December 6

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The Coming Messiah

Psalm 110

God exalted him at his right hand as Leader and Savior,

to give repentance to Israel and forgiveness of sins.

Acts 5:31 (ESV)

Ezra and Nehemiah did their best to help the returning exiles live and worship in ways consistent with the law of God handed down through Moses. They wanted to make sure that the chosen people of God never again indulged in the sort of idolatry and other disobedience that had led to God’s judgment at the hands of Assyria and Babylonia.

We don’t know much about what happened after the time of these leaders. Except perhaps for a few words from the prophet Malachi, the Old Testament record ends with Nehemiah’s work. Scripture is silent about the next four hundred years—until the angelic announcement of the imminent birth of John the Baptist as recorded by Luke.

By this time, Israel had become subject to Roman rule, and, judging by what we know of the Pharisees of Jesus’s day, legalism in worship practices had become entrenched. This was not universal, for there were still some who fit Jesus’s description of the kind of worshipers the Father seeks—those who worshiped “in spirit and truth” (see John 4:23). But what legalists and true worshipers had in common was their anticipation of a Messiah, foretold by the prophets, who would restore Israel to its former glory and fulfill all of God’s promises to Abraham.

In the final days of this year we’ll look at just a few of these prophecies, mainly from the book of Isaiah. But take note first of Psalm 110, which has the distinction of being the psalm most referenced in the New Testament. Even before Jesus’s birth, it was regarded by the post-exilic Jewish people as predictive of a Messiah who would be both king and priest. What none of them realized, however, was just how great this Messiah would be. 

December 7

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The Mountain of the Lord’s Temple

Isaiah 2:2–4

Nations will fear the name of the Lord,

and all the kings of the earth will fear your glory.

Psalm 102:15 (ESV)

Isaiah was dismayed about the evil in his country and in Jerusalem, the so-called city of peace. He wrote, “See how the faithful city has become a prostitute! She once was full of justice; righteousness used to dwell in her—but now murderers” (Isa. 1:21).

However, Isaiah speaks of a coming day in which things will be different, in which “the mountain of the Lord’s temple” will be raised to a clear position of superiority above all other kingdoms, systems and organizations. Isaiah is speaking about the kingdom of God, for which Jerusalem and the centrally located temple of the Lord were the primary symbols. One day, Isaiah continues, people will recognize that God’s way is the best way—that the Lord and his servant-people have a quality of life that cannot be found anywhere else. People will flock from all nations and races into God’s Kingdom where they too can live by God’s law, at peace with former enemies.

Isaiah’s hearers might have wondered a bit about this second part of the promise. After all, God had emphasized for so long the necessity for Israel to remain separate from its neighbors so the Israelites would not be contaminated by pagan religions. But the reason to avoid such mixing would disappear in God’s kingdom, for only those who were willing to submit themselves to the Lord would join God’s cause.

Isaiah doesn’t use the term “Messiah,” but he makes clear that the coming descendant of David—whom we know to be Christ Jesus—will be anointed by God. Christ has now come and is making God’s kingdom everything that God intends it to be—a place where people can be blessed by the Lord, ruled by him and living in harmony with their neighbors. 

December 8

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The Light of Life

Isaiah 9:1–7

Your kingdom is an everlasting kingdom,

and your dominion endures throughout all generations.

Psalm 145:13 (ESV)

In this passage Isaiah looks toward the future and describes its events with a certainty that belongs to actions already completed. In a time of despair Isaiah speaks the word of God about the child to be born as if he already sits on the throne that will be his. This son of David is a great light to people walking in darkness. This is the darkness of sin in which not only the Gentiles, but God’s own people have been walking. They “call evil good and good evil [and] put darkness for light and light for darkness” (Isa. 5:20). The light will be for both Israel and the Gentiles—to open eyes that are blind, to free captives from prison and to release from the dungeon those who sit in darkness” (see Isa. 42:6-7).

Even now, Isaiah says, the burdensome yoke, oppressive rod, and battle boots are destined for burning. This is because the child to be born will bring God’s deliverance. Like all children he will have humble beginnings, but he will be divinely powerful.

·   He is Wonderful Counselor—with infinite wisdom.

·   He is Mighty God—first manifest as a very human child, but one with a divine character.

