Luke 2:10 (Great Joy for All)

Luke 2:10

But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid. I bring you good news that will cause great joy for all the people."

Christmas is a time of joy! The happiness that comes at Christmas effects nearly every aspect of this holiday. Many people are singing, smiling and laughing together. We bake sweets and treats that put smiles on our faces and dimples in our cheeks. It seems each and every holiday special and Christmas movie is required to have a happy ending full of the merry-making we desire this season.

Boy, the happiness of Christmas sure is wonderful, but it doesn't take much to derail this joyride. Does it? A fight erupts. A turkey gets burned. A relative offends. A news story is haunting. Your brother doesn't get that one thing he was wanting. Your sister will cry, your father will sigh, and your mom gets up and says "Bye-Bye." It is very hard to hold onto joy at this season. Perhaps, we, as believers, would hold on to it better, if we understood what Biblical "joy" really is.

Now, unlike most Greek words in the New Testament that are translated with one or two word equivalents, there are many Greek words that illustrate and depict "joy." It's the same way in English, where we have the words happiness, gladness and delight that all signify "joy." The word for "joy" used in Luke chapter 2 verse 10, though, is χαρά (chara) and it is used 59 times in the New Testament. Chara comes from another Greek word χαίρω (chairó), which means cheerfulness or calm delight. The Bible Dictionary defines "joy" as "a state of delight snd well being that results from knowing and serving God." Based on this, "joy" is delight and happiness that cannot come from just anywhere. "Joy" can only come from God, and God fills His children who trust in Him with great "joy" and with the Holy Spirit (Romans 15:13).

We, as Christians, have a right relationship with God and are filled with the Holy Spirit. Why don't we have "joy" all the time? It's because we forget to be joyful.

We forget to have "joy" in the LORD our God. We forget that we, as believers, have a reason to be joyful in all circumstances; that God is in control of everything, and everything that comes about to us is for our good and His glory (Romans 8:28). If we know this, why should we be sad? The greatest problems in our life have already been solved, by our joyful Father in heaven. We forget this, and so God through His words continually reminds us and commands us to rejoice, to remember to be joyful again. Paul writes to a group of outcasts Christians, "Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near" (Phillipians 4:4-5). We must remember to have "joy" in all our circumstances, because we know that God is with us.

Mary's child, Jesus, was filled with so much "joy", He gave some
 to John the Baptist and his mother even before He was born (Luke 1:44).

We in Christ have every reason to be joyful, and God takes great "joy" in us. In three different parables in Luke chapter 15 Jesus illustrates that God and all His angels are overjoyed for each person who comes back to Him (Luke 15:7,10,24). Our Father is filled with great joy, when we repent of our sins and return back to God. He is so overjoyed by this, that He made a way so that not just some people could come to God but that everyone throughout all of time and the world could come to God. This is the good news that the angels said would bring great "joy" to all people (Luke 2:10). The angels told the shepherds long ago as they tell us today, "In the town of David a Savior has been born to you; He is the Messiah, the Lord. This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger” (Luke 2:11-12). We have a savior, so we have every reason to rejoice with those who rejoice (Romans 12:15). God is with us. With this good news in our hearts let us always remember to "rejoice always, pray continually, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus" (1 Thessalonians 5:16-18). We have a Savior, so we have "joy!"

Rejoice! 

Rejoice! 

Emmanuel

Shall come to thee, O Israel

-John Mason Neale

Sources

• The Bible (New International Version)
• Biblehub: Joy
• The Bible Dictionary
• for KING & COUNTRY: O Come, O Come Emmanuel