The presents are gone from under the tree, the stockings hang empty, the kids have tired of their new toys, the grandchildren have gone home, the credit card bills are beginning to arrive, your emotional high has deflated, and you are back to reality. Along with the decorations, you pack up the Christmas story until you unpack it next Christmas. A new year arrives this week with people around the world celebrating, making resolutions of how they will change in the coming year and then, the routine starts all over again. We have heard the story from Matthew and Luke telling of Jesus’ birth read and acted out in the children’s Christmas play more times, than we can count. Because of our familiarity coupled with the busyness of the holidays, we may have never looked beyond the surface of these verses. Luke’s account provides valuable lessons for the coming year.
After Jesus’ birth and the shepherds left, Mary treasured up all these things and pondered [meditated on] them in her heart (Lk 2:19 NIV). No one can begin understanding all that had gone through this young teenager’s mind over the past nine months—the visit from the angel Gabriel, a virgin yet she just gave birth to a son, and now shepherds sharing that the angel of the Lord announced to them this tiny infant lying in an animal trough was the promised Messiah. The word for treasured means she guarded each word spoken and the events that had taken place. Pondered literally means she tossed them around in her thoughts putting all the pieces together. The application for us: begin the New Year pondering and meditating on the words in these verses. We will be like the shepherds who went back to their routine but with their lives forever changed.
The shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God (v20). How will you return to your job and everyday life—depressed, worried, overwhelmed, stressed, disappointed, or same ole’ same ole’? The shepherds focused on the good news they had received. The angel said to them, “Don’t be afraid, for look, I proclaim to you good news of great joy that will be for all the people: today a Savior, who is Messiah the Lord, was born for you in the city of David” (vv. 10, 11). For most people, their typical routine includes watching the morning and evening news, neither of which includes any good news. A greeting among Jewish mothers was “good news” in the form of a question implying, “have you heard any good news that Messiah has been born?” The angel greeted the shepherds not with a question but a proclamation of good news that Messiah had been born. The external world did not change for the shepherds, but their knowledge that the Savior for all people had come changed their internal perspective filling them with joy. This good news overshadowed all the bad happening in their world. For us, we may need to shift our focus from a troubled chaotic world, to the good news that Jesus has come.
In those days a decree went out from Caesar Augustus and everyone was on his way to register for the census, each to his own city (Lk 2:1, 3). Why was Jesus born at this exact time and not 1000 years before or 1000 years later? Jesus’ birth was not a random coincidence in history. Paul tells us, when the fullness of the time came, God sent forth His Son (Gal 4:4). When you study world history during the 400 years between the close of the Old Testament and the angel’s announcement to Zechariah that Elizabeth his wife would bear a son who would prepare the way for the Lord, you learn that God had been silent with no angelic visitations, no visions, no communication to man. Yet God was actively working, setting the stage for His son’s birth. God worked through Alexander the Great to bring a common language and common culture to the world. He used the Roman Empire to bring world peace and build a road system for easy travel to those who would go into all the world preaching the Gospel. Then with all the pieces and people in place, He send forth His Son. This demonstrates God’s sovereignty over all nations, leaders, events, and that He is working whether we know it or not. For us today, we may see a chaotic hopeless world; instead, we should view the world stage with all the prophecies and signs of His second coming, falling into place. The sovereign God is actively working putting everything in place for Jesus’ return and the establishment of His eternal Kingdom.
C.S. Lewis said, “We don’t need to be told new ideas so much as we need to be reminded of old truths.” If you have put away the story of Jesus’ birth, unpack it, ponder, and meditate on the deep truths in this familiar story. You will return to your routine glorifying and praising God. Like the light of the star, the magi from the east followed seeking Him, you can be a light in a desperate and dark world for those seeking good news.
Sustaining Word for the Week: For a child has been born to us, a son has been given to us; And the government rest on His shoulders; And His name is called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Eternal Father, Prince of Peace (Is 9:6).