Joy to the World (Luke 1:26–33)
Carols: A Christmas Series • Sermon • Submitted • Presented
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· 345 viewsJesus is the King who brings joy to His people.
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Introduction
“Joy to the world! The Lord is come. Let earth receive her King. Let every heart prepare him room. And heaven and nature sing.” This carol was written by Isaac Watts and was based on Psalm 98, a psalm that looks forward to the coming of the Lord, a coming that should cause people to shout for joy. The Psalm tells us to “shout triumphantly in the presence of the Lord, our King” (Psalm 98:6). There is a reason for joy. Jesus is the one who brings joy. He is the King. Jesus is the King of Israel who brings His people joy.
It’s a little difficult to think of a king in our culture. We don’t have kings, we have a president. Yet you see the idea of a king coming up time and time again. Growing up, my mom would come home with King Vitamin cereal. It had a picture of a guy dressed up in kingly robes wearing a crown eating cereal. Now, it tasted like a bad version of Captain Crunch. So, I thought King Vitamin wasn’t very good at his kingly duty of being a cereal. Then there is Burger King. As a kid, they used to give out this golden crown for kids that you could put on while you ate your burger. It was fun.
In our culture, the concept of a king is meant to mean that you are the best at something. Elvis Presley was called the King, or late night shows are constantly fighting to be the “King of Late Night.” It means that you rule in your particular area as the best of something.
But when the Bible talks about a king, is that a sufficient way to understand Him as King? When we hear something sung like in the carol “let earth receive her King” in Joy to the World, how are we to understand that? What does it mean that Jesus is a king? And importantly, what does the fact that Jesus is a King mean for my life?
We will be looking at the Christmas story, and looking closely to what the angel tells Mary about the baby as a King. We will be in Luke 1:26–33.
26 In the sixth month, the angel Gabriel was sent by God to a town in Galilee called Nazareth,
27 to a virgin engaged to a man named Joseph, of the house of David. The virgin’s name was Mary.
28 And the angel came to her and said, “Greetings, favored woman! The Lord is with you.”
29 But she was deeply troubled by this statement, wondering what kind of greeting this could be.
30 Then the angel told her, “Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God.
31 Now listen: You will conceive and give birth to a son, and you will name him Jesus.
32 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.
33 He will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and his kingdom will have no end.”
The angel Gabriel came to Mary and promised her a son who would be the Son of God and the King of Israel.
Luke 1:26–33
The angel Gabriel comes to this young virgin in a small village that no one would pay attention to. The angel Gabriel is described in Luke 1:19 as an angel “who stands in the presence of God.” Two times in Scripture the angel Gabriel is sent to speak about the coming Messiah. He speaks to Daniel in the Old Testament, and here now to a young virgin named Mary.
Nazareth was a small village or town where about 200 to 500 people lived at the time of Jesus. It was an agricultural place, where they made olive oil, wine, and probably wheat, barley and vegetables. It was a simple, ordinary place. In fact, when Nathaniel hears about Jesus from Nazareth he asks, “Can anything good come out of Nazareth?” (John 1:46).
Yet in this place that people ignored, God was working. He saw a young, likely poor woman in a small, nothing place, and “favored” her. Isn’t it good that God doesn’t look at our status in the world’s eyes, but knows each of us personally, wherever we are?
The angel Gabriel tells Mary that she is about to give birth to a baby, a son. This is no ordinary son. The angel says He will be “great.” Note that he did not use a qualifier, as Gabriel had done before in speaking of John the Baptist (Luke 1:15). Jesus is just great, for who or what can you compare God with? God is great.
Jesus will be the “Son of the Most High.” This was a way to say that Jesus will be the Son of God. In Jewish culture, if you were the son of someone, you were the same as that person. Jesus will be equal with God.
It is the last two verses that we will focus on, Luke 1:32–33. This child that will be born is destined to be a King. He will have “the throne of his father David. He will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and his kingdom will have no end.”
Jesus is promised to be a king. In what ways is Jesus a king? We will look at the kingship of Jesus in three ways. First,
Jesus is the promised King of Israel.
Jesus is the promised King of Israel.
The Jews expected a Messiah who would be a king.
John 1:49
The Jews had every expectation that the coming Messiah would be a coming king. You can see this in the way that Nathaniel responds to a revelation from Jesus. The Lord states that He saw Nathaniel under a fig tree. Nathaniel then responds,
49 “Rabbi,” Nathanael replied, “You are the Son of God; you are the King of Israel!”
One thing we see from Nathaniel’s response to Jesus is that the Jews understood that the Messiah would be the King of Israel.
The Bible promises a Messiah who would be a king.
Genesis 49:10; 2 Samuel 7:12, 16; Isaiah 9:6–7; Zechariah 9:9
This is something that is woven throughout the text of the Jewish scriptures, the Old Testament. It has roots that go right to the first book of the Bible, the book of Genesis. In Genesis 49, Jacob is blessing his children. In Genesis 49:10, he prophesies about Judah that there will be a descendant from him who will rule over the people.
