The Meaning of Luke 2:15 Explained

Luke 2:15

KJV: And it came to pass, as the angels were gone away from them into heaven, the shepherds said one to another, Let us now go even unto Bethlehem, and see this thing which is come to pass, which the Lord hath made known unto us.

YLT: And it came to pass, when the messengers were gone away from them to the heavens, that the men, the shepherds, said unto one another, 'We may go over indeed unto Bethlehem, and see this thing that hath come to pass, that the Lord did make known to us.'

Darby: And it came to pass, as the angels departed from them into heaven, that the shepherds said to one another, Let us make our way then now as far as Bethlehem, and let us see this thing that is come to pass, which the Lord has made known to us.

ASV: And it came to pass, when the angels went away from them into heaven, the shepherds said one to another, Let us now go even unto Bethlehem, and see this thing that is come to pass, which the Lord hath made known unto us.

KJV Reverse Interlinear

And  it came to pass,  as  the angels  were gone away  from  them  into  heaven,  the shepherds  said  one  to  another,  Let us  now  go  even unto  Bethlehem,  and  see  this  thing  which is come to pass,  which  the Lord  hath made known  unto us. 

What does Luke 2:15 Mean?

Study Notes

angels
Angel, Summary: Angel, "messenger," is used of God, of men, and of an order of created spiritual beings whose chief attributes are strength and wisdom. 2 Samuel 14:20 ; Psalms 103:20 ; Psalms 104:4 . In the O.T. the expression "the angel of the Lord" (sometimes "of God") usually implies the presence of Deity in angelic form.; Genesis 16:1-13 ; Genesis 21:17-19 ; Genesis 22:11-16 ; Genesis 31:11-13 ; Exodus 3:2-4 ; Judges 2:1 ; Judges 6:12-16 ; Judges 13:3-22 (See Scofield " Malachi 3:1 ") . The word "angel" is used of men in; Luke 7:24 ; James 2:25 ; Revelation 1:20 ; Revelation 2:1 ; Revelation 2:8 ; Revelation 2:12 ; Revelation 2:18 ; Revelation 3:1 ; Revelation 3:7 ; Revelation 3:14 In Revelation 8:3-5 . Christ is evidently meant. Sometimes angel is used of the spirit of man.; Matthew 18:10 ; Acts 12:15 . Though angels are spirits; Psalms 104:4 ; Hebrews 1:14 power is given them to become visible in the semblance of human form. Genesis 19:1 cf; Genesis 19:5 ; Exodus 3:2 ; Numbers 22:22-31 ; Judges 2:1 ; Judges 6:11 ; Judges 6:22 ; Judges 13:3 ; Judges 13:6 ; 1 Chronicles 21:16 ; 1 Chronicles 21:20 ; Matthew 1:20 ; Luke 1:26 ; John 20:12 ; Acts 7:30 ; Acts 12:7 ; Acts 12:8 etc.). The word is always used in the masculine gender, though sex, in the human sense, is never ascribed to angels.; Matthew 22:30 ; Mark 12:25 . They are exceedingly numerous.; Matthew 26:53 ; Hebrews 12:22 ; Revelation 5:11 ; Psalms 68:17 . The power is inconceivable. 2 Kings 19:35 . Their place is about the throne of God.; Revelation 5:11 ; Revelation 7:11 . Their relation to the believer is that of "ministering spirits, sent forth to minister for them who shall be heirs of salvation," and this ministry has reference largely to the physical safety and well-being of believers.; 1 Kings 19:5 ; Psalms 34:7 ; Psalms 91:11 ; Daniel 6:22 ; Matthew 2:13 ; Matthew 2:19 ; Matthew 4:11 ; Luke 22:43 ; Acts 5:19 ; Acts 12:7-10 . From; Hebrews 1:14 ; Matthew 18:10 ; Psalms 91:11 it would seem that this care for the heirs of salvation begins in infancy and continues through life. The angels observe us; 1 Corinthians 4:9 ; Ephesians 3:10 ; Ecclesiastes 5:6 a fact which should influence conduct. They receive departing saints. Luke 16:22 . Man is made "a little lower than the angels," and in incarnation Christ took "for a little "time" this lower place.; Psalms 8:4 ; Psalms 8:5 ; Hebrews 2:6 ; Hebrews 2:9 that He might lift the believer into His own sphere above angels. Hebrews 2:9 ; Hebrews 2:10 . The angels are to accompany Christ in His second advent. Matthew 25:31 . To them will be committed the preparation of the judgment of the nations. Matthew 13:30 ; Matthew 13:39 ; Matthew 13:41 ; Matthew 13:42 . See Scofield " Matthew 25:32 ". The kingdom-age is not to be subject to angels, but to Christ and those for whom He was made a little lower than the angels. Hebrews 2:5 An archangel, Michael, is mentioned as having a particular relation to Israel and to the resurrections.; Daniel 10:13 ; Daniel 10:21 ; Daniel 12:1 ; Daniel 12:2 ; Judges 1:9 ; 1 Thessalonians 4:16 . The only other angel whose name is revealed Gabriel, was employed in the most distinguished services.; Daniel 8:16 ; Daniel 9:21 ; Luke 1:19 ; Luke 1:26 .
Fallen angels. Two classes of these are mentioned:
(1) "The angels which kept not their first estate place, but left their own habitation," are "chained under darkness," awaiting judgment. 2 Peter 2:4 ; Judges 1:6 ; 1 Corinthians 6:3 ; John 5:22 .
(See Scofield " Genesis 6:4 ")
(2) The angels who have Satan Genesis 3:1 as leader.
(See Scofield " Revelation 20:10 ") .
The origin of these is nowhere explicitly revealed. They may be identical with the demons.
(See Scofield " Matthew 7:22 ") . For Satan and his angels everlasting fire is prepared. Matthew 25:41 ; Revelation 20:10 .

