Greetings of peace,
In the old days there were some trees that bear their fruit only in their seasons, for example: the tree of durian, mango, jackfruit, and the rest. But now the technology in farming has successfully manipulated through special fertilizing, arrangement of land cultivation, etc. that the tree could bear fruit throughout the year, not depending on its season. Wasn’t the Bible designed by God in eternity according to His Omniscience and Omnipotence to reach us in every season of our lives (joy or sorrow)? Therefore, we should not classify the verses by matching up verses with special seasons such as Passover, Pentecost, Jesus’ Ascension, Christmas, and so on.
The theme “Great Joy for All People” this morning will surely bless us although Christmas season has passed by for whoever we are, wherever we come from and whatever season we are at, we need the great joy from God.
What is the fact of the great joy that God promised to all people in the world?
1. The great joy is provided behind the life difficulties of the believers (Luke 2:1-7).
There is a saying in Javanese, in Indonesian or in English: no pain, no gain which means suffering or hard work is necessary to achieve something. The great joy shall be the climax and the end of the life difficulties for believers. So it was with Joseph and the pregnant Mary, who had to experience great difficulty (vv. 1-7) before enjoying extraordinary joy (vv. 8-20).
What was the great difficulty experienced by Joseph and Mary?
Luke 2:1-3 wrote, “And it came to pass in those days that a decree went out from Caesar Augustus that all the world should be registered. This census first took place while Quirinius was governing Syria. So all went to be registered, everyone to his own city.”
Who was that Caesar Augustus? He ruled in the Roman Empire in 27 BC – 14 AD. He prospered but caused problems to the Jews with his census decree. Considering the condition at the time, the census surely generated trouble to all the Jews both rich and poor as they had to return to the city where they were born. According to the history, many people opposed and a group of the Jews even united in protest against the next census as recorded by Doctor Luke in his writing in Acts 5:37. Do you remember the census done by King David that caused God's anger (2 Samuel 24:2, 10, 17)?
As promised by God, Mary was pregnant and would deliver the Son of the Highest. For the census Mary, who was in her late pregnancy (vv. 4-5), had to go back to Bethlehem which was 113 to 120 km away from Nazareth where she lived. If they took the journey on foot without necessarily going up the hills or down the valley or crossing the river, they would reach approx. 29 km each day; if they traveled by caravan, it would take them 32-35 km per day. It means Joseph and Mary had to spend 3-4 days on the road before reaching Bethlehem. We could imagine how suffering it was for Mary who was about to labor. Not long after they arrived in Bethlehem, she gave birth to Jesus.
However, the physical fatigue Mary experienced was nothing compared to her mental exhaustion for she had to deliver her baby in an animal stable and lay baby Jesus in a manger (vv. 6-7). The swaddle must have been prepared from Nazareth but it was truly painful to see that the baby promised to be the Son of the Highest had to suffer such inconvenience. Mary however continued staying in the promise of God and she was certain that behind the suffering, there would be great joy awaiting according to the promise of the Word of God delivered by Gabriel to her.
Introspection: Are you facing an unsolved problem that tempts you to think that there are no such faith and hope as promised in the Word of God? Hold on to the promise of God by having faith in the Word of God for behind the great difficulty there will be great joy!
2. The great joy is the fruit of salvation through Christ (vv. 8-14).
The real name of Caesar Augustus was Octavian who got rid of his competitors, the generals, they were: Anthony and Lepidus. Anthony joined the last ruler of the Ptolomeus dynasty in Egypt Queen Cleopatra, then went against Octavian but they ended up defeated and died. Therefore, Octavian became the only ruler of Rome and he succeeded in getting the sympathy of the people and also the military to expand the colonialism of the Roman Empire. He then got the name Augustus which in Latin means “the increaser” or “venerable”. Cyrenius was one of his supporters. Compared to Jesus, the Son of the Highest, Augustus’ fame was nothing, but God determined that Jesus had to be born in a humble place. The eternal great joy that was experienced by Mary was far more than the joy of Augustus.
Introspection: What is our great joy? Does it come from physical blessings such as high position, famous name, honor, and so on? Remember, those physical blessings cannot always solve problems! Doesn’t COVID-19 pandemic prove that anyone – rich or poor, a president or common people, young or old, well-educated or illiterate, etc. is helpless in the face of this deadly virus, let alone before God? There is only one solution to experience the great joy: be willing to receive the salvation in Christ.
Who else had experienced the great joy? The shepherds who were guarding their flock of sheep on the field in Bethlehem at night (v. 8). Without reasoning, they quickly did what the angel told them.
The shepherds were faithful in keeping their sheep for some benefits, such as: to get the wool from their hair and the milk. Besides, as Bethlehem was not far from Jerusalem where the Temple of God was (more or less 8 km), the shepherds carefully tended the sheep that they might grow healthy that the shepherds could use some of them as an offering from them and their family or sell them as the burnt offering in the Temple of God on the Jewish feasts.
