JOY
Monday, December 18
READ: Matthew 2:16-18
Have you ever seen a movie or tv show where they open with some kind of dramatic scene that makes you say, “How did things get so bad that we wound up here?” Then, words appear on the screen that say, “24 hours earlier…” That technique prompts the viewer to engage with the story in a different way.
Well, that’s where we are today. We’re jumping in at the end of this part of the Christmas story…and it’s intense.
Herod was the King of Judea and by the time Jesus was born, he had become sick with jealousy and paranoia. Herod devoted energy early in his reign to building bridges with Jews. As years rolled on, though, he lost his way. Herod’s jealousy and paranoia became so extreme that he gave orders to kill his favorite wife should he die in battle because he didn’t want her to marry another man. He had two of his sons executed because he thought they were jockeying for his throne. He ordered that imprisoned Jewish priests be killed upon his death so there would be mourning across the land, even if it wasn’t for him.
Biblical joy comes from the anticipation of our future with the Lord. Herod did not have that. His earthly authority was all he had. So, he went to extreme lengths to protect it, especially when he thought it was threatened.
What bigger threat than the arrival of the King of the Jews? Herod couldn’t take it. A usurper was right there in his kingdom, right under his nose! So, with extreme prejudice, Herod tried to protect his future.
Waiting is anticipation of the future. Herod was waiting for someone to take away the only thing he cared about: power. His waiting didn’t produce joy. It robbed him of it. Christian joy is a profound decision of faith and hope in the power of Jesus’ life and love. That waiting will produce joy!
PRAY: Talk to the Lord about your future. Ask Him to show you what you focus on most. Ask him to fill you with Christ’s joy so your joy may be complete.
Tuesday, December 19
READ: Matthew 2:1-2
The Magi were wise men. They might have been scholars or astrologers. Later tradition speculates that they may have been kings. We don’t know exactly what they did in their home country. Here’s what we do know: they were watching the sky and noticed when a special star appeared, and they connected that star to the birth of the prophesied Jewish Messiah.
We can surmise they were not Jewish. Taking two years to identify, track, and travel to the star gives us the impression that they traveled a far distance. To refer to the Messiah as “The King of the Jews” could suggest that they’re not a part of God’s family, as well. If they were, they probably would have referred to Jesus with internal language like “Messiah” or “Savior” or “Christ.”
If they didn’t believe he was Messiah, they likely wouldn’t have devoted two years of their lives to finding him. If they just wanted to witness a significant world event, they wouldn’t have come to worship him. So, why would they travel all that way to worship a prophesied king from a different religion? The simplest explanation is that God compelled them.
They could have learned about the Messiah and said, “That’s not for us. We’re not Jews,” but they didn’t. They chose to believe and go see. In fact, they followed a process similar to the shepherds. They heard it. They believed it. They went to see it. As we will see later this week, they celebrated. They could have resigned to being on the outside looking in.
Do you ever feel like you’re on the outside looking in? Looking at someone else’s joy, struggling to believe it’s available for you, too? When Jesus came, he came for everyone. The dismissed (shepherds) and the distant (Magi). Nothing can separate you for God’s love in Christ Jesus our Lord!
PRAY: Ask God to show you the ways Jesus is here for you. Whatever you’re waiting for, ask God to light the path to its fulfillment. Ask him to shine a star right over Jesus so you can find your way to him from wherever you are today. Ask Him to fill you and sustain you for the journey – even if it takes a couple years to get there!
Wednesday, December 20
READ: Matthew 2:3-6
When Herod heard the Magi traveled to worship the King of the Jews, he was troubled. He had no joy. The tension was mounting. You can imagine his intrigue and increasing rage. His paranoia compounding, the schemes forming in his mind.
But, all of Jerusalem with him? Why? Wouldn’t Jerusalem be excited that their long-awaited Messiah was just announced? Wouldn’t they be grateful to hear that the 400 years of silence was over, that generations of waiting were coming to an end?
If Herod’s not happy, nobody’s happy. He was violent, unpredictable, malicious. Maybe they were afraid because they thought a new king would mean war. They would have expected this new king to come in military might, overturning governments, and taking back the land they were in. Perhaps, they were scared of losing their safety.
It’s thought that the Magi may have come from Babylon, the land to which Jewish people were exiled from 597 – 538 BC. When Cyrus the Great released Israelites from exile, several opted to stay behind and continue their lives there, having established themselves within that culture.
