They knew He would be coming, the Messiah. The one who would save the world. The Jews waited with longing.
They knew Scripture; they knew it talks even from the beginning about a Man whose heel would be bruised by Satan, but who would crush Satan’s head in return (Genesis 3:15). Our first parents, having chosen sin over fellowship with God, were ushered out of the perfect garden — yet not without hope. God would not let death have the final word.
But because sin cannot stand before a holy God, sacrifices had to be made. Time and time again, the Jews brought their sacrifices to the temple as atonement. The blood of a lamb, shed. Over, and over, and over again. But they knew – it wouldn’t stay this way forever. God had promised a Savior. He gave them pictures of salvation throughout the history of Scripture; He would come for them. Isaiah talked of this Redeemer and all that He would do:
“The Spirit of the Lord God is upon Me, because the Lord has anointed Me to preach good tidings to the poor; He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to those who are bound; to proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord, and the day of vengeance of our God; to comfort all who mourn, to console those who mourn in Zion, to give them beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness; that they may be called trees of righteousness, the planting of the Lord, that He may be glorified” (Isaiah 61:1-3).
“For unto us a Child is born,
Unto us a Son is given;
And the government will be upon His shoulder,
And His name will be called,
Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God,
Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.
Of the increase of His government and peace
There will be no end.
Upon the throne of David and over His kingdom,
To order it and establish it with judgment and justice
From that time forward, even forever.
The zeal of the Lord of hosts will perform this” (Isaiah 9:6-7).
“There shall come forth a Rod from the stem of Jesse,
And a Branch shall grow out of his roots.
The Spirit of the Lord shall rest upon Him,
The Spirit of counsel and might,
The Spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the Lord” (Isaiah 11:1-2).
They waited for Him. This Redeemer, God. This Redeemer, man? How would He, God, come to earth as a Savior? The Almighty God, who resides in Heaven and looks down upon mankind – Him, coming as the Messiah? They had to wait and watch how the Lord would cause this to unfold.
They knew from Scripture the timeframe in which He would come. There was a hopeful expectancy around the time of Jesus’ birth. One man in particular, Simeon, was given the gift of meeting his Savior before he died:
“And behold, there was a man in Jerusalem whose name was Simeon, and this man was just and devout, waiting for the Consolation of Israel, and the Holy Spirit was upon him. And it had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he would not see death before he had seen the Lord’s Christ. So he came by the Spirit into the temple. And when the parents brought in the Child Jesus, to do for Him according to the custom of the law, he took Him up in his arms and blessed God and said,
‘Lord, now You are letting Your servant depart in peace,
According to Your word;
For my eyes have seen Your salvation
Which You have prepared before the face of all peoples,
A light to bring revelation to the Gentiles,
And the glory of Your people Israel’” (Luke 2:25-32).
He had come! He had come as an infant, born to a virgin. He didn’t sweep in and take over Jerusalem with pomp and power; He came as every one of us comes. He grew as we do, He learned and was filled with wisdom (Luke 2:40). He watched His mother in her daily tasks, and was trained by His father as a carpenter. He was tempted and tried, yet resisted sin perfectly.
People followed Him – some puzzled, some awestruck, some skeptical, some full of hope. They followed the God-Man and were healed, fed, taught, encouraged. There were still those who hated Him, and when He had lived on Earth a little more than 30 years He was horrifically murdered by His own creation. But this was what He had come for: to conquer death and be the one – the final – sacrifice. The perfect, sinless Lamb. He took our sins and paid the price for them. Three days later He rose from the grave, having defeated death and making a way for all to come to Himself. No more sacrifices, no more burdens – He had set them free! All people could now be free, forgiven of our sins and made clean!
Is your soul grieved? Are you without hope? Are you weary and brokenhearted? This Savior has come! This Redeemer accomplished what He promised He would! The freedom He brought is available for you and me and our children and grandchildren. We do not have to be slaves to sin (Romans 6), bound by our own shortcomings and failures.
We do not have to be burdened with sorrows, with bitterness, with anxiety or fear or depression. In fact, we shouldn’t be. He has set us free and given us His joy! He gives us peace that only He can provide; He gives us hope and comfort and guidance and wisdom. He gives us life that we may live it fully, and He lavishes us with blessing upon blessing. He gives us good works to walk in, and His Spirit resides in us that we might be full of His good fruit (Galatians 5:22-23). We can have the most abundant, wonder-filled life!
“For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Romans 6:23). We can join with Paul in exclaiming: “Thanks be to God for His indescribable gift!” (2 Corinthians 9:15)
May our homes be full of joy and laughter and thanksgiving this Christmas, as we celebrate the birth of our Savior and Lord. What a wonderful God, a mighty Savior. Merry Christmas, friends!
