‘And an angel of the Lord stood by them, and the glory of the Lord shone round about them, and they were very much afraid.'
As they sat around talking, and peering every now and again into the darkness for any sign of savage beasts, they must have been greatly astonished when suddenly an angel of the Lord stood by them, especially as, with his presence, the glory of the Lord shone around them.
Had God wanted us to know who this angel was He would have told us. Idle speculation therefore is useless. But all knew what ‘the glory of the Lord' represented. This was God revealing Himself in the Shekinah, the revealing of His glory long awaited by Israel, as a foretaste of what was to come. It would be next revealed at the Transfiguration (Luke 9:29; Matthew 17:2; Matthew 17:5). And then at the Resurrection (Matthew 28:3-4). It was in direct contrast with the darkness which accompanied the cross, when the light appeared to be going out. Such a revelation from God must have been terrifying to those poor men. It would be the last thing that they were expecting. So ‘they were terrified'.