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Receiving King Jesus Brings Joy
Stanza 1 of Joy to the World tells us:
Joy to the world! The Lord is come! Let earth receive her king;
Let every heart prepare Him room, and heaven and nature sing.
They rejected Jesus, because He was a Threat
King Herod routinely killed even those closest to himself, because he feared that everyone was plotting to take his throne.
He killed all the boys of Bethlehem, aged two and under, just because he saw Jesus as a threat to his throne. (Matthew 2:16)
This wasn’t the first time he had done so.
He murdered his favorite wife, his mother–in–law, his brother–in–law and three of his own sons.
He was not about to tolerate a rival king, even if he was an infant.
The wise men, on the other hand, were different in almost every way. They came from regions around Babylon (modern day Iraq) or from Persia (modern–day Iran).
They dabbled in astronomy, sorcery, and magic arts. There must’ve been at least 3 of them—3 different gifts.
Unlike traditional scenes, they probably were never at the manger in the stable where Jesus was born—probably arrived at least a year after His birth, when His family had moved into a more permanent home, though still in Bethlehem, for some reason.
These Persian/Babylonian aristocrats knew what the star signified because they knew about the enigmatic Hebrew, Daniel, of 500 years before, and had read his prophecies.
While Herod saw Jesus as a threat, the Magi saw Him as a King, and came with valuable gifts.
Today, we pretty much divide along the same line: either He’s a threat to our “freedom,” our pleasure, our greed or our plans; or He is the King to whom we bow.
Instead of rejecting Jesus, we should Receive Jesus, the King.
Yet to all who received him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God.
The idea of ‘receive’ in Isaac Watts’ song is not just passive—it is active receiving that acknowledges:
“If He is King of the universe, then He has the right to rule my life!”
This spawns the idea,
“Christ, You are my King, I am Your subject; Your every wish is my command!”
To receive the King is to pledge loyalty and obedience to Him.
This cannot help but change the way we live. Life is no longer all about us, it’s about Christ and His Lordship, His plans for us.
Receiving the King is about Christ ruling and reigning in our lives
NEXT TIME: Who is on the throne of our lives?
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