The Psalmist wrote, “I will extol you, my God, and King, and bless your name forever and ever” (Ps. 145:1). The 145th psalm is one my favorite psalms. I read it at least once everyday. It is twenty-one verses proclaiming the unsearchable greatness of Almighty God. Truly God is worthy of our praise every single day. But he is especially worthy of it during this season. For this is the season of good news of great joy for all people, and that news is that God has sent us a Redeemer, who is the Christ, who is God’s only Son, whose name is Jesus.
Many might not pay this much attention, but there is much worship happening surrounding the birth of Jesus. Let’s begin with Mary, the mother of Jesus. Six months after the angel of God pronounced to Zechariah and Elizabeth the birth of John the Baptist, the angel Gabriel appeared to Mary foretelling the birth of Jesus. Some days after, Mary went to visit Elizabeth. While there, Mary broke out into praise. Today Mary’s song of praise is called – The Magnificat. It goes like this (Luke 1:46-56): “My soul magnifies the Lord, and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior, for he has looked on the humble estate of his servant. For behold, from now on all generations will call me blessed; for he who is mighty has done great things for me, and holy is his name. And his mercy is for those who fear him from generation to generation. He has shown strength with his arm; he has scattered the proud in the thoughts of their hearts; he has brought down the mighty from their thrones and exalted those of humble estate; he has filled the hungry with good things, and the rich he has sent away empty. He has helped his servant Israel, in remembrance of his mercy, as he spoke to our fathers, to Abraham and to his offspring forever.”
Next, we have the angel(s) who appeared to the shepherds. After the angel of God appeared to the shepherds as they were tending their flocks by night and declaring to them the good news of the birth of Jesus, Luke tells us in chapter 2:13-14, “suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying, ‘Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace among those with whom he is pleased!” Wow! Just imagine you are one of those shepherds. You are doing your shepherd thing – watching over and protecting the sheep – minding your own business. All of a sudden an angel of God appears proclaiming to you the good news of the Messiah’s birth. Then, suddenly, unexpectedly, without any warning what-so-ever, to your astonishment and amazement, a vast army of angelic heavenly beings appear praising God! How outstanding would that have been!
Now, let’s look at the shepherds. The shepherds were so shocked by this, after the angels departed, they said to themselves, “Let us go over to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has made known to us” (Luke 2:15). I mean, at this point who wouldn’t go, right? Having been told by an angel of God such good news and witnessing the sudden appearance of a multitude of angels praising God, you would have to go at this point. After they had seen the newborn Messiah and had returned to their flocks, Luke writes the shepherds were “glorifying and praising God for all they had heard and seen, as it had been told them” (Luke 2:20).
We also have the wise men or magi. About two years after Jesus’ birth in Bethlehem, wise men appeared in Jerusalem wanting to see the Messiah having come from the east and being guided by a star. Why did the wise men appear to see Jesus two years after his birth? Most scholars believe that this is how long it took them to reach Jerusalem. We don’t really know where these wise men came from. All we know is they came from the east, though some scholars do suspect these wise men came from Babylon. The arrival of these wise men caused such a great disturbance that all of Jerusalem was troubled, even King Herod, why? It’s likely because, unlike most postcards and movies, there were more than three of them. In fact, we know for sure that such wise men or magi would have traveled with a large number of attendants; some suspect hundreds likely showed in Jerusalem. After they appeared in Jerusalem, they went on their way to Bethlehem to see the newly born Messiah. Why did they show up in Jerusalem? For one purpose. According to Luke 2:2 they followed the star into Jerusalem seeking “to worship him.”
What does this say to us? This tells us that Christmas is a season of great rejoicing. It is a time for worship. It is a time for praise. It is a time where people everywhere from every nation and tribe and language come together to sing praises to the King of kings, who is worthy of all our glory and praise and honor. For this is the season that good news was pronounced unto the world. The season that the Messiah was born. The season we celebrate the birth of the One who is able to save and deliver and rescue sinners. Therefore, let us join Mary, the shepherds, the wise men, and the angels in singing, “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace among those with whom he is pleased!”