As believers in Jesus Christ, we ought to radiate an outrageous, contagious, and unexplainable happiness because of what we celebrate this time of the year. Join pastor Marc Rae in this third devotional plan as he tells the story of the first Advent and connects us to the Source of this unending joy: Jesus. Shout it from the rooftops, “Joy to the world, the Lord has come!”
Grace School of Theology, in partnership with Yellow Balloons and El Centro Network
Day 1
Scriptures: Luke 2:8-9, Galatians 4:4, Micah 5:2
The Glory of Joy
We find ourselves in the countryside around Bethlehem, where Ruth and Boaz got married and gave birth to Obed, who gave birth to Jesse, who gave birth to King David.
Bethlehem (the house or the city of bread) is a major connector from the Old Testament to the New Testament. From the Abrahamic covenant through to the Davidic covenant that tells about a forever king through David’s line, it is Bethlehem where David was born and where Christ is about to be born.
In that same countryside, shepherds were out in the fields, keeping watch over their flock at night. Shepherds were the lowliest of workers. These particular shepherds were even the lowliest of the shepherds, because they were contract laborers. They didn’t even own the sheep. That is why they got to work during the worst watch—the night shift. Their schedule prevented them from going into town to get ceremonially clean in order to step into the temple. They were literally the unclean, the outcast.
These outcasts remind us of Ruth, the Moabite who came into Bethlehem as an outcast yet ultimately became a part of the lineage of Christ.
An angel appeared and gave these shepherds the news of Jesus’ arrival. God chose to extol this incredible news to these outcasts, the lowliest of sheep herders! The glory of God came to the least privileged. Why in the world did God reveal this incredible news to them? Why didn’t He do it to the priests or to the royals? Maybe He did it to show that Christ is available to all humankind.
It is believed that on these fields, these shepherds were keeping watch over the sheep that would eventually be sacrificed in the temple. What a paradox! Jesus, the Lamb of God, would eventually be sacrificed for our sins. And the news of His coming, the news of the Lamb who is also our Good Shepherd, was given to the shepherds who were keeping watch over the sheep who would be sacrificed for the sins of the nation.
For 400 years there had been silence from God, until an angel of the Lord broke that silence. In the fullness of time, the glory of the Lord overwhelmed them. The shepherds were greatly afraid. But they didn’t run or leave. They stayed because with that fear was the beginning of this incredible joy that comes with God’s glory in Christ Jesus. God’s glory returned!
Father, thank You that Your glory came back with Christ Jesus. I want to experience Your glory and Your joy today!
Day 2
Scriptures: Luke 2:10, Matthew 17:7, Romans 5:8
The Grace of Joy
If you wanted to talk to a little child, would you use a language that he or she cannot understand? No. You would get down on one knee to look that child in the eyes, and you would speak in a language that he or she can grasp. This is exactly what God does with each one of us. That is grace.
In the countryside around Bethlehem, an angel appeared to shepherds who were tending their sheep at night. He gave them a message of great joy. The angel spoke to them in a language they could understand. Was this God’s doing? He didn’t have to do this, but He did. This is grace.
The shepherds were terrified, but the angel calmed them down. The Roman and Greek gods of the day wanted people to be afraid of them. But what does God want? He wants to speak to us on our level. He wants us not to be afraid because He desires an intimate relationship with us. Jesus said the same thing to James, Peter, and John at the transfiguration, “Arise, and do not be afraid.” That is grace!
The angel said to the shepherds, “I bring you good tidings of great joy, which will be for all people.” Good tidings is translated from the same Greek word as gospel. It is as if he had said, “I bring you the gospel, Jesus Christ. He is born for you; He will live, die, be resurrected, and be glorified for you. God Himself has come to be one of you. God not only broke the silence of 400 years, but He is coming here Himself.” That is grace immeasurable.
This is the fulfillment of Genesis 3:15, where we get the first presentation of the gospel, which was that the seed of the serpent would bruise the heel of Eve’s Offspring, while He would crush the head of the serpent.
The good news of Jesus Christ would result in great joy. Does God have any cause to give us great joy? While we were still sinners, Christ died for us so that we might have life. We can have joy in Him both now and in eternity. And this joy is available to all people, not just some. This is grace upon grace.
Father, thank You for the incredible news of Your Son Jesus Christ! Your grace through Him has given us immeasurable, outrageous, and contagious joy!
Day 3
Scripture: Luke 2:11
The Greatness of Joy
One night an angel appeared and gave a message of joy to the shepherds that were in the fields outside Bethlehem with their sheep. The news the angel broke ended 400 years of silence from God. It was something beyond our wildest imagination.
The angel said: “For there is born to you this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord.”
Why did we need a savior? The nation of Israel was looking for a powerful prince to ride in on his white horse and conquer the oppression of the Romans. God sent a common Man who would eventually ride in on a young donkey to conquer the oppression of sin. Jesus would accomplish this through His death on the cross and His resurrection.
God set a standard of perfection and we couldn’t live up to it. Therefore, God gave us a Savior who stood in our place. Through Jesus Christ, we can not only enjoy eternal life by trusting in Him and His work on the cross, but we can enjoy life, right now. God gave us the Savior we absolutely needed: One who could destroy the sin that kept us from having an intimate, deep relationship with the God of the universe.
Why is the Savior so special? A savior is one who saves or delivers from danger or destruction. In this case, the destruction that comes to us because of our sin. The Savior is special because He is Christ the Lord. There is no other place in Scripture that we find the words Savior, Christ and the Lord used together, except here in the birth announcement.
Amplifying the angel’s message, we could read: “For there is born to you this day in the city of David a Savior (one who will save you from sin’s danger and destruction), who is Christ (the Messiah, the anointed One, the anointed King, God’s Chosen), the Lord (God Himself).” This is the great news that brings about immeasurable joy! God sent the One who can save us, who is the anointed King, who fulfills all the promises of God, and who is God Himself: the One who can do it all.
This is the story of the first Advent, the first coming of the Christ. But the good news doesn’t stop there, because the second Advent, His return, is imminent.
Father, we celebrate not only what we have today, but we look forward to when Jesus comes back and makes everything right again!