The Joy of Christmas (Luke 1:26-56)

Welcome and Announcements

Please note the following dates:

December 21st, no Bible Study & Prayer

December 24th, Christmas Eve Carols and Lessons at 7pm

December 25th, no Discipleship Groups; AM Worship at 10:30am

Quarterly Business Meeting on January 1st, 2023, after Sunday AM Worship.

Christmas gifts and Christmas cookies

Please on your way out, please don’t forget to grab a gift bag—there’s enough for one per adult (inside you’ll find your gift and some treats to share.

Also, we had some ladies baking 350 cookies yesterday with the purpose of those cookies being used for outreach—so, there are 75 bags of cookies available to take home with you—please keep one bag for yourself and take a few bags to your neighbors. Use them as an opportunity to talk to your neighbors about Jesus and invite them to church.

Let me remind you to continue worshiping the Lord through your giving. To help you give, we have three ways to do so, (1) cash and checks can be given at the offering box. Checks should be written to Grace & Peace; debit, credit, and ACH transfers can be done either by (2) texting 84321 with your $[amount] and following the text prompts or (3) by visiting us online at www.giving.gapb.church. Of course, everything you give goes to the building up of our local church and the spread of the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

Prayer of Adoration and Repentance

Call to Worship (Ps 68:32-35)

Our Call to Worship this morning is Psalm 68:32-35, which ends Psalm 68 with a call for God’s people to praise and worship Him. Please stand and read with me Psalm 68:32-35; I’ll read the even-numbered verses, please join me in reading the odd-numbered verses.

Psalm 68:32–35 ESV

32 O kingdoms of the earth, sing to God; sing praises to the Lord, Selah 33 to him who rides in the heavens, the ancient heavens; behold, he sends out his voice, his mighty voice. 34 Ascribe power to God, whose majesty is over Israel, and whose power is in the skies. 35 Awesome is God from his sanctuary; the God of Israel—he is the one who gives power and strength to his people. Blessed be God!

Congregational Singing

Joy Has Dawned (237)

Angels we have Heard on High (227)

O Come, All Ye Faithful (231)

Scripture Reading (Isa 9:1-7)

Our Scripture Reading this morning is Isaiah 9:1-7, which is a shorter passage, but will help focus our attention on the celebration of Christmas over the next few weeks. Tara, can you read Isaiah 9:1-7 for us?

Isaiah 9:1–7 ESV

1 But there will be no gloom for her who was in anguish. In the former time he brought into contempt the land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali, but in the latter time he has made glorious the way of the sea, the land beyond the Jordan, Galilee of the nations. 2 The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light; those who dwelt in a land of deep darkness, on them has light shone. 3 You have multiplied the nation; you have increased its joy; they rejoice before you as with joy at the harvest, as they are glad when they divide the spoil. 4 For the yoke of his burden, and the staff for his shoulder, the rod of his oppressor, you have broken as on the day of Midian. 5 For every boot of the tramping warrior in battle tumult and every garment rolled in blood will be burned as fuel for the fire. 6 For to us a child is born, to us a son is given; and the government shall be upon his shoulder, and his name shall be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. 7 Of the increase of his government and of peace there will be no end, on the throne of David and over his kingdom, to establish it and to uphold it with justice and with righteousness from this time forth and forevermore. The zeal of the Lord of hosts will do this.

Preaching of God’s Word (Luke 1:26-56)

Introduction

If you have your Bible, please turn it to Luke 1:26-56.

Over the next two weeks, we’re taking a brief break from our regular series in Acts to focus in a bit on the Christmas season. Some of you may remember from last year, that I made the decision to not do Advent in the traditional sense, but rather spend a few weeks each December focusing in on a theme concerning Christmas—so, last year, we spent about a month discussing hope and this year, we’re going to spend a few weeks discussing joy.

In particular, what about Christmas ought to spark joy or what about Christmas gives joy?

Why is Christmas such a joyous time?

