Read Luke 2:9–11
“DO NOT BE AFRAID.” Each time an angel appears in Luke’s nativity story, they say these words. Mary hears them from Gabriel during the Annunciation; Gabriel speaks them to Zechariah, too, when he appears in the temple (Luke 1:13, 30). Now, in the breaking dawn of Christmas, we hear them a third time as humble shepherds witness an inbreaking of supernatural wonder in the unlikeliest of places.
Angels represent God’s power and glory whenever they appear in the biblical narrative. Their holiness is otherworldly to us; they may be the closest thing in the Bible to aliens. Their appearance in the world initiates an overlapping of heavenly reality with earthly life so powerful and extraordinary that it causes those who see it to fall on their faces in awe and fear. Luke 2 details the terror that the shepherds felt as “the glory of the Lord shone around them” (v. 9). They were utterly overwhelmed by the sight.
It seems odd that heavenly beings, messengers of the Lord in all their extraordinary glory, would rush to comfort those who are witnessing this power. Yet here, that is exactly what the angel does. “Do not be afraid,” he tells them, and goes on to share the news of “great joy for all the people:” the Messiah has been born (vv. 9–10).
That God’s heavenly messengers speak words of reassurance, as they often do throughout their biblical appearances, points to the character of God and to the way the supernatural world is ordered under him. In this moment in Luke 2, the angel’s majestic glory points not to himself, but to the greater glory of the incarnate God; his words of consolation point to the Savior who, at that moment, had finally arrived to bring comfort to a hurting world. The moment of announcement to the shepherds juxtaposes the terrifying glory of the Lord with his loving purposes: using his power not to harm, but to comfort; not to scare, but to strike with wonder; altogether pointing to Jesus, in whom these seemingly diametric aspects of God’s character are perfectly united.
As the shepherds heard the angel’s words of comfort and joy, awestruck—perhaps doing their best to comfort their frightened sheep—they witnessed only a sliver of the full glory of the Good Shepherd, the Great Comforter, the Sacrificial Lamb whose blood would redeem the world.
Julia Bartel is a recent graduate of the University of St Andrews’ Institute for Theology, Imagination, and the Arts. She lives in Scotland.
This article is part of A Time for Wonder, a 4-week devotional to help individuals, small groups, and families journey through the 2024 Advent season. Learn more about this special issue that can be used Advent, or any time of year at http://orderct.com/advent.
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