For my entire life I’ve sung the beautiful Christmas carol The First Noel, yet only recently did its message finally become clear to me—especially the line:
“Born is the King of Israel!”
As a kid, I sang those words without ever asking what they meant. The King of Israel? Why was that so important? Why did the angels announce it? Why did the shepherds rush to see Him?
Today, the truth behind those words fills me with awe.
The Christmas Story I Thought I Knew
Here are the familiar lyrics that sparked my realization:
The first Noel the angels did sing
Was to certain poor shepherds in fields as they lay…
Noel, Noel, Noel, Noel
Born is the King of Israel!
I’ve always loved the Christmas story—not the decorations or the frenzy of the season, but the intimate picture of humble shepherds encountering their promised King. Yet even after reading the Gospels and singing the carols, I never fully understood what “Born the King of Israel” truly meant.
Then it clicked.
Jesus Was Literally Born the King of Israel
Matthew 2 gives us this crucial moment:
“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 2:1–2
The Magi weren’t searching for a metaphorical king. They were looking for the long-promised Messiah—the rightful King of Israel foretold by the prophets.
Herod understood the implications. So did the chief priests and teachers of the law. They quoted Micah’s prophecy:
“Out of you will come a ruler
who will shepherd my people Israel.”
— Matthew 2:6
Jesus was born into Israel as Israel’s promised King.
That is what the angels announced.
That is what the shepherds hurried to see.
That is what the Magi traveled to worship.
But the story doesn’t end there.
Born King of Israel… to Become King of the World
Here’s the part I had never fully grasped:
Jesus came as the King of Israel to fulfill the covenant of the Law, given through Moses specifically to the Jewish people.
But through His perfect obedience and sacrificial death, He did something breathtaking:
He fulfilled the old covenant
—and replaced it with a new covenant of grace available to the entire world.
This is why many in Israel rejected Him. They were looking for a political Messiah who would preserve the Law and their unique identity. They did not expect Him to complete the Law and open salvation to everyone.
But that was God’s plan all along.
Grace for All Through Christ
Paul explains this so clearly in Romans 8:
“For what the law was powerless to do… God did by sending his own Son…
in order that the righteous requirement of the law might be fully met in us.”
— Romans 8:3–4
Jesus completely fulfilled the Law, something no human could ever do.
Because of that…
- We are no longer under condemnation.
- We are no longer bound by the law of sin and death.
- We receive the Holy Spirit.
- We enter a covenant of grace—not through birth, ethnicity, or ritual, but through faith.
Grace is now available to all people, everywhere.
From Bethlehem to the Nations
Jesus came to earth as the King of Israel, but He rose and ascended as the King of the world.
The first Noel celebrates that moment—His birth as Israel’s long-awaited King, who would become the Savior for all humanity.
Now, at last, the carol makes perfect sense to me.
And I hope it fills you with the same wonder:
Noel, Noel,
Born is the King of Israel!