Luke 2
8 And in the same region there were shepherds out in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night. 9 And an angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were filled with great fear. 10 And the angel said to them, “Fear not, for behold, I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. 11 For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. 12 And this will be a sign for you: you will find a baby wrapped in swaddling cloths and lying in a manger.” 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 among those with whom he is pleased!”
I want to talk about something that has bothered me for fifty years. I am actually fifty years old, but I have been listening to the Christmas story since I was a baby and I have no doubt that even my little baby self was bothered by this! I am talking about the song that the angels sing to the shepherds out in their field, keeping watch over their flock by night. To clarify, I am not bothered by the song. I love the song! I am bothered by a question about the song.
First, let us clear up one matter: Yes, I am fully aware that that the angels are not technically depicted as singing these words. But there is reason to think that if they were not singing the words they were likely chanting the words in unison. There is a kind of military overtone to this “multitude of the heavenly host.” Regardless, the words are not casually voiced in a haphazard manner. There is intentionality to this and there is no reason not to envision it as a choir singing good news!
So what is my problem? After all, the song is only two lines:
Glory to God in the highest
and on earth peace among those with whom he is pleased!
My problem is the second line and, specifically, how the ending of the second line should be read. My problem, to put it simply, is that, throughout my life, I have detected and heard and noted various shifts in the ways that various translations present the second line and in the various ways that preachers preach on it. And these shifts potentially change the meaning of the song!
The confusion is around two Greek words that rest at the end of the second line:
- anthrōpos (men)
- eudokia (good will/favor)
So:
Glory to God in the highest
and on earth peace among those (anthrōpos) with whom he is pleased (eudokia)!
In short, nobody quite seems to know what the relationship between “men” (or “those” or “people”) and “good will” (or “pleased”) should be!
Young’s Literal Translation highlights the problem well when it renders the verse woodenly like this:
Glory in the highest to God, and upon earth peace, among men—good will.
Do you see that dash? That dash is the problem! Because some people render that dash “of”: “among men of good will.” And other people render that dash something like “who are the objects of God’s”: “among men who are the objects of God’s good will.” And other people switch the words on either side of that dash: “and upon earth, peace good will among men”!
I want to know what the dash is! I want to know what the angels sang!
But the Greek words anthrōpos (men or people or those) and the Greek word eudokia (good will/favor) do not tell us their exact relationship even though they sit right next to each other!
Even New Testament scholars agree! Joel Green writes of these two words in verse 14 that “the Greek is cryptic to a fault…”[1]
Al Wolters points out that “anthrōpoi eudokias” is an “awkward phrase” and “has no parallel in Greek literature.”[2]
And the various translations reflect this uncertainty. I have grouped these translations under the three different possible renderings I mentioned.
Good Will toward Men in General
Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men. (King James Version)
Glory be to God in the high heavens, and peace in earth, and toward men good will. (1599 Geneva Bible)
Glory in the highest to God, and upon earth peace, among men—good will. (Young’s Literal translation)
Peace toward/among People of Good Will
Glory be in the highest things to God, and in earth peace be to men of good will. (Wycliffe Bible)
Glory to God in the highest Heaven! Peace upon earth among men of goodwill! (J.B. Phillips)
Glory to God in the highest places and peace on earth among men of good will. (David Bentley Hart)[3]
Peace toward/among Those with Whom God is Pleased
Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace among those with whom he is pleased! (English Standard Version)
Glory to God in the highest, And on earth peace among men in whom he is well pleased. (American Standard Version)
Glory to God in the highest heaven, and peace on earth to people he favors! (Christian Standard Bible)
“Glory to God in the highest heaven,” they sang, “and peace on earth for all those pleasing him.” (Living Bible)
Glory to God in the highest heaven, and on earth peace to those on whom his favor rests. (New International Version)
Splendor in the highest places to God, and on the land, peace among God-pleased humans. (Scot McKnight)[4]
Glory to God in the highest, and peace upon earth among those in his favor. (N.T. Wright)[5]
To repeat the question, is the song:
- offering hope to all of humanity regardless of whether or not human beings have good will;
- offering hope to human beings who are people of good will;
- offering hope to human beings upon whom the good will of God rests?