Is it because of gift-giving or time with family and friends? Is it because of hot chocolate or the idea of sitting by a fireplace while snow falls outside? Is it simply nostalgia? A remembering of what Christmas was like years and years ago?

My goal this morning is not to disparage those ideas—it is great to give gifts, spend time with friends and family; it is great to enjoy hot chocolate while sitting by a fireplace while snow falls outside. It’s great to reflect on memories from yesteryear.

But these ideas aren’t ultimately what Christmas is about—and anyone here who has been a Christian for any amount of time knows that Christmas ultimately isn’t about hot chocolate, snow, family, and friends—it has always been about Jesus.

Ultimately, we know that these ideas don’t bring lasting joy; we know this because once the Christmas season is gone and we’re back into our normal routine of life, the spirit of Christmas is replaced with the drudgery of everyday life. It isn’t the Christmas season that brings joy; it’s Jesus that brings joy.

We see this even in the way that Mary, Joseph, Elizabeth, John the Baptist, and even the angel Gabriel responds to the coming birth of Messiah in Luke 1:26-56, which again, is our text for this morning; but before I get too far ahead of myself, let’s read this passage.

Luke 1:26–56 ESV

26 In the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent from God to a city of Galilee named Nazareth, 27 to a virgin betrothed to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David. And the virgin’s name was Mary. 28 And he came to her and said, “Greetings, O favored one, the Lord is with you!” 29 But she was greatly troubled at the saying, and tried to discern what sort of greeting this might be. 30 And the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. 31 And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus. 32 He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. And the Lord God will give to him the throne of his father David, 33 and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of his kingdom there will be no end.” 34 And Mary said to the angel, “How will this be, since I am a virgin?” 35 And the angel answered her, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; therefore the child to be born will be called holy—the Son of God. 36 And behold, your relative Elizabeth in her old age has also conceived a son, and this is the sixth month with her who was called barren. 37 For nothing will be impossible with God.” 38 And Mary said, “Behold, I am the servant of the Lord; let it be to me according to your word.” And the angel departed from her. 39 In those days Mary arose and went with haste into the hill country, to a town in Judah, 40 and she entered the house of Zechariah and greeted Elizabeth. 41 And when Elizabeth heard the greeting of Mary, the baby leaped in her womb. And Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit, 42 and she exclaimed with a loud cry, “Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb! 43 And why is this granted to me that the mother of my Lord should come to me? 44 For behold, when the sound of your greeting came to my ears, the baby in my womb leaped for joy. 45 And blessed is she who believed that there would be a fulfillment of what was spoken to her from the Lord.” 46 And Mary said, “My soul magnifies the Lord, 47 and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior, 48 for he has looked on the humble estate of his servant. For behold, from now on all generations will call me blessed; 49 for he who is mighty has done great things for me, and holy is his name. 50 And his mercy is for those who fear him from generation to generation. 51 He has shown strength with his arm; he has scattered the proud in the thoughts of their hearts; 52 he has brought down the mighty from their thrones and exalted those of humble estate; 53 he has filled the hungry with good things, and the rich he has sent away empty. 54 He has helped his servant Israel, in remembrance of his mercy, 55 as he spoke to our fathers, to Abraham and to his offspring forever.” 56 And Mary remained with her about three months and returned to her home.

As we study this passage together, we’re going to break it into three parts based on the chronology of events in the text (1) Gabriel and Mary (26-38), (2) Mary and Elizabeth (39-45), and (3) Mary’s Magnificat (46-56). I know that it is a long passage, but my goal this morning is for you to see how the conception of Jesus brought about great joy in order to tie the concept of joy with our understanding of Christmas. Or in other words, my goal this morning is to help us see why Christmas is such a joyous time of year and the best way of doing this (in my opinion) is by reflecting on how the people involved with Jesus’ birth responded to Jesus’ conception.

Prayer for Illumination

Gabriel and Mary, 26-38

Our text starts with what would’ve been a shocking moment to Mary, we can tell that it was a bit shocking because of her response in v. 29, “she was greatly troubled” and the angel’s encouragement for her to “not be afraid” in v. 30.

