Time for a little Advent algebra.
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This is Scripture for Students. I’m Steve Whitacre, president of Trinity College and a pastor at Sovereign Grace Church of Louisville. I want to help students build a daily habit for life-long Bible reading. Today is December 13, 2024 and this episode of Scripture for Students is called The Transitive Property of the Gospel. Grab your Bible and let’s get started.
Open your Bibles to Luke chapter 2. For my 30th birthday—many years ago now—the lovely Mrs. Whitacre took me to do one of my favoritest things: she got tickets for a Washington Nationals game. It was fantastic: beautiful weather, great seats right behind the dugout, hot dog in one hand and a hot pretzel in the other, and the Nationals won! One thing I remember about this game was between innings, a message flashed on the giant scoreboard in the outfield: Happy birthday! Confetti floating down. A rather general congratulations, I thought, but that’s nice. Then the screen started to scroll people’s names: Happy birthday, Jimmy, age 7. Happy birthday Agnes, age 97, happy birthday Steve Whitare, age 30! I couldn’t believe it! Nicole had arranged for my name to be included. What started as a rather vague and general pronouncement ended up being a very specific message to me.
Something similar happens in today’s Scripture for Students. We’re going to read Luke 2:13–20 and as we do, see if you can tell: if there was going to be a personal message to God’s people on the Advent scoreboard, what would it be?
Luke 2:13–20
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!”
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.
May the Lord bless the reading and the hearing and the keeping of his Word.
Did you pick out the message for God’s people that should go on the Advent scoreboard? Yes, it’s in verse 14, “Glory to God in the highest and on earth, peace among those with whom he is well pleased.”
This is actually very specific, but you might say that it started much more vague. Remember how I said the birthday messages at the baseball game began with a rather general, “Happy birthday, everybody!” This verse used to read a little bit differently. When the King James Bible was published in 1611, this verse was translated, “Glory to God in the highest, And on earth peace, Good will toward men.”
Do you see a difference? From the perspective of the angels, they start by looking up, “Glory to God in the highest!” So far, so good. And then they look down at earth and in the King James version it says, “On earth peace, good will to men.” It sounds like a very general announcement, that Jesus is bringing peace and good will to all people. That would be wonderful but when we look at the world around us that isn’t really what we see, is it? Because that’s not actually the best way to translate this verse.
The ESV translation, which is much better, says, “On earth peace among those with whom he is pleased.” In other words, peace is for a specific group of people: those with whom God is pleased. Just like I was much more encouraged when I realized that I had a very personalized birthday greeting on the scoreboard, this message has a very specific audience: those with whom he is pleased. Which is not everybody! Those people, specifically, are the ones who receive peace.
But who are these people with whom God is pleased? Great question! So glad you asked! It’s an interesting phrase because it doesn’t occur very often in the New Testament. But the phrase does occur at two really important moments in Jesus’ ministry. In Luke 3:22, “…a voice came from heaven, “You are my beloved Son; with you I am well pleased.” And then later, at the Transfiguration, in Matthew 17:5, “a voice from the cloud said, “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased; listen to him.”
So we know that Jesus is the one with whom God is pleased. God is pleased with Jesus first, because Jesus is God’s son. He is God’s perfectly obedient son who always does his Father’s will. He succeeded in following God in all the ways that Adam—and all of Adam’s offspring—never could.
And do you remember that one of the apostle Paul’s favorite phrases to describe Christians is “in Christ”? That’s a theological principle called union with Christ and, in part, it means that what Jesus is, Christians are.
In my spare time, I teach high school geometry, so let me put this together in the form of an equation. You didn’t think you’d be getting math in this podcast, did you! The transitive property means if A=B and B=C, then A=C. So let’s call this the transitive property of the gospel. The transitive property of the gospel means that if God is pleased with Christ, and Christians are in Christ and share his status because of all that he has done, then God is pleased with Christians who are in Christ, and they receive his peace.
That should be encouraging for everyone who needs peace. We all need peace with God, and every Christian has received peace with God through the life and death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. And most of us feel the need for peace in our souls. There is a lot of anxiety and turmoil this time of year, exams and papers and presents and trips. If you need to experience the peace that is in Jesus Christ, spend some time reflecting on the message the angels gave the shepherds and what it means for all of us who are in Christ. If you have come to Jesus with faith and repentance, you are now in Christ and this message of peace is for you. The words of Jesus in John 14:27 are for you, “Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid.”
That’s all for today. If you enjoyed this episode please share it with a friend and follow us on Apple Podcasts.
This content is sponsored by Trinity College of Louisville. We shape young men and young women for Christ and for the church. Learn more at TrinityCollegeLou.com. Until next time, keep growing!
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