Context Summary

Luke 2:15-24 - Welcomed Named Presented
From April till the autumn the flocks pastured at night in the open fields, from which it seems probable that our Lord must have been born earlier or later than December. No doubt these shepherds were, like Simeon, "waiting for the consolation of Israel," and their purity of life and simplicity of soul well qualified them to receive the blessed tidings of the angels. First simplicity and afterward science, Matthew 2:1-23, found their way into the presence of Jesus.
In the act of circumcision, our Lord admitted His obligation to fulfill the whole Law, Galatians 5:3. He was "made under the law, to redeem them that were under the law," Galatians 4:4-5. Mary could afford only the gift of the poor, Leviticus 12:6-8; Leviticus 5:7-11; 2 Corinthians 8:9. The precious name of Jesus-Savior-is the name above every name, Acts 4:10-12. [source]

Chapter Summary: Luke 2

1  Augustus taxes all the Roman empire
6  The nativity of Jesus
8  An angel relates it to the shepherds, and many sing praises to God for it
15  The shepherds glorify God
21  Jesus is circumcised
22  Mary purified
25  Simeon and Anna prophesy of Jesus,
39  who increases in wisdom,
41  questions in the temple with the teachers,
51  and is obedient to his parents

Greek Commentary for Luke 2:15

Said to one another [ελαλουν προς αλληλους]
Imperfect tense, inchoative, “began to speak,” each to the other. It suggests also repetition, they kept saying. [source]
Now [δη]
A particle of urgency.This thing (το ρημα τουτο — to rhēma touto). A Hebraistic and vernacular use of ρημα — rhēma (something said) as something done. See Luke 1:65. The ancient Greek used logos in this same way. [source]
This thing [το ρημα τουτο]
A Hebraistic and vernacular use of ρημα — rhēma (something said) as something done. See Luke 1:65. The ancient Greek used logos in this same way. [source]
The shepherds []
Some texts add οἱ ἄνθρωποι ,the men; but the later texts omit. [source]
Let us go [διέλθωμεν]
The preposition διά ,through, implies through the intervening space. [source]
Thing [ῥῆμα]
See on Luke 1:37. The utterance of the shepherds contains a climax: “Let us go and seethis saying, which has come to pass; which the Lord made known.” [source]

