Wednesday, December 24, 2025
Scripture Readings
- Primary Reading: Luke 23-24, John 1
- Secondary Reading: Psalms 148
Devotional Thought
Luke 23 opens in a courtroom, where Jesus stands silent before Pilate while the crowd cries for Barabbas. The soldiers mock Him with a purple robe and press a crown of thorns onto His brow. He is led to Golgotha, crucified between two thieves, and the sky darkens at noon. One thief turns to Him in his final hour and hears the promise, “To day shalt thou be with me in paradise.” At His death the veil of the temple is torn in two, and a centurion confesses, “Certainly this was a righteous man.” Joseph of Arimathaea lays the body in a new tomb, and the women prepare spices, then rest on the Sabbath. Luke 24 breaks upon that stillness: the stone is rolled away, angels announce that He is risen, and two disciples walk to Emmaus with a stranger who opens the Scriptures until their hearts burn within them. He breaks bread, and they know Him. He appears to the gathered disciples, eats broiled fish before them, and ascends from Bethany with hands lifted in blessing. John 1 then carries us back before Bethlehem itself: “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God… And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us.”
Here is the wonder of Christmas Eve. The One through whom “all things were made” (John 1:3) became the infant of Bethlehem, and the same Word made flesh is the crucified and risen Lord of Luke’s account. He is no distant deity, untouched by our grief; He took on hands that could be nailed, a body that could be laid in a tomb, and a voice that spoke peace to a dying thief. Psalm 148 gathers the whole creation into one chorus — angels, sun, moon, stars, dragons, deeps, fire and hail, mountains and cedars, kings and children — all summoned to praise the name of the Lord. The psalmist’s logic is simple: He commanded, and they were created; He has established them forever. If stars and storms obey His word, how much more should we, whom He redeemed not with gold but with His own blood.
This evening, many of us will gather by candlelight and read again of a manger. Let the reading be more than nostalgia. The Babe in the straw is the Word of John 1; the Man on the cross is the same Lord; the empty tomb is the seal of it all. Heaven and earth are already singing His praise — the “heavens of heavens” and the “waters that be above the heavens” cannot keep silent. On this night, join the chorus. Let your home, your table, your quiet heart take up the psalm: “Let them praise the name of the LORD: for his name alone is excellent.”
Reflection
- The centurion at the cross and the thief beside him both recognized who Jesus was in His lowest hour — where in your own life has Christ seemed most hidden, and yet most near?
- Psalm 148 calls all creation — stars, storms, children, kings — to praise the Lord. What in your ordinary day this Christmas is already singing His praise, and what is keeping you silent?
Prayer
Lord of heaven and earth, whose Word was made flesh and dwelt among us, we praise Thee this Christmas Eve. Thou didst command, and the stars were made; Thou didst humble Thyself, and a manger held Thee. We thank Thee for the cross where a dying thief found paradise, and for the empty tomb where our fear was buried with Thy sorrow. Let every creature praise Thee — sun and moon, fire and hail, young men and maidens, old men and children. Make our hearts burn within us as Thou dost open the Scriptures, and let our homes be filled with the praise of Thy excellent name, through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
Psalm Verse
Psalms 148:1 — “Praise ye the LORD. Praise ye the LORD from the heavens: praise him in the heights.”