A CHILD LIKE NO ONE
(Chapter one of my Book: BUNDLES OF JOY)
Centuries after God had spoken of the birth of Messiah, the promise was eventually fulfilled at a time when the world and its rulers were least expecting Him. Although, every book of the Old Testament spoke about the coming of Christ with many of the books containing direct messianic prophesies about Him but political and religious leaders at that time were caught unaware about His miraculous birth. Little attention was paid to the law and the prophets concerning the coming of the Anointed one.
While the priests and other religious leaders were concentrating on the outer and insignificant legal rituals, the rulers were thinking of how to exercise more power and take possession of more wealth at the detriment of the deprived ones in the society.
Nevertheless, in the midst of all these, Jesus, the Messiah came into the world. Then, the story changed, Christ arrived with bundles of joy as He brought great hope to the lost human race.
The account of His birth started when the angel of God delivered two separate but unique messages to one quiet and simple young lady and a virgin named Mary.
The first of these good tidings handed over to Mary was how as a virgin she would conceive and become the mother of the Son of God. The second message was how her cousin Elizabeth who was hitherto barren and was at her old age was already six months old pregnant of a baby boy.
Mary’s anxiety about how possible for her to conceive as a virgin was adequately addressed by the angel or let me say, the messenger.
Mary had asked the angel, “How shall this be, seeing I know not a man?” and the angel replied, “For with God nothing shall be impossible”. And to her troubled espoused husband, Joseph, God had told him in a dream that, “For that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Ghost”. So, God had told two of them, “stop asking questions, I AM simply at work!”
But apparently apprehensive of the angel’s messages, Mary left her abode in Nazareth of Galilee and straightaway left for a town in Juda to confirm if actually the messages were real. Luke, the beloved physician gave the account of this event in this way;
“And Mary arose in those days, and went into the hill country with haste, into a city of Judea;
And entered into the house of Zacharias, and saluted Elizabeth
And it came to pass, that, when Elizabeth heard the salutation of Mary, the babe leaped in her womb; and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Ghost:
And she spake out with a loud voice, and said, Blessed art thou among women, and blessed is the fruit of thy womb.
And whence is this to me, that the mother of my Lord should come to me?
For, lo, as soon as the voice of thy salutation sounded in my ears, the babe leaped in my womb for joy”. (Luke 1: 39-44).
This Biblical record indicates that just as Mary whose pregnancy was at infancy stage, possibly in its first month entered the home of Zacharias and Elizabeth heard her greetings, the babe in her womb leaped for joy. Quite incredible, an unborn baby jumped for joy at the hearing of the voice of Mary who was carrying Messiah in her womb. Instantly, Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit who announced Mary as the “mother” of the Lord. This unborn baby who jumped for joy was John the Baptist who came to bare witness to Christ and who was the Elijah that came to prepare the way of the Lord.
Besides, at birth, the Messiah’s birth was accompanied with fullness of joy. Luke’s account indicated that he was born in a humble way and at an unusual place. The angel came to deliver the message of His birth to the shepherd.
“And she brought forth her firstborn son, and wrapped him in swaddling clothes, and laid him in a manger; because there was no room for them in the inn.
And there were in the same country shepherds abiding in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night.
And lo, the angel of the Lord came upon them, and the glory of the Lord shone round about them; and they were sore afraid.
And the angel said unto them, Fear not: for, behold I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people.
For unto you is born this day in the city of David, a Saviour which is Christ the Lord.
And this shall be a sign unto you; Ye shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger.
And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God, and saying,
Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, goodwill toward men”. (Luke 2: 7-14).
Who else could have announced the birth of Jesus? Of course, only God has the power to do that through His angel. But shockingly, the angel didn’t take the news to the kings in their palaces or to the rich men at their exquisite residences or even to the homes of highly respectable religious leaders. Instead the news of Messiah’s birth was taken to the lowly shepherds in the field. I think God only decided to take the news to those who will appreciate it better. Did you appreciate the good news about Jesus?
Moreover, considering the time the Messiah was born, the gates of the palaces must have been locked while the doors of the Temples must have been shut. Political and religious leaders must have gone to sleep and of course soldiers must have been on guard with a clear inscription of ‘Movement strictly restricted’ boldly written on the wall.
But, you see, the Lord’s angel declared his message to the shepherd as “good tidings of GREAT JOY”. And according to this celestial being, this cheerful news was “to all people” irrespective of race, language or colour. Above all, it is not the news for a particular generation but for all generations. What a wonderful message is this? The news of Christ’s birth is still the most significant and the best news ever received by human race.
To add value to this unique and very important information delivered to the shepherd, “a multitude of the heavenly host” had to descend from heaven, the throne of God to join the angel in praising the Almighty God for sacrificing His only Son for “peace” which had eluded the earth since the fall of the first man, Adam. The heavenly multitude showed their admiration towards God for His ‘goodwill’, compassion and love towards all men.
Good enough, the message was never ignored by its receivers. The shepherds were unlike several millions of people who are today disregarding all good news about Jesus Christ who without any doubt is the Saviour of the world. The shepherd took immediate step, left their livestock and straightaway went to the place the angel told them. When they got to the ‘manger’, they saw everything as narrated to them by the angel.
Filled with gladness, they praised God for what they had heard and seen. “And the shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things that they had heard and seen, as it was told unto them” – Luke 2:20
This good news is still the same. It has not changed. It is exactly as being told by the angel. It is the “good tidings of great joy”.
