ruin hers. I’m gonna drag her reputation in the mud so that she will be shunned by everyone.

Can’t you picture Joseph acting this way? And could you blame him if he did? But he didn’t. He decides to divorce her secretly because he doesn’t want Mary to face public disgrace. A day before, he could’ve been dreaming about their life together. Thier honeymoon by the Sea of Galilee. How romantic that would’ve been. Then, today, his entire world is turned upside down. Joseph’s first Christmas was anything but peaceful at first. Into this crisis, God intervenes. Like Mary, Joseph, too, was visited by an angel.

Matt 1:20-25 [READ]

As if the events leading up to this first Christmas birth were not traumatic enough, things got worse. In Matt 2, Herod got wind of the news of a newborn baby who was the supposed fulfillment of Old Testament prophecies. This Messiah will grow up to be a leader who will shepherd God’s people. Herod heard the news and got angry. Who is this so called rising King of the Jews? How dare anyone have that title? I am king of the Jews. And so he asks some wise men to go find out the location of this baby so that he could worship.

But we know the story. His intention was not to worship the baby Jesus. He wanted to kill this possible threat to his kingdom. Again, an angel is sent by God to intervene. The angel appears to Joseph in a dream and he instructs him to lead his family out of Bethlehem to Egypt and to await further instruction.

Then, we reach Matt 2:16-18. This is when it gets really dark. Matt 2:16-18 [READ]

One morning sometime after the first Christmas, the calm of early sunrise was interrupted by shrieking mothers who had woken up to find their child dead. It happened in one home, then another home and then another. More parents woke up to this nightmare. They wept and refused to be consoled. Consider the string of funerals that marked this first Christmas season.

Into this mess, we have a multitude of the heavenly host, a chorus of angels praising God.

Luke 2
14 Glory to God in the highest heaven, and peace on earth to people He favors!

How on earth could the angels be giving glory to God and promising peace at a time like this? There is nothing peaceful at all about this first Christmas. In the invisible, spiritual realm, you have a fire-breathing dragon unleashing his fury on God’s people. How does this battle in the spiritual realm play out in the visible, physical realm? In the physical realm, you have Herod on a rampage trying to kill the baby Jesus and when he fails, in a fit of rage, he orders the death of many innocent children. On one level, you see Herod, the insanely insecure king. On a deeper level, you see the fury of Satan himself being unleashed in the world in a vain attempt to kill Jesus.

Thank the Lord that Christmas does not end here. There is much more going on. Oh, how I wish we could all have the spiritual eyes to see what the angels saw. Like us, they saw Herod and the murdered babies, but they saw through all the haze of their circumstances and they saw a clear picture of spiritual reality. And this clarity of vision allowed them to give glory to God in spite of what was happening. Even in the midst of the spiritual war between the Lord’s angelic army on one side and dragons and demons on the other, the angels saw the glory of God.

What is the glory of God? “Glory” in the Greek refers to splendor, brightness, amazing might, praise, honor, greatness. In the Hebrew, the word “glory” refers to weight or heaviness. That’s why C.S. Lewis wrote the book, “The Weight of Glory.” God’s glory, His presence is thick, it’s weighty. You can translate, “Glory to God in the highest heaven,” as praise and honor to the only One worthy of praise and honor, or praise the Praiseworthy One, or we give the highest praise to the Most High God, or we glorify the Glorious One.

For the angels, God’s presence was so glorious, so real, so tangible, so weighty that nothing else mattered. Herod, dragons, demons – they are nothing to a God like this. In their praise of God, the angels reveal a spiritual principle. Those who are favored by God enjoy true peace. And how do you maintain that peace? You commit yourself to be a worshiper of God. Peace flows from worship – that’s the spiritual principle.

Luke 2
14 Glory to God in the highest heaven, and peace on earth to people He favors!

Peace characterizes the people of God. How can you and I maintain our peace in the Lord? Through continuous worship. Since peace flows from worship, when I am starting to wane in my peace and I am becoming irritable or snappy, it’s a sign that I haven’t worshiped lately. Then, I know I need to do a time out. Take a break. Go on a prayer walk or get on my knees and reconnect with the Lord. How much peace you have in the tank is a good way of gauging your spiritual health. If peace is low, you know it’s time to ramp up your worship of God.

Who are the favored? In the ESV, this verse is translated as “peace among those with whom he is pleased.” Who is God pleased with? The word “favors” in the Greek means pleased or satisfied by or desires or good will. That’s why the King James reads, “peace on earth and good will toward men.”

When the Bible uses the words “peace, or “favors” or “good will,” often times, it is talking about salvation.

Acts 10:36 reads–

Acts 10
36 He sent the message to the Israelites, proclaiming the good news of PEACE through Jesus Christ—He is Lord of all.

