CHRISTMAS REACTIONS
People have varying reactions to Christmas. For many, Christmas is a happy time-parties, decorating, giving and receiving gifts and time with family and friends. But for some it's a sad, lonely time. For others, it invokes anger, perhaps because of some not so nice Christmases in their past. But what about those who were associated with that first Christmas?
1) Mary.
Luke 1:26-38, "In the sixth month, God sent the angel Gabriel to Nazareth, a town in Galilee, to a virgin pledged to be married to a man named Joseph, a descendant of David. The virgin’s name was Mary. The angel went to her and said, “Greetings, you who are highly favored! The Lord is with you.”
Mary was greatly troubled at his words and wondered what kind of greeting this might be. But the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary, you have found favor with God. You will be with child and give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus. He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his father David, and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever; his kingdom will never end.”
“How will this be,” Mary asked the angel, “since I am a virgin?” The angel answered, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. So the holy one to be born will be called the Son of God. Even Elizabeth your relative is going to have a child in her old age, and she who was said to be barren is in her sixth month. For nothing is impossible with God.” “I am the Lord’s servant,” Mary answered. “May it be to me as you have said.” Then the angel left her."
Mary's response to the birth announcement given by the angel Gabriel has been described as submissive confusion. I think that's a good description. Mary was confused and inquired as to how this would be possible since she was a virgin. I think every woman would've asked that question; it's a completely reasonable question to ask.
And, since Gabriel explained how it was going to be possible it shows that God is okay with us asking questions. Sometimes we get an explanation like Mary did and sometimes we don't. When we don't we would simply be challenged to trust and obey.
But even though Mary had been given an explanation she would still need to trust and obey. Mary being chosen to bear the Son of God, the Savior of the world, was a magnificent blessing. It's not that Mary would've disagreed with this newly discovered favor but we don't see her jumping up and down screaming, awesomesauce! Although this would be the best thing that ever happened to the world it was still a lot to take in. And though it was something wonderful it was still scary; all things considered.
But later when Jesus was born and the shepherds went to the manger and no doubt told her and Joseph all of what happened when the angels appeared to them it says in Luke 2:19 that Mary treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart. So Mary came to treasure this wonderful news and exceptional child but in the immediacy of the announcement she was sure to be more confused than joyous.
And if she thought about the next phase she was probably more scared than excited. How would Joseph respond? What was her family going to think? How will the townspeople react? Even though she received an answer for the 'how can this be' question, there were still unanswered questions.
And even though she was given an explanation that didn't mean it all made sense now. But we don't see Mary asking any other questions. What we do see is her statement of submission. "I am the Lord's servant. May it be done as you have said." Her confusion was met with submission.
We might find ourselves in situations that don't make sense. It may be something good but confusing just the same. We ask the Lord for some clarification and maybe he gives us some. That doesn't mean it will all make sense, but it will be all we need to know at that time. Gabriel could've expounded greatly on his answer but he didn't. Mary was given certain details but not all of them.
Sometimes we will be given certain details but we may not be given every detail. This would be a test. Will we accept the answer given? How will we deal with not having all the details? For some people that is difficult to accept. They have questions and if they don't get satisfactory answers to all their questions they will not believe. If it doesn't make sense I cannot accept it. I have to have my concerns alleviated before I can move forward in my pursuit or relationship with God.
The problem with that is your perfect scenario will probably never happen. We're not given answers to every question or concern. God will not fill in all the blanks. This is where faith comes in. Are we willing to trust God when something doesn't make sense; when all the answers have not been given or all the details have not been provided? Can we say all things are possible with God when a situation seems impossible?
Mary didn't ask for this to happen to her any more than we ask for the circumstances we find ourselves in. How will we react? Will we have animosity toward God for allowing it and move away from him in distrust or will we humbly respond with believing that God loves us and wants what's best for us and that he will be there to see us through?
Mary would need God to provide comfort and strength for her journey. We will too. When we face challenging circumstances we need to draw near to God to receive all the things we will need to make it through to the end. Mary had the right reaction to the birth announcement.
2) Joseph.
As Mary's reaction can be described as submissive confusion, the same can be said of her husband, Joseph. Yet I would also add disappointment to that; at least initially.
