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(Luk_2:15-20. The Gospel for the Day after Christmas.)
Luk_2:14. Glory to God in the highest.—The song of the angels may be divided into three parts, the last of which contains the fundamental idea, which evokes the praise of the two preceding strophes. God’s good-will toward men: this is the matter, the text, the motive of their song. The reading, ἐí ἀíèñþðïéò åὐäïêßáò , followed by the Vulgate and received by Lachmann, is indeed supported by considerable weight of external testimony, but presents the internal difficulty of introducing a weak repetition in this short doxology: ἐðὶ ãῆò and ἐíἀíèñ . being merely equivalents. This difficulty can only be obviated by understanding åἰñÞíç in its literal sense of peace, altering the punctuation, and reading as the first member of the sentence, äüîá ἐíὑøßóôïéò Èåῷ êáὶ ὲðὶ ãῆò , and as the second, åἰñÞíçἐí ἀíèñþðïéò åὐäïêßáò . Yet even then, this last expression, in the sense of men who are the objects of the divine good-will, or of those who are themselves men of good-will (homines bonœ voluntatis), is harsh and unexampled in New Testament phraseology. It is far more suitable to consider the divine åὐäïêßá ἐíἀíèñ ., so gloriously manifested in sending His Son, as the theme of the song. It is because of this good-will that he receives äüîá ἐí ὑøßóôïéò in heaven, Mat_21:9; and ἐðὶ ãῆò ἐéñÞíç , i.e., praise and honor. The parallelism of the members requires this explanation, and a comparison with Luk_19:38 favors it. The connection of ideas, then, stands thus: the good-will of God towards man is the subject of His glorification, both in heaven and earth. The usual explanation of peace as the cessation of a state of enmity through the birth of Messiah, the Prince of Peace, Isa_9:5, must in this case be given up. The åἰñÞíç appears in this song, not as a benefit vouchsafed to man, but as an homage offered to God.
Good-will.—The word expresses not only that God shows unmerited favor to men, but that they are also objects of complacency to Him. The same fact is expressed by Christ, Mat_3:17; Mat_12:18; Mat_17:5. The solution of the mystery, how a holy God can feel complacency towards sinful man, lies in the fact, that He does not look at him as he is in himself, but as he is in Christ, who is the Head of a renewed and glorified humanity.
[I beg leave to differ from the esteemed author in the interpretation of the Gloria in excelsis, especially for the reason that åἰñÞíç never means praise or honor, but always peace, and is so uniformly translated in the English Version in the 80 or more passages where it occurs in the N. T. (except Act_9:31, where it is rendered rest, and Act_24:2, where it is translated quietness). See Bruder’s Greek Concordance. If we retain the reading åὐäïêßá , I prefer, as coming nearest the interpretation of Dr. v. Oosterzee, that of Bengel: “Gloria in excelsissimis Deo (sit), et in terra pax (sit)! cur? quoniam in hominibus beneplacitum (est).” In other words, God is praised in heaven, and peace is proclaimed on earth, because He has shown His good-will to men by sending the Messiah, who is the Prince of peace (Isa_9:5) and has reconciled heaven and earth, God and man. Or, according to the more usual and natural interpretation, the third clause is taken as an amplification simply of the second, forming a Hebrew parallelism. Hence the absence of êáὶ after åἰñÞíç . This will undoubtedly remain the meaning of the Gloria in excelsis for the common reader of the authorized Protestant Versions of the Bible which read åὐäïêßá in the nominative.—But as I have shown above in the Critical Notes, the weight of external testimony is strongly in favor of the reading åὐäïêßáò , in the genitive, so that the angelic hymn consists of two, not of three, clauses: Äüîá ἐí ὑøßóôïéò Èåῷ — êáὶ ἐðὶãῆò åἰñÞíç ἐí ἀíèñþðïéò åὐäïêßáò ,—the last three words qualifying and explaining ἐðὶ ãῆò . There is a threefold correspondence: (1) between äüîá and åἰñÞíç ; (2) between ἐí ὑøßóôïéò or ἐí ïὐñáíïῖò and ἐðὶ ãῆò ; and (3) between Èåῷ and ἐí ἀíèñþðïéò åὐäïêßáò . (Cp. Meyer and Bleek.) The sense is: Glory be to God among the angels in heaven for sending the Messiah,—and peace or salvation on earth among men of His good pleasure (unter Menschen des göttlichen Wohlgefallens), i.e., among God’s chosen people in whom He is well pleased. Åὐäïêßá ( ãָöåֹæ ) is, in any case, not the good-will of men toward God or toward each other (as the Vulgate and the Roman Catholic Versions have it: hominibus bonœ voluntatis, Rheims Version: men of good-will), so as to limit the peace to those men who are disposed to accept the Messiah and to be saved; but it means here (as in all other cases but one) the good-will or the gracious pleasure of God toward men, by which He reconciles the world to Himself in Christ (2Co_5:19). Comp. Mat_11:26 ( ïὕôùò ἐãÝíåôï åὐäïêßá ἔìðñïóèÝí óïõ ); Luk_10:21; Eph_1:5 ( êáôὰ ôὴí åὐäïêßáí ôïῦ èåëÞìáôïò áὐôïῦ ); Eph_1:9; Php_2:13 ( ὁ Èåὸò … ἐíåñãῶí … ὑðὲñ ôῆò åὐäïêßáò ); 2Th_1:11. In the same sense the verb is used Mat_3:17 : “This is My beloved Son in whom I am well pleased, ἐí ᾧåὐäüêçóá ; Luk_17:5. For the unusual genitive we may compare the analogous phrases: óêåῦïò ἐêëïãῆò , Act_9:15, and ὁ õἱὸò ôῆò ἀãáðῆò áὐôïῦ , Col_1:13.
