“13 And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying: 14 “Glory to God in the highest, And on earth peace, goodwill toward men!”
Luke 2:13-14 NKJV
This is probably the most misunderstood part of the Christmas message, and yet it is the most powerful! The multitude of angels (anything from 5,000 to 20,000 or more angels) were singing and praising God, declaring the good news, saying, on earth peace, goodwill toward men. Many people have taken this verse to mean that Jesus came to bring peace on earth – but that isn’t true. Some Bible translations even convey this idea by mistranslating this to say peace on earth and goodwill toward men. But think about it: if Jesus’ mission was to bring peace on earth, He certainly failed! It’s more than 2000 years later and we’ve never experienced peace on earth. Jesus Himself said that He didn’t come to bring peace on earth but a sword (Matthew 10:34). The sword spoken of here is talking about the division that the gospel causes because some people choose to accept it and others choose to reject it.
Jesus is the Prince of Peace (Isaiah 9:6) which means that He is the ruler or steward of peace. When we accept Him in our lives and allow Him to rule in our hearts, we can experience perfect peace. Experiencing this peace inside ourselves enables us to extend this peace towards others – but that is not what the angels were declaring…
