4. (a) What is the sense of the Greek word for “approved” in God’s declaration? (b) Why is the usage in this case of special interest?

⁴ The Gospel records of God’s words “I have approved [Jesus]” employ the Greek verb eu·do·keʹo. (Matthew 3:17; Mark 1:11; Luke 3:22) It means “be well pleased, regard favorably, take delight in,” and its noun form has the sense of “good will, good pleasure, favor, wish, desire.” Eu·do·keʹo is not limited to divine approval. For instance, Christians in Macedonia ‘were pleased’ to share financially with others. (Romans 10:1; 15:26; 2 Corinthians 5:8; 1 Thessalonians 2:8; 3:1) Still, the approval Jesus received was expressed by God, not by men. This term is used with reference to Jesus only after he was baptized. (Matthew 17:5; 2 Peter 1:17)

When Jesus was born, angels announced: “Glory in the heights above to God, and upon earth peace among men of goodwill [eu·do·kiʹas].” (Luke 2:14) In the literal Greek, the angels were singing of a coming blessing to “men of well thinking” or “men whom God approves.”a Professor Hans Bietenhard writes of this use of en an·throʹpois eu·do·kiʹas: “The phrase refers to the men of God’s good pleasure . . . We are not, therefore, dealing here with the good will of men . . . We are dealing with God’s sovereign and gracious will, which elects for itself a people for salvation.”