Reverse Greek Commentary Search for Luke 2:15

Luke 1:37 With God nothing shall be impossible [σὐκ ἀδυνατήσει παρὰ τοῦ Θεοῦ πᾶν ῥῆμα]
Ῥῆμα ,word, as distinguished from λόγος , word, in classical Greek, signifies a constituent part of a speech or writing, as distinguished from the contents as a whole. Thus it may be either a word or a saying. Sometimes a phrase, as opposed to ὄνομα ,a single word. The distinction in the New Testament is not sharp throughout. It is maintained that ῥῆμα in the New Testament, like the Hebrew gabarstands sometimes for the subject-matter of the word; the thing, as in this passage. But there are only two other passages in the New Testament where this meaning is at all admissible, though the word occurs seventy times. These are Luke 2:15; Acts 5:32. “Kept all these things ” (Luke 2:19), should clearly be sayings, as the A. V. itself has rendered it in the almost identical passage, Luke 2:51. In Acts 5:32, Rev. gives sayings in margin. In Luke 2:15, though A. V. and Rev. render thing, the sense is evidently saying, as appears both from the connection with the angelic message and from the following words, which has come to pass: the saying which has become a fact. The Rev. rendering of this passage is, therefore, right, though a little stilted: No word of God shall be void of power; for the A. V. errs in joining οὐκ and πᾶν , not every, and translating nothing. The two do not belong together. The statement is, Every ( πᾶν ) word of God shall not ( οὐκ )be powerless. The A. V. also follows the reading, παρὰ τῷ Θεῷ ,with God; but all the later texts read παρὰ τοῦ Θεοῦ ,from God, which fixes the meaning beyond question. [source]
John 1:30 A man [ἀνὴρ]
Three words are used in the New Testament for man: ἄῤῥην , or ἄρσην , ἀνήρ , and ἄνθρωπος . Ἄρσην marks merely the sexual distinction, male (Romans 1:27; Revelation 12:5, Revelation 12:13). Ἁνήρ denotes the man as distinguished from the woman, as male or as a husband (Acts 8:12; Matthew 1:16), or from a boy (Matthew 14:21). Also man as endowed with courage, intelligence, strength, and other noble attributes (1 Corinthians 13:11; Ephesians 4:13; James 3:2). Ἄνθρωπος is generic, without distinction of sex, a human being (John 16:21), though often used in connections which indicate or imply sex, as Matthew 19:10; Matthew 10:35. Used of mankind (Matthew 4:4), or of the people (Matthew 5:13, Matthew 5:16; Matthew 6:5, Matthew 6:18; John 6:10). Of man as distinguished from animals or plants (Matthew 4:19; 2 Peter 2:16), and from God, Christ as divine and angels (Matthew 10:32; John 10:33; Luke 2:15). With the notion of weakness leading to sin, and with a contemptuous sense (1 Corinthians 2:5; 1 Peter 4:2; John 5:12; Romans 9:20). The more honorable and noble sense thus attaches to ἀνήρ rather than to ἄνθρωπος . Thus Herodotus says that when the Medes charged the Greeks, they fell in vast numbers, so that it was manifest to Xerxes that he had many men combatants ( ἄνθρωποι ) but few warriors ( ἄνθρωποι ) vii., 210. So Homer: “O friends, be men ( ἀνέρες ), and take on a stout heart” (“Iliad,” v., 529). Ἁνήρ is therefore used here of Jesus by the Baptist with a sense of dignity. Compare ἄνθρωπος , in John 1:6, where the word implies no disparagement, but is simply indefinite. In John ἀνήρ has mostly the sense of husband (John 4:16-18). See John 6:10. -DIVIDER-
-DIVIDER-
[source]

