Resource Detail

2025 Christmas Message #3

GLORY TO GOD, PEACE ON EARTH

Luke 2:1-20

Key Verse: 2:14

1. Why do you think God chose this specific time and political situation for Jesus’ birth (1-3)? What contrast do you see between Caesar’s authority and God’s redemptive work (4-7)? What does the manger symbolize regarding Jesus’ identity and mission?
2. Why do you think God chose shepherds as the first people to hear this news (8)? What does the phrase “good news of great joy for all the people” reveal about the meaning of Jesus’ birth (9-11)? What is the significance of the baby being wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger (12)?
3. Why do you think the birth of Jesus prompts such a powerful heavenly response (13)? What does “glory to God in the highest” tell us about the purpose of Jesus’ birth (14a)? What does “on earth peace to those on whom his favor rests” suggest about God’s initiative (14b)?
4. What does the shepherds’ immediate response reveal about their faith (15-20)? What is the significance of Mary “treasuring” and “pondering” these things (19)? How are “glory to God” and “peace on earth” connected in our lives today?

Christmas Message Juan Seo (Dec 21, 2025)

Glory to God, Peace on Earth

Luke 2:13-14

Key verse 2:14 “Glory to God in the highest heaven, and on earth peace to those on whom his favor rests.”

Merry Christmas! May the peace of Jesus fill your hearts and your homes during this Christmas season!

As I was preparing this message, I came across a book called Peace Child. Have any of you read this book before? It was written by Don Richardson, a missionary from Canada. In 1962, Don and his wife Carol went to the remote jungles of Papua New Guinea to serve the Sawi tribe. Life among the Sawi people was marked by constant war and violence. What shocked Don most was this: they admired treachery and betrayal. So when Don and Carol shared the gospel—that Jesus died on the cross for our sins—the people were not moved. They saw Jesus as weak and failed, and they praised Judas, who betrayed his master, as clever and wise. Then the Richardsons discovered something surprising. The Sawi people had a tradition called a “peace child.” When two tribes ended a war, the tribe that wanted peace most would give its own baby to the enemy tribe. That child became the living guarantee of peace. As long as the child lived, violence stopped. But when the child died, peace collapsed, and war began again. One day, Don witnessed the Sawi chief, Tuwawi, give his own son as a peace child to another tribe. He saw the deep pain of a father giving up his beloved child for the sake of peace. Missionary Don explained to Tuwawi, “Just as you gave your son to make peace, God also gave His Son to make peace with us.” Through this, the meaning of the gospel began to make sense to him, and the good news began to spread through the Sawi community.

This “peace child” story leads us to the story of Jesus. Jesus is God’s true Peace Child, sent to restore peace between God and humanity. Today, as we reflect on Jesus—God’s Peace Child—may we enter deeply into the joy and peace of his coming to the world.

Let’s read together Luke 2:13-14. ¹³ Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God and saying, ¹⁴ “Glory to God in the highest heaven, and on earth peace to those on whom his favor rests.” When Jesus was born, he was wrapped in cloths and placed in a manger. We’ve all seen beautiful pictures of Jesus lying in a manger. But the reality was not beautiful at all. Jesus was rejected from the moment he was born. There was no place for him, so he was taken into a stable and laid in a manger. He was born poorer than anyone else. Why would Jesus, the Son of God—who owns all the riches and glory of heaven—come into this world so poor and so humble? 2 Corinthians 8:9 says, “For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sake he became poor, so that you through his poverty might become rich.” Jesus was born in a manger so that we might become rich. He came down to the lowest place to truly understand our pain, our suffering, and our sorrow. This Jesus is the Savior and the Messiah, and his birth is good news of great joy for all people.

After Jesus was born, suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared. The heavenly host refers to a multitude of spiritual beings who serve God and carry out his commands. They represent God’s cosmic authority and rule over the entire universe. They praised God, saying, “Glory to God in the highest heaven, and on earth peace to those on whom his favor rests.” From this praise by the great company of the heavenly host, we discover two crucial meanings of Jesus’ birth. First, the birth of Jesus brings glory to God in the highest heaven. Second, the birth of Jesus brings peace on earth to those on whom his favor rests.