·   He is Everlasting Father—like other kings, a father to his people, but with an everlasting kingdom.

·   He is Prince of Peace—bringing an endless rule of justice and righteousness and peace.

By all human accounts, it was a highly improbable scenario that Isaiah pictured. However, as we look back on events that Isaiah could only anticipate, we see that it did happen with the birth of a child who later claimed with the full authority of God himself, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life” (John 8:12). 

December 9

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The Lord Our Righteousness

Isaiah 11

Behold, the days are coming, declares the Lord, when I will raise up for

David a righteous Branch, and he shall reign as king and deal wisely,

and shall execute justice and righteousness in the land. In his days

Judah will be saved…And this is the name by which he will be called:

“The Lord is our Righteousness.”

Jeremiah 23:5–6 (ESV)

Isaiah identifies several marks of the coming Messiah, marks that have since been fulfilled in Jesus.

·   His ancestry: At the time of the exile, little more than a “stump of Jesse” remained. But from that stump—David’s line—would arise a shoot (or what Jeremiah called a branch) to carry out the desires of the Lord. (See the genealogies of Jesus in Matthew 1 and Luke 3.)

·   His source of help and quality of character: He would give undivided devotion to the Lord and have understanding, wisdom, and power by his Spirit. (Matt. 3:16–17; 7:28–29; Luke 2:40)

·   His righteous judgments: The punishments and mercies that followed his wise decisions would be absolutely correct and just. (John 7:24; Mark 12:41–44)

·   Life in his kingdom: There would be perfect peace and safety in the messianic kingdom. The complete fulfillment of what Isaiah pictured awaits the second coming of Christ. However, many New Testament passages speak of the future in store for us and the life to which we should now aspire. (Luke 1:67–79; John 14:27; Rom. 14:17; 2 Tim. 2:22; Rev. 21:3–4)

·   The citizens in his kingdom: A remnant of Abraham’s descendants, redeemed from physical and spiritual exile, would be included. Also, people from other nations, seeing the beauty of his glorious kingdom, would flock to become part of it. (Luke 2:30–32; Acts 13:47–48; Rom. 10:13; Eph. 3:6; 1 Tim. 2:3–4) 

December 10

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Comfort for God’s People

Isaiah 40:1–11

[God] will dwell with them, and they will be his people, and God himself will be with them as their God. He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor

crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away.”

Revelation 21:3–4 (ESV)

Isaiah 40 has long been a favorite passage of Christians, especially since it was immortalized in the opening movements of Handel’s Messiah. The first verses proclaim comfort to God’s people who feel forsaken. Certainly, the exiles would have felt forsaken by God. They had lost the land and the temple that had marked them as God’s chosen people. But Isaiah proclaims an end to God’s punishment for sin; it has been paid for.

In a sense, however, Israel’s exile was an inadequate payment; Romans 3:21–26 tells us that full and complete forgiveness of sin comes only through Jesus Christ. So those who have come to him in faith have much better grounds for comfort than even Isaiah knew about. The end of God’s punishment for sin goes hand-in-hand with his return to live in covenant harmony with his people. Isaiah proclaims that God’s coming must be prepared for. In his day that required a life of ongoing repentance and devotion to the law of the Lord. But Matthew 3:1-12 applies this passage to John the Baptist, whose vigorous calls for repentance just before Jesus began his ministry paved the way for Jesus’s fuller revelation of the comfort and glory of the Lord.

Isaiah had a glimpse of the power, reward, and comfort that would come with the end of Israel’s exile. But he proclaimed something much greater than he probably knew—a tender shepherd and powerful teacher, healer, and king who would rise from death and ascend to rule, but whose authority would be fully realized only with his return in glory at the end of time (see John 1:4–7; 22:12–15). 

December 11

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The Servant of the Lord—Part 1

Isaiah 42:1–8

The Lord to Moses: I will raise up for them a prophet like you from among their brothers. And I will put my words in his mouth, and he shall speak to them all that I command him. And whoever will not listen to my words that he shall speak in my name, I myself will require it of him.

