Matthew 11:2-10 - Joy

The Theme of Joy in Advent

Well, good morning and Merry Christmas to you guys. It is good to see you and be with you. We are in the third week of our Advent season—this time where our hearts are called to be reflective, thoughtful, and focused in a crazy season on what is most important as we celebrate Christmas.

In the first week of Advent, we talked about the idea of hope—the biblical hope of the Messiah who was to come and now is here. We reoriented our hearts toward that. Then last week, we looked at how Jesus came to bring peace: peace on earth and goodwill to men. This is both a peace we have with God because He has made peace with us through the death, burial, and resurrection of Christ, and a peace of God that emanates out of us. We are invited to walk into that peace by choice and responsibility, embodying the same peace that characterized Christ’s life.

This week, we are going to look at the idea of joy. As we think about the coming of our Messiah—Jesus born in a manger years ago—one of the things foretold was that He would bring joy. Even thinking through the songs we just sang, and so many others we sing during this Christmas season, they have this theme of joy woven all through them. Joy to the world, the Lord is come! Let earth receive her King. Or God rest you merry, gentlemen, let nothing you dismay… oh tidings of comfort and joy.

The reason for this isn’t just the songs. As you open your Bibles from Genesis to Revelation and look at the idea of joy, it is all over the pages. In fact, there are no less than six words that both the Old and New Testament authors use to describe this concept. By my “Texas math”—which admittedly is not very good—the scriptures talk about joy, rejoicing, or gladness at least a thousand times. It is a theme you can trace all the way through your Bible.

Joy in the Midst of the Journey

As the authors of Scripture talk about this, they point to so many different things that bring about joy in the people of God. In the creation account of Genesis, God said He made the world “very good,” and as a result, we have joy over all creation. We see a beautiful sunrise or the bounty of a harvest, and it brings us joy. Psalm 104 even mentions how a good bottle of wine can bring joy to people’s hearts. We see joy in weddings, in raising our children, and even in friendship. There’s a proverb that compares the joy perfume brings to your nose to the joy of good counsel offered by a friend.

But as you begin to chase this theme, what is surprising is not just the positive things that elicit joy. It’s actually the negative things—the circumstances we wouldn’t expect to produce joy—that often bring it out in God’s people. Consider the Exodus. When God delivered His people out of Egypt after four hundred years of slavery, they walked into a wilderness for another forty years of hardship. Yet, Psalm 105 describes the condition of their hearts in that moment.

Psalms 105:43 (NASB)

And He brought forth His people with joy, His chosen ones with a joyful shout.

Knowing that their difficulty hadn’t ended, they still chose to have biblical joy and to rejoice in who God was and what He had done in the midst of hardship. Later, when Israel was in captivity, they were told to have joy even in exile. Isaiah 51 talks about this journey.

Isaiah 51:11 (NASB)

So the ransomed of the LORD will return And come with joyful shouting to Zion, And everlasting joy [will be] on their heads. They will obtain gladness and joy, And sorrow and sighing will flee away.

The response of God’s people throughout Scripture is that joy is part and parcel of who they are. Whether it was the good times or the bad times, joy was the normative response. Today, I want to dive deep into this issue by looking at two New Testament texts that bookend the life of Christ: one at the beginning of His life in Luke 2, and one at the end of His life in John 16.

Good News of Great Joy

We begin in Luke chapter two. This is a very familiar story to most of us who have been around church for any amount of time. It’s the story of the birth of our Savior.

Luke 2:8-14 (NASB)

In the same region there were [some] shepherds staying out in the fields and keeping watch over their flock by night. And an angel of the Lord suddenly stood before them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them; and they were terribly frightened. But the angel said to them, ’Do not be afraid; for behold, I bring you good news of great joy which will be for all the people; for today in the city of David there has been born for you a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. ‘This [will be] a sign for you: you will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.’ And suddenly there appeared with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying, ‘Glory to God in the highest, And on earth peace among men with whom He is pleased.’

Does anybody else hear Linus’s voice every time you read that? I simply cannot get away from it; he does such a good job reading it. It’s a beautiful picture. These lowly shepherds are out in the field, and of all the people God could have chosen to reveal the birth of His Son to, He picks the least and the last. It is such a picture of who God came to rescue through Christ—you and me, the least and the last.

The angel tells them that today, the thing they have hoped for is finally happening in the City of David. A Savior is born. That is His job; that is what He came to do. He is Christ the Lord. That word “Christ” is our word for Messiah, affirming that He is the one the Old Testament pointed to. And He isn’t just the Messiah; He is Lord. He is God. Then, as if to add an exclamation point, heaven erupts with praise.

