Luke 2:13-15 - A heavenly host

2:13,14

A great company of the heavenly host appeared. We are not told exactly what the heavenly host is, though in Revelation we perhaps get a glimpse of what it is. Anyway, the praise of God that occurs in heaven has come to earth. In Revelation 21:3 we read that the dwelling of God is with man. In Christ God came to dwell with man, and this brings with it the praise of God. At Christ’s first coming He came to deal with the problem of sin, to bring us back to Himself. At the second coming He will come in all His glory. We are in the inbetween time. Our sin has been paid for on the cross, and Christ is still calling people back to Himself, and we who already believe are experiencing the continuing work of sanctification. But we can also get a glimpse of the heavenly praise.

The “hymn” (albeit rather short) is called Gloria in Excelsis Deo, again after the Latin. The letters in the New Testament usually start with “grace and peace”. Here peace is part of the exultation. Knowing God and peace go together.

2:15

After the angels had left (implying that the heavenly host consisted of angels) and returned to heaven, the shepherds set off to Bethlehem. They had just witnessed an amazing sight, and one that was at first terrifying. However, they did not dwell on the experience for its own sake, but instead acted on the words of the angel and went to Bethlehem. They accepted the words as the word of the Lord and obeyed it. In our lives we may have times of special experiences of the presence of God. This is good, but we need to appreciate these times in the proper way. We are not to dwell on them nostalgically, but are to act on the Word of God.