Luke 2 contains the Biblical narrative of the birth of Christ which is most commonly read at Christmas. At some point this Christmas, Christians would do well to re-read this passage and meditate on its meaning. A full exegesis of those fifty two verses would be too long for a blog post, however we can begin to examine one verse in particular, in this short space.
Luke 2:14 (ESV) - "Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace among those with whom he is pleased!"
This verse is about the vertical relationship between God and man. Not the horizontal relationship between men as it is often misquoted as "peace on earth, goodwill towards men".
The angels are declaring the birth of a Savior, born so God can reconcile men to himself. The peace is among those that God is pleased with. Those that have been reconciled to Him through their acceptance of His Son as Lord and Savior in their lives.
By all means, have peace among your fellow men. However, please insure that you are among those with whom God is pleased. If you have not asked Christ into your life as Lord and Savior, please consider doing so this Christmas. It will be a gift you accept with eternal significance.
Merry Christmas!
Men don't reconcile themselves to God. God reconciles men to Himself. God saves. We simply accept, and that faith comes from God as well (Ephesians 2:8). I'm sure it's what you meant, but a very uncomfortable wording.
ReplyDeleteOtherwise, excellent post. Another common goof (besides peace among men) is Like 1:28. It's sometimes translated as Mary full of grace. Which sounds like Mary is a fountain of grace. Entirely wrong. All of the English translations got it right - that Mary had received God's favor and blessing - she's not the source of favor and blessing.
The original ordering was a literary device to contrast the vertical vs. horizontal relationships. You are correct both in your statement and my original intent. To avoid any ambiguity, the text is now reworded. Thanks for the comment.
ReplyDelete