10 The scepter will not depart from Judah or the staff from between his feet until he whose right it is comes and the obedience of the peoples belongs to him.
In some of your Bibles, the term “he whose right it is” might be translated as Shiloh. That is a reference to a reigning person who will come through Judah.
As the Bible continues, the Israelites ask for a king. They end up with King Saul and then eventually King David. In 2 Samuel 7, God prophesies that there will be a king coming through him, and his kingdom would last forever.
12 When your time comes and you rest with your ancestors, I will raise up after you your descendant, who will come from your body, and I will establish his kingdom.
16 Your house and kingdom will endure before me forever, and your throne will be established forever.’ ”
The prophet Isaiah speaks about the coming Messiah as a child who will be born, a coming king who will reign on the throne of David.
6 For a child will be born for us, a son will be given to us, and the government will be on his shoulders. He will be named Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Eternal Father, Prince of Peace.
7 The dominion will be vast, and its prosperity will never end. He will reign on the throne of David and over his kingdom, to establish and sustain it with justice and righteousness from now on and forever. The zeal of the Lord of Armies will accomplish this.
The prophet Zechariah spoke of a King that was coming to Israel in a way that they weren’t expecting.
9 Rejoice greatly, Daughter Zion! Shout in triumph, Daughter Jerusalem! Look, your King is coming to you; he is righteous and victorious, humble and riding on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey.
The prophet said, Israel, your King is here! Look, here is the King of Israel! He is righteous and victorious. He is humble. He is coming in a way that you are not expecting, so look and be aware!
Jesus constantly offered the kingdom of God to Israel.
Mark 1:15 (also Matthew 3:2; 4:17; 12:28)
Throughout the Gospels, we see Jesus talking about the kingdom of God, and telling the people of Israel that the kingdom is here.
15 “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God has come near. Repent and believe the good news!”
Unfortunately, the nation of Israel rejected their king at His first coming. He came in a way they weren’t expecting. The Bible said that He would be despised and rejected at His first coming (Isaiah 53:3).
Often God goes above and beyond what we were expecting. I was blessed this week to hear about what God continues to do through our food distribution. Jenna wrote about this week in a Facebook post:
God is good, family! Today we were unexpectedly given about 250 boxes of groceries for the food distribution. We honestly did not know how we’d give away so many boxes of food when we typically only provide for about 50 families. But, God did it. We gave out 250 boxes of food that fed probably hundreds of people, all within 1.5 hours! Oh how little our faith is sometimes! We serve a God who knows exactly what He’s doing. He provided an abundance of food, extra hands to deliver it, and the people to receive it - praise God for His faithfulness and provision!
God so often goes above and beyond what we could have thought or imagined, doesn’t He? We need to be sensitive to what God is doing in our midst. So often we can be negative and miss the good work that God is doing because we were expecting something else. Let us look with expectation and an open mind to what God wants to do in our midst.
Jesus is the promised King of Israel. The nation of Israel rejected Him at His first coming, but the Bible tells us that we are heading towards a future where the Jesus, the King of Israel, will establish a kingdom for His people.
Jesus is the King who will gather the nations.
Jesus is the King who will gather the nations.
The prophets spoke of the Messiah as a coming King with a kingdom of every people and nation.
Daniel 7:13–14
The prophets spoke of the King of Israel who was coming. He would be a King to whom the nations would gather before and will serve Him.
13 I continued watching in the night visions, and suddenly one like a son of man was coming with the clouds of heaven. He approached the Ancient of Days and was escorted before him.
14 He was given dominion and glory and a kingdom, so that those of every people, nation, and language should serve him. His dominion is an everlasting dominion that will not pass away, and his kingdom is one that will not be destroyed.
Jesus’ preferred title for Himself was “Son of Man.” According to Daniel 7:13–14, this is a title of deity. It is a title of kingship. The Son of Man has “dominion and glory and a kingdom.” The Son of Man has a kingdom “of every people, nation, and language.”
Jesus says that at His second coming, He will gather the nations together to bring His people into His kingdom.
Matthew 25:31–34
Jesus speaks about Himself as the Son of Man again in Matthew 25. Look at what He says about the Son of Man.
31 “When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, then he will sit on his glorious throne.
32 All the nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate them one from another, just as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats.
33 He will put the sheep on his right and the goats on the left.
34 Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father; inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world.
Here we have the King of Israel bringing together people from all nations. We are reading hear about the second coming of Jesus. The Bible says He will return, that Jesus is coming again. In Acts 1, the angels told the disciples that Jesus would return in the same way that they saw Him ascend into heaven (Acts 1:11).
Jesus says that at His return, He will come in His glory. He will sit on His glorious throne. What throne is this? It is the throne of David, fulfilling the promises made to Israel, that the Messiah would sit on the throne of David. The Messiah, the coming King, will sit on His throne, and all the nations will gather before Him.
The Bible says that Jesus knows His people. Isn’t that a good thing? Jesus knows His people, and welcomes us into His kingdom.