Notice the shepherds’ response in the verses that follow.

Luke 2:15-20 (NASB)

When the angels had gone away from them into heaven, the shepherds [began] saying to one another, ‘Let us go straight to Bethlehem then, and see this thing that has happened which the Lord has made known to us.’ So they came in a hurry and found their way to Mary and Joseph, and the baby as He lay in the manger. When they had seen this, they made known the statement which had been told them about this Child. And all who heard it wondered at the things which were told them by the shepherds. But Mary treasured all these things, pondering them in her heart. The shepherds went back, glorifying and praising God for all that they had heard and seen, just as had been told them.

Their response was immediate and beautiful. They go to see Jesus and tell Mary and Joseph everything the angels said. This confirms exactly what Joseph had been told—that this baby was from the Holy Spirit and came to save His people from their sins. This was no ordinary child. Verse 18 says a sense of wonder and awe filled the room.

But tucked in verse 10 is the focal point of how we are to respond to this news. The angel says, “I bring you good news of great joy.” As you hear the gospel—the literal meaning of the word used there—it is meant to elicit joy.

Happiness vs. Biblical Joy

What is interesting to me is the choice of words. This is certainly a happy occasion, but the angel doesn’t say, “I bring you happiness.” He says, “I bring you joy.” We need to understand the difference between these two, especially as Americans, because happiness and joy are not the same thing.

In our country, the “pursuit of happiness” is our North Star. We’ve taken that cultural idea and projected it onto God, as if our happiness is His primary goal. The problem is that nowhere in your Bible will you find the idea that God’s main priority is for you to be happy. Now, I’m not saying God wants you to be miserable, but His North Star is joy, and joy is altogether different.

Happiness is based on circumstances. It’s an “if-then” relationship. If God gives me the things I want, then I will be happy. It is conditional. But if our joy is dependent on circumstances, how many of us would actually have it? Does anyone in this room have everything their heart has ever desired? Me neither. There’s always a bank account that isn’t where we want it or a car we’d rather drive. If those things are the requirements for joy, we’ll never find it. Happiness is a mirage; the closer you get, the further it recedes.

Joy is taking happiness and unhitching it from circumstances. Joy is a choice we make in the midst of life, despite what is happening around us. The actor Jim Carrey once said, “I wish everyone could get rich and famous and have everything they’ve ever wanted, because then they would realize that’s not the answer.” I think he nailed it. If our joy is dependent on what is going on around us, we will never find the real thing.

The Choice of Joy in Hardship

Biblical joy is often a choice made in the midst of crummy circumstances. Think about the Apostle Paul. He was arguably the greatest evangelist the world has ever seen, yet his mission brought him immense difficulty. Listen to his “autobiography” in 2 Corinthians 11.

2 Corinthians 11:23-27 (NASB)

Are they servants of Christ?– I speak as if insane– I more so; in far more labors, in far more imprisonments, beaten times without number, often in danger of death. Five times I received from the Jews thirty-nine [lashes]. Three times I was beaten with rods, once I was stoned, three times I was shipwrecked, a night and a day I have spent in the deep. [I have been] on frequent journeys, in dangers from rivers, dangers from robbers, dangers from [my] countrymen, dangers from the Gentiles, dangers in the city, dangers in the wilderness, dangers on the sea, dangers among false brethren; [I have been] in labor and hardship, through many sleepless nights, in hunger and thirst, often without food, in cold and exposure.

If there was anyone God should have given a “straight path” of happiness to, it was Paul. Yet his journey was wrought with difficulty. And yet, as he sat in a Roman prison awaiting what he thought was his death, he penned these words to the church at Philippi:

Philippians 3:1 (NASB)

Finally, my brethren, rejoice in the Lord. To write the same things [again] is no trouble to me, and it is a safeguard for you.

He regretted none of it. He called it his “joy of faith.” He told the Thessalonians that they had received the word in “much tribulation with joy of the Holy Spirit.”

1 Thessalonians 1:6 (NASB)

You also became imitators of us and of the Lord, having received the word in much tribulation with the joy of the Holy Spirit,

Paul lived the opposite of a comfortable life, yet he was full of joy. What about Jesus? He was born into a poor family—we know this because His parents could only afford to sacrifice pigeons at the temple instead of a more costly animal. He had no earthly stature, no office, and at times, He was homeless. He said, “Foxes have holes and birds have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay His head.” He endured beatings and the cross, yet He was the very embodiment of joy. He invited His followers to find that same joy, not because circumstances are great, but even when they aren’t.