Matt. 1:18-25, "This is how the birth of Jesus Christ came about: His mother Mary was pledged to be married to Joseph, but before they came together, she was found to be with child through the Holy Spirit. Because Joseph her husband was a righteous man and did not want to expose her to public disgrace, he had in mind to divorce her quietly.
But after he had considered this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, “Joseph son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary home as your wife, because what is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins.”
All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had said through the prophet: “The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel”—which means, “God with us.” When Joseph woke up, he did what the angel of the Lord had commanded him and took Mary home as his wife. But he had no union with her until she gave birth to a son. And he gave him the name Jesus."
It's understood that Joseph was a number of years older than Mary. He had waited a long time before he got married. He finally found the right one in Mary. Imagine the anticipation of finally being able to get married and start a family and then the woman you love drops a major bomb on you.
And then, as if the infidelity wasn't agonizing enough, she concocts a story that completely insults your intelligence. With Joseph being a righteous man, I can imagine him accusing Mary of blasphemy. The story of an angelic visitation followed by some holy impregnation would've surely earned her a firm rebuke.
But perhaps Joseph partly entertained the absurd story. I mean, would she really go that far in telling a lie? To hear some other tale of justification like, 'I got drunk and didn't know what I was doing' would've been much more acceptable than what she just said.
But, in any event, Joseph wasn't willing to go ahead with the relationship. What man would? Maybe he wanted to believe Mary's crazy story but he couldn't bring himself to accept it. But since he was a righteous man and no doubt loved Mary, he would end it quietly and without the public disgrace and penalty of the law for adultery, which was death.
This would've been difficult news to break to his parents, who had already paid the bride price for Mary. But he was willing to deal with the disgrace of people eventually seeing Mary's pregnant body and labeling him a fool for not having her stoned to death.
What about us? Are we willing to be thought of as a fool for doing a good thing? When we don't retaliate can we deal with being thought of as a pushover? Will we have a righteous reaction when we've been wronged?
What Mary said was true but what if Joseph had overreacted to what he considered to be Mary's infidelity? What if he became enraged and physically assaulted her? What if he took her and dragged her to the religious officials and demanded justice? Perhaps God would've intervened but what if he hadn't? Then to find out after the fact that she was telling the truth would've been devastating.
Because Joseph restrained his anger and did not act out of his disappointment in a harsh way, he gave himself the opportunity to learn from Gabriel that Mary had spoken the truth. When we restrain from overreacting we give ourselves the opportunity to better deal with the situation and make righteous decisions.
Vs. 25-Joseph's willingness to submit continued after he accepted the situation. Not only did he accept the risks in marrying Mary, he didn't consummate the marriage until after Jesus was born. How many guys would be willing to do that? This shows the respect and restraint of Joseph to not be intimate with his new bride for nine months.
Because he was a righteous man, he resisted the temptation to divorce Mary and he resisted the temptation to consummate his marriage. Joseph had the right reaction to the birth announcement.
3) The shepherds.
Luke 2:8-20, "And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night. An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid. I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people.
Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is Christ the Lord. This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.” Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God and saying, “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace to men on whom his favor rests.”
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.” So they hurried off and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby, who was lying in the manger.
When they had seen him, they spread the word concerning what had been told them about this child, and all who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds said to them. But Mary treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart. The shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things they had heard and seen, which were just as they had been told."
Before we get to the shepherds, we have the angelic reaction to the wonderful news. Some people put an angel on top of their Christmas tree. You wouldn't consider your Christmas tree complete without the angel. Likewise, the Christmas story would not be complete without the role of angels.
Gabriel made the important announcement to Mary, and perhaps the equally important announcement to Joseph and now we have another announcement from an angel to the shepherds. We don't know who this angel was but we see this time he brought some of his peeps with him.
In the Christmas song, 'O, Come All Ye Faithful' there's the line, 'sing, choirs of angels; sing in exaltation'. You may have wondered what exaltation meant. It means adoration-as in, o come let us adore him. The word adore means to love, respect, admire, worship, revere, honor.
Exaltation also means excitement and joy-as in, joy to the world, the Lord has come. This is what it was all about when the angels praised God and shouted out 'glory to God in the highest'. The heavenly host are exalting, adoring and glorifying God for what he has done in sending Jesus.
That's how we need to react. When we think of Christmas, does it cause us to praise God? Do we adore him? Do we exalt him-do we have joy and excitement for that precious gift? It's easy to have excitement over getting that one special gift you were hoping to receive on Christmas but do we have joy over having received the greatest gift of all time? We need to react like the angels and give glory to God for his peace, comfort, love and salvation through Christ.
On to the shepherds. We see their first reaction was fear. Not fear over the birth announcement but fear over the visitation. In fact, it says they were terrified. The way the Greek reads it signifies being seized with a mixture of reverent fear and awe. And who wouldn't be; it's not like angelic appearances were commonplace.
In fact, God had pretty much been silent for the previous 400 years so I'm sure this came as quite a shock to them. Not only because of what they were seeing but also because it was happening to them. Shepherds would not have been considered the upper echelon of society. They would spend months out in the fields watching over their flocks so they would probably be dirty and smelly when they went back into town.
An angelic appearance would've been expected to happen to the religious leaders but not to a bunch of lowly shepherds. But here they were and it shows God's wonderful way of doing things. He does what is pleasantly unexpected. He blesses those who society may overlook. This was the greatest announcement in the history of mankind and it was given to the ones least expected to receive it.
The angel calms them down and tells them to not be afraid. He tells them he is there to give them good news. He wants to alleviate their fear and exchange it for joy.
That's what God wants to do with us. Whatever your fears are; he wants to remove them and give you joy instead. And he does that with the same good news the angel gives the shepherds. "A Savior has been born to you; he is Christ the Lord".
That's the good news that will turn our fear-fear of trouble, fear of the unknown, fear of death-into joy-joy of salvation, joy of the presence and power of the Lord, joy of a future, eternal inheritance in heaven.
After the announcement the angels sing and then they leave. Then we see another reaction of the shepherds-immediate obedience. "Let's go to Bethlehem and see". Vs. 16 says they hurried off. There didn't seem to be any doubt; they believed what the angel said to them and wasted no time going to the manger.
They didn't debate it, they didn't say, 'hey, what about our sheep and supplies', they just went. When we are convinced of the truth there's no other reaction but to act on it. If we sit around and debate and second guess and worry about the what ifs we'll talk ourselves out of taking the next step. We need to be sure of what we believe but once we are we shouldn't hesitate on moving forward.
The shepherds could've reacted with disbelief; unwilling to act on what the angel said. If they had not believed they would've missed out on an incredibly precious experience. That's what happens to those who don't believe the good news-they miss out on an unbelievably precious experience-salvation; not simply the act of salvation but a life lived in salvation.
So, the shepherds go and see the Christ-child-just as they were told. And then we see the shepherd's reaction to the confirmation-they went around and told people about their experience. For those of us who have been born again, are we doing that? Are we telling people the good news? Are we telling others about our experience with Jesus?
And then, the final reaction of the shepherds-they returned glorifying and praising God. After this amazing experience, we see them doing the same thing the angels had done-glorifying and praising God. I'm sure these shepherds were never the same after this.
We don't know what ended up happening to them but when you believe and experience Jesus for yourself; when you taste and see that the Lord is good-it will affect you. If you allow the Holy Spirit to work in you then you'll be praising and glorifying God. The shepherds had the right reaction to the birth announcement-awe, faith, obedience, glorifying and praising God. Hopefully our reaction to Christ is the same.
4) The Magi.
Matt. 2:1-12, "After Jesus was born in Bethlehem in Judea, during the time of King Herod, Magi from the east came to Jerusalem and asked, “Where is the one who has been born king of the Jews? We saw his star in the east and have come to worship him.”
When King Herod heard this he was disturbed, and all Jerusalem with him. When he had called together all the people’s chief priests and teachers of the law, he asked them where the Christ was to be born. “In Bethlehem in Judea,” they replied, “for this is what the prophet has written: “ ‘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 be the shepherd of my people Israel.’’”
Then Herod called the Magi secretly and found out from them the exact time the star had appeared. He sent them to Bethlehem and said, “Go and make a careful search for the child. As soon as you find him, report to me, so that I too may go and worship him.”
After they had heard the king, they went on their way, and the star they had seen in the east went ahead of them until it stopped over the place where the child was. When they saw the star, they were overjoyed. 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 and of incense and of myrrh. And having been warned in a dream not to go back to Herod, they returned to their country by another route."
Some people put a star on top of their Christmas tree. The star signifies the Bethlehem star that the Magi (traditionally called wise men) followed that led them to the manger. Magi is where we get the word "magic" from. The Anglo-Saxon translation-magoi, signifies astrologers. Magi were people who knew and understood the stars and planets.
If these men were astrologers it was not in the sense that was forbidden in scripture. The problem with astrology is that one looks to the stars for guidance and answers instead of looking to God. The wise men looked to the stars not as a substitute for God but rather as a sign and tool God used to communicate.
Tradition says the Magi were men of high position from the area near ancient Babylon but they could’ve come from Persia or southern Arabia. It's also understood that Magi were philosophers who would’ve studied religion so it’s likely they would’ve studied and believed the biblical scriptures.
It’s also quite conceivable that they simply received a special message from God directing them to the Messiah. God uses many unmistakable ways to get our attention. We need to react wisely and not dismiss them as coincidences. The star they saw was no ordinary star . First of all, stars travel west and Bethlehem was south of Jerusalem. Second, stars don’t stop over a specific location. So it was likely a unique and divine star that guided the Magi to the baby Jesus.
The Magi listened to God who revealed the Messiah was born and the star they saw was his and that they needed to pack it up and move it out. The wise men trusted God's word and they acted upon it; they didn’t dismiss it. The wise men focused on the star and followed it as it moved along and stopped where Jesus was. For us, the star can represent the Holy Spirit. We follow him wherever he leads. Just like the wise men, we who are wise follow God’s lead.
And they had to maintain that trust for the duration of their long journey. This was no short stroll. It’s understood that this journey took the wise men well over a year to complete. So this would involve proper planning and dedication. It's the same for those who desire to live for Jesus. If we are wise we need to understand that doing God’s will involves being prepared for a lifelong, spiritual journey. The wise men were wise because they believed, obeyed and followed God's lead.
And when they got to the manger we see them bowing down and worshiping Jesus. These grown men wise men were willing to bow down before a toddler. It may have appeared undignified, perhaps even foolish for these prestigious and prominent men to kneel before a child but they were wise enough to know that it didn’t matter how it looked because they knew who this was.
We don’t read of them bowing before King Herod, only Jesus. We don’t read of them presenting gifts to Herod, only Jesus. These Magi recognized who the true king was. If we are wise then we will be humble too; the fact is you can’t be wise unless you are humble. If we're not willing to bow our knee and surrender to Jesus then we are neither humble nor wise.
Vs. 10-when they saw that the star had stopped they were overjoyed. They were overjoyed that their journey had come to an end and they would now get to see their Savior. When we realize that our search for what will truly fulfill us is found in Christ we are overjoyed because we have finally found what we've been looking for.
Vs. 11-they gave Jesus three gifts. The gift of gold was to honor Jesus' royalty as the King of kings. Gold has always been valued as the most precious commodity and was often presented to kings. The gift of incense was for Jesus as the high priest. It was a white resin or gum. It was very fragrant when burned, and was used in worship, where it was burned as a pleasant offering to God.”
Myrrh was a product of Arabia. It was used chiefly in embalming the dead because it had the property of preserving them from decay. Since it was a burial and embalming ointment, this would’ve been presented in recognition of Jesus sacrificing his life. These wise men knew who they were in the presence of. These gifts were tokens of respect and homage to the new-born King.
What are we willing to lay before the king? Rom. 12:2 says that our spiritual act of worship is to present ourselves as a living sacrifice to God. We humbly surrender to God's will for us; whatever that might be.
And we see from vs. 12-14 that they listened to God over man. God warned the wise men not to go back to Herod and they heeded the warning and went home a different way. When the wise men chose to honor God’s instructions over King Herod’s they took a risk.
