The Advent - week 1

Heaven Invades Earth with Hope

As we begin this Christmas season, I would like to borrow from our more liturgical brothers and sisters in Christ. Today also begins the Season of Advent. Each week has a particular theme, and this week is "Hope". It is not just the hope Christ gives with His birth, but more accurately Advent is about His Second Coming. Christ’s first and second coming are celebrated together in the liturgical year during this month. We are reminded of His first Coming by Christmas, but it also reminds us that He is coming again.

The promise of His coming was fulfilled and will be fulfilled.

Hope is promised

“The people walking in darkness have seen a great light; on those living in the land of deep darkness a light has dawned. […] For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. Of the greatness of his government and peace there will be no end. He will reign on David’s throne and over his kingdom, establishing and upholding it with justice and righteousness from that time on and forever. The zeal of the Lord Almighty will accomplish this.”

Isaiah 9:2, 6-7

In the days of Isaiah, Israel was promised a Messiah that would establish an everlasting kingdom. Look at what the Messiah is called:

'Wonderful Counselor' - The combination here is that the Messiah would be a wise counselor, but one who is ‘wonderful’ or miraculous. The wisdom of Christ is not just that He is smart or that He can provide sound living, but also that He works miracles. He is a miracle in that He is God among us, but He also performed miracles proving His identity. And by proving His Divine Identity, He proves Himself to be the most qualified to provide counseling.

Jesus is a miracle, and He works miracles.

'Mighty God' - The word ‘mighty’ here has a military connotation. The Messiah would be God who is mighty in battle, able to conquer His enemies. Jesus had many who worked against Him in this world, but ultimately He only had one enemy. That enemy was Satan. 1 John 3:8 says, “The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the works of the devil.” The cross was not Jesus defeated, it was the Mighty God vanquishing His foe.

Jesus is the Mighty God who vanquished the devil.

'Everlasting Father' - Psalm 72:17 states, “May His name endure forever, his fame continue as long as the sun! May people be blessed in Him, all nations call him blessed!” The Lord’s name will endure forever. Likewise, if we compare Isaiah with Micah (who wrote at the same time), Micah 5:2 states, “But you, O Bethlehem Ephratha, who are too little to be among the clans of Judah, from you shall come forth for me one who is to be ruler in Israel, whose coming forth is from of old, from ancient days (same word as ‘everlasting’ for ‘ancient’). Without diving too deeply into Trinitarian theology, this phrase has to do with where the Messiah originates. Though the Messiah is “a child given to us” in time, His true origin is before eternity. Thus, Jesus can say, “He who has seen Me has seen the Father”. Though we are right to separate God the Father and God the Son, we must always remember that both are God. God is One in Three Persons, Father, Son, and Spirit. The Messiah Isaiah promises is ‘God with us’.

The Father, Son, and Spirit eternally existed before Creation.

'Prince of Peace' - ‘Prince’ here is not just the title given to the son of the king, it also can be used to denote a person of great position in charge of a particular area of the kingdom. So, when we read this title, we should not just recognize the Messiah as the Son of God, but also the Son with a particular function. In this case, He is the Prince of Peace. It is the Messiah’s job to bring about and ensure peace. Throughout the centuries, the Church has needed this reminder more than any other, I believe. Christ is the Messiah of Peace. He brings peace to those at war with God and with each other. True peace comes in Christ. Peace with God, in that we can be reconciled to our Creator. Our sin that separates us from God and brings God’s wrath on us, is wiped away when we surrender to the Prince of Peace. We also can be reconciled to each other, because Jesus is the Prince of Peace. Whether divided races, divided families, or whatever division is causing you strife and war, that division is dissolved when we kneel at the cross. “There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is no male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus.”

Jesus brings true and everlasting peace to those who surrender to Him.