Deuteronomy 18:18–19 (ESV)

Although God designed the whole of his creation for service to him, humans are called to the special task of being his caretakers (see Ps. 8:4–6). However, Scripture also speaks of a special few whom God calls “my servant,” among them, Job (Job 42:7–8), Moses (Num. 12:6–8), and David (1 Kings 11:34–39). Israel is also given this designation by Isaiah and Jeremiah, for example, Isaiah 44:21—“Remember these things, Jacob, for you, Israel, are my servant. I have made you, you are my servant; Israel, I will not forget you.”

This brings us to Isaiah 42, the first of four “servant songs” about a specially enabled and faithful servant who is supported, chosen, and delighted in by God, and also fully enabled by his Spirit to bring justice to the nations. This servant is called in righteousness, walks hand-in-hand with the Lord, and is made to be both a covenant for Israel and a light for the Gentiles—all of this so he can act as God’s agent to open blind eyes and proclaim freedom for those held captive in darkness.

In a limited sense, this servant is the nation of Israel. Already in his call to Abraham, God promises to bless all peoples on earth through him. Walter Kaiser says that this finds confirmation in “the sentiment of Psalm 67: May God be gracious and bless us fellow Israelites…so that the nations may look on us and say that what Aaron prayed for, by way of God’s blessing, has occurred…Accordingly, may the rest of God’s purpose come to pass as well, that in the blessing of Israel all the nations of the earth might be drawn to receive the message of God’s salvation as well.” “God’s Purpose for Missions in the Old Testament” p 31. 

December 12

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The Servant of the Lord—Part 2

Isaiah 42:1–8

Many followed [Jesus], and he healed them all

and ordered them not to make him known.

This was to fulfill what was spoken by the prophet Isaiah.

Matthew 12:15-17 (ESV)

God’s intentions for Israel were relayed to it by Moses in Exodus 19:5–6, “Now if you obey me fully and keep my covenant, then out of all nations you will be my treasured possession. Although the whole earth is mine, you will be for me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation.” This hope was still held out to God’s people by Zechariah (8:13, 23): “Just as you, Judah and Israel, have been a curse among the nations, so will I save you, and you will be a blessing…people from all languages and nations will…say, ‘Let us go with you, because we have heard that God is with you.’”

Some faithful people did act as God’s kingdom of priests and holy nation. And some foreigners were drawn to the Lord because of it. However, the nation as a whole did not do well, and the fulfillment of God’s purposes would wait for the arrival of one special offspring of Abraham, “Christ” (Gal. 3:16).

That the definitive “my servant” of Isaiah is Jesus is confirmed, among other places, by these verses:

·   Matthew 12:18–21, which repeats Isaiah 42:1–4.

·   John, whose repeated announcement of Jesus as the light of the world confirms Isaiah 42:6.

·   Luke, whose record of the words Jesus used to begin his ministry echoes those in Isaiah 42:7 and 61:1–2.

Another important thing to note about Isaiah’s servant of the Lord is what the New Testament says time and again about the service God expects from his redeemed people. Paul applies Isaiah’s words about God’s light for the world to himself and the church of Christ: “I have made you a light for the Gentiles, that you may bring salvation to the ends of the earth” (Acts 13:47).

December 13

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“My Servant”—Rejected and Condemned

Isaiah 52:13–53:12

 I am small and despised, yet I do not forget your precepts.

Psalm 119:141 (ESV)

This Old Testament Scripture probably gets more use than any other during the season of Lent. I invite you to read it for the next three days, noting the various aspects of Isaiah’s prophecy and the New Testament accounts showing fulfillment in Jesus.

The rejection and condemnation to be endured by the one God calls “my servant” is made explicit in Isaiah 52:14 and 53:3, 7–9. Referring to this and similar prophecies, Jesus himself predicted his coming abuse and death to his disciples: “We are going up to Jerusalem, and everything that is written by the prophets about the Son of Man will be fulfilled. He will be delivered over to the Gentiles. They will mock him, insult him, spit on him; they will flog him and kill him” (Luke 18:31–32). The testimony of all the gospels is that this is just what happened to Jesus.

There is also the matter of the silence with which Jesus met the accusations against him, just as Isaiah foretold. Jesus did not defend himself to any of these authorities:

·   The high priest (Mark 14:61)

·   Pilate (Matt. 27:12–14)

·   Herod (Luke 23:8–9)

Jesus was silent in spite of his innocence of all charges. And by that innocence, Jesus fulfilled yet another part of Isaiah’s prophecy. His accusers, despite looking hard for charges to bring against Jesus, could find none and so invented false charges (see Mark 14:55–57). Other Scriptures also testify to the innocence of Jesus:

·   2 Corinthians 5:21 calls Jesus “him who had no sin.”