I will only add that this angelic song is the keynote of the famous Gloria in excelsis which was used as a morning hymn in the Greek Church as early as the second or third century, and thence passed into the Latin, Anglican, and other Churches, as a truly catholic, classical, and undying form of devotion, sounding from age to age and generation to generation. Sacred poetry was born with Christianity, and the poetry of the Church is the echo and response to the poetry and music of angels in heaven. But the worship of the Church triumphant in heaven, like this song of the angels, will consist only of praise and thanksgiving, without any petitions and supplications, since all wants will then be supplied and all sin and misery swallowed up in perfect holiness and blessedness. Thus the glorious end of Christian poetry and worship is here anticipated in its beginning and first manifestation.—P. S.]
Luk_2:15. Let us now go.—Not the language of doubt, which can scarcely believe, but of obedience desiring to receive, as soon as possible, assurance and strength, in the way of God’s appointing.
Luk_2:16. And found Mary and Joseph, and the babe.—Here, as usual in the history of the Nativity, the name of Mary comes before that of her husband. Natural as it was that they should not find the child without His parents, yet this meeting was specially adapted to give most light to the shepherds concerning the mysterious occurrence. The Evangelist leaves it to our imagination to conceive the joy with which this sight would fill the hearts of the simple shepherds, and what strength the faith of Mary and Joseph must have drawn from their unexpected and wonderful visit.
Luk_2:17. They made known abroad the saying that was told them, äéåãíþñéóáí .—The äéÜ obliges us to believe that they spoke to others besides Joseph and Mary concerning the appearing of the angels. Probably by daybreak there might have been many persons in the neighborhood of the öÜôíç . Though the influence of the shepherds was too little for their words to find much echo beyond their immediate circle; yet they were the first evangelists pro modulo suo among men.
Luk_2:18. And all that heard it wondered.—It is a matter of rejoicing, that the good news left no one who heard it entirely unmoved. The contrast, however, between these first hearers (Luk_2:18) and Mary (Luk_2:19), forces upon us the conclusion, that their wonder was less deep and less salutary than her silent pondering.
Luk_2:19. But Mary.—Mary appears here, as well as in Luk_1:29; Luk_2:51, richly adorned with that incorruptible ornament which an apostle describes (1Pe_3:4) as the highest adorning of woman. Heart, mind, and memory are here all combined in the service of faith.
Luk_2:20. And the shepherds returned.—A beautiful example of their pious fidelity in their vocation. Their extraordinary experience does not withdraw them from their daily and ordinary duties, but enables them to perform them with increased gladness of heart. They probably fell asleep, before the beginning of our Lord’s public ministry, with the recollection of this night in their hearts, and a frame of mind like that of the aged Simeon. Their names, unknown on earth, are written in heaven, and their experience is the best example of the first beatitude. Mat_5:3. Undoubtedly, their early and simple testimony to the new-born Saviour was not entirely without fruit; though they might soon have been convinced that such a messsage, brought to them from heaven, was not calculated for the ears of every one, nor intended to be proclaimed upon the house-tops.
2. Although St. Luke’s declaration (Luk_1:3), that he had “perfect understanding of all things from the very first,” must be applied to every part of the history of the Nativity; yet the historic credibility of the angels’ song is best demonstrated when it is considered in connection with the personal dignity of the Redeemer. A just estimate of the whole is the best preparation for appreciating isolated facts, in the history of our Lord’s manifestation in the flesh. The divine decorum manifested in the early history will be evident to those only, who honor and understand the great facts of Christ’s public life. The supernatural occurrences with which the history opens, can offend those alone who forget the exalted nature of its progress, and the miraculous splendor of its conclusion. (For remarks on the Gloria in excelsis, see the Dissert. theol. de hymno angelico by Z. B. Muntendam, Amsterdam, 1849.)