Since there is uncertainty about how best to render those two Greek words, translators do the best they can in light of other factors like the witness of the rest of scripture and specifically the way the gospel of Luke works.
What did the angels sing on that night?
I think we can approach the answer to this! Let us jump in!
The first line of the song is an assertion and an invitation.
The first line of the song is much less controversial than the second line. It is powerful and it is clear.
14 Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace among those with whom he is pleased!
First of all, note that in the two lines we are moving from heaven to earth. So, the very structure of the song is incarnational!
- Line #1: “in the highest”
- Line #2: “and on earth”
The incarnation of Jesus reflects a downward movement from “the highest” to the earth.” So does the structure of the song. The structure reflects the reality it proclaims.
The first line—“Glory to God in the highest”—can be read as an assertion. That is, God is now glorified in what is happening with the birth of Jesus. God will get even greater glory as human beings come to Him through the Son! “Glory to God in the highest!”
But it is more than an assertion. It is also an invitation.
I agree with David Lyle Jeffrey, who wrote:
The “glory” (doxa) the angels proclaim…clearly proffers here an invitation, much as in the Psalms, to join in the praise, to “glorify” God by reflecting his glory…The shepherds are invited to join in a cosmic chorus of men and angels glorifying God for what he has done.[6]
“Glory to God in the highest!”
Give glory to God most high!
Join us in glorifying God!
And the shepherds did just that. Let us remember what follows our text.
15 When the angels went away from them into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, “Let us go over to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has made known to us.” 16 And they went with haste and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby lying in a manger. 17 And when they saw it, they made known the saying that had been told them concerning this child. 18 And all who heard it wondered at what the shepherds told them. 19 But Mary treasured up all these things, pondering them in her heart. 20 And the shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all they had heard and seen, as it had been told them.
Ah! Do you see:
- Invitation: “Glory to God in the highest!” (v.14)
- Acceptance of the Invitation: And the shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all they had heard and seen… (v.20)
And we, too, are invited to join with the angels in singing and proclaiming the glory of God, because of Jesus!
There are reasons why the second line of the song cannot be stretched into meaning that all will be saved.
Again, some translations of the second line extend God’s good will in the birth of Jesus to humanity at large.
Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men. (King James Version)
Glory be to God in the high heavens, and peace in earth, and toward men good will. (1599 Geneva Bible)
“Glory in the highest to God, and upon earth peace, among men—good will.” (Young’s Literal translation)
But The English Standard Version (and others) seems more guarded.
14 “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace among those with whom he is pleased!”
There are reasons to guard against a stretching of the second line into a universalistic notion that all will be saved regardless of their response to Jesus. These reasons include:
- The gospel of Luke itself highlights intensely the need for human repentance. Fred Craddock points out that “more than any other New Testament writer, Luke issues the call to repentance.”[7] In other words, Luke’s gospel seems keenly aware that human beings are not people of good will. We are fallen and in need of grace!
- The second line follows necessarily the first line and must be read in the light of God’s glory. The peace and good will of the second line are enveloped in the glory of God from the first. To reject the God of glory in line one is to reject His peace and good will in line two. The idea that one could reject God and then be thought a person of good will is nonsensical. The song in its entirety assumes the recipient accepts the invitation of the first line and gives glory to God.
- The manger of Christmas is connected with the cross of Calvary. The birth of Jesus opens the way for the eventual death of Jesus on the cross as well as the resurrection of Jesus. So the coming of Jesus must not separated from the passion of Jesus. The “glory” and “peace” and “good will” of the two lines are therefore all-encompassing. To reject the cross of Jesus is to reject the intent of the birth of Jesus and so is to turn away from the “peace” and “good will” of God!
