Category: Jesus

Luke 2:40                                                     The Christ Child Grew

“And the child grew and became strong, filled with wisdom.  And the favor of God was upon him” (ESV).

 

Although hymn singing was frequent in eastern Europe, few hymns from the area have been translated to English.  One of the traditions in Poland was for the priest to go from home to home often accompanied by a group of singers during the Christmas season.  Carrying a star on a pole and a Nativity scene, they sang Christmas hymns and also enacted Nativity plays—the beginning of Christmas caroling.  One of the songs often sung, and one of the few translated into English, was “Infant Holy, Infant Lowly.

This holy and lowly infant slept in a cattle stall, hearing animal noises while angels sang, “Christ the babe is Lord of all.”  Yes, this tiny infant had lowly beginnings, but He was also holy.  The song was sung by angels to the shepherds, who watched their sleeping flocks.  The shepherds were the first to hear the Good News, and after seeing the Christ Child, they spread it abroad to those they saw as they walked back to their flocks.  As the song says, “Christ the babe was born for you.”  I’ll repeat that, as we all should repeat it to the whole world, “Christ the babe was born for you and you and you and you and you…and you.  And me!  “Thank you, Lord, for giving to me thy great salvation so rich and free.” (Seth and Bessie Sykes c1940)

Infant Holy, Infant Lowly

1 Infant holy, infant lowly,
for His bed a cattle stall;
oxen lowing, little knowing
Christ, the babe, is Lord of all.
Swift are winging angels singing,
noels ringing, tidings bringing:
Christ the babe is Lord of all!
Christ the babe is Lord of all!

2 Flocks were sleeping, shepherds keeping
vigil till the morning new
saw the glory, heard the story,
tidings of the gospel true.
Thus rejoicing, free from sorrow,
praises voicing, greet the morrow:
Christ the babe was born for you;
Christ the babe was born for you.

Luke 2:13,14                                                             Singing Angels

“Suddenly a great army of heaven’s angels appeared with the angel, singing praises to God:  ‘Glory to God in the highest heaven, and peace on earth to those with whom he is pleased’”  (GNT).

 

It wasn’t a solo; it was a choir, an angel choir, a large one at that—“a great army of heaven’s angels.”  When we think of angels, we often picture them as beautiful benevolent creatures who float through the air with ease.  Or, we think of angels as the warrior angels described in the Bible.  When we join them together, we have a fantastic choir, every musical part sung with grace and power in full praise of our Lord.  In this Scripture, the angel choir of fantastic beauty and outstanding musical talent sang of “Glory to the newborn King.”  I’ve tried to imagine this choir of angels, and I am certain that all my imaginings fall far short of the actual choir.  They didn’t sing in a stunning music hall, and they didn’t sing to an audience of affluent patrons who could afford expensive theater tickets.  No, this amazing choir sang to a group of shepherds, the plain hard workers of the countryside.

Even though they sang to this small group of laborers, the song of “Glory to the newborn King” is for all of mankind from that day forward.  They sang of the blessedness of all of mankind, for we have all had our sins forgiven by this baby born of a virgin.  He came so that all nations can be joyful in His message of peace and forgiveness.  “Christ the everlasting Lord” became one of us, a human being, in order to bring “light and life” to each of us.  He laid His “glory by” and was “born that men no more may die.”  He was “Born to raise the sons of earth, born to give them second birth.”  So it is right and fitting that the angels should sing, “Glory to the newborn King.”

This event that took place quietly in a small town, the birth of our Lord—our Savior–was not noted by anyone but a small group of shepherds that evening.  But it has grown to be a tumultuous cry to all mankind:  “And I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; neither shall anyone snatch them out of My hand” (John 10:28  NKJV).  That message is sung to us by a choir of One, our Lord and Savior, Jesus, who was born quietly in Bethlehem that extraordinary night.

Colossians 2:9                                         Son of God, Son of Man

“For in Christ lives all the fullness of God in a human body” (NLT).

 

The clouds obviously separate the snow-capped mountains from the desert foliage.  We know that the two parts of the scene, snowy mountains and desert plants are connected behind the cloud.  It may be difficult to believe that desert plants and snowy peaks can exist so close to each other, to actually be part of the same section of earth.  One thing it shows is that the mountain peaks are high above the desert plants.  Jesus calls Himself the Son of Man in John 9:35-37: “When Jesus heard what had happened, he found the man and asked, ‘Do you believe in the Son of Man?’  The man answered, ‘Who is he, sir?  I want to believe in him.’  ‘You have seen him,’ Jesus said, ‘and he is speaking to you.’”  God the Father calls Jesus the Son of God in Luke 3:22: “…and the Holy Spirit in bodily form, descended on him like a dove.  And a voice from heaven said, ‘You are my dearly loved Son, and you bring me great joy.’”  While living on Earth, Jesus was known as the Son of Man and the Son of God—two separate names for the same person.  It is a blessing to realize that the Son of God came to earth and became the Son of Man in order to provide the only possible sacrifice for all the sins of mankind.  While we may think of the “Son of God” to be high above the “Son of Man,” He is one and the same.  Thank you, Jesus, for becoming as one of us to atone for my sins.  I am eternally grateful, and I will be able to thank you daily throughout eternity for your sacrifice.