“Peace” refers here to the fullness of blessing which Jesus brings and so peace is essentially a synonym for salvation.

Luke 2
14 Glory to God in the highest heaven, and peace on earth to people He favors!

This is a famous verse during the holiday season. You see it on Christmas cards. We sing it in our Christmas carols. Today, I want us to try to understand this verse in the context of the first Christmas. I think this verse captures what we all want, not just during Christmas, but every day. We all want peace, don’t we?

Do you feel at peace today? If you do, praise the Lord? This is one sign that His favor rests upon you. Notice v14 – the peace mentioned here is not a blanket peace for all people. The Lord’s peace comes to the earth, but it is not given to everyone. It is given to people whom He favors.

The peace of the Lord is reserved for the people of God. Many in the world wrongly think that on Christmas Day, peace is something they can manufacture by spending time with family and taking a break from work and watching movies. Peace is more than the absence of work and relaxing on a couch with stockings hung beside a chimney and chestnuts roasting over an open fire. For some, Rudolph and TV specials like “Prep and Landing” can provide some degree of emotional peace. These traditions may stir up nostalgic sentiments of our youth. But this kind of peace is like a mist that is here in the morning and gone by mid-morning. This peace is temporary.

Also, this peace is shallow. It’s a peace that lasts as long as things in your life are going well. What if Christmas for you is lonely because you don’t have family? Or what if you just lost a job – will your Christmas be peaceful then? I highly doubt it. This kind of peace based on circumstances is here one moment, then, poof, it vanishes. Because the peace was shallow to begin with. The peace was paper thin. One issue, one problem and the peace is gone. It doesn’t take much to poke through this kind of shallow peace.

What if you are struggling with some addiction or destructive habit or character flaw, will you be able to have a peaceful Christmas? No, because even in your own skin, there is no peace.

When we say we want peace, I think all of us want a deep, robust peace, one that can weather the storms of life. Jesus is called the Prince of Peace and this kind of deep, robust peace can only be enjoyed through Jesus. He has to give it to you.

Even churches, I believe, we are guilty of promoting a false sense of peace in our re-enactment of Christmas. Most nativity scenes I have watched consist of little kids dressed up as Mary and Joseph and they look so cute as they embrace a doll posing as baby Jesus and the scene seems so peaceful, so serene, so angelic. And Christians are buying into the lie that just because December 25th is approaching, suddenly all is peaceful. All will be well.

If we understood what the first Christmas was really like, I think it would give us some pause before we settle for a temporary, surface level peace and I think we would gain a better grasp of the deep, robust, lasting, godly peace that the birth of Christ offers.

On the surface, the first Christmas was anything but peaceful. It was a spiritual battle. The first Christmas involved angels and demons. It was a spiritually charged time in history. When you pay attention to the Christmas account in the gospels, it reads more like a fantasy novel than it does reality. There are so many supernatural elements. If you pause to consider what is happening, this stuff is straight out of a Lord of the Rings novel. There is even a mention of a dragon for you Hobbit fans in Revelation.

Let’s start there. Rev 12:13-18 [READ]

Not sure if Revelation comes to mind when you think about Christmas. This is a picture of what is happening in the spiritual realm. You have Satan depicted as a fiery serpent, a dragon. He is persecuting the woman. Who is the woman? Mary, the mother of Jesus. God protects Mary and Mary gets away from Satan. This makes Satan angry and what does he do? He wages war against Mary’s offspring. Who is Mary’s offspring? Us. Christians. We are under attack by a fire breathing dragon. This is Christmas from the perspective of the spiritual realm. It was anything but peaceful. It was a spiritual battle.

This is the invisible, spiritual realm. What about in the visible, physical realm? Was it a peaceful Christmas? No, far from it. For Mary and Joseph, it was a fearful Christmas at first. Luke 1:26-29 [READ]

Mary was deeply troubled, it says. That’s a euphemism. A modern day translation would be, Mary is freaking out. How would you like it if you were home and out of nowhere, an angel appears in your living room. The first Christmas was anything but peaceful. Mary is deeply troubled, she is freaking out, she is afraid. She probably thought, why me? I am about to get married. I just want to enjoy a quiet life with my husband-to-be, have 2.5 kids and then live happily after. But an angel visits and this dream is shattered.

Luke 1:30-38 [READ]

Mary encounters an angel. At first, she is freaking out of her mind, but she ends in a state of peace. She confesses, I am the Lord’s slave. May it be done to me according to your word. She can express peace in the moment, but Mary is not super human. She is like the rest of us. Put yourself in her shoes. Imagine having to tell your parents and your family members and friends that you were visited by an angel and now through the Holy Spirit, you have a baby in your belly. Do you think anyone would believe her? There was a handful of people who did believe her story, but I would wager that the vast majority thought she was crazy. On the surface, this first Christmas must not have been very “peaceful” for Mary.