We embrace the spirit of Christmas with forgiveness, service, celebration, gifts, and, finally, worship. The royal visitors brought their gifts and bowed before and worshipped the infant child. The presence of God in flesh on Christmas Day drew an audience that was totally and completely prepared for worship. No one—small or great, rich or poor, created man or created being, celestial from the heavens or mortal from the earth—was left out. Through the Father’s omnipotent hand of design, all creation was represented to praise and worship the Son of glory as holiness came down from heaven!
Kings came from the east in royal splendor, representing the noble and rich of the earth. Opposite these high-standing travelers from the nations were the poor, low-class shepherds—guarding sheep on the graveyard shift no less. From the highest standards of royalty to the lowest class of poverty, from kings to shepherds, they joined Mary and Joseph—the very two God chose; each descended from King David. Joseph, a carpenter, and Mary, a young maiden having “found favor with God” (Luke 1:30, NIV) joined with these unknown visitors to bow and to worship the newborn Messiah.
Creation rallied around and in tune with this worship service. Creatures, both great and small, lamb and oxen, angels from the realms of glory, and the brightest star ever known to man completed the joyful and reverent worship ceremony to honor the one who came to save us all from our sin. “What is his name?” the onlookers asked in great anticipation. “His name is Jesus,” Mary and Joseph announced according to what Gabriel had spoken nine months earlier: “Fear not, Mary: for thou hast found favour with God. And, behold, thou shalt conceive in thy womb, and bring forth a son, and shalt call his name Jesus. He shall be great, and shall be called the Son of the Highest” (Luke 1:30–32, KJV-BRG).
Let the worship begin! Jesus—the Name above all names! It happened on one day, one event, one moment of time that actually redefined time. In God’s perfect timing (it would take over 400 years), and through God come as a man, time on earth would now be set and calculated from the day Rome and the Jews officially declared “Jesus” to be the name of the boy child (see Luke 2:21). “Jesus” is so powerful a name that heaven emptied itself to witness His birth. “Jesus” is so powerful a name that the nations of the earth, the shepherds of the land, rich and poor, great and small—representatives from all of creation—came to hear His name spoken for the first time. “Jesus” is so powerful a name that BC/AD began at His official naming because “Jesus” was written and recorded on an earthly scroll. “Jesus” is such a powerful name that about sixty Roman soldiers fell backwards at the sound of His name. His name calmed a raging sea; His name soothed troubled souls; His name was bread for the hungry; His name was water for the thirsty; His name healed the leper and lame; His name made the blind to see and the deaf to hear. All of this was accomplished by the name of Jesus: “Wherefore God also hath highly exalted him, and given him a name which is above every name: That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth” (Phil. 2:9–10, KJV-BRG). World, leave your life of sin and come worship at the fountain of living water made possible by His wonderful, majestic, powerful name: Jesus!
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