8 In the same region there were shepherds out in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night. 9 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. 10 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. 11 For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, who is Christ the Lord. 12 And this will be a sign for you: you will find a baby wrapped in swaddling cloths and lying in a manger.” 13 And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying, 14 “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace among those with whom He is pleased!”
15 When the angels went away from them into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, “Let us go over to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has made known to us.”
Some two thousand years ago a group of shepherds were in a field outside the village of Bethlehem. It was just another routine evening until suddenly, a light shone all around them as an angel of the Lord appeared to them. Of course, they were terrified, but the angel reassured them by telling them not to be afraid.
Then the sky was filled with heavenly beings, singing in a heavenly chorus. And their song was “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace among those with whom He is pleased!”
Then as suddenly as they came, they were gone, and things began to return to normal, but for those men that night, things would never be quite the same again.
Amazingly, they decided to go at once to Bethlehem to see for themselves what this was all about. For shepherds to leave their sheep alone, especially at night, was unheard of, but they were irresistibly drawn to Bethlehem.
Of all the announcements ever made from God to man, surely the proclamation of the angels in Luke 2:14 is one of the most wonderful: “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace among those with whom He is pleased!” If you were to ask people to forget about material things for a moment and ask instead what one thing they wanted more of in their lives, peace would be right up there with things like joy and happiness.
1 Chronicles begins by telling the story of how the 12 tribes of Israel settled in the Promised Land, and 4:40 says, “They found rich, good pasture, and the land was very broad, quiet, and peaceful.” Who doesn’t want more peace and quiet in their lives?
Unfortunately though, that is not how the world works. As much as we may long for peace, we will never quite reach the point where we can honestly say there is peace on earth and goodwill to all men.
Jesus said in Matthew 24:6, “You will hear of wars and rumours of wars.” In fact, just 70 years after the amazing proclamation of the angels, the Roman army burned the city of Jerusalem to the ground, including the temple where generations of Jews had worshipped.
We need to face facts: It is patently obvious that we cannot expect peace to reign throughout the world and all men to be filled with goodwill. Our track record over thousands of years proves that we are simply incapable of living at true peace with one another.
So then what did the angels mean that night? They clearly spoke about peace on earth – not eternal peace in Heaven, so what were they proclaiming?
The key is in the second part of their promise: “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace among those with whom He is pleased!”
JB Phillips, in his translation puts it this way: “Glory to God in the highest Heaven! Peace upon earth among men of goodwill!” Luke 2:14 is a promise of God’s peace, but only to those who have His good will - only to those who do His will. What this means is that peace on earth is a possibility, but only if people on earth do the will of God. In Leviticus 26 God spoke to Moses: “If you follow my decrees and are careful to obey my commands, I will grant peace in the land, and you will lie down and no one will make you afraid.”
Just before Jesus went to the cross He said to His disciples, “Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.” (John 14:27)
Yes, we long to see the absence of war and social struggles. Who doesn’t want this world-wide pandemic to come to an end? But who knows what the next great challenge will be? I said with my tongue firmly in my cheek last week that I hope in a few years time we don’t look back on 2020 with fondness. It got a few nervous giggles, but who knows what the future holds? This is why we put our hope in Jesus Christ, and not in man.
So what is this peace the angels were talking about that night, and how do we find it? The answer is the peace that Jesus brings us as He reconciles us to the Father.
As Christians, one of our greatest desires for this life should be peace with God. Psalm 34:14 says, “Turn from evil and do good, seek peace and pursue it.”
1. Firstly, we can have peace with God.
The moment mankind rejected God and His will for our lives, we became His enemies. An enemy cannot by its very definition live at peace with someone he is at war with. God’s amazing plan of salvation though, deals with this fundamental problem we have as His enemies. Romans 5:1 puts it best: “Since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.”
So peace with God is possible, but how do we find this peace? Again, by submitting to the will of God as the Gospel transforms us. Jesus spells it out for us in Matthew 7:21, “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven.”