His government and peace will expand without end. The Kingdom of God first landed in Bethlehem 2000 years ago, and it has been expanding ever since. But let’s look at that final statement in 9:7, “The zeal of the LORD of Hosts will do this.” That word ‘zeal’ also can denote ‘jealousy’ as in ‘God is a jealous god’. It cannot be overstated, the Messiah came to save the lost, because He wanted to. The Lord created us, the Lord loves us, and the Lord does not want us to perish, being led astray by the Enemy, Satan. Periodically, someone will say, “If God loves us, why does He send people to hell?” God does love us. He proved that love by sending His Son so that no one would have to go to hell. Hell was established for Satan and the demons that followed him. We all sin and are all led astray into darkness. But, God in His mercy and love, sent His Son to end the schemes of Satan, and open the Way to eternal life. Please do not question God’s love simply because of your refusal to take hold of the eternal life He offers so freely.

Hope is given

 Now the birth of Jesus Christ took place in this way. When his mother Mary had been betrothed to Joseph, before they came together she was found to be with child from the Holy Spirit. And her husband Joseph, being a just man and unwilling to put her to shame, resolved to divorce her quietly. But as he considered these things, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying, “Joseph, son of David, do not fear to take Mary as your wife, for that which is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. She will bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins.” All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had spoken by the prophet:

“Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son,
    and they shall call his name Immanuel”

(which means, God with us). When Joseph woke from sleep, he did as the angel of the Lord commanded him: he took his wife, but knew her not until she had given birth to a son. And he called his name Jesus.

Matthew 1:18-25

Matthew and Luke offer a glimpse into the birth of the Messiah. Today, I would like us to look at Matthew’s version. Notice the focus right away on Joseph. Mary is betrothed to Joseph, which is a legal pledge to be married. It’s something in between what we call “engaged” and “married”. The couple would not live together, but it was understood by all that they would eventually be married. Now, Mary discovers she is with child, and Joseph knows it’s not his. He is in his right to divorce Mary, but notice he is a ‘just man’ so decides to do it quietly. Had he been an ‘unjust man’, he could have her tried and sentenced for adultery. But, as he is resolving to divorce, an angel appears and lets him in on the big surprise.

But look closely at what the angel says:

“Joseph, son of David” - Joseph is in the line of David. This is important, because it is the Davidic line that has the right to rule in Israel. The Lord promised David that his line would have a king over Israel. Although Israel has not had a rightful, independent king at this point since Zedekiah, the promise still holds. It must be a son of David that rules Israel. Now, someone might point out that if Jesus is not actually Joseph’s son, then wouldn’t he be an illegitimate heir? Two reminders: first, when Joseph took Jesus as his son, Jesus inherited all the rights therein, second, there is a genealogy in Luke which many consider to be Mary’s genealogy placing her in the line of David, also. So, either way, Jesus is in the line of David, and can rightfully be called King of the Jews.

Jesus is the promised King to lead Israel.

“from the Holy Spirit” - How did the virgin Mary conceive? It is a miracle of God. The Holy Spirit, who is God, performed a miracle. The Messiah was promised to be Divine in origin, and He came into this world through Divine action in order to prove His Divine origin. This would not be any ordinary baby.

Jesus came through Divine action to prove His Divine origin.

“You shall call his name Jesus” - Yeshuah is the Hebrew name of “Jesus”, and it means “The Lord’s Salvation” or “The Lord Saves”. He must be called ‘Jesus’, because He will save His people from their sins. His Name summarizes His mission. He is the ‘Prince of Peace’, and this peace comes through salvation.

‘Jesus’ is both His name and His mission—salvation.

All of this is to fulfill what Isaiah also prophesied in Isa. 7:14, “Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and they shall call his name ‘Immanuel’ which means ‘God with us’. The Lord Himself has come to us. As we celebrate this Christmas season, let us not forget the great miracle that happened in that little town 2000 years ago. God came to us! Heaven invaded the Earth to take back what is rightfully the Lord’s!