We have to remember that angels throughout Scripture typically aren’t described as cutesy beings, but rather fear-inducing beings, which definitely explains Mary’s reaction to Gabriel. What does the Bible say about angels?

They are intimidating—as seen with Balaam’s donkey who refused to go near an angel that was blocking the road in Numbers 22:23.

They’re sometimes described as fierce warriors—like the angel who guarded the Garden of Eden in Genesis 3:24 with a sword or the angel described in Daniel 10:5-6.

Occasionally, they appear like humans, but often when described, they are described as unusual and otherworldly—like the cherubim in Ezekiel 1:15-16 “15 Then I looked at the living creatures, and behold, there was one wheel on the earth beside the living creatures, for each of the four of them. 16 The appearance of the wheels and their workmanship was like the gleam of beryl, and all four of them had the same likeness, their appearance and workmanship being as if one wheel were within another” or the Seraphim with six wings to cover their eyes because they cannot stare into God’s holiness directly.

In almost every instance that they’re seen by humans in Scripture, the angel appears and then immediately has to tell the person not to be afraid and to not worship the angel.

With this in mind, it makes perfect sense that Mary would see the angel and experience some amount of fear or trepidation.

And yet, this is how God chose to send His message to Mary. We read in v. 26, “In the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent from God to a city of Galilee named Nazareth, to a virgin betrothed to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David. And the virgin’s name was Mary.”

We’re given some details concerning who this Mary is, but let me point out that the reason for these details isn’t to really tell us about Mary, but rather to give us the setting and get us thinking in terms of fulfilled prophecy or better yet, prophecies about to be fulfilled.

We’re told that this is “in the sixth month” referring to the sixth month of Elizabeth’s pregnancy, which sets the timeframe.

We’re told of the location, a city of Galilee named Nazareth.

We’re told that the primary person involved in this event is Mary, who is a virgin, which refers to a prophecy in Isaiah. Isaiah 7:14 “14 “Therefore the Lord Himself will give you a sign: Behold, the virgin will be with child and bear a son, and she will call His name Immanuel.”

We’re told that this virgin is to be married to a man named Joseph, who is “of the house of David,” which refers to another prophecy, this time in 2 Samuel 7:12-13 “12 “When your days are fulfilled and you lie down with your fathers, I will raise up one of your seed after you, who will come forth from your own body, and I will establish his kingdom. 13 “He shall build a house for My name, and I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever. “

And in v. 28, we see this greeting from the angel, “Greetings, O favored one, the Lord is with you!”

This sounds like a great greeting from the angel, but remember, angels are described as fearful, intimidating warriors, thus, Mary is “greatly troubled at the saying,” and tries to figure out what type of greeting this might be or in other words, she’s trying to figure out if this is a trick or if this is something that she can trust in.

So, the angel reassures her in v. 30, “Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God.”

Or put in other words, “fear not, because God has given you grace.”

Which leads the angel to give the message or the prophecy that he was given from God starting in v. 31, “you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus. He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. And the Lord God will give to him the throne of his father David, and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of his kingdom there will be no end.”

So, the first thing that the angel tells Mary (beyond “do not be afraid”) is that this young, probably teenage girl who is betrothed to be married is going to have a child whose name will be Jesus, He is going to be the Son of God, and He will be given David’s throne to reign forever.

Talk about a statement that would absolutely shock a person—let alone a young, teenage girl who was betrothed to be married.

It is a bit of a shocking statement, considering the fact that everything Gabriel says here was prophesied throughout the Old Testament—and Mary, as a Jewish woman would’ve known that the birth of Messiah was to happen in a certain way.

Perhaps that’s why she responded the way that she did?

In v. 34, “And Mary said to the angel, ‘How will this be, since I am a virgin?’”

This is a fair question, logically how does someone have a child without the prerequisite activity taking place? But the angel has an answer to this in v. 35, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; therefore the child to be born will be called holy—the Son of God.”