·   Hebrews 4:15 attests to the sinlessness of Jesus in facing his temptations.

·   1 Peter 2:22 affirms, “He committed no sin, and no deceit was found in his mouth.” 

December 14

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“My Servant”—Penalty Bearer for Sin

Isaiah 52:13–53:12

The next day [John] saw Jesus coming toward him, and said,

“Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!”

John 1:29 (ESV)

The sacrificial system in Israel was established by God so that the guilt of sin could be taken away and fellowship with God restored. One of many relevant passages is Leviticus 17:11, “The life of a creature is in the blood, and I have given it to you to make atonement for yourselves on the altar…” Isaiah clearly identifies the servant as chosen by God, like a sacrificial lamb, to bear the penalty of the sins of others (Isa. 53:4–6, 10a, 12b).

Jesus identified this as his task: “The Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many” (Matt. 20:28). The sacrifice Jesus came to make was much more effective than any previous sacrifice, however. A multitude of New Testament Scriptures affirm this; a few of these will suffice to help us understand how great a gift Jesus has given us.

·   “We have now been justified by his blood” (Rom. 5:9).

·   “God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God” (2 Cor. 5:11).

·   “Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us” (Gal. 3:13).

·   “God was pleased…to reconcile to himself all things…by mak-ing peace through his blood, shed on the cross” (Col. 1:19–20).

·   “He suffered death, so that by the grace of God he might taste death for everyone” (Heb. 2:9).

·   “The blood of Christ [will] cleanse our consciences…so that we may serve the living God!” (Heb. 9:14).

·   “You were redeemed…with the precious blood of Christ, a lamb without blemish or defect” (1 Peter 1:18–19).

·   “He himself bore our sins in his body on the cross…by his wounds you have been healed” (1 Peter 2:24). 

December 15

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“My Servant”—Raised and Exalted

Isaiah 52:13–53:12

After making purification for sins, [God’s Son]

sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high.

Hebrews 1:3 (ESV)

Isaiah prophesied that the servant of the Lord would not only be despised and rejected and give his life as atonement for the sin of others, he would also “be raised and lifted up and highly exalted” (Isa. 52:13). Isaiah 53:10b–12a confirms this and also labels those who have experienced his healing and peace as “offspring.”

Central to the gospel are the teachings that sin must be punished and that it has been punished once for all by Christ’s death on the cross. But, Christ’s sacrifice would have been inadequate if he had remained dead. Paul says, “If Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile; you are still in your sins” (1 Cor. 15:17).

It’s very significant that the overwhelming testimony of Scripture is that Christ has been raised from the dead, and has been exalted to sit at the right hand of God in heaven. Philippians 2:9–11 says, “God exalted him to the highest place and gave him the name that is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.” Paul repeats this theme often—among other places in Ephesians 1:20–23.

Christ’s resurrection assures us that those who have come to Christ in true faith will also live with him; death no longer has mastery over us (see Rom. 6:8–9). Peter also speaks of “an inheritance that can never perish, spoil, or fade…kept in heaven for you…until the coming of the salvation that is ready to be revealed in the last time” (1 Pe. 1:4-5). In the meantime (see Romans 8:34) we are assured of Christ’s ongoing prayers for us. We have life now, and the promise that life will continue for the infinite future! What more could anyone want? 

December 16

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How Will the Lord Make Himself Known?

Isaiah 64:1–4

Christ Jesus, who, though he was in the form of God, did not

count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied himself,

by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men.

Philippians 2:5b–7 (ESV)

Despite what Isaiah said about the humility and suffering of God’s special servant, it is the hope that he expresses in this passage that dominated Israel’s view of the coming Messiah. One day the Lord would rend the heavens and come down to rescue his people from the hand of their oppressors, putting an end to all doubt about who was sovereign over all the nations of the world. Isaiah attributed the fact that God had not already done this to the sins of God’s people. But one day, Isaiah hoped and prayed, the Lord would no longer hold himself back.

