The Greek work for joy used in the New Testament is chara, and the Gospel of Luke uses this word more than any other book in the NT.  Of particular interest in this season is Luke 1:14 and Luke 2:10.  The first verse speaks about the birth of John the Baptist, that Zechariah would have “joy and gladness” and that the people would rejoice at his birth.  Why is this so?  Because John is the one who would precede the Lord in coming, and it was his purpose to “prepare the way of the Lord.”  In other words, after John was born, the Christ was soon to come.

His coming is announced in our second verse by angels to shepherds:  

An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified.  But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid. I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people.  Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is Christ the Lord.”

His coming is “good news of great joy”, and the reason for this is in His name.  Jesus is the Greek form of Joshua, which means, “Yahweh saves”.  And this is what was told Joseph in Matthew (1:21), saying that Mary would have a son, and that His name was to be Jesus, “because he will save his people from their sins.”  And likewise, John the Baptist proclaimed, “Look, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world” (John 1:29).  This is the joy of the Advent: that Christ (Messiah) came.  Certainly, to the lowly shepherds the announcement that Messiah had come was an occasion for “great joy”.  After seeing the Child, they spread the word and glorified and praised God, “for all the things they had heard and seen, which were just as they had been told” (Luke 2:19). 

With Christ as the focus of hope and peace, the Christian can be glad (chara) in any situation.  Many who do not know joy will say, “Where is my joy?”  If the coming of Christ brought joy, “Why am I unhappy?”  Indeed, many through history have not experienced this joy, but not because Christ has fail in keeping a promise, but because many have failed to believe the “good news of great joy” Christ came to bring.  Many have not received the gift of righteousness that is in Christ.  The many that have believed, and do believe today, have joy.   Not because things are going well for them; rather for the hope that they know in Christ, because their sins are forgiven and they have the promise of eternal life. Paul’s epistles, 2 Corinthians and Philippians, tie in second for the most use of the word chara (5 times, Luke 8 times).  In 2 Cor., Paul talks about suffering, and Philippians was written while Paul was in prison!  Paul suffered much, but he had joy in the midst of it.  He had joy because he trusted in what God did on his behalf through Jesus Christ.