Or in other words, God through the Holy Spirit will do something supernatural and miraculous and through this supernatural and miraculous event, a child will be born and He will be the Son of God.

And before Mary can ask, “how?” again, the angel gives just a brief statement meant to affirm the whole situation in vv. 36-37, “And behold, your relative Elizabeth in her old age has also conceived a son, and this is the sixth month with her who was called barren. For nothing will be impossible with God.”

In many prophetic writings throughout the Bible, you’ll notice that they given with two-parts. The first part is typically a longer-term prophecy; the second part is typically a shorter-term prophecy.

What’s happening here, with Gabriel, is that he’s following this pattern—Mary, you’re going to have a child, here’s proof that it’s going to happen; remember, your elderly, barren relative? She’s going to have a child as well, in fact, she’s already pregnant.

Since Elizabeth is pregnant with a child, Mary can know that she will be pregnant with a child.

And this section of the text ends with Mary expressing a willingness to serve the Lord. V. 38, “Behold, I am the servant of the Lord; let it be to me according to your word.’ and the angel departed from her.”

What we see here, as Mary hears from the angel Gabriel is actually simple—Christmas, the celebration of the birth of Jesus brings joy because it celebrates the fulfillment of Scripture—the promise of Messiah.

The text continues, let’s look at vv. 39-45.

Mary and Elizabeth, 39-45

Luke 1:39–45 ESV

39 In those days Mary arose and went with haste into the hill country, to a town in Judah, 40 and she entered the house of Zechariah and greeted Elizabeth. 41 And when Elizabeth heard the greeting of Mary, the baby leaped in her womb. And Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit, 42 and she exclaimed with a loud cry, “Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb! 43 And why is this granted to me that the mother of my Lord should come to me? 44 For behold, when the sound of your greeting came to my ears, the baby in my womb leaped for joy. 45 And blessed is she who believed that there would be a fulfillment of what was spoken to her from the Lord.”

The angel Gabriel just told Mary about her relative, Elizabeth, who was older in years, was considered barren or infertile, and is now six months pregnant. So, of course, Mary is going to go to see Elizabeth.

There could be two different reasons for this:

First, Elizabeth is Mary’s relative—and Elizabeth was older and considered infertile. Mary could be going out of a sense of familial obligation. This is my relative, she needs help.

One might assume this is her reason based on the fact that she stays until the child is born; we see this in v. 56, “And Mary remained with her about three months and returned to her home.”

Second, she wants to see if the angel is right!

Consider, this is the first century—there is no way to communicate across long distances that is cheap, quick, and simple.

Mary hadn’t heard that Elizabeth was pregnant because it’s the first century, so of course, she’d want to see her previously infertile relative in her time of need.

Thus, now that an angel has told her about her relative, she wants to see it for herself, which would then confirm or affirm the fact that she too would have a child.

Maybe it’s a combination of both.

Regardless, Mary goes to Elizabeth and in v. 40, “she [enters] the house of Zechariah and greeted Elizabeth. And when Elizabeth heard the greeting of Mary, the baby leaped in her womb. And Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit, and she” made an exclamation.

Note that something unique is happening here. Don’t forget, that this is the beginning of the New Testament, which means that the Holy Spirit hasn’t permanently indwelled God’s people, yet (that happens in Acts 2).

Prior to Pentecost, when the Holy Spirit filled a person, there was a specific reason for it and we can see that there’s something even more unique happening in the reaction of the baby in Elizabeth’s womb.

Elizabeth is about to say something significant that’s been given to her to say by God through the Holy Spirit; and her exclamation will explain the meaning of the baby’s movement and it will show us yet another reason for joy during the Christmas season.

We see the baby leap, Elizabeth get filled with the Holy Spirit and in vv. 42-45, she makes a significant proclamation, “She exclaimed with a loud cry, ‘Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb! And why is this granted to me that the mother of my Lord should come to me? For behold, when the sound of your greeting came to my ears, the baby in my womb leaped for joy. And blessed is she who believed that there would be a fulfillment of what was spoken to her from the Lord.” It’s a lot, so let’s take a few minutes to break it down.

