… and the angel of the Lord came upon them … I bring you good tidings of great joy … And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of heavenly host praising God …” Luke 2:9-13 KJV

And an angel of the Lord suddenly stood before them … I bring you good news of great joy … And suddenly there appeared with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God … ” Luke 2:9-13 NASB

And there appeared an angel unto Him from heaven strengthening Him. And being in an agony He prayed more earnestly …” Luke 22:43, 44 KJV

Now an angel from heaven appeared to Him, strengthening Him. And being in agony He was praying very fervently … ” Luke 22:43-44 NASB

As recorded by Luke, Angelic ministry occurred at the birth of the Lord Jesus Christ and in the garden amidst the shadow of His death. While ultimately fruitless, it is interesting to conjecture which of the holy angels was dispatched to announce His birth to shepherds and which to strengthen Him in the garden.

Thinking of these two events, contrasts abound. At His birth, the angel came to announce glad tidings. The news would lead to boundless joy for all who heard it. In the garden, the angel came at a time of “exceeding sorrow,” a sorrow we are told which would have been fatal to a natural man.

At His birth, the announcing angel was soon accompanied by a host from heaven singing and praising God. One of the old worthies, Bengal, has called it an “Army announcing peace!” But in the garden, there was no army of angels. There could have been. All He needed to do was to ask His Father to send them, and a host of 72,000 would have done His bidding (Matt 26:53). What were 12 disciples in comparison to 12 legions of angels? But no request winged its way to the throne. The one solitary angel came to provide strength in light of the agony He was enduring. Here there could be no slaying of the foe as in the days of Sennacherib. The victory this time must be gained by defeat!

The angelic host announced His birth to lowly shepherds and was attended by a display of the glory of God. The angels that sang at the birth of the creation, now sang at the birth of the Creator as He entered by incarnation, into the world His own hands had made. But in the garden, an angel witnessed the Creator weeping, shedding tears, over the awful cup the Savior was about to drink.

While wonder and worship would have attended those angels that night in the fields of Bethlehem, what must the impression have been that was made on the angel in the garden? Would the Creator, the Lord of all, enter into humanity to the point that real tears were shed? That His holy soul could be in agony? That this was the ultimate expression of the One Who became poor?

It was a stoop of incalculable grace to leave the celestial atmosphere of heaven for the cradle in Bethlehem. But now, He was about to move even further to a cross outside Jerusalem. As I pen these words, I am almost forced to sing, “Amazing grace, how can it be!”

Consider

One other occasion is recorded when He received the ministry of angels. After His temptation, angels came and ministered to Him (Matt 4:1). Did they bring food for His natural and physical needs?