Birth of Jesus - Luke 1&2

During the time when Jesus was born, many people had no idea that their Messiah was to be born during their generation. Only those who meditated on the scripture and eagerly anticipated the coming of their Savior were aware in the time they were living. This will also be the case at the second coming of Jesus. Many people will not be expecting Jesus when He does come, partly because the seemingly long delay. The ones who will be prepared will be the ones who like at His first coming meditate on the scripture and long for His return. By immersing ourselves in scripture and communing with the Holy Spirit we will be the ones like Simeon and Anna who knew that the coming of the Messiah would be in their generation.
What we must do then to be found waiting for Jesus upon His second coming is live like the few who knew His first coming. We must live just and devout, allowing the Holy Spirit to move upon us. (Luke 2:25) We must have the faith that Simeon had in knowing that he would not see death before he had seen the Lord’s Christ. (Luke 2:26) Though this type of lifestyle may be consuming of our lives, and cause us to never feel fully satisfied, there is reward that makes it beyond worth it. I can’t even imagine the joy that Simeon felt in holding and blessing the baby Jesus. That moment made every longing and groaning worth it. The complete barrenness we feel in life makes so much more sense once we see Jesus with our eyes.
Anna is such a beautiful example of how we ought to be living our lives. The devotion to Jesus she maintained through her life is stunning; especially considering her loss early on in life, the husband of her youth. We should be living lives of prayer and fasting, thanking the Lord for everything. We should be staying in the temple day and night crying out in desperation for the Lord. She knew before the cross the story of redemption, and spoke of Him to the people who would hear. (Luke 2:36-38) We should be speaking to people of the redemptive work of Christ to all people we encounter. We need to humble ourselves to such a place to recognize our barrenness and cry out to the Lord, because our only hope for this earth is His return, where He will rule in perfect leadership.
Oh the joy that must have come to those who anticipated their Christ, “For there is born to you this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord.” (Luke 2:11) They must have been thrilled to know that God was going to be with them in the flesh.
There were a few people who knew that Jesus was the Savior they were waiting on, but many religious Jews didn’t. Many people in the days of the birth of Jesus were living controlled by religious spirits, which blinded them to the Messiah in which they were waiting on. To think that someone would search their whole lives for their Savior, and then miss Him at His return is absurd. But the reality is that they were so driven by religion that they forgot it was about a Man, and made it about the law. The law became an idol to them and it destroyed their destiny in Christ. This must have pained Jesus’ heart in a way that we cannot even comprehend.
The humility and lowliness of Christ starts at His birth, lying in a manger, not in a palace being praised by kings. Jesus was pleased to be humble, having no recognition was a delight to Him. There was no room for Jesus in the inn so He had to lower Himself to the place where animals lived and ate. Much like in the world there was no room for Him so He dwelt with the sinners, tax collectors and prostitutes; the unworthy according to this world. Jesus was not seeking the approval of man. His whole life resembles the perfect picture of humility. God is vast, a shore less ocean waiting to be discovered; and the person of Jesus is equally as vast, He resembles the Father in every way, they are in unison. To think that the God of the universe could be expressed in the form of a humble man is beyond what our minds can grasp. Mary carried the fullness of God in her womb! Even at His birth, light and joy were revealed. Heaven was full of joy and worshipped God on the day of His birth.
Mary must have been awestruck when the angel Gabriel came to her saying that she was favored by God and that she would bear the Son of the Highest named Jesus. I wonder what was going through her mind when the angel told her that the Holy Spirit will come upon her and then she would bear a Son. The power of the person of Christ was present at the beginning of time, but we see glimpses of His nature even when He was in the womb. I just love that God included in the bible the part where John the Baptist leaps for joy in Elizabeth’s womb, and she was filled with the Holy Spirit. (Luke 1:41) The power we see here of Jesus bringing that kind of joy is a beautiful illustration of what was to come. The kingdom of God has always been about the beauty within. Mary found favor with God not because of looks or fame, but because of the beauty she carried within of a humble heart. (Luke 1:48) The song of Mary reveals the understanding she was given about the One she would soon birth. She had great revelation about the fear of the Lord; His mercy, humility, justice, compassion, goodness and blessing. (Luke 1:46-55) Because of her divine understanding she magnified the Lord with her soul. Mary had more faith than Zacharias did when the angel of the Lord appeared to her to tell her of the Son she would bear. Mary was blessed because of her faith.
Jesus brought much joy and light upon His earthly arrival. The joy and light that He brought was directly from heaven, from a place of truth, love, humility and faith.