Joy Like Childbirth

Turn with me to John chapter 16. We are back in the Upper Room. This is Jesus’s last meal with His disciples before the cross, which is only hours away. He is trying to reassure them about what is coming.

John 16:20-22 (NASB)

’Truly, truly, I say to you, that you will weep and lament, but the world will rejoice; you will grieve, but your grief will be turned into joy. ’Whenever a woman is in labor she has pain, because her hour has come; but when she gives birth to the child, she no longer remembers the anguish because of the joy that a child has been born into the world. ’Therefore you too have grief now; but I will see you again, and your heart will rejoice, and no one [will] take your joy away from you.

Jesus says there is something coming that will bring simultaneous difficulty and rejoicing. To the world, seeing Jesus nailed to a cross would be a reason to rejoice—they’d think the rebellion was over. But for the disciples, it would bring grief.

To illustrate this, Jesus uses the example of childbirth. Now, from my limited perspective, this isn’t the first illustration I’d pick for joy! I remember being in the room when my wife had our first child. She was in labor for twenty-four hours, and her body just wasn’t responding. It was incredibly painful and difficult. Then they told us she needed a C-section. I had to stand there the whole time—I was exhausted, people! Thank you for your sympathy; it was hard.

But I remember the joy. I remember the doctors taking my daughter out, and I felt like Mufasa holding Simba—We made a baby! I was grinning from ear to ear. And I remember my wife holding our child for the first time, radiating joy. Not one mother would look at her child and say, “Nah, that wasn’t worth the pain.” As Jesus says, you forget the anguish because of the joy of the new life. And I know it’s true because some of you are crazy enough to have a second or third child after that experience! My grandmother had ten. God bless that woman.

Jesus is telling His disciples: “What is happening now is hard. You have grief now. But I will see you again.” That is the assurance. Three days later, when He rose from the grave and defeated death, their weeping turned to joy. For us, we aren’t awaiting His resurrection—that has happened. We are awaiting His second coming. Our hope, like theirs, is that regardless of what we go through now, we shall see Him again.

Pursuing the Giver of Joy

This joy we are called to experience is not baseless. It isn’t a foolish deliriousness unattached to reality. Joy is an attitude we adopt because our hope is in God’s love and His promises.

I see this joy in you all the time. I could tell you story after story of people in our church body who are choosing joy in the most difficult circumstances. I got a text yesterday from a buddy of mine who has dealt with things that, in our mind’s eye, should preclude joy. He sent me the song “I Can Only Imagine.” He was focusing on the idea that one day he will see Jesus face to face. That is what drives him. What is happening now is difficult—that is undeniable—but he has a joy that is eternal because he knows the hardship will one day end.

Now, here is the tension: biblical joy is a fruit of the Spirit. It isn’t something we can just muster up. We can’t just walk out the door and say, “I’m going to manufacture some joy today.” That’s just moralism. That’s like me believing the Dallas Cowboys are going to win the Super Bowl—you’re just going to be disappointed, y’all. It doesn’t work.

If you are in a season where joy feels distant, the response isn’t to go find the feeling of joy. The response is to pursue Him. When we are rightly connected to Him, joy is the fruit that grows. It allows us to see past our circumstances. Don’t pursue the joy; pursue the Giver of joy.

John 15:11 (NASB)

’These things I have spoken to you so that My joy may be in you, and [that] your joy may be made full.

That same joy that was in the Savior is offered to you. As we think about that baby in the manger, let’s delight in the common graces—the family, the gifts, the celebrations. But let us not find our ultimate rejoicing in those things. Let us find our ultimate rejoicing in knowing that we are loved by the Father and our sins have been paid for. In Him, we find the fullness of joy.

Closing Prayer

Father, we thank You. Though circumstances change, You do not. We find joy because it is rooted in Christ; our anchor is there. You say in Your presence is the fullness of joy, and that is where our hearts are tethered. Our feet are planted here on earth, but our hearts are in heaven.

We look to the day when we will stand in Your presence and rejoice, feeling the culmination of all this in a way that is complete—where there is no more pain, sorrow, or regret. I pray specifically in this season that You would help us to cling to that idea and to cling to Jesus. Help us to find the joy that comes from what He did on our behalf. We pray all these things in His name, Amen.