Great Joy

Great Joy.  The text of the Christmas Story is certainly inspired and inerrant, but it is also excellent literature. Just like in 9^th grade English class, we can see the bell-curve of a good story at Bethlehem: problem, ascending plot, conflict, resolution, descending plot, and the establishment of a new normal. The narrative of Jesus’ birth has it all, especially in terms of character development. Even the minor characters spiritually duke it out with moves and countermoves. But the blood that flowed in the massacre of the innocents at Bethlehem was not merely a literary device. Real life was lost as the true Lord of Life was born. The stark reality is this: the cost of life for Christ is death but in Christ the reward of death is life forevermore.

However, at the speed of everyday life, it may have been very difficult to tell the good guys from the bad guys because they often speak the same lines. For instance, when the wise men inquired at Jerusalem about the Messiah’s arrival they said, “Where is he who has been born king of the Jews? For we saw his star when it rose and have come to worship him” (Matt. 2:2). But King Herod the Great, who was famously jealous of his throne and openly murderous when it came to the struggle over who would inherit that throne, used the same words as the wise men. “Go and search diligently for the child, and when you have found him, bring me word, that I too may come and worship him” (Matt. 2:8).

The similarity between the wise men and the evil king ended there at the surface level. Both said worship, but one used worship only as a disguise to cover up his malicious intent. The inner quality of each character was not found in their vocabulary, but in their response to the Infant King. “When they saw the star, they rejoiced exceedingly with great joy. And going into the house they saw the child with Mary, his mother, and they fell down and worshiped him. Then, opening their treasures, they offered him gifts, gold and frankincense and myrrh” (Matt. 2:10-11). Contrast their response with Herod’s reaction. “Then Herod, when he saw that he had been tricked by the wise men, became furious, and he sent and killed all the male children in Bethlehem and in all that region who were two years old or under, according to the time that he had ascertained from the wise men” (Matt. 2:16).

The visible difference was their joy. Herod has no joy, only fury. “Thus you will recognize them by their fruits” (Matt. 7:20). The pattern continues today with moves and countermoves. Many may sing, “Joy to the world the Lord has come,” but only some will fall down and worship him.