Without God, there is no real peace. At this time of year even strangers will wish you a Merry Christmas and a Happy and Peaceful New Year, but unless you have peace with God as your foundation, you cannot really experience peace with others and goodwill towards each other.
Any peace we have within ourselves or with others is totally dependant upon whether we are at peace with God first. There are many deluded people out there who are trying to be peacemakers in the world, but they are trying to do it without God, and there are many who think they have peace with God, but they are deceived because they are not doing His will.
So if we really want to experience peace, we need to start with God. Once we submit ourselves to His will for our lives, we will begin to find His peace, which in turn enables us to start finding…
2. Peace within ourselves.
The logical result of peace with God is peace within self. In Psalm 122:7-8 David writes, “Peace be within your walls and security within your towers! For my brothers and companions’ sake I will say, ‘Peace be within you!’”
One of the greatest obstacles in our interpersonal relationships is a lack of inner peace. I’m not talking about new agey stuff here, but rather a contentment we should have within ourselves, knowing that we are at peace with God, in spite of the turbulence we see all around us each day.
Are you at peace with your past because you know that Jesus died for your past sins, or are you still haunted by the things you have done? Have you ever said that you find it hard to forgive yourself?
Until such time as you do, you will struggle to find true peace. You need to know this: Jesus died for you. His blood paid the price of your sin, and because of the high price He paid for you, you are of infinite value to God.
In Psalm 17:8 David prays, “Keep me as the apple of your eye; hide me in the shadow of your wings.” If you are struggling to find inner peace, then make that your prayer too.
When we learn to completely trust God enough to put our lives into His hands, trusting that He will keep His promises to us when we seek to obey His will, He will give us true peace.
Again, this is a supernatural peace, and it is not dependent on outward circumstances, but on being at peace with God through Jesus Christ. As Christians, when are souls are rooted in the peace of God, we find we are better equipped to deal with the storms of life. The world can never give us this kind of peace. Jesus said in John 16:33, “I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.”
3. Once we have inner peace, we are then able to live at peace with one another.
Isaiah 2:4 says that a time is coming when “men will beat their swords into ploughshares and their spears into pruning hooks. Nation will not take up sword against nation, nor will they train for war anymore.” Now of course, as we’ve seen, this does not refer to peace on earth in the sense that wars will cease, but rather it is a prophecy about the Kingdom of God coming on earth. We pray for this each time we pray the Lord’s Prayer. This peace is something that is brought about by the people of God as He changes our hearts. We are called to be peacemakers on earth.
How different would the world be if the Church took seriously our call to be instruments of God’s peace on earth? What if we obeyed God’s command to us in Hebrews 12:14 – “Make every effort to live in peace with everyone and to be holy.” Maybe the peace the angels proclaimed to those shepherds all those years ago wouldn’t be such a pipe dream after all…
Through Jesus, the Prince of Peace, and because of Him, we should be striving for peace in our homes – with those nearest and dearest to us.
Someone once said that “the peace of God not only passes all understanding, but it also passes all misunderstanding.”
And of course, we should be striving for peace in the Church. The one institution on earth that should be a beacon and a standard of peace for the whole world is sadly overrun by everything but peace at times.
But once we’re able to seek peace in our homes and the Church, we are able to start taking the message of peace into the world. Lost sinners will sit up and take note of the Gospel message when they see the fruit of the Spirit at work in the lives of those who bear His name: Christians.
So as we begin this new year, we all wish for peace on earth and goodwill to all men. And it really isn’t as hard to find as we thought – but it does need to be begin by being at peace with the God of peace, and this is only possible through Jesus Christ.
In Numbers 6 is the Aaronic blessing, and this is my prayer for each of us this year: “The Lord bless you and keep you; the Lord make His face to shine upon you and be gracious to you; the Lord lift up His countenance upon you and give you peace.”