The First Noel

Have you ever had something become so familiar that thing began to loose its sense of wonder and awe in you? I think there are times when we all can get a bit complacent about the things we see and experience and in some cases loose our sense of what they really mean.

This Christmas, we are going to look at a handful of traditional Christmas songs. I am going to give you a quick history of how the song came to be and then we’ll look at what scripture has to say about the lyrics of the song.

My hope is that by the end of this series you’ll have a greater understanding of the Christmas story, that is the birth of Christ, and as you sing these songs, you’ll be reminded of the wonder and awe that should fill us as we celebrate the birth of our savior Jesus Christ.

We are going to start today with the song “The First Noel”. This song is believed to have originated in the 13th or 14th century England in a town called Cornwall during what was called miracle plays. These plays were performed to tell Bible stories in a way that the common person could relate and remember the stories. This song was one of many that people would sing to commemorate the birth of Christ.

The song was then passed along verbally until it was first written down in 1823 in a songbook called Some Ancient Christmas Carols. The song’s tune and some of the lyrics were changed in the 1833 songbook Christmas Carols Ancient and Modern. In 1876, Sir John Stainer again slightly changed the tune and some of the lyrics and added the harmonies that are what we see in many of today’s hymnals and song books.

One of the features of this song is the repeated word Noel. It comes from a French word that means Christmas Season. The word was once spelled Nowell in Early English and was a synonym for Christmas.

Some word scholars trace its roots to the Latin word natalis which means birthday. Simply, the title of this song means the first Christmas or birthday.

While we sang 5 verses today, the song is known to have as many as 9 verses. We’ll only talk about the 5 we sing today.

The song features the perspective of the shepherds in the fields as well as the wise men who would come with gifts.

There are a few scriptural issues with this song, but none that drastically alter the story. Let’s look at Luke 2…and let’s look for mention of a star...

Luke 2:8–20 NIV

8 And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night. 9 An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. 10 But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid. I bring you good news that will cause great joy for all the people. 11 Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is the Messiah, the Lord. 12 This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.” 13 Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God and saying, 14 “Glory to God in the highest heaven, and on earth peace to those on whom his favor rests.” 15 When the angels had left them and gone into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, “Let’s go to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has told us about.” 16 So they hurried off and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby, who was lying in the manger. 17 When they had seen him, they spread the word concerning what had been told them about this child, 18 and all who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds said to them. 19 But Mary treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart. 20 The shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things they had heard and seen, which were just as they had been told.

The angels did point the shepherds in the direction of Bethlehem and a manger. It is not mentioned that the shepherds saw any star in the sky. The star was there, based on a passage we’ll read in just a moment, but there was no mention of a star seen by the shepherds. Does that mean they didn’t see it? No, but we can’t say for certain that they did.

Why then does the song say they did?

To answer this, we have to remember the origin of this song. This song was part of a Miracle Play and was passed down verbally for several hundred years before it was written down. The star in the sky was an important part of the story for the wise men, and lyrically it made sense to tie the star in with the shepherds.

Let’s read the scripture about the wise men in Matthew 2...

Matthew 2:1–12 NIV

1 After Jesus was born in Bethlehem in Judea, during the time of King Herod, Magi from the east came to Jerusalem 2 and asked, “Where is the one who has been born king of the Jews? We saw his star when it rose and have come to worship him.” 3 When King Herod heard this he was disturbed, and all Jerusalem with him. 4 When he had called together all the people’s chief priests and teachers of the law, he asked them where the Messiah was to be born. 5 “In Bethlehem in Judea,” they replied, “for this is what the prophet has written: 6 “ ‘But you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah, are by no means least among the rulers of Judah; for out of you will come a ruler who will shepherd my people Israel.’” 7 Then Herod called the Magi secretly and found out from them the exact time the star had appeared. 8 He sent them to Bethlehem and said, “Go and search carefully for the child. As soon as you find him, report to me, so that I too may go and worship him.” 9 After they had heard the king, they went on their way, and the star they had seen when it rose went ahead of them until it stopped over the place where the child was. 10 When they saw the star, they were overjoyed. 11 On coming to the house, they saw the child with his mother Mary, and they bowed down and worshiped him. Then they opened their treasures and presented him with gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh. 12 And having been warned in a dream not to go back to Herod, they returned to their country by another route.