In what sense does the birth of Jesus bring “glory to God in the highest heaven”? Here, the highest heaven refers to God’s realm, the place where God’s presence dwells. And “glory to God” here does not mean that people are giving glory to God. It means that God’s glory is being revealed. Through the birth of Jesus, God’s presence and holiness were made visible. When Jesus, the Son of God, came into this world, God’s promise of salvation was fulfilled. God had repeatedly promised to send a Savior, a Messiah, to people living under the power of sin and death. That promise was finally fulfilled when Jesus was born. Through this, God’s faithfulness was revealed.

At the same time, when Jesus—who is God by nature—took on a human body and was laid in a manger, God’s humility and gentleness were revealed. Jesus came into the world to serve sinners, to suffer for them, and to die on the cross. Through Jesus’ life and mission, God’s great love for humanity and God’s justice were clearly shown. In this way, the birth of Jesus revealed God’s glory in the highest heaven.

The second aspect of Jesus’ birth is peace on earth. “Earth” refers to the realm where we live as human beings. And this earth, because of human sin, is filled with division and conflict. Our world desperately needs peace.

Here, peace means much more than emotional calm or inner stability. In Greek, the word is εἰρήνη (eirēnē), which points to the absence of war. That is important—but it is not enough. In Hebrew, the word for peace is shalom. Shalom goes much deeper. It means the restoration of a broken relationship with God. It speaks of wholeness, completeness, well-being, and true flourishing that come from God. So when Jesus was born into this world, it means he came to bring us shalom. He came to restore our relationship with God.

Many people desperately need peace in their hearts. On the outside, they look fine. They show up to work. They smile. They keep going. But inside, there is constant unrest. Recent reports tell us that anxiety in our society has remained high, and for many people, it actually feels worse. In 2024, about four out of ten adults said they felt more anxious than the year before. People worry about the economy. Elections create tension. The news never seems to rest. Sleep has been deeply affected. Millions of Americans are not getting enough rest. People are exhausted, but they cannot sleep. They lie in bed, scrolling on their smartphones, staring at the ceiling, replaying worries from the day. Their bodies are tired, but their minds keep running. Some journalists have called this “collective insomnia.” Young adults feel this especially strongly. Gen Z lives under constant pressure—too much information, constant comparison, and uncertainty about the future. Even when they are physically safe, their hearts are not at rest. Many of us here are nurses, doctors, and health care workers. In 2023, CDC data showed that nearly half of health care workers reported burnout. Long hours, heavy workloads, and constant pressure have slowly broken people down. Listening to these stories, it becomes clear that what is needed is not just rest, or a break, but peace from God.

We also see a lack of peace in our relationships with others. Some people have broken relationships with their wife or husband, so even when they go home, there is no peace. Small comments turn into big arguments almost every day. A husband comes home from work and sees dishes in the sink. He says casually, “Wow, there are still a lot of dishes.” The wife hears criticism and responds: “I’ve been taking care of the kids all day. Do you think I did nothing?” The husband says, “I wasn’t blaming you. I’m just saying what I see.” Now the wife feels hurt and replies, “You always say things like that. You never notice how hard I work.” The husband becomes upset, “So now I’m the bad guy again? I can’t say anything in this house.” Doesn’t this happen often in our homes? There are parents who hurt their children with harsh words and even violence. Some children don’t respect their parents and stop talking to them. What about your friendships? Have you ever felt so angry at a friend that you wished they would just disappear from your life? And think about our society. How many people are dying because of anger, hatred, and resentment?

On December 13, 2025, a gunman opened fire in an engineering lecture hall at Brown University. Two students were killed, and nine others were wounded. Two days later, an MIT professor was found shot in his home in Brookline, Massachusetts, and later died from his injuries. After the investigation, police identified the suspect as a 48-year-old former graduate student at Brown University. Authorities found his body in a storage facility, and it was concluded that he died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound. Multiple news outlets reported that the murderer and the victim were former classmates in Portugal. As a result, many students and community members have been hurt and are living in fear.