Acts 13:2 Separate []
The Greek adds δή , now, which is not rendered by A. V. or Rev. It gives precision and emphasis to the command, implying that it is for a special purpose, and to be obeyed at the time. Compare Luke 2:15; Acts 15:36; 1 Corinthians 6:20. [source]
Acts 13:2 Separate me [απορισατε δη μοι]
First aorist active imperative of αποριζω — aphorizō old verb to mark off boundaries or horizon, used by Paul of his call (Romans 1:1; Galatians 1:15). The Greek has δη — dē a shortened form of ηδη — ēdē and like Latin jam and German doch, now therefore. It ought to be preserved in the translation. Cf. Luke 2:15; Acts 15:36; 1 Corinthians 6:20. Μοι — Moi is the ethical dative. As in Acts 13:1 Barnabas is named before Saul. Both had been called to ministry long ago, but now this call is to the special campaign among the Gentiles. Both had been active and useful in such work. [source]
Acts 13:2 And fasted [και νηστευοντων]
Genitive absolute also. Christian Jews were keeping up the Jewish fast (Luke 18:12). Note fasting also in the choice of elders for the Mission Churches (Acts 14:23). Fasting was not obligatory on the Christians, but they were facing a great emergency in giving the gospel to the Gentile world. Separate me (απορισατε δη μοι — aphorisate dē moi). First aorist active imperative of αποριζω — aphorizō old verb to mark off boundaries or horizon, used by Paul of his call (Romans 1:1; Galatians 1:15). The Greek has δη — dē a shortened form of ηδη — ēdē and like Latin jam and German doch, now therefore. It ought to be preserved in the translation. Cf. Luke 2:15; Acts 15:36; 1 Corinthians 6:20. Μοι — Moi is the ethical dative. As in Acts 13:1 Barnabas is named before Saul. Both had been called to ministry long ago, but now this call is to the special campaign among the Gentiles. Both had been active and useful in such work. Whereunto Here εις — eis has to be repeated from εις το εργον — eis to ergon just before, “for which” as Jesus sent the twelve and the seventy in pairs, so here. Paul nearly always had one or more companions. [source]
1 Corinthians 6:20 Glorify God therefore in your body [δοχασατε δη τον τεον εν τωι σωματι υμων]
Passionate conclusion to his powerful argument against sexual uncleanness. Δη — Dē is a shortened form of ηδη — ēdē and is an urgent inferential particle. See note on Luke 2:15. Paul holds to his high ideal of the destiny of the body and urges glorifying God in it. Some of the later Christians felt that Paul‘s words could be lightened a bit by adding “and in your spirits which are his,” but these words are found only in late MSS. and are clearly not genuine. Paul‘s argument stands four-square for the dignity of the body as the sanctuary of the Holy Spirit united to the Lord Jesus. [source]
Philippians 1:22 Yet what I shall choose I wot not [καὶ τί αἱρήσομαι οὐ γνωρίζω]
Καὶ rendered yet has the force of then. If living in the flesh be, etc., then what I shall choose, etc. Wot is obsolete for know. In classical Greek γνωρίζω means: 1, to make known point out; 2, to become acquainted with or discover; 3, to have acquaintance with. In the Septuagint the predominant meaning seems to be to make known. See Proverbs 22:19; Ezekiel 44:23; Daniel 2:6, Daniel 2:10; Daniel 5:7. The sense here is to declare or make known, as everywhere in the New Testament. Compare Luke 2:15; John 17:26; Acts 2:28; Colossians 4:7; 2 Peter 1:16, etc. If I am assured that my continuing to live is most fruitful for the Church, then I say nothing as to my personal preference. I do not declare my choice. It is not for me to express a choice. [source]
Philippians 1:22 I wot not [ου γνωριζω]
“I know not.” It seems odd to preserve the old English word “wot” here. But it is not clear that γνωριζω — gnōrizō (old causative verb from γινωσκω — ginōskō) means just to know. Elsewhere in the N.T., as in Luke 2:15; Romans 9:22, it means to make known, to declare. The papyri examples mean to make known. It makes perfectly good sense to take its usual meaning here, “I do not declare what I shall choose.” [source]

What do the individual words in Luke 2:15 mean?

