Christmas Joy, Pt. 4

God did not send the angel to announce Christ's birth to Caesar, nor Herod, nor any other royalty; the birth of Jesus was announced to shepherds in the fields.

Christmas Joy, Pt. 4

"Then the angel said to them, 'Do not be afraid, for behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy which will be to all people. For there is born to you this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord.'"

(Luke 2:10-11)

I love these three phrases in Luke 2:10: "good tidings", "great joy", and "all people".

The words, "I bring good tidings", are actually one Greek word, and it is one of my favorites: euaggelizomai, where we get our English word "evangelism". Evangelism in its most basic sense means to bring good news, and the angel was indeed bringing to these shepherds some wonderful news of great (megas) joy. Also, notice this news of great joy was for all people.

God did not send the angel to Rome to make the announcement to Caesar, nor to Herod, the King of the Jews, nor to any other royalty, but God sent the first Christmas announcement of the birth of Jesus, the first Noel, to shepherds in the fields. It is a good lesson to learn that God works in mysterious ways, and His ways are not our own. He resists the proud, but gives grace to the humble, as James 4:6 teaches.

"To all people" – I love that. Like the Christmas carol proclaims, "Joy to the world." This message is for everyone; God does not exclude anybody. He invites all to freely come and partake of life everlasting through His Son Jesus Christ. John 17:3 states, "And this is eternal life, that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom You have sent."

Interestingly, the famous carol, "Joy to the World", was not originally written as a Christmas carol or song.

Greg Forster explains,

Isaac Watts was one of the great hymn writers in church history, and I guess nothing shows that better than the fact that he wrote one of his most famous hymns by accident. In 1719, Watts published a book of poems in which each poem was based on a psalm. But rather than just translate the original Old Testament texts, he adjusted them to refer more explicitly to the work of Jesus as they had been revealed in the New Testament.

One of those poems was an adaptation of Psalm 98. Watts interpreted this psalm as a celebration of Jesus's role as King of both his church and the whole world. More than a century later, the second half of this poem was slightly adapted and set to music to give us what has become one of the most famous of all Christmas carols:

Joy to the world, the Lord is come;
Let earth receive her King!
Let every heart prepare him room And heaven and nature sing!
And heaven and nature sing!
And heaven . . . and heaven . . . and nature sing.

Joy to the earth, the Savior reigns!
Let men their songs employ
While fields and floods, rocks, hills, and plains,
Repeat the sounding joy! Repeat the sounding joy!
Repeat . . . repeat . . . the sounding joy!

No more let sins and sorrows grow,
Nor thorns infest the ground;
He comes to make his blessings flow
Far as the curse is found!
Far as the curse is found!
Far as . . . far as . . . the curse is found!

He rules the world with truth and grace
And makes the nations prove
The glories of his righteousness
And wonders of his love!
And wonders of his love!
And wonders . . . wonders . . . of his love!

(Source.)

Joy, great joy, is offered to you in Jesus Christ. Receive Him today and be filled with joy inexpressible.

Partner with us in spreading the Gospel!

Will you help fuel our efforts to spread the Gospel
and equip and empower other Christians to do the same?

Count me in! ▶

Podcast of the Week

Mission Trip to Asia, Pt. 3

Pastor Danny continues to share about his recent 13-day mission trip to 2 different Asian countries (which cannot be named for security reasons, since the emphasis of the trip was ministering to persecuted pastors). He expounds upon what he has shared in his daily devotions, offering additional details, information, and testimonies.

Listen on your preferred platform: