Advent: King Messiah

In the progressive revelation of God’s promised redemption, the figure of the redeemer becomes clearer. The Messiah, or Anointed One, will be one who will reign as king. It was prophesied by Jacob and realized in David, Israel’s archetypal king. But the task of restoring humanity to a state of peace and abundance in fellowship with God is more than any earthly king could accomplish. This deficiency was something that David appears to have grasped, for in Psalm 110 he pays homage to one he calls “my Lord,” whom Yahweh exalts to his right hand: “The Lord says to my Lord/“Sit at my right hand,/until I make your enemies your footstool.” Remarkably, this figure was one to whom even the God-appointed king of Israel must pay obeisance.

The identity of this figure was claimed by Jesus himself (Matthew 22:41-45), and proclaimed with apostolic authority (e.g., Acts 2:34-36). He was the promised Son of David who fulfilled the covenant given to the shepherd turned king. He ushered in the kingdom that has as its hallmarks, equity, justice, righteousness, and peace. The works that he did testified to his true identity; and though he was “killed by the hands of lawless men,” God demonstrated through his resurrection, ascension, and subsequent outpouring of the Holy Spirit, that he was, that he is, “both Lord and Christ.”

Advent is a time of waiting in anticipation. For those alive at the time of Jesus’ birth, it had been a millennium since David wrote his prophetic lyrics. But those who waited in faith saw their faith rewarded. Our advent season is even longer than theirs. Yet our reason to hope is greater than theirs. Not only do we have the record of Jesus’ ministry on earth that testifies to his Messianic anointing, we have the vision of the one who possesses “the keys of Death and Hades,” the “Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, [who] has conquered,” of whom voices in Heaven proclaim, “The kingdom of the world has become the kingdom of our Lord and of his Christ, and he shall reign forever and ever,” and who himself testifies that, “I am coming soon, bringing my recompense with me, to repay everyone for what he has done. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the first and the last, the beginning and the end” (Revelation 1:18; 5:5; 11:15; 22:12). Armed with this vision may we be reminded, in the words of the hymn, that,
“This is my Father’s world. O let me ne’er forget
That though the wrong seems oft so strong,
God is the ruler yet.
This is my Father’s world; the battle is not done;
Jesus who died shall be satisfied
And earth and heav’n be one.”

Advent: Holding Fast

Abraham had been waiting a long time. God promised him a heritage that would bless “all the families of the earth,” but fulfillment of the promise had not been realized. What at first seemed like an extraordinary gift had become a source of frustration and disappointment. In the face of the delay, Abraham’s faith had faltered more than once and he made decisions that had unwelcome consequences. Finally, a propitious wind blew and fanned the flames of his faith and he was transformed. The promise settled into his soul and he was able to heed and trust the word of God, even a command that seemingly negated everything God had previously spoken.

Abraham’s Advent experience is instructive. He had his own period of waiting that placed huge demands on his ability to hold fast to the word that God had spoken. And though he is remembered for his willingness to raise his knife over the promised heir to slay him, convinced that God had the power to raise him from the dead, such bold believing was not always his. He lost confidence and settled for shortcuts and man-made solutions. 

His wait, however, turned out to be a mere 24 years. How long has it been since the church received the promise that Jesus would return to judge the world and gather to himself his own? Nearly 2000 years. 2000 years is a long time. Long enough to cause a soul to doubt that he's ever going to return. Long enough to drift from the teaching that promised reward on that day for the faithful, the “one who overcomes.” Long enough to convince a disciple that deferred gratification is not as sensible as immediate gratification.

This Advent, let’s ask God for the grace to hold fast to our confession of faith without wavering, believing that the one who came and gained the victory over the deceiver and the evil he unleashed is coming again to bring full restoration to all that he has made.

Advent: Regaining the Future

“She took of its fruit and ate, and she also gave some to her husband who was with her, and he ate . . .” A fateful moment, a terrifying moment. They had been warned of the consequences, but something, someone, had convinced them that things would actually be better this way. The effects were immediate and devastating. In a flash, all was lost. Cast out, the bounty and beauty of Eden was irreclaimable. Angels and flaming swords barred re-entrance and whatever future would have been theirs in that magnificent place was now destroyed.

Such a radical reordering brought on by their own foolishness could have caused a soul destroying hopelessness to overtake our first parents were it not for the promise that had been uttered in the garden. God had decreed that one born of the seed of the woman would triumph over Satan and the evil he had unleashed. This seed of hope took root in their souls and sustained the offspring of the woman from that moment forward. For generations they had looked for it to bear fruit.

This looking forward with hope-filled expectation in God’s promise is what the Advent season marks. It is the restoration of the future in the face of human failing. It is the belief that God is true to his word, not just in justice but also in mercy. It is a time, therefore, when we can seek God for his grace to attend our future shattering impulses. 

It can only take a moment. A rash decision, a destructive action taken, and the expected future vanishes. Though it was only a dream to begin with, it had the substance of hope to sustain it. Now with the future gone, a hopelessness begins to seep into the soul with corrosive effect. There appears no way out of the consequences of the error. The life that might have been will never be, and justification for pressing on is hard to obtain. Have you experienced this? I pray you haven’t. But if you have, I pray you have discovered the redemptive and restorative work of the one who came to us in Bethlehem. I pray this season of Advent will bring Jesus into your life and with him the future and hope.

The Miracle of the New Birth

As stated in a previous post, miracles serve (at the very least) two ends: they radically alter the circumstances of those involved, as well as demonstrating that there exists a reality that stands above, or outside, our everyday, natural existence.  Ultimately, it’s the super-reality that miracles point to that is more important for a human being to experience. Recovery of physical sight will not truly profit unless the one healed is able to see the kingdom of God. As we discussed, however, seeing the kingdom of God requires a miracle. Jesus describes it as being born again, or born from above.

Drawing on the apostle Paul’s teaching from Ephesians 2 let’s examine why the new birth is a miracle. First, our condition is helpless. Human beings are “dead in trespasses and sins” and “by nature children of wrath.” We are fatally deaf, dumb, and blind to heavenly realities. Our only hope is a miracle, a divine intervention that opens our understanding. And this is what God does. When we are “dead in [our] trespasses and sins,” he makes us “alive together with Christ.” This regeneration allows us to see and believe. To underscore the miraculous nature of this transformation, we learn that the ability to place faith in Jesus is a “gift of God” that comes to us by “grace.” And true to miracles, our circumstances are radically altered. No longer subjects of “the prince of the power of the air,” we learn that we have been “raised us up with [Christ]” to be “seated with him in the heavenly places.”

By all criteria, the new birth is a miracle. It is God, in love, intervening into our fallen, lost existence to awaken us to our need of his precious gift, the One he gave so that “whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.”  May God give all who read this eyes to see.