And it came to pass as were departing from them into the heaven the angels shepherds were saying to one another Let us go through indeed as far as Bethlehem let us see the word this that has come to pass which the Lord has made known to us
Καὶ ἐγένετο ὡς ἀπῆλθον ἀπ’ αὐτῶν εἰς τὸν οὐρανὸν οἱ ἄγγελοι ποιμένες ἐλάλουν πρὸς ἀλλήλους Διέλθωμεν δὴ ἕως Βηθλεὲμ ἴδωμεν τὸ ῥῆμα τοῦτο τὸ γεγονὸς Κύριος ἐγνώρισεν ἡμῖν

ἐγένετο  it  came  to  pass 
Parse: Verb, Aorist Indicative Middle, 3rd Person Singular
Root: γίνομαι  
Sense: to become, i.
ἀπῆλθον  were  departing 
Parse: Verb, Aorist Indicative Active, 3rd Person Plural
Root: ἀπέρχομαι  
Sense: to go away, depart.
εἰς  into 
Parse: Preposition
Root: εἰς  
Sense: into, unto, to, towards, for, among.
οὐρανὸν  heaven 
Parse: Noun, Accusative Masculine Singular
Root: οὐρανός  
Sense: the vaulted expanse of the sky with all things visible in it.
ἄγγελοι  angels 
Parse: Noun, Nominative Masculine Plural
Root: ἄγγελος  
Sense: a messenger, envoy, one who is sent, an angel, a messenger from God.
ποιμένες  shepherds 
Parse: Noun, Nominative Masculine Plural
Root: ποιμήν  
Sense: a herdsman, esp. a shepherd.
ἐλάλουν  were  saying 
Parse: Verb, Imperfect Indicative Active, 3rd Person Plural
Root: ἀπολαλέω 
Sense: to utter a voice or emit a sound.
ἀλλήλους  one  another 
Parse: Personal / Reciprocal Pronoun, Accusative Masculine Plural
Root: ἀλλήλων  
Sense: one another, reciprocally, mutually.
Διέλθωμεν  Let  us  go  through 
Parse: Verb, Aorist Subjunctive Active, 1st Person Plural
Root: διέρχομαι  
Sense: to go through, pass through.
δὴ  indeed 
Parse: Particle
Root: δή  
Sense: now, then, verily, in truth, really, surely, certainly.
ἕως  as  far  as 
Parse: Preposition
Root: ἕως  
Sense: till, until.
Βηθλεὲμ  Bethlehem 
Parse: Noun, Genitive Feminine Singular
Root: Βηθλέεμ  
Sense: a village about six miles (0 km) south of Jerusalem.
ἴδωμεν  let  us  see 
Parse: Verb, Aorist Subjunctive Active, 1st Person Plural
Root: εἶδον 
Sense: to see with the eyes.
ῥῆμα  word 
Parse: Noun, Accusative Neuter Singular
Root: ῥῆμα  
Sense: that which is or has been uttered by the living voice, thing spoken, word.
τοῦτο  this 
Parse: Demonstrative Pronoun, Accusative Neuter Singular
Root: οὗτος  
Sense: this.
τὸ  that 
Parse: Article, Accusative Neuter Singular
Root:  
Sense: this, that, these, etc.
γεγονὸς  has  come  to  pass 
Parse: Verb, Perfect Participle Active, Accusative Neuter Singular
Root: γίνομαι  
Sense: to become, i.
Κύριος  Lord 
Parse: Noun, Nominative Masculine Singular
Root: κύριος  
Sense: he to whom a person or thing belongs, about which he has power of deciding; master, lord.
ἐγνώρισεν  has  made  known 
Parse: Verb, Aorist Indicative Active, 3rd Person Singular
Root: γνωρίζω  
Sense: to make known.
ἡμῖν  to  us 
Parse: Personal / Possessive Pronoun, Dative 1st Person Plural
Root: ἐγώ  
Sense: I, me, my.