The King of Kings was nearing His second birthday. All of Israel should be
celebrating! Hadn't they looked forward to that day? Hadn't they scrutinized the
Scriptures to determine the signs of the times? How could it be, then, that
after two years, only a few shepherds and two old people at the temple had
acknowledged the birth of the Messiah (see Luke 2:8-20)?
Then, suddenly, Jerusalem finds itself receiving a group of wise men from some
distant country. These wise men are considered pagans, non-believers, yet they
bring startling news: "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." (Matt 2:2 NIV)
They may be pagans, but they bring news of the long awaited Messiah! Shouldn't
Jerusalem be rejoicing?
Notice their reaction: "When King Herod heard this he was disturbed, and all
Jerusalem with him." (Matt 2:3 NIV)
They didn't rejoice. Instead they were all disturbed! The King of Kings was born
and they were upset! Don't they see the signs of the times?
"He (King Herod) asked them (the high priest and the teachers of the law) 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.'" (Matt 2:4-5 NIV)
Sure, they all knew the signs, but none of them cared in the least! Not one of
them hastened to see if the prophecy really had been fulfilled! No one, except
those Eastern pagans, even went to Bethlehem!
Now, notice the response of the "pagans" when they meet Jesus: "When they saw
the star, they were overjoyed." (Matt 2:10 NIV)
The Greek brings this even more into the light. It uses: "echáreesan charán
megáleen sfódra". Literally translated, Matthew wrote: "They rejoiced with a
humongous big joy".
"Megáleen" comes from "megas" which means "really big". Our word "megaphone" is
derived from that word. "Sfódra" comes from "sphodros" which means "a high
degree, exceedingly". In other words they had a exceedingly megaphone kind of
joy! They had seen the Messiah! They believed! Their joy was genuine and
followed them for the rest of their lives.
We too, can have that same "exceedingly megaphone" kind of joy. John 15:11 says:
"I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be
complete." NIV
Why? Because Jesus' joy resides in us! "The Holy Spirit who lives in us." (2 Tim
1:14 NIV) Nobody can take that joy away, because nobody can take our Jesus away
from us!
The world cannot understand this: "He was in the world, and though the world was
made through him, the world did not recognize him." (John 1:10 NIV) Jesus is a
stumbling block to them!
It is sad to see that the majority of so-called "believers" in Jesus day did not
even acknowledge the Messiah's existence. It had to be some far-a-way pagans who
brought that exceeding great news! Once their mission was fulfilled (They had
seen the Messiah!), joy was their constant companion, as it is our companion as
well.
I still remember vividly being approached by one of my colleagues who asked me:
"Why are you always so joyful?"
I had recently given my heart to Jesus and did not even notice that I had turned
from a sour puss into a cheerful believer. I wasn't prepared to give an adequate
answer at that time, as I was not even aware of that genuine joy living in me,
so I gave a lame excuse: "Life would be bitter if we couldn't be cheerful."
I had missed my opportunity to witness! Since then I have learned an important
lesson: "Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give
the reason for the hope that you have." (1 Peter 3:15 NIV) And my answer now is
this: I have that inner joy because Jesus is real and lives in me!
Isn't this great news? Isn't this the reason we celebrate Christmas? Jesus came
to share with us the good news that God wants to have a relationship with us. If
we allow Him, He will live in us and become the best friend we could ever have!
Gone are the days of solitude, for His presence is forever: "And surely I am
with you always, to the very end of the age." (Matt 28:20 NIV)
Let us share this extremely huge joy with others! It is time for people to
discover who Jesus really is. Either He is a disturbance, because we do not know
Him, or He is an extremely huge joy, because He is living in us.
Do you know Jesus? Do you have that huge megaphone kind of joy?
Rob Chaffart
The Illustrator: This daily newsletter is dedicated to encouraging
everyone to look towards Jesus as the source of all the solutions to our
problems. It contains a daily inspirational story, a Bible verse and encouraging
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The Nugget: Published three times a week, this newsletter features inspirational devotionals and mini-sermons dedicated to drawing mankind closer to each other and to Christ.