The Greatest Joy Series

My wife and I sometimes debate as to which of us loves the other the most, and we

each make the claim that “I love you more.” The other responds, “No, I love you more.”

It is one of those debates that can never have a winner because there is no love

measuring device by which we can measure our love to see which is the greatest. It is also

impossible to measure joy and happiness. No one can say I am happier than someone

else, for without a way of measurement it is a meaningless statement. However, if the God

who made us, and who knows all things, says that someone is happier and more joyful

than others, then we have a basis for the claim that a person can be the most joyful and

happy person there is. That is what verse 9 of Hebrews chapter one tells us about Jesus.

It says, “You have loved righteousness and hated wickedness; therefore God, your God, has set you

above your companions by anointing you with the oil of joy."

The anointing with the oil of joy is translated by Moffat as. “with the oil of rejoicing

beyond thy comrades.” TCNT has it, “with the festal oil more abundantly than thy

peers.” Today's English Version renders it: "The kingdom that God has given you will last

forever and ever. You rule over your people with justice; you love what is right and hate

what is evil. That is why God, your God, has chosen you and has poured out more

happiness on you than on any other king."

The greatest joy comes to those who are in fullest agreement with the nature and

purpose of God, and that means those who love what is good and hate what is evil. All

people do both to some degree, for if you read the statements of crime leaders you learn

that they want their children to grow up and be legitimate and not criminals. Everyone

loves good and hates evil to some degree, but only one person in history loved and hated

in perfect agreement with God, and that was Jesus Christ. He was the happiest man in

history, and the happiest being in all the universe, because he had the very joy of God.

Is God actually happy? Does He have a heart filled with joy? It seems like He might be

sad most of the time because of the sin and rebellion of man, and the mess they constantly

make of His beautiful world, but the fact is, God is a God of joy. One of the great texts of

Nehemiah is in 8:10 where we read, “..for the joy of the Lord is your strength.” It is

God’s joy that makes it possible for Him to put up with a fallen world, and this joy was

the joy that gave Jesus the strength to go all the way to the cross and to the depths of hell

for lost sinners. Heb. 12:2 says, “Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of

our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat

down at the right hand of the throne of God.” Without the joy of the Father Jesus could

not have had the strength to go through with the plan of salvation. He needed joy and the

power it provides to fulfill His purpose for time and eternity.

Webster's Dictionary defines joy as - pleasure caused by the EXPECTATION of good.

Jesus expected to see billions of redeemed sinners in glory, and enjoying pleasures forever at

God’s right hand with Him in the Father’s house, and it was this expectation that filled Him

with joy. No one in history has ever been able to expect such success from what they do. No

other sacrifice in history has ever come close to doing so much for so many. He purchased

by His blood that which is of infinite value. It is beyond measure what will be because of His

sacrifice, and that is why it is beyond measure to determine the greatness of His joy. It can

only be describes as a joy equal with the joy of the Father whose will He accomplished by

going to the cross.

The Nehemiah text is talking about the strength that the joy of the Lord can give to men,

and so Jesus, who was the greatest of men, could have this strength in far greater measure.

Spurgeon in a sermon on the text shows just what power is available to all believers in the joy

of the Lord. He writes, “Let us endeavor to analyze that special and peculiar pleasure which

is here called "The joy of the Lord." It springs from God, and has God for its object. The