Elizabeth makes the statement that Mary is blessed because of the child in her womb, but don’t misunderstand this—don’t think of this in the Roman Catholic or Eastern Orthodox sense in which Mary is venerated and essentially worshipped—that isn’t what Elizabeth is doing.

Elizabeth is acknowledging that Mary is playing a very important role as the mother of Jesus, but don’t think of this as a reason to elevate Mary because it isn’t. The significance here isn’t Mary, but rather the child Mary is carrying.

The baby that Elizabeth was carrying leaped for joy, not because Mary was there, but because the baby recognized that Mary was carrying the Son of God in her womb.

And because Mary was carrying the Son of God, Elizabeth proclaims how blessed Mary is, how blessed the fruit of Mary’s womb is, and how blessed she is that the mother of her Lord would come to see her.

Again note, that these ideas that Elizabeth is expressing isn’t praise or worship or veneration of Mary like the Roman Catholic or Eastern Orthodox religions suggest.

This is just a recognition that Mary is being used by God to do something miraculous and it’s not based on how great she is, how wonderful she is, or how magnificent she is, it’s all based on how great God is, how wonderful He is, and how magnificent He is.

Mary is blessed because she heard from God through an angel and she chose to believe that God would fulfill what He had said. Or in other words, Christmas—the celebration of the birth of Jesus Christ brings joy because it causes us to reflect on how God keeps HIs Word.

Which then leads us to Mary’s response towards not just Elizabeth’s proclamation, but of the whole situation. Read with me vv. 46-56.

Mary’s Magnificat, 46-56

Luke 1:46–56 ESV

46 And Mary said, “My soul magnifies the Lord, 47 and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior, 48 for he has looked on the humble estate of his servant. For behold, from now on all generations will call me blessed; 49 for he who is mighty has done great things for me, and holy is his name. 50 And his mercy is for those who fear him from generation to generation. 51 He has shown strength with his arm; he has scattered the proud in the thoughts of their hearts; 52 he has brought down the mighty from their thrones and exalted those of humble estate; 53 he has filled the hungry with good things, and the rich he has sent away empty. 54 He has helped his servant Israel, in remembrance of his mercy, 55 as he spoke to our fathers, to Abraham and to his offspring forever.” 56 And Mary remained with her about three months and returned to her home.

After hearing Elizabeth’s proclamation and I’m sure after reflecting on what the angel told her and making the realization that she is going to give birth to the Messiah, Mary wells up in praise to the Lord. She starts with a general praise, but then she narrows her praise to two specific reasons. Let’s start by looking at the general praise.

In vv. 46-48a, we read, “Mary said, ‘My soul magnifies the Lord, and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior, for he has looked on the humble estate of his servant.”

The idea of magnifying the Lord with her soul is to exalt, glorify, or make great the Lord--In this context, the word soul is translating the Greek word ψυχη, which means her life or every part of her is glorifying, exalting, or making great the Lord.

She says her “spirit rejoices in God [her] Savior”—spirit is utilized here to emphasize that all of her is worshiping the Lord—in particular, in this instance, she rejoices in God—she’s glad in Him, she’s thankful towards Him.

Why? Partly because of who He is, that’s represented in her calling Him her Savior, but also in His selection of her for this role in the birth of Jesus Christ. He looked upon her humble estate—He considered her willingness to serve with humility.

In addition, she continues in the second half of v. 48 with this, “For behold, from now on all generations will call me blessed; for he who is mighty has done great things for me, and holy is his name. And his mercy is for those who fear him from generation to generation.”

Or in other words, Mary is praising God. And she praises Him with her whole being by glorifying, exalting, and making great the Lord. She praises Him by rejoicing in Him and giving thanks to Him.

What starts her worship of Him? Because God considered her willingness to serve and chose her to serve in a way that generations after her would see how blessed she was.

