[The Words of Advent] JOYSample

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!

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