What if Herod got wind of them heading out of town and he sent men after them? If Herod was willing to kill Jesus surely he wouldn’t think twice about killing them. But, they chose to honor God above man-even though it could’ve meant their lives.
They may have been led by a star but it was really the Magi's faith that led them to Jesus. They listened to God, sought Jesus with eagerness and rejoiced in his presence. They worshiped him in humility and presented him with valuable gifts. The Wise men had the right reaction to the birth announcement.
5) Herod.
Matt. 2:13-18, "When they had gone, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream. “Get up,” he said, “take the child and his mother and escape to Egypt. Stay there until I tell you, for Herod is going to search for the child to kill him.” So he got up, took the child and his mother during the night and left for Egypt, where he stayed until the death of Herod. And so was fulfilled what the Lord had said through the prophet: “Out of Egypt I called my son.”
When Herod realized that he had been outwitted by the Magi, he was furious, and he gave orders to kill all the boys in Bethlehem and its vicinity who were two years old and under, in accordance with the time he had learned from the Magi. Then what was said through the prophet Jeremiah was fulfilled: “A voice is heard in Ramah, weeping and great mourning, Rachel weeping for her children and refusing to be comforted, because they are no more.”
When the Magi announced the birth of Jesus to Herod it says that he was disturbed. The Greek for this word can mean troubled, stirred up, terrified, thrown into turmoil. And after his initial reaction, he had some time to stew about it and get all worried and worked up even more. So when he figured out he had been tricked by the Magi he was primed for an explosion.
It's obvious that Herod's reaction was terrible and extreme. But this is how King Herod was. He was a vicious, cruel ruler who had his wife and several of his sons put to death because he saw them as threats to his power. Emperor Augustus once said, “It is safer to be Herod’s pig than his son”.
Herod felt threatened; he looked at Jesus as a rival king who would eventually seek to take his throne and therefore he needed to eliminate the threat. That's how some people react to Jesus; they feel threatened by him. People resist Jesus because they don't want to submit to change; they don't want to turn control of their lives over to him.
They are king and they will not allow any rivals. So, they eliminate the threat by resisting the gospel. They may even want to go so far as to have Jesus "killed" in the sense of shutting down any talk about him-both in their own lives and in society as a whole.
Herod's reaction was unnecessary because he was looking at Jesus in the wrong light-Jesus wasn't going to set up an earthly kingdom but a heavenly one. Jesus wasn't a threat to Herod's throne. It's the same for those who reject Jesus. They are seeing him in a wrong light. While it's true that he is a threat to their old way of life, he is a blessing to their lives.
We can see Jesus in the negative light of oppression-taking over my life and removing all the fun. But if we look at him in the right light-we will see him as offering the fullness of life and rest for our souls. We will see Jesus as the one who opens the door for true love, peace, joy and contentment and he closes the doors of fear, worry, misery, depression and hopelessness.
Don't allow your reaction to Jesus to be like Herod's. And then there's the religious leaders. We read in vs. 3 that not only was Herod disturbed but all of Jerusalem as well. It's thought that the people's concerns were due to not knowing what Herod would do because of this news. Their concerns were valid as we see Herod's decree to kill all those baby boys.
But the knowledge of the birth of Christ would mean the religious leaders knew as well. They knew the prophecies and were no doubt made aware of the Magi's visit and declaration so it causes one to wonder-why didn't they have the reaction the Magi did? The Magi traveled from far away to see the Christ-child but the religious leaders weren't willing to go a short distance to see him.
They didn't believe. They had been given the scriptures; they had been given everything they needed to believe yet were unwilling to act on it when it came true. The Magi believed, the shepherds believed, but the ones who had possessed and studied the scriptures their whole life didn't.
And remember, at this time Jesus could have been nearly two years old. The shepherds went around telling everyone what they had seen and heard when Jesus was born. So in all that time the religious leaders didn't seek Jesus out. When the Magi came and inquired about him the religious leaders don't try to find him.
That's sad. There are people who have been told the truth and have been given all they need to turn to Christ yet they continue to keep him at arm's length; unwilling to come to him. Don't allow your reaction to be like the religious leaders. We need to have the right reaction to Jesus Christ.
[Jimmy Stewart clip. Set-up-Mr. Krueger's Christmas-1980]
