Joy To The World The Lord Is Come! (Luke 1:39-45)
GIST: Joy is possible because of Jesus’ presence and experienced when we believe in God’s person and plan.
Let’s pray before we even look at anything this morning.
We’re continuing our journey through Luke’s account of Jesus’ birth and looking at how this points us to the truth behind the themes we tend to consider this time of year: hope, joy, peace, and love. Today, we’re going to look at what many probably consider my pet topic: joy ☺️.
Though so many passages could be used to point to this, we’re just going to look at what happens after Mary’s initial contact with Gabriel. After being given the life-changing news that she would bare the Son of God, this happens→
“In those days Mary arose and went with haste into the hill country, to a town in Judah, and she entered the house of Zechariah and greeted Elizabeth.
Why? After telling Mary she’d miraculously bear the Son of God, the angel Gabriel encourages her by reporting that Elizabeth, her aging relative who had long been considered barren, was now six months pregnant. The next thing we see Mary doing is going to see this Elizabeth, which makes sense. Her entire world has just been flipped upside down. I’m sure she wanted to go to someone she knew would believe her—someone who had also just witnessed God’s miraculous grace firsthand.
So she arrives and greets Elizabeth. I won’t dwell on this, but from what I’ve studied, this greeting wasn’t just a “what’s up” moment. This would have been a formal exchange between the two women, and it undoubtedly would have involved Mary submitting to Elizabeth. She was the younger of the two, and her station was less prestigious. Elizabeth was the wife of a priest. Mary was engaged to a carpenter. This would have been an honorable and expected exchange between these relatives. But that’s about where the expected ends!
And when Elizabeth heard the greeting of Mary, the baby leaped in her womb.
Prophecy fulfillment? We’re going to come back to baby John’s reaction in a second here. However, I’ll go ahead and share that some scholars believe this is actually a direct reference to and fulfillment of a prophecy of Malachi—the last Old Testament prophet. At the very least, the language seems to echo one another. Toward the end of the book, Malachi says: “1 For behold, the day is coming, burning like an oven, when all the arrogant and all evildoers will be stubble. The day that is coming shall set them ablaze, says the LORD of hosts, so that it will leave them neither root nor branch. 2 But for you who fear my name, the sun of righteousness shall rise with healing in its wings. You shall go out leaping like calves from the stall.” We’ve been studying Revelation, so this should sound like very familiar language. When the Messiah shows up, there will be two reactions: fear from those would despise and reject Him, and tremendous, leap-worthy joy from those who love and belong to Him!
And Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit, and she exclaimed with a loud cry,
Prophecy language continued. She is filled with the Holy Spirit and proclaims in a loud voice. This is prophetic language. Keep the context in mind here. This is the beginning of our New Testament. We’ve had the full Bible for so long, it is easy to forget there was around a 400-year period of silence between the testaments where God was no longer speaking to His people like He had. They were walking proudly in their sin and ignoring His direction. And now this formerly-barren woman prophetically proclaims→
“Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb! And why is this granted to me that the mother of my Lord should come to me? For behold, when the sound of your greeting came to my ears, the baby in my womb leaped for joy. And blessed is she who believed that there would be a fulfillment of what was spoken to her from the Lord.”
Elizabeth proclaims blessing here, and I think points to reasons why we can experience lasting joy, as well. Let’s jump straight into our gist: Joy is possible because of Jesus’ presence and experienced when we believe in God’s person and plan.
I. Joy Is Possible Because Of Jesus’ Presence.
So much about this time of year just makes me happy. Near the top of that list are Christmas lights. In fact, even though our crazy life tends to get a touch crazier in December, we always make time to drive around and look at them. We’ll hit a few of the designated displays from time to time, but we usually just hunt for them in neighborhoods. There’s just something really special about houses usually hidden by darkness transforming into beacons of warmth.
I know this might seem like I’m trying to shove a deeper meaning into something completely ordinary, but I really do think this at least alludes to a deeper joy. See, we are houses consumed by darkness, and Jesus—the Light of the World—has come to make us entirely new!
We see that reflected in Luke’s account of Jesus’ birth. When Mary arrives, Elizabeth’s baby jumps for joy. Not only does this ring with Malachi’s prophecy about our reaction to the coming of the Lord, but it also points to why we can have lasting joy. What caused baby John’s reaction? Jesus drew near, and His presence changed everything. It always will. “Joy to the World, the Lord is come! Let earth receive her King. Let every heart prepare Him room, and Heaven and nature sing. Joy to the World, the Savior reigns! Let men their songs employ while fields and floods, rocks, hills, and plains repeat the sounding joy.” Why? “He rules the world with truth and grace and makes the nations prove the glories of His righteousness and wonders of His love. Joy to the World, the Lord is come!”
Joy came to the world because the King showed up! He’s showing up in your life too.
II. Joy Is Experienced If We Believe In God’s Person And Plan.
Just knowing this isn’t enough. Elizabeth loudly proclaims: “blessed is she who believed that there would be a fulfillment of what was spoken to her from the Lord” (Luke 1:45). Mary was truly blessed… because she actively believed God’s plan—even though she didn’t fully understand and even though it could cost her everything. Mary isn’t deified in Scripture, but she is put forth as a wonderful example of faith. Remember, this divine pregnancy was enough to get her killed. I said this last week, but it bears repeating. She didn’t know how Joseph would react. She didn’t understand how effective Jesus’ ministry would be. She didn’t have a clear picture of how He would defeat sin once and for all. She just knew He was God and had a plan for her life. That was enough. And that penetrating belief that actually changes how we live, well, that’s what brings lasting joy.
Head knowledge is just head knowledge. If your belief doesn’t change how you live, it’s meaningless. We need to move away from unsustainable sources of joy and let His light shine through our darkness.
Ok, three quick takeaways (looks like a shorter sermon today ☺️, you’re welcome.)
TAKEAWAYS
Joy is possible because of Jesus’ presence. He came. He is. “There's never been a moment I was not held inside your arms/ And there's never been a day when You were not who you say you are/Yours forever; It don't matter what I'm walking through/ Cause no matter where I'm going, there's never been a moment that I was not loved by you!” (Micah Tyler)
Joy is experienced if we believe in God’s person and plan. That is, if you truly believe enough to let to change the way you live, let it inform the decisions you make if you: “...seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.”(Matthew 6:33).
So.. be joyful ☺️. Last week, I was asked to lead a professional development session for my colleagues about remembering our purpose as teachers. When I asked my administration what they wanted this session to accomplish, they essentially said they wanted to provide some encouragement. Teaching can be an incredibly draining profession, and like many of your workplaces I’m sure, it doesn’t always lead to wells of positivity. I didn’t sign up to teach this, and I ended up competing with a pickleball session, so not many signed up to join me ☺️. Nonetheless, I ended up getting so much out of just talking to teachers about not missing out on why we’re in this job. I grade 1500 essays a year. I’m swamped almost all the time. But I still love my job because I get to make an impact in the lives of young people. I love that. On a deeper level, we have an opportunity to be part of what Jesus is doing every single day. I know I say this so often, but please hear me. Don’t let anything rob you of the joy of knowing Him and actively letting that change everything about how you live your life!
Darkness cannot stand
When Light wins
Firmly in His hand
Joy begins
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