The Fourth Day: Morning
The Christmas Sorrow of the Angels (1)
For to which of the angels did He ever say:
“You are My Son, Today I have begotten You”?
And again:
“I will be to Him a Father,
And He shall be to Me a Son”?
But when He again brings the firstborn into the world, He says:
“Let all the angels of God worship Him.”
Hebrews 1:5-6
The angels of heaven rejoiced over the birth of the Lord Jesus Christ because it marked the beginning of His redeeming work in history, a work that was designed to bring glory to God. The angels always rejoice when God is glorified.
If it is legitimate to speak of the Christmas joy of angels, it would also seem to be legitimate to speak of the Christmas sorrow of angels. But what is there about Christmas that would cause the angels to be sorrowful? The author of the book of Hebrews provides insight on this matter. He writes to Jews who had made a profession of faith in Christ but had begun to waver. Some of them had begun to wonder if they had been right to forsake Judaism and profess Christ.
So this author takes up his pen and begins to write. He devotes more than half of his letter to demonstrating for his readers the superiority of Christ. He does this by showing how those persons and things most venerated by Judaism pale in comparison to Christ. Moses, the priesthood, and the temple itself cannot begin to compare with the Lord Jesus.
The angels were among those most venerated by the Jews, so much so that the author begins his presentation of the superiority of Christ by showing how He far surpasses the very angels themselves.
The author drives this point home by making note of what God has not said to the angels (v.5) and then what He has said to them (v.6).
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