Application: Whoever we are, let’s imitate those shepherds who purposely used some of the blessings for the offerings to God. If we do it humbly as a token of our gratitude without expecting a reward, we will definitely receive great joy amidst life’s challenges.
Shepherds were used to live in fear because they were often terrorized by the colonists (vv. 9-11). But the angel reassured them not to be afraid for he brought great joy from the glory of the Lord whose light defeated the darkness.
“Do not be afraid … For there is born to you ... a Savior …” is related to the song of Zacharias about the forgiveness of sin (Luke 1:77) → the concept of animal offering in the Temple of God. Therefore, Christ the Lord had to be born in a stable.
Application: The light of the glory of the LORD defeats evil and worldly issues that cause fear to the waning faith. If this current situation scares us, shy away from reading horrifying news on social media. Rather, set your mind on Christ the Lord who has saved us from our sins, and keep holding on to His promise of eternal life.
Even though baby Jesus was swaddled humbly and laid in a manger (v. 12), still it cannot be bought or traded with the entire wealth of Roman colonialism that was recorded in the census of Caesar Augustus. Salvation cannot be bought by anything other than the sacrifice of Christ.
The angel further declared the level of greatness of the value of God’s salvation that brought great joy (vv. 13-14). They are:
- As great as the number of the heavenly host who praised God → far greater than all powers of the world.
- As great as the place of the Highest → far higher than any powerful throne in the world.
Introspection: What becomes our joy? No matter how much wealth we have, always humbly magnify and glorify the salvation of God that brings great joy by living in peace and in favor with God. This is the life quality that surpasses all of our achievements. What is the use of heaping up treasures but losing favor with God and our offering is rejected by Him?
3. The great joy is experienced when practicing the Word of God (vv. 15-20).
In verse 2 Doctor Luke mentioned Cyrenius, a person entrusted by Caesar Augustus to govern Syria. He was a reliable troop commander, a highly dedicated and loyal senator. In his biography, Caesar Augustus also mentioned Cyrenius: "A large group of people from the entire Italy came for my election...when Cyrenius and Gaius were the consulates."
Just like Cyrenius, we must be loyal in our work or business and dedicated to gain trust and good name. Then it should be so in responding to the salvation that brings great joy from God.
What did the shepherds do after hearing the tidings of the great joy from the angel? They quickly left to find Mary, Joseph and the baby. Then they testified about what was said to them concerning the Child (vv. 15-17).
Application: We should not come to church just to make our status as Christian checked. Rather, quickly respond to the Word of God by putting it into practice. Let’s increase our faithfulness and dedication by living out the Word of God that has been shepherding us. By doing so, we can become the witness of the Word that has transformed and helped us and brought great joy into our lives.
In verse 5 Doctor Luke mentioned Mary as Joseph’s “betrothed wife” to bring to mind of Joseph’s cognitive dissonance when he found out Mary was pregnant before he married her, and also of Joseph who later on took the pregnant Mary as his wife. In a stable the shepherds found Joseph, Mary and baby Jesus in a manger. This indicated that Joseph and Mary were united because of Jesus, the Son of the Highest.
Compare it with Cyrenius’ marriage. Although he was successful in the civic matter, having honor and high prestige in the society, he had no experience of the salvation of God through Christ who was born in a manger, thus his marriage fell apart. The Roman history recorded in the year when Jesus was born, Cyrenius divorced his wife then got remarried in the time when Jesus was still a child (3 AD.) and when Jesus was already an adult (20 AD.) Cyrenius divorced his wife again. His marriage was ruined.
Introspection: What unites our marriage? It’s not our fame, treasure, position or prestige but the openness of the hearts that are willing to be transformed by the Word of Christ. Only the hearts willing to obey and quickly respond to the Word of God and do it will experience the great joy in a marriage.
What were the responses of Mary and those who heard the testimonies of the shepherds? They were amazed and Mary kept all the matters in her heart (vv. 18-20).
Application: However simple the Word of God is, the tidings of salvation that produces great joy is truly amazing for it comes from God by the sacrifice of Christ, His only Son. So, let’s appreciate, ponder and keep it in our hearts. Although we may not understand it now, but when fear comes in facing our difficulties and pressures of lives, the Holy Spirit will remind us of the Word of God we have heard and kept in our hearts. The Holy Spirit will guide us to do that Word of God. The result is the fear, trauma and conflict will be cast away and we have the experience with God and become the witness of the great joy.
The more we listen to, ponder on, keep the Word of God and do it, the more we feel the great joy because of the transformation of our life and marriage. However, to come to that point, we need to thrive through the life’s challenges and adversities by having sure-footed faith in the promise of salvation in Christ. This way, we will surely relish the great joy from Him that cannot be replaced by any joy offered by the world. Amen.