3. He who acknowledges in Jesus of Nazareth the Christ, the Lord, the Son of the living God, will find no difficulty in the miracles attending His entrance into the world. Four things are here especially in unison with the rank of the King, and the spiritual nature of His kingdom:—Angels celebrate the birth of Jesus; angels celebrate the birth of Jesus on earth; angels celebrate the birth of Jesus in the quiet night; angels celebrate the birth of Jesus in the presence of poor shepherds. The first denotes the exalted dignity of His person; the second, the purpose of His coming (Col_1:20); the third, the hidden nature of His glory to the eye of sense; the fourth, the subjects to be admitted into His kingdom. There is something so unspeakably great and glorious in this union of earthly obscurity with heavenly splendor, of angels with shepherds, of the form of a servant with the majesty of a king, that the well-known saying, “ce n’ est pas ainsi qu’ on invente,” can never be better applied than to the whole narrative.
[Rousseau, in the famous Confession of the Savoyard Vicar in his Emile, says against the theory of poetic fiction that the poet (of the gospel history) would be greater than the hero; and Theodore Parker, though himself addicted to this false system, inconsistently, yet truly and forcibly remarks, that “it takes a Jesus to forge a Jesus.” This is a strong argument against the mythical hypothesis of Strauss, and the legendary hypothesis of Renan. By denying the miracle of the historical Jesus of the gospel, they leave us the greater miracle of the Jesus of fiction.—P. S.]
4. It will conduce to our due estimation of the work of redemption, to consider the point of view from which the angels contemplate it. These holy spirits, who desire to look into the depths of these mysteries (1Pe_1:12), who admire the manifold wisdom of God in His dealings with His church (Eph_3:10), and rejoice even over one sinner that repenteth (Luk_15:10), held but one such festival as that they celebrated in the night of the Nativity. It is no marvel, since by the birth of Jesus sinners are not only reconciled with God and with each other, but things in heaven and on earth are also gathered together in one (Eph_1:10). To the question, why the Logos should receive fallen men, and not fallen angels, they know but one answer: åὐäïêßá !
5. The excellent way in which the wonders of the holy night have been glorified by art, deserves special admiration. We need but call to mind the church hymn of Cölius Sedulius (about a. d. 405); A solis ortus cardine; the Quid est quod arctum circulum of Prudentius; the Jesu redemtor omnium of an unknown author; the Agnoscet omne sœculum of Fortunatus, not to refer to later ones. Among painters, John Angelicus da Fiesole has admirably represented the Annunciation; Correggio the suggestive image of the night of the Nativity; Raphael the ideal conception of the Madonna with the holy child. In the representation of the entire holy family the Italian school is distinguished above all others. [Roman Catholic art glorifies too much the Madonna in the Divine Child and reflects the doctrinal error of Mariolatry; Protestant art glorifies the Divine Son above His earthly mother and every other creature. The perfection of art will be the perfection of worship, whose only proper object is the triune God.—P. S.]
Starke:—Nova Bibl. Tub.: Jesus honored in heaven, however much He was despised on earth.—Majus:—In Christ heaven and earth, God, men and angels, are reconciled.—Bibl. Wurt.:—As soon as we hear of Christ, we should run to find him.—We should excite one another to exercises of piety.—We must seek Christ, not according to our own notions, wit, or reason, but according to the word of God.—Nova Bibl. Tub.:—They who wonder at the mysteries of God, though they believe not yet, are not far from faith.—Be not a forgetful hearer, but a doer of the word.—Luther:—It is praiseworthy to imitate the angelic virtues (Luk_2:13-20).
Arndt:—True celebration of Christmas, after the pattern of the shepherds: 1. Their going; 2. their seeing; 3. their spreading abroad the saying; 4. their return to their avocations.
Heubner:—A childlike disposition is not disturbed by the meanness of outward appearances.
Luk_2:19 : St. Luke here gives us a hint of one of his sources of information.—What effects should the announcement of the birth of Jesus produce in us? 1. Desires after Jesus, a longing to know Him by our own experience; 2. zeal in testifying for Jesus, for the encouragement of others; 3. renewed activity in duty, and constant glorifying of God by a holy walk and conversation.
Kitten:—The festival of the Nativity, a festival for both heaven and earth: 1. For heaven; for it was, (a) prepared in heaven, (b) suited for heaven, (c) celebrated in heaven. 2. For earth; for it is the festival which commemorates, (a) our illumination, (b) our elevation to the rank of God’s children, (c) our transformation into heirs of glory.
Florey:—Our heart, the birth place of the Lord:
1. Hidden from the world; 2. favored by the Lord; 3. blessed within.
Herberger:—Christmas day, 1. a day of miracle; 2. a day of honor; 3. a day of grace.
Höfer:—In Christ we receive, 1. the love of heaven; 2. the light of heaven; 3. the peace of heaven.
Ahlfeld:—The shepherds as patterns for imitation: 1. They seek the child in the stable and the manger; 2. they spread the gospel message everywhere; 3. they praise God with thankful joy.
Harless:—The faith of the shepherds, true faith. 1. Its foundation—(a) God’s word, (b) God’s deed; 2. its properties—(a) emotion of heart, (b) activity of life; 3. its aim—(a) the spreading of the kingdom of God upon earth, (b) the glory of God.
Brandt:—Joy in the Saviour Isaiah , 1. the greatest, 2. the noblest, 3. the most active joy.
Kraushold:—A true Christmas blessing consists in our becoming, 1. more desirous of salvation, 2. firmer in faith, 3. more abundant in testimony, 4. more joyful in praise.
Fuchs:—The Christian’s celebration of Christmas: 1. His visit to his Saviour (Luk_2:15-16); 2. his sojourn with his Saviour (Luk_2:18-19); 3. his return from his Saviour (Luk_2:17; Luk_2:20).
[“With malice toward no one, with charity for all.” This truly Christian motto of President Lincoln, in his second inaugural address, spoken in the midst of a fearful civil war, March 4, 1865, is an earthly echo of the Divine åὐäïêßá .—P. S.]
Footnotes:
Luk_2:14.—Here we meet with one of the most important differences of reading which materially affects the sense. Dr. van Oosterzee follows the Received Text and defends it in the Exegetical Notes. I shall supply here the necessary critical information. The text. rec., which reads åὐäïêßá , and puts a comma after åἰñÞíç , is supported by some later uncial MSS., E., G., H., K., L., M., P. (but not by B., as was generally stated before Mai’s edition, even by Lachmann, Tischendorf, ed. 7, and Bleek), also by most of the Greek fathers, as Origen (?), Eusebius, Athanasius, Epiphanius, Greg. Naz., Chrysostom, Cyr. Alex., Const. Apost. (the Gloria in excelsis), and most of the interpreters. The Authorized English Version, Luther, and most of the Protestant Versions follow the text. rec. On the other hand, åὐäïêßáò (the genitive depending on ἀíèñþðïéò and connected in one sentence with ἐðé ãῆò åἰñÞíç ) is the reading of the oldest and weightiest uncial MSS., Cod. Sinait. (as edited by Tischendorf), Cod. Alex, or A., Cod. Vatic. or B. (as edited both by Angelo Mai, who derives åὐäïêßáò a prima manu, and by Buttmann), Cod. Bezæ or D. (Cod. C. or Ephræmi Syri has a lacuna in Luk_2:6-41, and can be quoted on neither side), the Itala and Vulgata (hominibus bonæ voluntatis, to which Wiclif and all the Roman Catholic Versions conform), Irenæus, the Latin fathers, as Ambrose, Hieronymus, Augustine, and it was approved by Beza, Bengel (though not in his Gnomon), Mill, R. Simon, Hammond, and adopted in the text by Lachmann, Tischendorf (ed. 7), Tregelles (Alford is doubtful); among modern commentators by Olshausen, Meyer (who translates: unter Menschen, welche wohlgefallen), and Ewald (unter Menschen von Huld). The internal evidence also is rather in favor of åὐäïêßáò . For it is easier to suppose that a transcriber changed the genitive into the nominative, to make it correspond with äüîá and åἰñÞíç , than that he changed the nominative into the unusual phrase ἄíèñùðïé åὐäïêßáò . Tischendorf says in loc. (ed. 7 critica major): “Incredibile est åὐäïêßáò a correctore profectum esse, åὐäïêßá vero facile se offerebat. Præterea lectio a nobis recepta ab ipso sensu imprimis commendatur; aptissime enim hymnus iste duobus membris absolvitur, quorum alterum verbis äüîá , usque Èåῷ , alterum verbis êáὶ ἐðß usque åὐäïêßáò continetur.” But I shall have more to say on the interpretation of the passage in the Exegetical Notes below.
Luk_2:15.—The reading êáὶ ïἱ ἄíèñùðïé before ïἱ ðïéìÝíåò is supported by A., D., E., etc., adopted by Tischendorf, and Alford, also by de Wette, Meyer, and van Oosterzee (who defends it as forming a beautiful antithesis to ἄããåëïé ); but it is omitted by Codd. Sin. and Vat., the Latin Vulgate, Eusebius, Augustine, etc., and is included in brackets by Lachmann and Tregelles.
Luk_2:20.— ὙðÝóôñåøáí is the proper reading, sustained by Cod. Sin., etc., and adopted in the modern critical editions against ἐ ðÝóôñåøáí of the Elzevir text.—P. S.]