Last Friday, the U.S. launched retaliatory strikes in Syria on dozens of ISIS targets. In the Caribbean region, there is growing tension between the U.S. and Venezuela. The war between Russia and Ukraine shows no sign of ending, despite many attempts at mediation. Recently, a UBF missionary from Ukraine sent this message: “The war has now passed three years and is approaching its fourth. Although people talk about a possible end to the war, attacks are still continuing here. Last Saturday, there was a large-scale attack on Kyiv. As a result, we had no electricity all day Saturday and until noon on Sunday. There was also an incident where a drone fell into the schoolyard of our children. Classroom windows were shattered, and more than 75 windows across the school were damaged. In these very difficult circumstances, please pray that we may hold on to Jesus, who is our true hope.”

Finally, I want to point out that peace has also been broken between humanity and God’s creation. God called us to be good stewards of his creation. However, we humans have damaged it, exploited it, and destroyed it. We see this in the air we breathe. In many cities, air pollution has become so severe that children grow up with asthma, and older adults struggle to breathe. According to the State of Global Air 2024, air pollution accounts for more than 2 million deaths each year in India alone. Can you believe this? Forests are cleared without care. Oceans are filled with plastic. Entire ecosystems are disappearing. We also see this in natural disasters. Wildfires destroy homes and communities. Floods wash away neighborhoods. Earthquakes and storms leave people homeless.

When we step back and look at the personal, social, and environmental realities we are living in, one thing becomes clear: humanity desperately needs a peace that can overcome deep hostility. The world that God created was good and beautiful. So why do we live in such a broken world? It is because our sin broke our peaceful relationship with God. Humanity turned away from God and chose to live as if we were the owners of our lives and of this world. As a result, our relationship with God was broken, and we began to live in opposition to Him. The outcome of that broken relationship is our lives, our society, and our world without peace.

But God did not abandon us. In His mercy, God sent His Son, Jesus, into this world as a baby to bring peace on earth. Jesus came as the Peace Child of God to restore our broken relationship with God and give us God’s shalom.

At the beginning of this message, I told you about the peace child tradition of the Sawi tribe. Do you know what the crucial difference is between the peace child of the Sawi tribe and Jesus, God’s Peace Child? In the Sawi tradition, the moment the peace child died, peace ended, and war began again. But Jesus, God’s true Peace Child, came into this world, suffered, and died on the cross for us—and through His death, God’s peace was completed. This is truly astonishing. God sent His own Son into the world, knowing that peace would require His death for us. As Jesus was nailed to the cross, He prayed for us, saying, “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing.” When Jesus drank the cup of God’s wrath and died on the cross, God’s anger toward humanity was removed. And through Jesus, the way to peace with God was opened again.

Peace works like a peace treaty. Both sides must agree. God has already acted. By His grace alone, He sent Jesus, the Peace Child, and He has already signed that peace agreement with a promise: “Whoever believes in My Son will have peace with Me.” But that peace becomes real only for those who accept it and step into it. That is why Scripture says, “on earth peace to those on whom his favor rests.” God’s favor rests on those who repent of their sin and humbly receive Jesus, the Peace Child, as their Savior. Peace with God is not given to everyone. It is given only to those who receive Jesus as Savior. Romans 5:1 says, “Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.”

When someone enters into peace with God through Jesus, that person begins to experience deep peace in their heart. And that peace can flow into their family, their workplace, their community, and even into the world. Evil will not fully disappear from this world until Jesus comes again. But as we practice the peace of Jesus Christ in this world, we can participate, even just a little, in restoring God’s original design for creation. And in that way, we can live as peacemakers who carry God’s peace into a broken world.

The coming of Jesus into the world is glory to God in the highest heaven, and on earth peace to those on whom his favor rests. Jesus came to restore the cosmic order of God and to give us shalom—true wholeness and peace. Today, peace is being offered to us. Not because we deserve it, but because God is gracious. The question is simple: Will you believe in Jesus and enter into a peace treaty with God? If you are tired, anxious, restless, or carrying broken relationships, God invites you to come and accept Jesus as your Savior. If you have been away from God, God invites you to receive Jesus, His Peace Child, and restore peace with God. What is your decision?

As we celebrate Christmas, I pray that we receive Jesus, enter into peace with God, and live as people who carry His peace into our homes, our workplaces, and our world. May the peace of Christ rest upon your hearts now and forever. Amen.