This Advent season, I have been re-reading the accounts of the very first Christmas, recorded in the Gospels. Many aspects of the story are familiar. But one thing that I hadn’t really noticed before is the important role played by angels.
Have you ever noticed how many angels are involved in the Christmas story?
First there’s Zechariah, who receives a visit from the angel Gabriel, giving him the shock of his life by telling him that his wife, Elizabeth, is miraculously pregnant. Despite her old age and barren womb, she is going to have a son, and they are to call him John. (Luke 1: 13-19)
Then there’s Mary, a teenage Jewish virgin, betrothed to be married to Joseph. She is visited by the same angel, Gabriel, who tells her that she is highly favoured and is going to give birth to a son. She is to name him Jesus, because he will be the long-awaited Messiah, the Saviour of the World. (Luke 1: 26-32)
Meanwhile, her fiancé Joseph has a dream, one of several dreams that feature in the Christmas story. In this particular dream, an angel appears to him, telling him the news of Mary’s virgin birth. As a result, he doesn’t break off his engagement to Mary, but stays loyal and goes on to marry her. (Matthew 1:20)
Then there’s a group of shepherds who are keeping watch over their sheep one night, when an angel appears to tell them the good news of the birth of Jesus. (Luke 2:10). This angel is quickly joined by a heavenly host, believed to be an army of angels, who praise and worship God, in full view and earshot of the shepherds. (Luke 2:13) “Glory to God in the highest heaven”, they declare, “and peace on earth to those on whom his favour rests”. (Luke 2:14)
That’s a lot of angels, isn’t it?
What’s interesting is that they all arrive unannounced – and the reaction of those they visit is to feel overwhelmed with fear. (There’s a reason why these, and almost all the accounts of angelic visitations in the Bible, start with the angel saying: “Do not be afraid!”) Yet the things they foretell come to pass; the instructions they give are obeyed.
But why angels? Why not another means?
Why did God send so many angels into the Christmas story?
Angels appear throughout the Scriptures. They are spiritual beings, created by God to do his work. (Psalm 148:2-5) They are sent to serve believers, as God’s messengers. (Hebrews 1:14) They are sent to deliver news, give warnings, share prophetic messages, and perform an array of acts from protection to provision.
In the Christmas story, the presence of the angels is powerful and pivotal because God wants to make it clear that Jesus’ conception and birth are utterly unique, unlike any other. He is conveying a message that is of world-changing magnitude. A miracle is occurring at the very point when Jesus takes on human form as a baby boy.
The angels simply serve to confirm the significance of what is happening.
As C. S. Lewis writes in his book Miracles: “The central miracle asserted by Christians is the Incarnation – that God became man. Every other miracle prepares for this, or exhibits this, or results from this.”
If Jesus’ birth – the Incarnation – is the central miracle of Christianity, the hinge of human history, the pivot around which everything shifts, is it any wonder that God chose angels to announce it?
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If you have read my book, “Light through the Cracks: How God Breaks In When Life Turns Tough“, then you will know that I have heard angels singing, worshipping God around a bed in an Intensive Care Unit. And if you are familiar with my blog, then you will know that an angel has come to my rescue on at least one occasion.
What about you? Have you ever seen, heard, or been ministered to by an angel? If so, what was the context? How did you feel? What did you think? How did you respond?
Perhaps you haven’t had a first-hand encounter with an angel. If so, what do you imagine it would be like? Whose angelic visitation do you most identify with – Zechariah, Mary, Joseph or the shepherds?
As ever, constructive comments are welcome below.
Please note: This is my ‘thought for the month’ reflection for December. (You can find all my ‘thought for the month’ reflections here.)
Photo by Laura Adai via Unsplash
