Christmas Playlist – The First Noel
Christmas Playlist • Sermon • Submitted • Presented
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Dismiss Kids / Elders Prayer
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17 days until Christmas! The Christmas season is known for many things:
· Gifts and Santa Claus
· Lights and Trees
· Parties and Ugly Sweaters
But there is one thing that makes Christmas Christmas and without it it wouldn’t be the same: Christmas Carols. For me Christmas begins when I hear that first Christmas song.
· Many are non-religious and I love those – Jingle Bells, Frosty, Rudolph, 12 Days of Christmas
· But many songs bring out the religious significance of the holiday, the coming of Christ. These are typically called “carols” which means to dance but has come to mean the songs of Christmas.
· Carols can be traced back to as early as AD 129 but really became popular in the 13 century, nearly 700 years ago. Became popular in Christmas plays. This was one of the ways the story of Christmas was taught especially in time when the literacy rate was low. People may not be able to read the story but they could watch the story. Still do that today – Great Christmas Pageant Ever movie.
· I’ve read that there are nearly 10,000 Christmas songs – if every song was an average of 3.5 minutes it would take you singing 24/7 from December 1-24 to finish them all!
These songs teach us about Christ and many of these we have become so familiar with that we sometimes sing them without even thinking and miss the true significance of the lyrics – as we do with other songs. So, over the new few weeks I want to take a closer look at some of the more classic Christmas carols and remind ourselves of the beautiful message contained in these songs of the season.
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Today I want to look at The First Noel – a classic for sure.
Dates back to the 1400’s and was included in one of those Christmas plays in London. The original was not exactly what we sing today and went through many versions before the standard version we sing today came about. It’s #999 in our song books and as you see the current version is one that was published in the late 1800’s in a collection called Christmas Carols. People have been singing this song a long time – nearly 150 years!
A question many people have is what does Noel mean? Noel comes from a French word that means birth and the word has become synonymous with Christmas. In fact the Christmas Greeting in France is Joyeux Noel – joyful birth. So, The First Noel is a song about the first Christmas, the birth of Jesus.
Here are the traditional lyrics:
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1. The first Noel the angel did say
was to certain poor shepherds in fields as they lay;
in fields where they lay keeping their sheep,
on a cold winter's night that was so deep.
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2. They looked up and saw a star
shining in the east, beyond them far;
and to the earth it gave great light,
and so it continued both day and night.
(Refrain)
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3. And by the light of that same star
three Wise Men came from country far;
to seek for a king was their intent,
and to follow the star wherever it went.
(Refrain)
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4. This star drew nigh to the northwest,
o'er Bethlehem it took its rest;
and there it did both stop and stay,
right over the place where Jesus lay.
(Refrain)
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Refrain:
Noel, Noel, Noel, Noel,
born is the King of Israel.
Beautiful song – I love it especially when we sing that last refrain – born is the king of Israel. But before we talk about the merits of the songs I must point out some inaccuracies or assumptions the song makes that are not explicitly taught in the Bible. Just call me the Grinch of Christmas Carols – they are not all necessarily meant to be 100% faithful to the scripture. My favorite example of a Christmas Carol that takes liberties is Little Drummer Boy! Be careful to get your theology from songs – even contemporary Christian songs as wonderful as they are no replacement for serious Bible study. There are some issues with The First Noel.
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1. The first Noel the angel did say
was to certain poor shepherds in fields as they lay;
in fields where they lay keeping their sheep,
on a cold winter's night that was so deep.
It probably wasn't winter and there wasn't deep snow. Does it ever snow in Bethlehem? But one of the reasons Christmas is celebrated in December is because it us dark and Jesus came in a dark time to a dark world. Christmas lights represent how Jesus brings light to this dark world. A cold winter’s night that was so deep can be understood spiritually – we were lost when Jesus came.
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2. They looked up and saw a star
shining in the east, beyond them far;
and to the earth it gave great light,
and so it continued both day and night.
Who is the “they” – it seems to be the shepherds. There is no mention of the star in the story of the shepherd3. This song seems to put the shepherd story and the Magi story in the same time frame when it may have been two-three years before the Magi showed up.
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3. And by the light of that same star
three Wise Men came from country far;
to seek for a king was their intent,
and to follow the star wherever it went.
(Refrain)
Three wise men has become the tradition corresponding to the there gifts. No number is mentioned.