Do you know what an embassy is? An embassy is an institution that represents one nation inside another nation. All around the world there are American embassies in different countries. “The primary purpose of an embassy is to assist American citizens who travel to or live in the host country” (https://diplomacy.state.gov/diplomacy/what-is-a-u-s-embassy/). If you are an American in another country and need help, you can go to the American embassy in the country that you are in.
In the same way, the Bible says that Christians are people that are in this world, but not of this world. We are members of a kingdom that is beyond this world (John 18:36). We live in America, but our allegiance is to our eternal kingdom, the kingdom of God, and out coming King.
Jesus is the King of Israel, the King who gathers His people. Third,
Jesus is the King who brings His people joy.
Jesus is the King who brings His people joy.
The King has an effect of joy on His people.
Luke 1:46–47; Philippians 4:4
Here is an interesting thing about the King. The King is someone who brings joy to His people. Look at how Mary responds to the promise of God, the promise of the coming King who she would be used to bring into the world.
46 And Mary said: My soul magnifies the Lord,
47 and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior,
There is an amazing thing about the effect of the King on a life. The Lord, the King of Israel, is someone who brings a sense of joy to His people. Mary was under stress. He she was as someone who was about to be pregnant even though she was a virgin. In her society, that was a death sentence! She could be accused of adultery, bring shame to her family, and possibly stoned. Yet under stress, the promise of the King within her has brought her immense joy. Her “soul magnifies the Lord” and her “spirit rejoices in God” her Savior.
We see that same effect on Paul. He writes a letter while unjustly sitting in a cold prison. He had every reason to complain. Yet, the effect of the Lord on him causes him to write a letter of joy to the Philippians. While sitting in a prison, Paul says to the Philippians,
4 Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice!
The verbs that Paul uses, χαίρω, is a present, active, imperative. What Paul is saying is that right now, because you are in the Lord, you have every reason to rejoice. The Lord gives us a reason to rejoice in the joy He brings.
The King brings the joy of eternal hope.
Luke 10:20
In Luke 10, the disciples are sent out to tell people about the kingdom. They are being sent out to heal the sick and tell people that “the kingdom of God has come near you” (Luke 10:9). The disciples return and are happy that “even the demons submit to us in your name” (Luke 10:17). Look at how the Lord answers them.
20 However, don’t rejoice that the spirits submit to you, but rejoice that your names are written in heaven.”
The disciples were happy because of the power they had in this moment. However, the Lord points to the eternal hope we have in Him. He says you have a reason to rejoice that goes beyond your present circumstances. You can always rejoice because your names are written in the book of life. You have an eternal hope of life in the King of kings, the Lord Jesus Christ.
The King brings the joy of His eternal kingdom.
Revelation 21:1–4
The King is our reason for joy, and He is leading us to a place of eternal joy. Look at how Revelation 21 describes the place where we are headed in Christ, the new heaven and the new earth.
1 Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth; for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and the sea was no more.
2 I also saw the holy city, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared like a bride adorned for her husband.
3 Then I heard a loud voice from the throne: Look, God’s dwelling is with humanity, and he will live with them. They will be his peoples, and God himself will be with them and will be their God.
4 He will wipe away every tear from their eyes. Death will be no more; grief, crying, and pain will be no more, because the previous things have passed away.
Our Lord is preparing a place for us. It is a place where we will be in His presence, a place where the King will live with His people. It is a place, the new Jerusalem, where there will be no more grief, no more crying, no more pain. The King is bringing us to the joy of His eternal kingdom.
This has been a difficult year. San Diego County has now lost over 1,000 people to COVID-19. In addition to the deaths and grieving that this disease has cost us, the mental health problems in San Diego have grown as a result of continued lock-downs. People are feeling isolated, depressed, anxious and alone. Young people are reporting higher amounts of depression, stress and hopelessness.
It is exactly in this time of hopelessness that the truth of the gospel shines bright. We have a King of kings and a Lord of lords who gives us every reason to rejoice. It is a joy that is not bound by our present circumstances. There is no amount of racism against us, no amount of political strife, no amount of a pandemic that is able to rob us of the reason that we have to rejoice in Jesus Christ. Our strength, our joy is bound up in the eternal hope that we have in our King.
Conclusion
As you remember the baby born in a manger in Bethlehem 2,000 years ago, remember the reason why we rejoice. God has fulfilled His promises to Israel in the promised King. God is a God that we can trust to do what He says he will do.
We serve a King who is gathering His people together. God knows each of you personally, and He loves you. He died for you, and if you’re a believer in Jesus Christ, your name is written in the book of life.
It is exactly because of our King, the King born in Bethlehem, that we have every reason to rejoice. There is no amount of a pandemic that can rob us of our joy. Whether we gather in a building, in a patio, or on a street corner, our joy exists because He is our eternal hope. Our King is leading to a place where we will be with Him forever. Jesus is the King of Israel who brings His people, all of His people, joy. Let us sing out to the world the reason for our joy in Jesus.
Carol: Joy to the World