Where to Begin?
The angel said to them, "Be not afraid; for behold, I bring you good news of a great joy which will come to all people; for to you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord." Luke 2:10, 11, RSV
Where to begin the story of Jesus? That's the problem. Of course, we could start with His birth in Bethlehem. But that would miss most of the story. After all, the Bible's portrayal of His 33 years on earth is hardly even the tip of the iceberg of an existence that runs from eternity in the past to eternity in the future. As a result, this devotional on the life of Christ will commence with His story before the Incarnation and close with His ministry after the Ascension, which extends into infinity.
The theme song for our journey this year of beholding our Lord is Helen Lemmel's "Turn Your Eyes Upon Jesus." As part of your daily devotional experience I would suggest that you sing the chorus each day:
"Turn your eyes upon Jesus,
Look full in His wonderful face;
And the things of earth will grow strangely dim
In the light of His glory and grace."
After 365 renditions I guarantee that you will have the words memorized and that they will come to your mind repeatedly throughout the rest of our life.
Meanwhile, we need to turn our eyes upon the Jesus set forth in the angel's announcement to the shepherds in Luke 2:10, 11. Perhaps the most remarkable aspect of the passage is that it refers to the newborn baby as "Christ the Lord."
That description would have jumped right off the page to the Bible's first readers. After all, "Lord" is the word used in Greek for "Yahweh," the very name of God in the Old Testament. Thus the angel's announcement declared the child as divine. Later, Gentile readers would have picked up the same message, since the pagan world often employed the term to refer to their deities.
The term Christ is also an expression of Jesus' divinity, being the Greek translation of "Messiah," which means "anointed one." While one could see a king or priest as anointed, the Jews expected that in due course God would send the anointed one, someone who would do His will in a special way.
And what a way! The "good news" of the angel is that Jesus would become the "Savior" of "all" people. Let us rejoice with the angels (verses 13, 14).
The angel said to them, "Be not afraid; for behold, I bring you good news of a great joy which will come to all people; for to you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord." Luke 2:10, 11, RSV
Where to begin the story of Jesus? That's the problem. Of course, we could start with His birth in Bethlehem. But that would miss most of the story. After all, the Bible's portrayal of His 33 years on earth is hardly even the tip of the iceberg of an existence that runs from eternity in the past to eternity in the future. As a result, this devotional on the life of Christ will commence with His story before the Incarnation and close with His ministry after the Ascension, which extends into infinity.
The theme song for our journey this year of beholding our Lord is Helen Lemmel's "Turn Your Eyes Upon Jesus." As part of your daily devotional experience I would suggest that you sing the chorus each day:
"Turn your eyes upon Jesus,
Look full in His wonderful face;
And the things of earth will grow strangely dim
In the light of His glory and grace."
After 365 renditions I guarantee that you will have the words memorized and that they will come to your mind repeatedly throughout the rest of our life.
Meanwhile, we need to turn our eyes upon the Jesus set forth in the angel's announcement to the shepherds in Luke 2:10, 11. Perhaps the most remarkable aspect of the passage is that it refers to the newborn baby as "Christ the Lord."
That description would have jumped right off the page to the Bible's first readers. After all, "Lord" is the word used in Greek for "Yahweh," the very name of God in the Old Testament. Thus the angel's announcement declared the child as divine. Later, Gentile readers would have picked up the same message, since the pagan world often employed the term to refer to their deities.
The term Christ is also an expression of Jesus' divinity, being the Greek translation of "Messiah," which means "anointed one." While one could see a king or priest as anointed, the Jews expected that in due course God would send the anointed one, someone who would do His will in a special way.
And what a way! The "good news" of the angel is that Jesus would become the "Savior" of "all" people. Let us rejoice with the angels (verses 13, 14).
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