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4. This star drew nigh to the northwest,
o'er Bethlehem it took its rest;
and there it did both stop and stay,
right over the place where Jesus lay.
The Bible simply uses the direction the wise men saw the star in the east so they travelled west. Why northwest in the song? Probably because it fits better in the rhythm. They needed an extra syllable.
Now that I’ve torn the song apart and ruined your Christmas let’s look at the beautiful message of this song.
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It’s a mashup of two accounts of Jesus’ birth. The Shepherd account is found in Luke 2:1-20 and the Magi is found in Matthew 2:1-12.
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Jesus came for poor shepherds and rich kings.
The song speaks of two groups of people who couldn’t be more different from one another. Shepherds were poor, not respected, common men. The Magi, as mysterious as they were, were rich, highly respected, noble men. What may be even more surprising is that he Shepherds were Jewish – this you might expect, that Jewish people would be told that Jesus has come. But the Magi are not. We don’t know their exact ethnicity but we are pretty sure they are not Jewish. To introduce them in this story sends a powerful message that Jesus came for all people. For Jews and gentiles. For rich and poor. For the powerful and the helpless. And we can never forget that.
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Luke 2:10 (NIV) — 10 But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid. I bring you good news that will cause great joy for all the people.”
· Jesus came for people who speak your language and for people of every language!
· Jesus came for people in your tax bracket and for people of tax bracket!
· Jesus came for people with your skin color and for people of every skin color!
· Jesus came for people of your nation and for people of every nation!
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That’s why at the end of Matthew’s Gospel we hear Jesus telling the apostles to, “Go and make disciples of all nations.” For God so loved the world.
He came for everyone. He came for you.
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Jesus’ birth was announced by angels and nature itself.
In the Magi story we are told of this star – it’s mentioned 4 times. The star is part of this story. There is no Christmas play with a star. There have been many theories about the nature of this star – a comet, a supernova, a conjunction of planets, or it could have been a miracle of some sorts. I don’t know but it’s amazing to think that the heavens were announcing the birth of Jesus.
In the Shepherd story Jesus’ birth is announced by an angel of the Lord and then the single angel is joined by a great company of heavenly host. It must have been an amazing sight to behold!
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Luke 2:13–14 (NIV) — 13 Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God and saying, 14 “Glory to God in the highest heaven, and on earth peace to those on whom his favor rests.”
Matthew 2:1–2 (NIV) — 1 After Jesus was born in Bethlehem in Judea, during the time of King Herod, Magi from the east came to Jerusalem 2 and asked, “Where is the one who has been born king of the Jews? We saw his star when it rose and have come to worship him.”
The way his birth is announced is a testimony to the importance of the event. We give a lot of attention to announcing things that are important. Have you seen some of these gender reveals?
Imagine God calling in his angels. Summoning the star – it was that important.
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Jesus came as King.
That’s the proclamation of this chorus – born is the King of Israel!
There’s all kinds of language in these accounts that have royal overtones:
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Matthew 2:1–2 (NIV) — 1 After Jesus was born in Bethlehem in Judea, during the time of King Herod, Magi from the east came to Jerusalem 2 and asked, “Where is the one who has been born king of the Jews? We saw his star when it rose and have come to worship him.”
Matthew 2:6 (NIV) — 6 “ ‘But you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah, are by no means least among the rulers of Judah; for out of you will come a ruler who will shepherd my people Israel.’”
A quote from the prophet Micah. Jesus is the fulfillment of the promise made to king David!
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Luke 2:11 (NIV) — 11 Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is the Messiah, the Lord.
Even before his birth Mary was clued in to this truth:
Luke 1:29–33 (NIV) — 29 Mary was greatly troubled at his words and wondered what kind of greeting this might be. 30 But the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary; you have found favor with God. 31 You will conceive and give birth to a son, and you are to call him Jesus. 32 He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his father David, 33 and he will reign over Jacob’s descendants forever; his kingdom will never end.”
Jesus Christ is King and as King he will bring the rule of God to all who believe. He will bring justice and righteousness. He has established a kingdom that will last forever and praise God we have been granted citizenship in that kingdom.
We are going to sing this song but before we do that let me introduce to a verse of this song that is not included in most hymnals:
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Then let us all with one accord
sing praises to our heavenly Lord,
that hath made heaven and earth of nought,
and with his blood our life hath bought.
Noel, Noel, Noel, Noel,
born is the King of Israel.