Because God considered her humbleness and chose to do great things for her.

Because God is holy and gives mercy to those who fear Him.

This is what compels Mary to start what’s typically called her magnificat, her prayer of praise to the Lord. She reflects on who God is, what He has done, what He plans to do, and how He has chosen to use her for His plan, and she praises Him and worships Him.

In vv. 51-55, she focuses her praise on two (or three) things depending on how you look at it. In vv. 51-53a, she praises the Lord for His strength and sovereignty (which could be one or two different things; again, depending on how you look at it); and in vv. 53b-55, she praises the Lord for His provision. Let’s look at these two reasons for praise in a little more detail:

In vv. 51-53a we read, “He has shown strength with his arm; he has scattered the proud in the thoughts of their hearts; he has brought down the mighty from their thrones and exalted those of humble estate;”

God has shown His strength with His arm, referring to His omnipotence—Mary highlights the fact that He has the power to do all things.

He has shown His sovereignty by scattering the proud, bringing down the mighty, and exalting the humble—Mary highlights the fact that He has the control to do these sorts of things.

In vv. 53b-55 we read, “he has filled the hungry with good things, and the rich he has sent away empty. He has helped his servant Israel, in remembrance of his mercy, as he spoke to our fathers, to Abraham and to his offspring forever.”

God has provided food to the hungry and He has sent away the rich—which might sound unusual, but think of it in general terms like this—the hungry tend to be humble and simply ask God for mercy and help; the rich tend to be boastful, so they don’t ask God for mercy and help.

God has provided aid to Israel in remembrance of the mercy that He had promised to Israel’s forefathers, in particular, to Abraham.

What exactly draws or compels Mary to worship the Lord in such a great statement of praise here?

It’s the reflection of all that God has done, is doing, and will do.

It’s the understanding that when God says He will do something, He actually will.

It’s the realization that there can be complete trust in the Lord because He has the ability to do what He says He’ll do.

Or put differently, in light of Christmas, Christmas brings joy because it gives us confidence in the future return of Jesus.

In our remaining few minutes, let’s talk about application. And I’d like to start application by bringing up some of the thoughts that I mentioned in the introduction:

Application

What about Christmas brings joy? Why is Christmas such a joyous time?

Is it because of gift-giving or time with family and friends? Is it because of hot chocolate or the idea of sitting by a fireplace while snow falls outside? Is it simply nostalgia? A remembering of what Christmas was like years and years ago?

No, no, no, all these ideas can give us joy, but ultimately what gives us joy as we celebrate the Christmas season is Jesus Himself. So, let me help us reflect on this as we look at how to apply it:

First, Christmas brings joy because it celebrates the fulfillment of Scripture—the promise of the Messiah (26-38)—which we see emphasized in the first part of the passage. We see the fulfillment of Scripture highlighted by Gabriel who tells Mary that she is going to be the virgin mother of the Messiah—of Jesus Christ. What about this gives us joy?

It gives us joy because it shows us God’s ability to sovereignly and providentially work in history.

We don’t have an impotent God, we have an all-powerful, all-sovereign God who works all things together for the good of those that love Him.

How do we know? Because everything that occurs with the birth of Jesus and really at this moment, just prior to Jesus’ birth with Mary and Gabriel helps us to see that God works things sovereignly and providentially.

Again, though, how does this give us joy? Just think about it.

If we served an impotent God, would we be able to have joy?

Let me put the question in a different light—do you think the prophets of Baal were joyous when they danced, and they chanted, and they cut themselves in an attempt to get Baal to do something when Elijah confronted them? Do you think they had joy as they did all these different rituals and Elijah mockingly asked them if Baal was too busy “musing, or he is relieving himself, or he is on a journey, or perhaps he is asleep and must be awakened.”

Or do you think Elijah experienced joy when he set up an altar and poured water all over the offering, the wood, and in the trench until the water was overflowing and when he uttered the simple prayer, “O LORD, God of Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, let it be known this day that you are God” and fire fell from the heavens and consumed the offering, the water, and the wood?