If we are honest, isn’t it often our hope, too, that the Lord will show his power on behalf of those who do his will? There is too much blasphemy, idolatry, and injustice; if only the Lord would dramatically intervene to save the innocent who are so often oppressed. Mostly, however, such a revelation of the Lord’s authority will have to await his coming at the end of time. Meanwhile, far more often than not, God acts in quiet ways that become apparent only to those who are waiting and looking for him. 

The eventual arrival of the promised Savior is a case in point. By Luke’s account Jesus’s birth was a humble affair. But, to reveal it, angelic birth announcements were made to two rather unlikely couples living at this transition point of history. Zechariah and Elizabeth, both descendants of Aaron, were old and childless. The other couple was engaged but not yet married—Joseph and Mary, both of the royal line of David, but with little of his status and none of his power. These two couples were humble and ordinary people, but their pregnancies were anything but ordinary, for both were impossible by all human accounts. 

December 17

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The Forerunner of Jesus Announced

Luke 1:5–25, 57–79

Behold, I send my messenger, and he will prepare the way before me.

And the Lord whom you seek will suddenly come to his temple;

and the messenger of the covenant in whom  you delight,

behold, he is coming, says the Lord of hosts.

Malachi 3:1 (ESV)

Zechariah was alone in the Most Holy Place, privileged that day to burn incense before the Lord. Suddenly Gabriel appeared to him announcing that God was answering his prayers with the coming birth of a son. Zechariah didn’t believe it, which is interesting since that’s what he’d been praying for. Perhaps, as we do at times, he was praying without expecting an answer from God. He started to believe, however, when he was not able to speak.

No doubt Zechariah thought much over the months of Elizabeth’s pregnancy, astonished that God would bless them so. At the time of the baby’s circumcision and naming, he confirmed Elizabeth’s statement that the child would not be named after his father or a relative as was customary, but would be called John. By then he was fully convinced that this miracle child was chosen by God to prepare the world to receive the coming Messiah.

It was then that the Holy Spirit gave Zechariah insight about what God was doing. Most of Zechariah’s song of response passed over the role that his own son would play—calling people to repentance. Instead, he sang of the coming Messiah and the salvation he would bring. No doubt Zechariah saw the coming salvation as the fulfillment of centuries of God’s work with his people. In keeping with the expectations surrounding the coming of the Messiah, Zechariah probably thought less about the suffering the Messiah would undergo than he did about the power of the Lord that would be displayed on behalf of his people. Finally, God’s people could do something they’d never been able to do with consistency, “serve him without fear in holiness and righteousness.” 

December 18

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Gabriel’s News and Mary’s Song

Luke 1:26–56

God to Abraham: In your offspring shall all the nations

of the earth be blessed, because you have obeyed my voice.

Genesis 22:18 (ESV)

One of the key truths in this passage is the angel Gabriel’s witness to the divinity of Mary’s coming child. He says, “He…will be called Son of the Most High” (Luke 1:32). The term “Most High” is another name for God as verse 35 shows: “The holy one to be born will be called the Son of God.” Gabriel says that this divine son is not only the legitimate heir to the throne of David, but that he will keep his position forever as head of an eternal kingdom. This makes him the ultimate fulfillment of God’s promise to David in 2 Samuel 7:12–16.

When Mary responded that she did not understand how she, as a virgin, could give birth to such a child, Gabriel told her about the divine conception. He also told her of Elizabeth’s equally impossible pregnancy. With that, Mary believed the angel’s message, a message that was confirmed soon after in her visit to Elizabeth, who recognized her own baby’s kick as a Holy Spirit inspired response to the presence of the mother-to-be of Jesus.

Mary was so moved, both by the power of God at work and by its manifestation in an insignificant person such as herself, that she broke out in song—one that we’ve come to know as the Magnificat. She asserted that what God was doing in her was such a blessing that all generations to come would testify to it. Mary was right; we are astonished that Almighty God was so gracious, not only to her, but to us in our insignificance, and that he has blessed us with a Savior. What else can we do but what Mary did—worship? Our great God deserves it, and that worship also helps us keep first things first in our short and too often frustrated and tired lives. Recognizing God’s work in Christ is the key to a life of meaning and joy. 

