The emotions of Jesus
Jesus Rejoiced
In the hour of the seventy's return · Luke 10:21
The Gospels record that 'Jesus rejoiced in spirit' (Luke 10:21), and he spoke of giving his followers 'my joy.' Against the grim, joyless image of God many carry, Christ reveals that gladness and delight are native to God, not foreign to him.
The moment
Why it changes everything
Many people carry a picture of a God who is stern at best, disappointed at worst, a cosmic frown. It is worth setting beside the Gospels' quiet, easily missed line: 'In that hour Jesus rejoiced in spirit.' The word is strong, an exultant, overflowing gladness. He is not merely content; he is delighted, and he bursts into thanks to the Father. This is the same person who spoke of children he took in his arms, of feasts and weddings, of a father throwing a party over one son come home, and who promised his followers, 'that my joy might remain in you, and that your joy might be full.'
If Jesus reveals God, then joy is not a distraction from the divine nature; it is close to the center of it. The God who invented laughter, music, the taste of good bread, the delight of reunion, is not grimly enduring existence. He rejoices. And strikingly, what made Jesus rejoice here was not power or success but the Father revealing himself to ordinary, unimpressive people, to 'babes.' God's joy runs toward the humble.
The God who made laughter is not grim. Joy is not foreign to him. He rejoices.
A God who felt it too
The feeling you are carrying, grief, anger, dread, longing, was not foreign to God. In Christ he felt it himself, from the inside. The Living Bread is a quiet place to bring the whole of what you feel to the One who understands it, read the Gospels, and pray, at your own pace.
Jesus Christ is Lord.
Frequently asked questions
- Did Jesus feel joy?
- Yes. Luke 10:21 says 'Jesus rejoiced in spirit,' an exultant gladness, and he spoke of giving his followers 'my joy' so that their 'joy might be full' (John 15:11). Joy is revealed as native to God, not foreign to him.
- What made Jesus rejoice?
- In Luke 10:21, Jesus rejoiced that the Father had revealed himself to humble, ordinary people ('babes') rather than to the self-important. His joy ran toward the lowly, showing that God delights in revealing his grace to those the world overlooks.