No One Else Came

Isaiah 9:6

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No matter which child it is, the birth of a new baby is a big deal. Whether it’s your first, your third or your seventh. I remember for each one of my four children as they were born, I remember very clearly driving home with this feeling, this sense that something huge had happened, something monumental, this gigantic change in my life, in the life of my family. And so it’s so strange to me as I drove home and saw the people in their cars and on the streets looked as if to them nothing had changed. They were just going on with their normal lives.

In this Christmas season. I wonder about Mary and Joseph and how they must have felt this too, to such a greater degree. They knew who had been born and they knew that it was the Savior of the world. And yet how many people took notice? Just a few shepherds came to visit them to celebrate with them at the birth of their newborn baby boy. No one else came. Bethlehem did not erupt in celebration. There were not throngs of people pressing in around this stable to get a glimpse of the most famous, most important person to have ever lived. Not many people took note, but the angels did. The angels noticed they got it.

Luke tells us that the angels were the ones who were celebrating, who were singing and glorifying God. And why? Why were they singing? Why were they rejoicing? For the answer to that, we look not to the New Testament account, but to a prophecy. A prophecy from Isaiah that tells us what this baby would do and who he would be. From Isaiah nine, verse six

For to us a child is born. To us a son is given. The authority to rule will rest on his shoulders. He will be named: Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. (Isaiah 9:6)

They celebrated because he was wonderful, not just in his nature, but in what he would eventually do, that he would make the blind see, that he would make the paralyzed walk, that he would bring healing and cures for disease, both spiritual and physical, that he would bring salvation to all those who put their faith and their trust in him.

The Angels knew that this little baby lying in a stable was our mighty God, and that throughout his life that he would live perfectly in our place. He would die innocently on the cross, that he would rise victoriously. That he would descend in glory. Our Almighty God had been born and so the angels sing. They sang because the Prince of Peace had come and there was no human fanfare for him. There was no paparazzi there there. There was no overwhelming celebration by multitudes of people. And yet still the angels knew. And so their joy overflowed. They sang to the most exclusive audience ever. And these shepherds, they were so privileged to be at one of the greatest concerts in the history of the world.

Today in our Christmas season, we know that the wait is over and the Messiah, the Savior of the world is here and that He is Christ the Lord. This Christmas season you will find Jesus wrapped in swaddling clothes. You won’t find him laying in a manger in Bethlehem. You’ll find him exactly where he tells you he is. You’ll find him in his house. You’ll find him in church. You’ll find him in his word and in his sacraments. And in the end, that same Savior will find you. Whether it’s at the end of our life or at the end of the world. He will come to you and he will take you to be where he is. Where we, along with the angels, will dance and rejoice and sing. Because we too will be with our wonderful counselor, our mighty God, our everlasting Father, our Prince of Peace.

And we pray. Heavenly Father in this Christmas season, renew us the joy and the wonder of the birth of our Savior. Enable us to look to Him for our hope, our confidence, our comfort and our salvation. May we, for the rest of our days and for all eternity, sing and rejoice and celebrate in your presence. Amen.

The Lord’s Peace be with you.