Of Course the Angels Were Present

Of Course the Angels Were Present

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Of course the angels were present at the birth of Jesus. Without their intervention, Mary's plight would have been painfully lonely, even humiliating. Giving birth for the first time is difficult enough for any young woman, but Mary was far from home, sequestered in a shabby stable, attended not by the customary cluster of excited, experienced female relatives, but only by her well-meaning husband and the curious animals in the adjoining stalls. There was no cute clothing with which to outfit her newborn, and no shiny bassinet in which to place him - only swaddling clothes and a rough stone manger.

So, when the angels gave detailed instructions to the shepherds, directing them to the stable in Bethlehem, they were providing God's gracious reassurance to this young mother. After all, when the heavenly messengers invited these startled nativity guests, it ensured there would be someone present to "ohh" and "ahh" over Mary's little lamb. The divinely prompted appearance of these shepherds at the side of her tiny son's makeshift cradle must have filled her heart with wonder at God's special care for His Son, her son. We know it made a deep and lasting impression on her, for the gospel story tells us Mary "treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart" (Luke 2:19).

Of course the angels were present at the birth of Jesus. After all, like any new father bursting with pride, God wanted to let the world know of this new arrival. All parents are filled with anticipation as they imagine the potential of their little bundle of joy, but the message of the angel made it clear this was indeed no ordinary child: "I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is Christ the Lord" (Luke 2:10-11).

Jesus was not just a child with promise - he was the child of God's promise! Centuries before Isaiah had been led to predict, "The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and they will call him "Immanuel" " which means, "God with us" (Isaiah 7:14, Matthew 1:23). The angels in heaven had been intensely interested in learning how God's plan of salvation for humans would unfold (1 Peter 1:12). Now that they were finally witnessing the fulfillment of the promise of the ages, it is no wonder that "great company of the heavenly host" appeared to praise God and proclaim, "Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace to men on whom his favor rest" (Luke 2:13-14)!

Of course the angels were present at the birth of Jesus. After all, they were only being true to their nature. The word "angel" means "messenger", and having delivered the original messages of the birth of Jesus, first to Mary (Luke 1:26f.), and then to Joseph (Matthew 1:20f.), it was only fitting that they return nine months later to announce his safe arrival.

Of course the angels were present at the birth of Jesus. How could they have been absent? After all, these celestial servants attended so many of the other major episodes in the life of Christ. It was an angel who warned Joseph to take the threatened child to safety (Matthew 2:19); angels ministered to Jesus after his confrontation with Satan (Matthew 4:11); a messenger from God strengthened him in the Garden of Gethsemane on the night before his death (Luke 22:43); two of them announced his resurrection on that glorious Sunday morning (John 20:12); and angels spoke the final word after his ascension into heaven (Acts 1:10). And at his second coming Jesus will be accompanied by "powerful angels"(2 Thessalonians 1:7).

In fact, the one time the angels could not attend the Lord, the one event where they were conspicuous by their absence, was at his death. Oh, they would have been there, had Jesus but spoken the word: in fact, more than thirty-six thousand angels were straining at the bit, ready to answer their Master's command (Matthew 26:53). But in the end, Jesus never summoned their help. Jesus knew no angel could accompany him to the Cross - the one place they could not be present was at Golgotha - that was a journey that only Jesus could take for us (Hebrews 2:5-9).

-Dan Williams
College Avenue Church of Christ
El Dorado, Arkansas

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