- In a fascinating way, the shepherds perform, as it were, the intent of the angelic song by responding, by going to Jesus. Had they not gone to Jesus, they would not have known God’s peace and glorified God!
This is why so many versions, like the ESV, render these words the way they do, depicting the “good will” or “pleasure” or “favor” to be God’s good will and not mankind’s.
Glory to God in the highest, And on earth peace among men in whom he is well pleased. (American Standard Version)
Glory to God in the highest heaven, and peace on earth to people he favors! (Christian Standard Bible)
“Glory to God in the highest heaven,” they sang, “and peace on earth for all those pleasing him.” (Living Bible)
“Glory to God in the highest heaven, and on earth peace to those on whom his favor rests.” (New International Version)
“Splendor in the highest places to God, and on the land, peace among God-pleased humans.” (Scot McKnight)
“Glory to God in the highest, and peace upon earth among those in his favor.” (N.T. Wright)
To reject the Jesus about whom the angels sang is to reject the good will of God. Thomas Schreiner writes that “this peace is not for all people everywhere; it belongs only to those who are the recipients of God’s gracious and kind pleasure (cf. Pss. 51:18; 89:17; 106:4; Matt. 11:25–26; Luke 3:22; 10:21; 12:32; Eph. 1:5, 9; Phil. 2:13), those who receive his electing grace.”[8]
In an ultimate and actual sense, the good will of God rests on those who receive the good gift of God.
Jesus shows us the good will of God poured out specifically on those who embrace the Son!
10 Now therefore, O kings, be wise; be warned, O rulers of the earth.
11 Serve the Lord with fear, and rejoice with trembling.
12 Kiss the Son, lest he be angry, and you perish in the way, for his wrath is quickly kindled; Blessed are all who take refuge in him. (Psalm 2)
Blessed are all who take refuge in him!
But the second line of the song does offer a shocking, universal possibility.
But wait: Just as the second line of the song should not be stretched into universalism, neither should it be compacted so as to sidestep an unbelievable universal possibility!
Let me ask a question: Are the following translations wrong?
Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men. (King James Version)
Glory be to God in the high heavens, and peace in earth, and toward men good will. (1599 Geneva Bible)
Glory in the highest to God, and upon earth peace, among men—good will. (Young’s Literal translation)
I want to argue that they are not wrong.
“But wait a minute,” you might ask, “how can that be? Either the good will of God is restricted to those who embrace Jesus or it is not. Either it is only for the saved, or it is not. Is it ‘good will toward men’ or ‘peace among those with whom He is pleased’? Is the hope of Christmas particular or universal?”
And to this I want to say—and I say this boldly and clearly—“Yes!”
I now believe that the ambiguity of those two Greek words and that dash between them (“Glory in the highest to God, and upon earth peace, among men (anthrōpos)—good will (eudokia).”) is a gift to the church. More than that, I believe it is a diamond or a prism. This song is a thing of beauty, and when you hold it up to the glory of God and turn it this way and that you see different aspects of the same truth. You do not see contradictions. You see the truths about the truth of the gospel. And I believe the church’s historical efforts to understand and translate and interpret this song bear this out.
Specifically, I believe this: When the diamond of this song is turned this way, the truth of the exclusivity of Jesus shines most brightly (i.e., The coming of Jesus means God’s good will is poured out specifically on those who embrace Jesus.). When the diamond of this song is turned that way, the truth of the universal possibility shines most brightly (i.e., While the coming of Jesus is actual good news for those who accept Jesus, it is also good news for the whole world because anybody can accept Jesus!)
For the church, Christmas is experientially actualized good news.
For the world, Christmas is experientially potential good news.
The saved experience the miracle of Christmas.
The lost do not, but they can!
And this is why the King James Version—the version so many of us grew up hearing more than any other—renders the song like this:
Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men.
