Have you ever thought that the life of Jesus is recorded in four different books of the Bible from four unique perspectives? Some of the gospels share the same events, but also, some stories are exclusive to that gospel. They even begin in very different ways. What I love about the gospels is that because they are written by different people who all experienced Jesus, we see Jesus from different perspectives. It is a reminder to me that we need each other in the body of Christ.
Much joy surrounded Jesus’ birth, but the complete story of joy can only be seen by looking at more than one gospel. In Luke 1 beginning in verse 26, we see the angel Gabriel visiting Mary. He tells her that she is highly favored and has been chosen by God to give birth to His son. At first, Mary has questions and is fearful, but the angel assures her that she has been chosen for a reason. During the encounter, Gabriel tells Mary that her aunt is also pregnant, fulfilling a promise from God.
After the encounter, Mary rushes off to visit her aunt Elizabeth who is pregnant with a son that will be called John. He is anointed to prepare the way for Jesus. Luke 1:41 (TPT) “At the moment her aunt heard Mary’s voice, the baby within Elizabeth’s womb jumped and kicked. And suddenly, Elizabeth was filled to overflowing with the Holy Spirit!” Elizabeth, filled with the Holy Spirit, begins to prophecy over Mary. In verse 44 she says, “The moment you came in the door and greeted me, my baby danced inside me with joy!’
I think this is such a wonderful story because these babies were still in the womb but already recognized each other. John, inside of Elizabeth’s womb, began to dance with joy. He hadn’t been born yet, and already he was connected to his calling and understanding the great joy of Jesus coming to earth.
In Luke 2 beginning in verse 8, we see another glorious angelic encounter. Jesus had been born in Bethlehem that very night. There were shepherds nearby watching their flocks in a field. Verse 9 (TPT) says, “Suddenly, an angel of the Lord appeared in radiant splendor before them, lighting up the field with the blazing glory of God, and the shepherds were terrified! But the angel reassured them, saying, “Don’t be afraid, for I have come to bring you good news, the most joyous news the world has ever heard! And it is for everyone everywhere!””
Can you imagine being a shepherd in the field having a night pretty much like any night and an angel shows up announcing the birth of the son of God? Later, in verse 13 it says, “Then all at once in the night sky, a vast number of glorious angels appeared, the very armies of heaven! And they all praised God, singing: Glory to God in the highest realms of heaven! For there is peace and a good hope given to the sons of men.”
I love this passage. I feel like the angels could not help themselves. They knew this event had been planned since the foundation of the world. They knew this was the way that humans made it back to right relationship with the Lord, no longer separated from God by sin. They knew that this night changed everything. The earth was about to encounter God. The long-awaited prophecies were coming true. They had to show up on earth and declare what God was doing. I can not imagine being a shepherd watching all of this and not being changed forever.
Looking in another gospel, Matthew 2, the story of the Wise Men and how they located the baby Jesus is told. The story is fascinating to me. These men were a group of spiritual priests. For some reason in our culture, they are represented by three men, which is very unlikely. Can’t you just picture someone trying to recreate the manger scene for the first time and thought I can’t have hundreds of men on this stage. You can’t see baby Jesus. So they went with three men carrying three gifts, and it stuck.
However it happened that the manger scene was reduced to three men, there were likely many spiritual priests. They were also most likely surrounded by another entourage of people for protection because they were considered very wealthy and important men. This is another fascinating aspect to me as well. Some historians believe that these men could have been from the Mesopotamian region of Seleucia, and that it is quite possible these men were descendants of those who were taught by Daniel. The thought that Daniel, while in exile, taught people who would later have descendants that followed a star to find Jesus is pretty amazing. It is another example of how we truly don’t understand the impact we may have on generations to come.
Anyway, these men set out with their knowledge of the prophecies about Jesus and their knowledge of stars to find Jesus. They wanted to shower him with gifts of great wealth and value. Meaning that God used them to provide financially for Jesus while he was here on earth.
Matthew 2:10 (TPT) describes how the spiritual priests felt when they knew they had found Jesus. “And when they saw the star, they were so ecstatic that they shouted and celebrated with unrestrained joy.”
At this point, these men had not seen a single miracle that Jesus would perform. They perhaps did not know that he would die on the cross for their sins. They did not yet know that because of Jesus they would have the opportunity to live eternally with God in heaven. All they knew was that Jesus was a prophecy fulfilled, and they could not contain their joy. They traveled a long distance with gifts of great wealth, and when they saw the baby Jesus, they fell on their faces and worshiped him. How amazing is that?
I understand that the holidays can bring about difficult emotions for many. Whether it be broken family relationships, loss of loved ones, or unmet expectations, the holidays tend to highlight those often unresolved feelings or relationships.
However, I want to encourage you today to allow yourself to meditate on the amazing gift that Jesus is. He left heaven and chose to come to this earth for you. He chose to be God walking among men on earth for you. When He thinks of you He experiences great joy. Allow the Holy Spirit to refill you with His joy. There are so many reasons to be joyful. Allow yourself to experience that joy today!
Check out these other posts about joy!
How to Create Joy by Ashley Olivine
Unwrap Steadfast Joy this Christmas by Lisa Crowder
Simple Is Better – 6 Easy Ways to Keep the JOY! in Advent and Christmas by Dianne Vielhuber
Thanks for the reminder, Sharla! We all need this amidst the crazy this time of year. It is so GOOD to remember the WONDER of His birth. We so often just hear about how HUMBLE it was, but WOW! Such amazement as well.
True! Such amazement and wonder!!