December 19

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The Genealogy of Jesus—Part 1 

Matthew 1:1–17

It is too light a thing that you should be my servant to raise up the tribes

of Jacob and to bring back the preserved of Israel; I will make you as a

light for the nations, that my salvation may reach to the end of the earth.

Isaiah 49:6 (ESV)

Matthew prefaces his announcement of Jesus’s birth more mundanely than Luke—with a genealogy. It shows that Jesus could trace his ancestry back to Abraham, and also that he was of the special tribe of Judah and the royal line of David—the very line from which God had promised to provide a Savior for his people. Beyond that, there are a couple of amazing things about the first series of names in this genealogy (vs. 1–6). One is the growth of Israel from one idol worshiper, Abraham, whom God called to worship him, and to believe that God would make him and Sarah into a great nation. God did just that, despite the ways that Abraham and his descendants so often failed to cooperate.

Also amazing is the inclusion in Matthew’s genealogy of four women, which was quite unexpected at that time.

·   Tamar had been the Canaanite wife of a son of Judah, and then became a neglected widow until she tricked her dead husband’s father into making her respectable.

·   Rahab had been a prostitute of Jericho, who helped Israel’s spies and later married an Israelite.

·   Ruth had been one of the detested Moabites; Boaz married her to preserve the line of Elimelech in Israel.

·   Bathsheba, wife to Uriah the Hittite, had been forced into King David’s bed and later became his wife.

No human would have chosen these people to be part of the bloodline of Jesus, but the Lord used each one, thus demonstrating his continuing grace to Abraham’s descendants and anticipating his revelation that his saving grace is not only for Abraham’s descendants, but for people from every race and nation of the world.  

December 20

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The Genealogy of Jesus—Part 2

Matthew 1:1–17

Righteousness and justice are the foundation of your throne;

steadfast love and faithfulness go before you.

Psalm 89:14 (ESV)

Frederick Dale Bruner, in his excellent commentary on Matthew, sees the second and third sections of Matthew’s genealogy of Jesus, as highlighting God’s justice and faithfulness.

Section two (vs. 6b–11) names the ancestors of Jesus from the glory days of Israel under David and Solomon to the time Judah was humiliated in the exile to Babylon. After Solomon, the kingdom was divided and the decline that began in Solomon’s later years continued until both kingdoms had been exiled in punishment for their rebellion against the Lord. In this part of the genealogy, Matthew leaves out three names and changes a couple of others (Asa to Asaph and Amon to Amos), probably to emphasize how close the people’s sins came to erasing God’s promise to David’s house. (Both Asaph’s psalms and the prophecies of Amos emphasize God’s judgment for his peoples’ sins.)

Section three (verses 12–16) takes God’s people through the years of exile from the Promised Land and God’s temple in Jerusalem. Then, even after some exiles were allowed to return and rebuild the temple, their lives were never what they hoped they would be. Scripture is silent about the four centuries between the times of Nehemiah and Malachi to the first of the New Testament Scriptures. Yet, even here, when God seemed most distant, he was at work preserving the royal line of David in preparation for the birth of Jesus. God is faithful.

In sum, Matthew uses Jesus’s genealogy to emphasize in turn, the mercy (Matt. 1:1-6), the justice (Matt 1:7-11), and the faithfulness (Matt. 1:12-16) of God, who has worked out his sovereign purposes throughout the generations so that Jesus might be born as the fulfillment of all God’s promises to Abraham. 

December 21

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God’s Ways Are Not Our Ways

Matthew 1:18–20, 24–25

For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, declares the Lord.  For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are

my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts.

 Isaiah 55:8–9 (ESV)

According to God’s law and tradition, an engaged woman and man were not to come together as wife and husband until their marriage. Joseph knew he hadn’t been with Mary; that’s why her pregnancy was humiliating for him. And since Mary had obviously violated the engagement, divorce was the appropriate response for Joseph.

Joseph had the right to end the engagement publicly so that no shame would fall upon him. Yet, innocent Joseph was prepared to take some of the social shame and personal guilt for the failed engagement upon himself. He decided to give Mary a letter of divorce quietly. In other words, he chose to act mercifully, going beyond the legal requirements.

Before he could take any action, however, an angel of the Lord appeared to righteous Joseph to tell him that the child in Mary was conceived by the Holy Spirit. Joseph believed, and so had to rethink what righteousness required. He saw that even the most rigorous and merciful human righteousness had to submit to the Holy Spirit’s work. Because of the better saving righteousness of God, Joseph changed his mind about the divorce.