Hope is Assured

But Advent is not just about the first time Heaven invaded Earth. In fact, its origins in the third and fourth century are more about Jesus’ Second Coming. The Early Christians did not just have hope for their time here on earth, they hoped for eternity. They knew that Jesus was on His way back. Turn with me to Matthew 25. Matthew 25 presents a series of parables regarding the last days of this sinful age. But, let’s look at verses 31-46.

 “When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, then he will sit on his glorious throne. Before him will be gathered all the nations, and he will separate people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. 33 And he will place the sheep on his right, but the goats on the left. Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, I was naked and you clothed me, I was sick and you visited me, I was in prison and you came to me.’ Then the righteous will answer him, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you drink? And when did we see you a stranger and welcome you, or naked and clothe you? And when did we see you sick or in prison and visit you?’ 40 And the King will answer them, ‘Truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these my brothers, you did it to me.’

“Then he will say to those on his left, ‘Depart from me, you cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. For I was hungry and you gave me no food, I was thirsty and you gave me no drink, I was a stranger and you did not welcome me, naked and you did not clothe me, sick and in prison and you did not visit me.’ Then they also will answer, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison, and did not minister to you?’ Then he will answer them, saying, ‘Truly, I say to you, as you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to me.’ And these will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life.”

Matthew 25:31-46

The first time Jesus came, it was in a lowly manger, with the only fanfare coming to shepherds watching their flocks by night. But, when Jesus returns, it will be ‘in His glory’, and all the angels will follow with Him. All the nations will gather to Him, but they will be separated just like goats and sheep. The righteous on His right, the wicked on His left.

Now, there are many passages that speak of Jesus returning. Why did I choose this one? Because it reminds me of few things which give me hope.

1. Jesus is coming back. The wicked will be punished. Sometimes I find myself lamenting the evils of this world. Perhaps it is an early onset of ‘grouchy old man’ syndrome, but I think many would agree with me that it appears the wicked seem to go unpunished too often. But, there will come a day when the wicked will no longer appear to be succeeding. They will face an everlasting punishment.

2. The righteous are known by their actions. We are certainly saved through faith, and not of works. Ephesians 2:8 is abundantly clear, “For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God.” But notice, Jesus does not say, “the righteous answered the questions right in Sunday school” or “they warmed the pews quite nicely each Sunday” or even “they were baptized”. He says they fed the hungry, gave drink to the thirsty, welcomed the stranger, clothed the naked, and visited the prisoners. They put actions to their faith. Paul told us to “not grow weary doing good”, because sometimes it can feel as though our good isn’t doing any good. But, regardless how others react to acts of righteousness, it is by doing those acts that we express and prove our faith. Just yesterday a mother was accused by her daughter for being awkward by being too nice. I told her it is just a sign of the times. Christian, be so loving and so gracious toward your fellow human beings that it’s awkward. Why not, right? We are not just helping the least of these, we are doing it unto the Lord Himself.

3. God wants to save us. Last look again at verse 41. The eternal fire was prepared for the devil and his angels. Again, God loves us more than we will ever understand. And His love compelled Him to send His Son to die on the cross for our sins so that we can have eternal life. It is true there will be many who will be on the Lord’s left and will depart into the eternal fire. But that is not what He wants. He came to seek and save the lost. My hope that my lost friends and family can be saved is assured by God’s promise. “Whosoever shall call on the name of the Lord, shall be saved.” The lost person is not lost because God does not care for them. They are lost, because they do not care for God.

So, as we officially begin this glorious season, let us remember the hope we have in Christ. That hope was promised centuries before Christ came, and it was fulfilled in Christ’s birth, life, death, and resurrection. Everyone who puts their faith in Christ shall receive eternal life and the assured hope for eternity. But, we also receive hope that Jesus is coming back. He will return to completely remove the devil and sin from this world. For those whose hope is in Christ, we will inherit the new heaven and earth that is to come. For those who continue in their sin, rejecting the salvation freely offered, they will follow the devil and his demons into the eternal fire.