Apart from the shepherds who received the news of Jesus’ birth through the angel, the wise men from the east also got the clue of the birth of a King through the star.
“Now, when Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of Herod the king, behold, there came wise men from the east to Jerusalem.
Saying, Where is he that is born King of the Jews? For we have seen his star in the east, and are come to worship him.
When Herod the king had heard these things, he was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him” -- Matthew 2:1-3
These wise men whose number, nationality and country were unknown took what they had seen through this amazing star very seriously.
They embarked on a very long and tortuous journey which definitely took them many days or possibly several months looking for the King of the Jews who was worthy of their worship.
The wise men walked through the wilderness, crossed the rivers and climbed the mountains. They endured the freezing winds of the nights and the scourging afternoon sunlight. They were not bothered by the unfriendly weather conditions. They dared the wild beasts and the dangerous reptiles and did not quit the journey midway. The wise men abandoned the pleasures at home in search of the King. The wise men were indeed wise because they took the proper step for a right course. Wise individuals are those who are ready to discard all other things for the sake of the King.
These brave men took their search to Jerusalem because they believed such a King ought to have been born in a great city. We need to know that Jerusalem was a magnificent capital city of Israel and is surrounded by hills. It was captured by David from the tribe of Jebusites. David made Jerusalem the metropolis capital of his kingdom and it was in this city where his son, Solomon, built God’s Temple as a place of worship for the Israelites. Besides, he planted vineyards, orchards, and gardens to beautify this city.
But on the contrary, the King was born from a humble village of Bethlehem, the famous country home of David. This was where Samuel anointed David as the king. Prophet Micah had foreseen the coming of a Ruler in the line of David who would be born in Bethlehem. (Micah 5:2).
This King was born in town which by interpretation means the “House of Bread”. Ironically, this King also called Himself the “Bread of Life” (Luke 6:35).
The wise men in their own wisdom thought this King must have been a special royal gift to Herod, the forcefully imposed governor by Caesar on Israel and so they headed for his palace looking for Him. They must be shocked not to see this new King in this artificial palace. Definitely, the wise men must be stunned to learn that their search would take them to Bethlehem, a town situated another five miles or eight kilometers south of Jerusalem.
More so, these men must be astonished to discover that the King whose star they saw in the east was not given birth to by a wealthy family where he could be properly fed and lived affluently, rather he came through a little known poor carpenter.
But upon hearing of the birth of the King of Jews, Herod and his acolytes were troubled. His reaction to the arrival of a new King was negative. Rather than going ahead to “worship” the King as he had told the wise men, he visited the people of Bethlehem and their neighbours with bloodshed as he engaged in wanton destruction of all male children from two years old and under in an attempt to eliminate Jesus.
“Then Herod, when he saw that he was mocked of the wise men, was exceeding wroth, and sent forth, and slew all the children that were in Bethlehem, and in all the coasts thereof, from two years old and under, according to the time which he had diligently enquired of the wise men.
“Then was fulfilled that which was spoken by Jeremy the prophet, saying,
“In Rama was there a voice heard, lamentation, and weeping, and great mourning, Rachel weeping for her children, and would not be comforted, because they are not” (Matthew 2: 16 – 17).
The Life Application Bible explains the scenario this way “Herod, the king of the Jews, killed all the boys under two years of age in an obsessive attempt to kill Jesus, the newborn King. He stained his hands with blood, but he did not harm Jesus. Herod was king by a human appointment; Jesus was King by a divine appointment. No one can thwart God’s plans.
“Herod was afraid that this newborn king would one day take his throne. He completely misunderstood the reason for Christ’s coming. Jesus didn’t want Herod’s throne; he wanted to be the king of Herod’s life. He wanted to give him eternal life, not take away his present life. Today people are often afraid that Christ wants to take things away, when in reality, he wants to give them real freedom, peace, and joy”.
How is your reaction to the good news of Christ? Today’s Herods are throwing bombs at churches and are fully engaged in killing and persecution of Christ’s followers. They totally got the wrong idea about Christ’s mission on earth. They need to know that Jesus only is the GOOD NEWS and there is no one else. Jesus is the Joy of life!
Now, coming back to the issue of the wise men, Matthew explained further:
“When they had heard the king, they departed, and lo, the star, which they saw in the east, went before them, till it came and stood over where they young child was.
When they saw the star, they rejoiced with exceeding great joy.
And when they were come into the house, they saw the young child with Mary his mother, and fell down, and worshipped him, and when they had opened their treasures, they presented unto him gifts; gold, and frankincense and myrrh” (Matthew 2: 9-11).
These men eventually found the young child and when they “saw the star, they REJOICED WITH EXCEEDING GREAT JOY”. Of course, after such a long and successful journey and having seen the star, they had no option but to rejoice. No one ever found Jesus and remain sad.
The wise men without hesitation fell down and worshipped the young child. They opened their treasures and presented precious and expensive gifts to him. These three gifts were symbols of Christ’s identity and what he came to accomplish in his earthly ministry. Gold was a gift for a king, frankincense, a gift for deity and myrrh, a spice for someone who was going to die.
It was possible for the wise men to give the best and appropriate gifts to Jesus because they were a priestly hereditary castes who uttered prophecies, explained omens and interpreted dreams. The best anyone can give to Jesus is nothing but his entire life. In this hid the secret of joy. Proverbs 23 verse 26 says: “My son give me thine heart…”