Jesus the Joyful King
by Joel Bidderman
Luke 10:21
In that same hour he rejoiced in the Holy Spirit and said, “I thank you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that you have hidden these things from the wise and understanding and revealed them to little children; yes, Father, for such was your gracious will.
In that same hour he rejoiced in the Holy Spirit and said, “I thank you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that you have hidden these things from the wise and understanding and revealed them to little children; yes, Father, for such was your gracious will.
This Advent I’ve been meditating on the joy that we are invited into as followers of Jesus. And this has led me to meditate on Jesus, and the joy that we see Him display in the Gospels. Maybe it’s the movie and media renditions that we often see of Jesus, but I think we can often have a caricature of Jesus in our imaginations where He is stoic (if not solemn), and very often more mundane than majestic. However, as we read scripture, I believe that we see much more dimension in Jesus’ character. For instance, in the Gospel of Luke, we see an excited Jesus – a joyful Jesus.
In Luke chapter 10 we see Jesus interact with the disciples as he shows great joy. We often miss it because we have it translated into our English translations as “rejoicing,” but the Greek word here is “agalliao.” Agalliao means: jump for joy, exult: - be exceedingly glad, with exceeding joy…and yes, to rejoice.
So, here in the book of Luke, the scene is set where Jesus had previously sent out 72 people who had been following Him. He sent them out into towns and communities where He was planning on going, to look for what He called “people of peace” – those who were open to the message of the Kingdom. Well, these 72 came back excited after they experienced operating in the power and authority of the Kingdom, as they proclaimed how demons fled at the mention of Jesus’ name! The disciples were happy, and Jesus was happy, and this culminated in this joyful passage:
"In that same hour he rejoiced [jumped for joy, exceedingly glad] in the Holy Spirit and said, “I thank you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that you have hidden these things from the wise and understanding and revealed them to little children; yes, Father, for such was your gracious will. All things have been handed over to me by my Father, and no one knows who the Son is except the Father, or who the Father is except the Son and anyone to whom the Son chooses to reveal him.”
Then turning to the disciples he said privately, “Blessed are the eyes that see what you see! For I tell you that many prophets and kings desired to see what you see, and did not see it, and to hear what you hear, and did not hear it.” (v. 21-24)
Jesus was expressively joyful over the Father’s will being carried out. The mission of God was being walked out by those regular, run of the mill, ragamuffin, everyday Joe’s who were following Him, and He just had to pull the disciples aside to make sure they knew how awesome that was! Well, it’s still awesome, and I believe it still brings joy to the heart of Jesus to see us go about our days passionately wanting to live in the reality of His Kingdom – taking risks, living lives of love, and carrying the Kingdom into our homes, workplaces, schools, and everywhere we go.
In Luke chapter 10 we see Jesus interact with the disciples as he shows great joy. We often miss it because we have it translated into our English translations as “rejoicing,” but the Greek word here is “agalliao.” Agalliao means: jump for joy, exult: - be exceedingly glad, with exceeding joy…and yes, to rejoice.
So, here in the book of Luke, the scene is set where Jesus had previously sent out 72 people who had been following Him. He sent them out into towns and communities where He was planning on going, to look for what He called “people of peace” – those who were open to the message of the Kingdom. Well, these 72 came back excited after they experienced operating in the power and authority of the Kingdom, as they proclaimed how demons fled at the mention of Jesus’ name! The disciples were happy, and Jesus was happy, and this culminated in this joyful passage:
"In that same hour he rejoiced [jumped for joy, exceedingly glad] in the Holy Spirit and said, “I thank you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that you have hidden these things from the wise and understanding and revealed them to little children; yes, Father, for such was your gracious will. All things have been handed over to me by my Father, and no one knows who the Son is except the Father, or who the Father is except the Son and anyone to whom the Son chooses to reveal him.”
Then turning to the disciples he said privately, “Blessed are the eyes that see what you see! For I tell you that many prophets and kings desired to see what you see, and did not see it, and to hear what you hear, and did not hear it.” (v. 21-24)
Jesus was expressively joyful over the Father’s will being carried out. The mission of God was being walked out by those regular, run of the mill, ragamuffin, everyday Joe’s who were following Him, and He just had to pull the disciples aside to make sure they knew how awesome that was! Well, it’s still awesome, and I believe it still brings joy to the heart of Jesus to see us go about our days passionately wanting to live in the reality of His Kingdom – taking risks, living lives of love, and carrying the Kingdom into our homes, workplaces, schools, and everywhere we go.
Questions:
- Think about the past week or month – is there a situation or circumstance where you are able to see that God was at work?
- In this season of Advent, what excites you as you consider the incarnation, or as you think of the fulfilled promise of Christ returning?
Action:
We are invited to be a part of the Mission of God, taking His love everywhere we go. Consider: what is one thing that you can do today to proclaim His Kingdom – sharing the hope, peace, joy, and love that you have in Jesus?