Advent Week 4: Beholding

The term "behold" serves as a powerful imperative, urging readers and listeners to pay close attention. It invites us to stop, reflect, and consider the importance of what is being presented. In many instances, "behold" precedes profound revelations or divine truths. 

For instance, in Isaiah 7:14, the prophet declares, “Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign. Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel.” 

Here, "behold" highlights the miraculous nature of the prophecy concerning the birth of Jesus Christ. 

The prophet Isaiah is so deeply immersed in God’s revelation that he speaks of the future as if he saw it already, and he speaks as if he already stood in adoration before the manger of Jesus. 

Christmas season invites us not just to see the story of Jesus’ birth but to “behold” it—
to let it shape our imaginations, reorder our priorities, and awaken our worship. 

1. Beholding the Humility of God

Luke tells us that Mary laid Jesus in a manger. The fuller account reads: “While they were there, the time came for the baby to be born, and she gave birth to her firstborn, a son. She wrapped him in clothes and placed him in a manger, because there was no guest room available for them” (Luke 2:6-7, KJV). 

We behold a God who does not enter the world with fanfare or earthly power, but in the quiet obscurity of a stable. Not in a palace; not of royal blood; void of all political ties and advantages. Nope … the Son of God is laid in a manger—an ordinary feeding trough—cradling the extraordinary love of God.

Beholding the birth of Jesus means facing this stunning truth: God’s glory comes wrapped in humility.

2. Beholding the Message of Hope

To shepherds—people on the margins—angels burst into the night sky declaring: “Fear not, for behold I bring you good tidings of great joy” (Luke 2:10, KJV).

The angels weren’t just delivering information. They were inviting the shepherds to take hold of a reality big enough to change everything.

What was the essence of this angelic message? First, it reminds us of the great JOY that transcends the traditional seasonal feeling but is personified in Jesus. Second it is a reminder that PEACE is not defined by the absence of trouble, but the presence of God. And finally, the angel’s message proclaims the GOOD NEWS that God has come to the rescue of our humanity. 

In a world filled with fear, the angels offer an antidote not rooted in circumstances but in Christ Himself. Beholding Jesus leads to a hope that outlasts sorrow, outshines all darkness and overcomes all sin. It is a hope anchored not in what we do for God, but in what God has done for us.

3. Beholding the Wonder of God with Us

The incarnation—God becoming flesh—is not just a doctrine; it is a miracle of divine nearness.

In Luke 2:11 we read, ”For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, which is Christ the Lord.” 

Behold the immense love of God to draw closer to humanity. The Creator of the ends of the earth comes among our humanity in diapers! He refuses to be a distant God. He refuses to be a far-off Deity demanding we change our ways before He comes near. 

When the shepherds beheld the child, they beheld the personification of God’s kindness, the depth of His compassion, and the extraordinary lengths He is willing to go through to secure our redemption. 

In Jesus, God comes close enough to touch, close enough to lift the broken, close enough to restore what sin has shattered. The birth of Jesus proclaims a God who steps into our world not to condemn us, but to carry us.

4. Beholding Leads to Transformative Worship

The shepherds didn’t just see the child, they responded! 

Luke 2:16-17 - “And they came with haste, and found Mary, and Joseph, and the babe lying in a manger. And when they had seen Him, they made known abroad the saying which was told them concerning this child.”

Note the shepherd’s response. They came with haste. And when they had found Him, they began to proclaim what they had witnessed. True beholding is transformative. It shifts the heart’s disposition, reorders our priorities and causes an awakening in our hearts leading to a transformative life. Like the shepherds, when we truly behold Jesus, we cannot leave the same.

The Invitation to Behold

Isaiah 65:17 - ”For, behold, I create new heavens and a new earth: and the former shall not be remembered, nor come into mind.” 

The Advent season reminds us to behold how God is working today. But also dares us to behold prophetically what is to come. So, we wait with hope – knowing that another breakthrough (2nd Advent) is coming when the “new heaven and new earth” will usher this earthly existence into the eternal and timeless presence of God and His Kingdom. 

Come Lord Jesus! The best to behold is yet to come!