[He] was seen by angels…
Summary: As we drill down into this passage, the idea of being seen by angels expands our appreciation of who Jesus is and what he has done.
Have you ever been seen by an angel?
I ask that question because to understand what Paul is saying here, we need to know the answer.
Have you?
In Matthew, chapter eighteen, Jesus is teaching his disciples about who is the greatest in heaven. He calls a little child to him and says, “unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven” (Matthew 18:1-3).
Then, a bit later, he says:
“See that you do not despise one of these little ones. For I tell you that their angels in heaven always see the face of my Father in heaven.” (Matthew 18:10)
Little children have angels watching over them. We have all been seen by angels.
So what does Paul mean when he says that Jesus was “seen by angels?”
It could be a reference to Jesus’ humanity, because he was born a human and lived as a child. In addition to the normal angels that look over all children, Jesus had angels herald his birth (Luke 2:8-15).
But it could also mean something else.
John begins his Gospel account with these words:
“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning.” (John 1:1-2)
Jesus, before he became a man, existed as God. From before time began, God existed. Before anything had been created, God existed.
The angels Paul seems to refer to are those who existed before creation.
If this is true, if Jesus was seen by the angels who pre-existed Creation, then they can testify to the divinity of Jesus. They know, firsthand, the sacrifice that Jesus made in becoming a man. He gave up his position in heaven to live among us and allowed humanity to kill him in the most excruciating way possible.
Jesus was indeed seen by angels. They know who he is. The angels who proclaimed his birth to the shepherds in Bethlehem announced it to us.
Application: Appreciate Jesus.
Food for Thought: If you could talk with an angel, what would you ask him?
I thought about your question and then when and looked at a few passages where people had an encounter with an angel. Seems like most encounters with angels are because the Lord sent them to deliver a message or a task (like with Manoah in Judges 13), or offer assistance in a task given by the Lord (like with Elisha in 2 Kings 6). I feel like I would be more concerned about that than any question I would have about the spiritual realm or an answer that the Holy Spirit would provide through His Word about my own life. Not a “fun” answer but I think I would tread carefully if I were in the presence of an angel. 🙂
Thank you, Chris!
There is a lot of wisdom in your thought! You remind me of Zechariah when he insulted an angel by doubting his word. It left him “speechless”! 🙂