Christmas 2024: The Name that Inspires Praise

“When they [the shepherds] had seen him [Jesus], they spread the word concerning what had been told them about this child, and all who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds said to them. But Mary treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart. The shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things they had heard and seen, which were just as they had been told.” (Luke 2:17-20, NIV)

Have you ever thought about what it would be like to meet baby Jesus? What would your reaction be? Would you ooh and aah over the smallness and the preciousness of Him? Would you weep as you held the incarnate Lord? Would you speechlessly observe and take weeks to process what you witnessed? Would you marvel at the sheer wonder and beauty of the moment, as you met the God of heaven and earth, finally come to be with His people?

The thing about this moment is that Jesus had only just arrived in the flesh. None of the work He came to do had begun yet. So yes, here is the baby in a manger, but He was not yet the man on the cross. Here is the infant in swaddling clothes, but He hadn’t yet shed the grave clothes and rolled back the stone sealing the tomb. Here was the newborn face of God, but none of the final work of redemption would happen for another few decades.

The glory the shepherds and Jesus’ parents witnessed that night was the wonder of a God who created the heavens and the earth– a God who commanded all kinds of mysterious and awesome things since the beginning of time– and yet chose to come to this earth not as a warrior or a king, but as a baby. He could have chosen the comfort of royalty or the protection of a war lord to be born in, but he chose a humble carpenter and his betrothed, in a town that was like any other. He was born in a stable, and the world held its breath as the Prince of Peace came to be amongst common people. 

Those shepherds experienced the face of God, a heavenly host, and easily had the most exciting night shift in history. They followed what the angels said and ran to go see this newborn God, a freshly born redeemer and Messiah. And once they had beheld His quiet and powerful glory, they left that stable rejoicing and praising God. They spread the word that the Messiah had come and that they had seen His face, that this child was born and all of heaven burst forth to worship Him. 

These shepherds would have been taught that the Messiah would come triumphantly, like a general coming to claim Israel and defeat their enemies. The shepherds wouldn’t have anticipated what they witnessed. Their awe and joy was warranted, but they still had no idea what was to come. They had no guess as to the wonders that baby would grow up to do. They had no idea of the cross He would sacrifice Himself on to save them from their sin.

Yet look at their reaction. So why then, friend, is our reaction to the Christmas season so underwhelming? How can we allow a whole season come and go and not be moved to acknowledge the deep love of our God and the mighty way in which He came to save us?

We look at the baby in the manger, and we can see the whole picture. We look at the child wrapped in cloths and know the redemption that is coming. Shouldn’t our reverence and joy be all the more joyful?

Spurgeon says it best: “As Emmanuel, God with us, his very incarnation made him Jesus, the Saviour of men; but what shall we say of him now that, in addition to his incarnation, we have his atonement; and beside his atonement, his resurrection; and beyond that, his ascension; and, to crown all, his perpetual intercession?”

We know far more than those shepherds did. We know far more than even Mary did. We have witnessed Jesus’ birth, life, ministry, death, resurrection, ascension, and His testimony He has worked individually within His people. And yet where is our excitement for Christ? Where is our passion and our devotion? Where is our reverence? 

How can people who saw a small part be more jubilant than people who have seen the full scope of His salvation and redemption? The full breadth of His grace?

His name should arrest us. It should cause us to pause and behold our Savior. We should hear it and be overcome with love and awe of Him. We should speak it and be moved to tell the world of His Gospel and His Truth. 

As the Church– as His people– His name is the unifier amongst us all. That name should mean the utmost to us. It should draw us to contemplate, worship, and meditate. Only Jesus can bear His name. He is the only one who could be born fully God and fully man. He is the only one who could be a sacrifice that would be the final payment for all sin. He is the only God who has ever emerged from the grave and who has promised to come back again. 

This baby Jesus was no small promise to us. It was the beginning of our redemption. It was the sign to us that our God intercedes for us and cares for us. And it should draw us to react to Him in meaningful ways.