The Magi devoted their lives to looking at the stars and waiting for this special star to appear. Once it did, they set out to find the king who had been born.

One more slight inaccuracy in the song. The song mentions 3 wise men, but the Biblical account does not reveal their number, only that it was more than one Magi or wise man that came.

It is likely that since there are three gifts mentioned, the song writer took liberty to assign those gifts to one wise man each. It is wrong that the song say 3…maybe, but again it does not alter the story or what happened in a major way.

Let’s go through the song 1 verse at a time and I want to help you see how this song can deepen your appreciation for Jesus coming.

Verse 1 The first Noel the angel did say Was to certain poor Shepherds in fields as they lay In fields where they lay keeping their sheep On a cold winter's night that was so deep

These shepherds were poor and they were just doing their regular routine. They were watching their sheep, they were likely cold and bored when out of nowhere angels came to announce the birth of the Messiah.

God’s character has not changed. He can reveal Himself to us in our mundane and normal routines. We just have to be on the lookout for him. Don’t wait to encounter God when you are at church or at a Bible study or special event. God desires for you to see him in your regular routines.

Verse 2 They looked up and saw a star Shining in the east beyond them far And to the earth it gave great light And so it continued both day and night

God’s revelation to the shepherds was at night, but that revelation did not stop when daylight came. In fact, the revelation of the birth of Jesus continues today in the reading of his word, in the singing of these songs.

God’s son Jesus being born was a great light to the whole earth. Jesus would later say of himself:

John 8:12 (NIV)

“I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.”

As followers of Jesus, we can walk in the light of life that is Jesus. We only need to trust him and make him Lord of our life.

Verse 3 And by the light of that same star Three wise men came from country far To seek for a king was their intent And to follow the star wherever it went

Two things here. These wise men travelled a long way to see Jesus. Their focus was the sign in the sky - the star. They were diligent in following this star. How far would you travel to meet Jesus. I fear we’ve made things so easy that it’s not much of a sacrifice to encounter Jesus and his word. We have comfy chairs, heat and a pleasant room, we don’t have a concept today in what it means to travel far to meet Jesus.

Write this question down for reflection later…How far am I willing to go to see Jesus?

The second point here…these wise men came to seek a king. Not a baby who would be king, but a baby who was born a king. Jesus didn’t come to get the title, he already had it. If you read further in Matthew 2, you’ll see that the established worldly kingdom did not accept and receive Jesus as King. In fact, King Herod would try to kill him. The religious leaders would eventually do so when Jesus challenged them.

What king do you serve?

Verse 4 This star drew nigh to the northwest O'er Bethlehem it took its rest And there it did both stop and stay Right over the place where Jesus lay

The world has all the signs it needs to determine who Jesus is. Just read the Bible. Listen to the testimonies of those who have placed their faith in Jesus. Not faith in the church, or in a pastor, or in a denomination, or in any other man, woman or institution. Faith in Jesus. When a person places their faith in Jesus, accepts him as Lord, receives him as Savior - these are the living signs of Jesus at work today.

Verse 5 Then entered in those wise men three Full rev'rently upon the knee And offered there in His presence Their gold and myrrh and frankincense

When the wise men arrived and saw Jesus, the Bible says they bowed down and worshipped him. What is your response when you encounter Jesus?

Then they offered Jesus gifts of great value. Gifts that a visiting dignitary would have offered to a sitting king. These gifts were offered to Jesus the king. What gifts have you brought and offered to Jesus?

This song reminds us...

Jesus came in normal and today his is with us in our normal.

Jesus came to be the light - the light I can walk in each day.

Jesus came as king and there is no distance too far that we should not be willing to travel to see him.

Jesus is worthy of our worship and our gifts. Not just any gifts, but the best gifts.