What had looked shameful and embarrassing to Joseph turned out to be the world’s salvation; God’s ways are not our ways. In a very similar way, the self-denial and confession of sin and submission to Jesus Christ that is so shunned by the world turns out to be the way that people come to perfect freedom. So then, everyone who would follow God needs to be open to re-education by his Spirit. After all, God’s ways are not our ways and his thoughts are not our thoughts. 

December 22

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There Is Something about That Name

Matthew 1:21

God has not destined us for wrath,

but to obtain salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ.

1 Thessalonians 5:9 (ESV)

Matthew records the angel’s instructions to name the divine child “Jesus” (meaning “Yahweh Saves”). No doubt other boys at that time also bore that name; it was not unusual to have names that showed loyalty to the Lord. Matthew’s own name was derived from a Hebrew name meaning “gift of Yahweh” and John’s from one meaning “Yahweh is gracious.” But as the angel makes clear, Jesus will do more than testify to God’s salvation; he himself will be God and he himself will save. Whom will Jesus save and from what will he save? He will save his people, from their sins.

This was in part a message for the Jews; Jesus would preach saving grace to them and give his life in sacrifice for their sin. But Jesus would take his salvation message to non-Jews also—to all who would receive his message about the kingdom of heaven and the humility required of its citizens and then deny themselves, take up their cross, and follow Jesus (see Matt. 16:24).

Jesus’s salvation was not to be the political liberation that many people expected, but the liberation of people from the power and bondage of their own sins. As Matthew and the other gospels make clear, as desirable as political liberation might be, Jesus wants people to look at their own sins rather than focus on the sins of others.

Matthew goes on to say more about how Jesus accomplishes his mission—that it is the Holy Spirit who brings people to repentance and cleanses through baptism. And the same Spirit also gives these repentant and cleansed believers the power to change, assurance of salvation, and the privilege to be disciples of Jesus and evangelists for his kingdom. This is all part of what will happen through the life of this Jesus. 

December 23

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Jesus Is Immanuel—“God with Us”

Matthew 1:22–23

The Word became flesh and dwelt among us,  and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth.

John 1:14 (ESV)

With this second name, Matthew tied what God was doing through Jesus to what he did in Isaiah’s day (Isa. 7:14) and even before that, throughout covenant history. God’s actions were all designed to result in the birth of this savior. The second name also testifies that God saves by getting up close and personal with the people he is saving. God saves us by being “God with us.”

Although the claim that God is with us is not unique to Christianity, others who make this claim have quite a different idea than the Scriptures proclaim. For example, idol worshipers believe that their gods are with them in visible form and can be carried from place to place. Other people believe that humanity itself is divine; Emmanuel’s Book was written by a woman who claimed to be in contact with a spirit who called himself Emmanuel, and who used her as his voice to the world. This Emmanuel didn’t deny Christ or criticize Christianity, but he changed the biblical message to say that “Christ wants to help everyone to a realization of their own divinity.”

At the other extreme is Islam, which teaches that Allah is too transcendent to be with us. Some tenets of Islam are similar to those of Christianity; we agree, for example, that God is not subject to laws of space and time and that he alone is worthy of worship. But, contra-Christianity, Islam contends that humans were not created in God’s image, that God would never humble himself to become human, and that salvation is merit-based.

Christians thank God that Jesus (God Saves) is Immanuel (God With Us) and that his coming to earth makes it possible for sinful humanity to live, now and forever, in the presence of the holy, holy, holy Lord God Almighty. 

December 24

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Jesus Fulfills God’s Promises to Abraham

Genesis 12:1–3; 15:4–5, 18–21; 17:1–8

“Abraham believed God, and it was counted to him as righteousness.” Know then that it is those of faith who are the sons of Abraham.

And the Scripture…preached the gospel beforehand to Abraham,

saying, “In you shall all the nations be blessed.” So then, those who

are of  faith are blessed along with Abraham, the man of faith.

Galatians 3:6–9 (ESV)

Matthew’s assertions about Jesus’s ancestry and purpose show that Jesus fulfills all of the promises given in God’s covenant to the first of his chosen people, Abraham:

·   That he would have many descendants.