If the Magi were from Babylon, they could have learned about the King of the Jews, in part, from the Israelites living among them. If people in Jerusalem heard that wise men from Babylon had come to meet with Herod and tell him another king was coming, it could have triggered legitimate fear of another conflict with Babylon. Maybe Jerusalem was troubled because people thought history would repeat itself. It seems possible that Jews in Jerusalem were afraid of their king at worst and skeptical of good news, at best.
Do you ever get that way? As you’re waiting on the Lord, how easy is it for you to lose sight of joy and, instead, grab on to skepticism? How quickly does your memory of the past steal joy from the present? How easily are you influenced by the reactions of others? Do you allow your joy to be swayed based on other people’s actual or potential reactions?
PRAY: As you wait, look only to God. Ask Him to make you like Peter climbing out of the boat and onto the waves – keeping your eyes fixed firmly on Jesus. Ask God to give you an open mind and a soft heart. Hear the good news. Believe it. Go see it. Celebrate!
Thursday, December 21
READ: Matthew 2:7-12
The original audience for Matthew’s Gospel account was first century Jews. Matthew’s goal was to show how Jesus is the fulfillment of Jewish Messianic prophecies. Yet, in Matthew’s account, the first people we read about worshiping Jesus aren’t Jewish. The Magi are Gentiles, non-Jews and they travel a great distance to worship the King of the Jews.
Surely, others had visited Mary, Joseph, and Jesus before the Magi got there, but those visitors are not recorded in this account. I would venture to guess that most authors would want to record important, influential Jewish people coming to worship Jesus. Not Matthew. Why?
The message is clear: everyone is made in God’s image, and everyone is someone for whom Christ would die. That includes the Gentile Magi, potentially from Babylon - the archetype kingdom of rebellion. No one is too far removed. No one is too distant. No one is incapable of being transformed in his presence.
There is so much controversy in this part of the story. Luke’s eyewitness account prioritizes those the world would have cast out for social reasons. Matthew’s account prioritizes those the world would have cast out for religious reasons. What can we take away from that? Not only are they within the redemptive reach of Jesus, so are we.
As you wait, you might be tempted to think you’re too far away from Jesus to experience biblical joy. Maybe you think your beliefs, your choices, your lifestyle, or your history make you unworthy of worshiping Jesus.
God’s grace is going before you, making a way for you to approach Jesus and kneel before him in a joy-filled overflow of worship - no matter how far you have to travel to get there.
PRAY: Pray this scripture: Create in me a pure heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me. Do not cast me from your presence or take your Holy Spirit from me. Restore to me the joy of your salvation and grant me a willing spirit, to sustain me (Psalm 51:10-12).
Friday, December 22
READ: Matthew 2:13-15
The culminating moment of this chapter is right around the corner and it’s one of those places where Matthew paints Jesus as the “New Moses.” The symmetry between Exodus and Matthew is amazing!
In Exodus, Pharaoh was paranoid about a Hebrew uprising, so he tried to eliminate the threat by ordering the murder of Hebrew baby boys. Moses was spared. Herod was paranoid about being overthrown, so he tried to eliminate the threat by ordering the murder of all babies who could have potentially been the King of the Jews. Yet, Jesus escaped – to Egypt.
God used Moses to lead His people out of bondage in Egypt and into the Promised Land. Then, he sent Jesus out of Egypt to lead all people out of the bondage of sin and into the kingdom of heaven the new Promised Land.
Herod’s response to the news of the newborn king stands in the most extreme contrast to the Magi’s. They came with a genuine longing to see Jesus. He feigned interest so he could eliminate this perceived threat to his power. They sought Jesus out themselves, and Herod sent people to look for him. They worshipped Jesus and Herod ordered that he be murdered.
These contrasts are intense, but in their extremity, they paint a clear picture of the ultimate end of our waiting. When we’re waiting for the other shoe to drop, for someone to run over us, for life to knock us down and kick us while we’re there, we forfeit joy and welcome misery.
When our future is focused on God, however, the opposite becomes our testimony. When we’re waiting for God to deliver us, to satisfy our longing, to be the ultimate fulfillment of our waiting – we’re sustained, encouraged, and empowered to pursue His holy plan. Then, we find joy that overflows in worship!
PRAY: 1 Peter 1:8-9 serves as a great prayer for us as we follow the example of the Magi, but as people who live long after Jesus first coming and await his second. Though you have not seen him, you love him; and even though you do not see him now, you believe in him and are filled with an inexpressible and glorious joy, for you are receiving the end result of your faith, the salvation of your souls.