Fred Craddock points out that just a few verses before our verse, in verse 10, we read:
10 And the angel said to them, “Fear not, for behold, I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people.”
He also points out the following from Luke 6, four chapters after our text:
35 But love your enemies, and do good, and lend, expecting nothing in return, and your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High, for he is kind to the ungrateful and the evil. 36 Be merciful, even as your Father is merciful.
Does not Christmas reflect the kindness of God “for all the people” and the mercy of God even “to the ungrateful and the evil”? Is the sending of the very possibility of salvation not a mercy? Is the offer of the way to the Father not a kindness to all?
Craddock notes that “Greek texts had no punctuation marks at all” and that the insertion of a comma adds an interesting nuance to the song: “on earth peace among all humankind, with whom God is pleased.”[9] While we must not take Craddock’s comma to mean that there is no need for mankind to repent (we have shown that there is a need for lost humanity to repent!), nonetheless, in Jesus, the light has shined in the darkness and good news has come to the entire world! Yes, it is received only by those who embrace Jesus, but it is offered to the whole, wide world!
The New Testament scholar Joel Green writes:
…although “whom he favors” is an affirmation of gracious election on God’s part, that graciousness extends to humanity. It should not be read in an exclusive sense—that is, not peace only to a select group whom he favors—but in an inclusive way: In the birth of this child, God’s mercy has fallen on the world.[10]
“In the birth of this child, God’s mercy has fallen on the world!” Yes! That is so! And it is the privilege of the church to remind the world, over and over again, of this fact and to invite them to step into this mercy!
Yes, this song is a diamond and it refracts the light of God’s glory in powerful and beautiful and life-altering ways!
All of which is to say precisely this:
O holy night!
The stars are brightly shining
It is the night of the dear Savior’s birth!
Long lay the world in sin and error pining
Till he appear’d and the soul felt its worth.
A thrill of hope the weary soul rejoices
For yonder breaks a new and glorious morn!
Fall on your knees
Oh hear the angel voices
Oh night divine
Oh night when Christ was born
Oh night divine
Oh night divine
Christian, Christmas is for you: You have bowed before the King who bestows His peace and good will upon you!
Lost world, Christmas is for you: In Jesus, the door has been opened and you have been invited in.
Come in!
Accept this gift!
Oh come, let us adore Him!
[1] Green, Joel B. The Gospel of Luke. The New International Commentary on the New Testament. (Grand Rapids, MI: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 1997), p.136.
[2] Wolters, Al. “ANTHRŌPOI EUDOKIAS (LUKE 2:14) AND ‘NŠY RSWN (4Q416).” Journal of Biblical Literature. 113.2 (Summer 1994), p.291.
[3] Hart, David Bentley. The New Testament: A Translation. (p. 107). Yale University Press. Kindle Edition.
[4] McKnight, Scot. The Second Testament: A New Translation. (p. 62). InterVarsity Press. Kindle Edition.
[5] Wright, N.T. The New Testament for Everyone. Third Edition: A Fresh Translation (p. 102). Zondervan. Kindle Edition.
[6] Jeffrey, David Lyle. Luke. (Grand Rapids, MI: Brazos Press, 2012), p.44.
[7] Craddock, Fred B. Luke. Interpretation. (Louisville, KY: Westminster John Knox Press, 2009), p.36.
[8] Iain M. Duguid. “ESV Expository Commentary: Matthew–Luke.” Apple Books.
[9] Craddock, Fred B. Luke. Interpretation. (Louisville, KY: Westminster John Knox Press, 2009), p.36. Craddock will go on to write: “The preacher or the teacher will want to avoid flattening out Luke simplistically, cheapening grace or absolutizing more and ethical expectations.”
[10] Green, Joel B. The Gospel of Luke. The New International Commentary on the New Testament. (Grand Rapids, MI: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 1997), p.137.