·   That God would provide a home for them.

·   That the whole world would be blessed by his offspring.

These promises were partly fulfilled within a few hundred years:

·   Abraham’s descendants were the twelve tribes of Israel.

·   They settled in Canaan and prospered there until disobedience separated them from God and eventually led them into exile.

·   They became a blessing to the world, probably seen most clearly in ancient times during Solomon’s reign.

Ultimately, however, the promises were fulfilled in one special descendant of Abraham—Jesus Christ—who gave up his life as a sacrifice for the sin of the world.

·   Fulfilling the “many descendants” promise, Jesus, although he never had any biological children, has untold millions of adopted children, all those who believe in him and serve him as their Savior and Lord.

·   Fulfilling the promise of a home in which to flourish, Jesus invites all people to find rest in him and live as God’s children in the power of the Holy Spirit.

·   Fulfilling the promise that Abraham’s offspring would be a blessing to the world, we have Christ’s body—his church—the members of which are to bless the world by living as citizens of Christ’s kingdom and sharing the gospel of God’s grace. 

December 25

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Who Is Jesus to You?

Matthew 1:21–23; Luke 2:29–32

And this is eternal life, that they know you the only true God,

and Jesus Christ whom you have sent.

John 17:3 (ESV)

When Simeon, by the power of the Spirit, recognized Jesus as God’s answer to the longing of his soul, he was ready to die in peace. Are you? Will you be among the opposition to God that is destroyed with Satan or among those who live forever with Jesus who said: “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me” (John 14:6)?

Belief is the way one comes to God through Jesus. “Whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life and will not be judged” (John 5:24). To believe is to agree to what Scripture says about Jesus and what he came to do. But it also has to result in a life of obedience; obedience, albeit imperfect, is proof of true belief. Those who put Jesus’s words into practice are like the wise man who built his house on the rock (Matt. 7:24).

Please understand, obedience cannot earn salvation. “For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God—not by works, so that no one can boast” (Eph. 2:8–9). However, all who really receive this gift will pursue obedience with the help of God’s Holy Spirit.

True servants of Christ will act responsibly with the gifts God has entrusted to them (see 1 Cor. 4:2): caring for God’s world, being responsible and generous with their material blessings, demonstrating faithful love in marriage and family, showing concern for the material and spiritual welfare of neighbors, and so on. They also know that the Christian life is not a solitary affair, but that God calls us to be part of a visible community of worship and work so that both alone and together with other members of Christ’s church, we closely follow Jesus, loving God above all and our neighbors as ourselves.  

December 26

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Isaiah’s Vision of the New Jerusalem

Isaiah 62

The one who conquers, I will make him a pillar in the temple of

my God...and I will write on him the name of my God, and the

name of the city of my God, the new Jerusalem, which comes

down from my God out of heaven, and my own new name.

Revelation 3:12 (ESV)

The new name that Isaiah prophesied for God’s people meant they would have a new status as a sign of God’s favor. This is confirmed by the imagery of verse 3 which calls God’s people a glorious crown of splendor for the Lord. As we now know, that wouldn’t happen for a long time. As desperate as their situation was already, God’s covenant people would go farther downhill before they would see the light of God’s fulfillment.

Yet, the promises would hold, and fulfillment would come. With the benefit of hindsight and the perspective of the New Testament, we see that Isaiah’s prophecy of a Savior (verse 11) was fulfilled in Christ. God’s kingdom has been established as supreme by Christ’s life, death, resurrection, and ascension. And ever since, people of every nationality and race have come to serve in God’s kingdom, drawn to each other by the same bond of love that draws all of them to God through Jesus Christ.

The signs of Christ’s victory are seen, among other places, in the radical changes brought about in the lives of many sinners who have come to faith in Christ. One redeemed drunkard, being hassled by his former drinking buddies about his belief that Jesus turned water into wine, said, “I’ve seen him do something just as great; in my house he turned whiskey into furniture.”

God did not rest until his promises came true in Jesus. But there’s more to come. The kingdom of God is still growing. God will not rest until his ridiculed, hated, and even persecuted people are vindicated. He will not stop until his light erases the darkness and everything is just the way he wants it to be. 


Last modified: Thursday, August 9, 2018, 5:29 PM