Elijah experienced joy because He recognized God’s power, His sovereignty, and His providence.

Christmas brings joy because our God is sovereign and all-powerful; and in His sovereignty and omnipotence, He fulfilled His Scripture by bringing Jesus into the world.

This Christmas, be joyful because Jesus fulfills the Scriptures.

Second, Christmas brings joy because it causes us to reflect on God’s ability to keep His Word (39-45)—In the first section of the text, we see the angel Gabriel give Mary a prophecy concerning the birth of Jesus; and in this prophecy, he tells her that proof for this prophecy is the fact that Elizabeth is already pregnant with a child (again, Elizabeth being Mary’s much older, infertile relative). Mary goes to Elizabeth and sees these things are true—and hears some truth spoken by Elizabeth concerning who Mary’s child is going to be. What about this gives us joy?

It gives us joy because it shows us that when God says something will happen, it most certainly will.

In the case of Mary, the first part of the prophecy was recognized relatively soon; the second part of the prophecy was fulfilled nine months later.

In both parts—the first fulfillment and the second fulfillment, it’s clear then that God is able to say something and then make it happen.

Or in other words, when God makes a promise, He keeps His promise, which means, every promise that God makes throughout Scripture is something that we can have joy in.

His promise to bring His people to know Him is something that He most certainly will do.

His promise of the Holy Spirit, which indwells and seals until the Day of Redemption has certainly happened for every believer and will continue to happen.

His promise to go and prepare a place for all His people has certainly happened and will continue to happen.

The promise that everything works together for the good of those that love Him has certainly happened and will continue to happen.

This Christmas, be joyful because Jesus keeps His Word.

And lastly, this one ties in with the previous one, Christmas brings joy because it gives us confidence in the future return of Jesus (46-56)—Remember how I mentioned that there’s typically a short-term prophecy tied into a long-term prophecy?

When speaking of the second coming of Jesus Christ—the eschaton, the end times, most theologians will look at some of the prophecies concerning Jesus’ birth because they typically have a long-term prophecy as well.

For instance, Micah 5:2 “2 The short term, “But as for you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, Too little to be among the clans of Judah, From you One will go forth for Me” and the long term, “to be ruler in Israel. His goings forth are from everlasting, From the ancient days.”” The short term occurred during the first century; the long-term has yet to occur.

Or Isaiah 9:6-7 “6 For a child will be born to us, a son will be given to us; And the government will rest on His shoulders; And His name will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Eternal Father, Prince of Peace. 7 There will be no end to the increase of His government or of peace, On the throne of David and over his kingdom, To establish it and to uphold it with justice and righteousness From then on and forevermore. The zeal of Yahweh of hosts will accomplish this.” The child was born, but the Kingdom though started hasn’t been consummated yet.

And this doesn’t include other prophecies given concerning His life, death, burial, and resurrection that also had long-term prophecies as well.

What the celebration of Christmas does is it causes us to reflect on how Jesus’ first advent fulfilled prophecy after prophecy; and those prophecies had additional parts to them that have yet to be fulfilled.

But since we know that Jesus fulfilled the first part of the prophecy, we can know that the other parts of the prophecies are going to happen because the first part of the prophecies did.

Or in other words, Jesus kept His Word the first time; thus, we can know that He’ll keep His Word the next time.

This Christmas, be joyful because Jesus is going to return.

Put simply, what we learn from Luke 1:26-56, is that the birth of Jesus gives us multiple reasons to be joyful: (1) we can be joyful because Jesus fulfills Scripture, (2) because He keeps His Word, and (3) because we know He’ll return.

Be sure to experience joy when it comes to nostalgia, family and friends, gift-giving, and whatever else gives you joy this season; but don’t neglect the joy that comes from knowing who Jesus is, what He has done, and what He will do.

Pastoral Prayer

Congregational Singing

Hark! The Herald Angels Sing (238)