Celebrate the Birth of Jesus?
Heaven Certainly Did!
By
Dr. Don Bierle
Christians don't have to be convinced of the importance of
the birth of Jesus Christ. Christmas celebration is a well-established
tradition.*
Those who have any lingering doubt about whether there was anything
to celebrate, however, may want to take a cue from the "insiders."
I'm talking about the heavenly participants of the first Christmas:
the Holy Spirit and the angelic hosts. After all, they should
know how significant Jesus' birth was–they're "insiders."
They have the scoop!
What was heaven's response to the birth of Jesus? Reading the
eyewitness records of this unique event, the Gospels of Matthew
and Luke, you will be struck by the following observation: The
Holy Spirit and the heavenly hosts were ecstatic with excitement.
For example, the Holy Spirit filled the mouths of several people
with exuberance:
- "When Elizabeth heard Mary's greeting, the Babe leaped
in her womb; and Elizabeth... cried out with a loud voice..."
(Luke 1:41ff.).
- "And Mary said, 'My soul exalts the Lord, and my spirit
has rejoiced in God my Savior'" (Luke 1:46ff.).
- ""And... Zacharias... prophesied, saying: 'Blessed
be the Lord God of Israel, for He has visited us and accom-plished
redemption for His people'" (Luke 1:67ff.).
- "...Simeon... said..., 'my eyes have seen Thy salvation...
a light for Revelation to the Gentiles, and the glory of Thy
people Israel'" (Luke 2:30, 32).
A baby leaps in the womb, a teenager is filled with worship
and joy, an elderly priest becomes a prophet of redemption,
and a devout saint has his eyes opened to see God's salvation
unfold for all people. The Holy Spirit, clearly an "insider"
to the event, set the tone for the celebration of Jesus' coming
by infilling these proc-lamations.
Likewise, the angels' messages were filled with enthusiasm.
For example, in Luke 2:10 the angel said, "Do not be afraid;
for behold, I bring you good news of a great joy which shall
be for all the people..." (Let us not ignore the heavenly
host in this passage, which barely avoided interrupting the
messenger with their sudden and frenzied praise to God for resting
His favor upon the people of earth.) Even one of the archangels,
Gabriel, exudes excitement in his announcement to Zacharias
(read it in Luke 1:13ff.) and to Mary, "He will be great,
and will be called the Son of the Most High; and the Lord God
will give Him the throne of His father David" (Luke 1:32).
Luke also records Jesus' own later statement (Luke 15:10) that
the angels in heaven rejoice over one sinner who repents. It
is understandable, then, that they should be ecstatic over the
One who was coming and who made redemption of all sinners possible.
Should we not follow the lead of Heaven? The Holy Spirit
Himself and the angelic hosts made it clear that the historical
event which occurred 2,000 years ago was the advent of "Immanuel"-that
is, "God with us" (Mat-thew 1:23) and a Savior besides
(Luke 2:11). May I recommend that this Christmas you respond
in two com-plementary ways: as Mary, who "treasured up
all these things, pondering them in her heart" (Luke 2:19);
and as the shepherds who were "glorifying and praising
God" (Luke 2:20). Together they make a meaningful and appropriate
celebration of Jesus.
* EDITOR:
Some debate the time of year at which Christmas should be celebrated;
others decry any celebration as a sugar-coating of pagan traditions;
many criticize the season as being over laden with commercial
trappings. The point of this article is simple: Since Jesus
was, in fact, born in history–God incarnate to earth!–we should
consider how the event was celebrated by the true insiders,
and whether it isn't, after all, truly a reason for us to celebrate
as well. Hallelujah!
