In the
Advent season our thoughts turn to Christmas and advent of the Christ-child.
Messages emphasize the Savior of the world and Christ the King. Angels,
shepherds and wise men appear on the scene. Promises of long ago are emphasized
in poems on Christmas cards. Peace on earth, good will toward men becomes a
theme of the season and many try their best to live it during the season.
The message
of Christmas began long ago in the Garden of Eden with a promise God made. In
Genesis 3:15, “I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your
offspring and hers; he will crush your head and you will strike his heel.”
Moses
continued the promise in Deuteronomy 18:15, The Lord your God will raise up for
you a prophet like me from among your brothers. You must listen to him.” And
God repeats it in verse 18, “I will raise up from them a prophet like you from
among their brothers; I will put my words in his mouth, and he will tell them
everything I command him.”
Isaiah adds
to the message of promise in Isaiah 9:2, “the people walking in darkness have
seen a great light; on those living in the land of the shadow of death a light
has dawned.” Isaiah uses another figure in the promise of Isaiah 55:1, “Come
all who are thirsty, come to the waters; and you who have no money, come, buy
and eat! Come buy wine and milk without money and without cost.”
Micah says
in Micah 7:7, “I watch in hope for the Lord, I wait for God my Savior; my God
will hear me. The term, “God my Savior” is used throughout the Old Testament.
It had meaning for Israel through their history as God saved them from enemies
and unbelievable situations. But the fulfillment of a Savior is found in the
expressions of the New Testament.
The message
has little meaning without a messenger. On December 24, 1814 the Treaty of
Ghent was signed. This was good news because it meant an end to the War of
1812. But this message of good news failed to reach far and wide as more
battles were fought including the Battle of New Orleans on January 8, 1815.
Over 2100 British were either wounded or killed in the fight. The messenger had
not reached Andrew Jackson with the good news of that Christmas Eve in Ghent
and many lives were lost as a result.
The message
of Advent is lost without a messenger. That messenger is Jesus Christ himself.
Isaiah 7:14, “The Lord Himself will give you a sign. The virgin will be with
child and will give birth to a son and will call him Immanuel.” Again in Isaiah
9:6-7, “For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government
will be on his shoulders…” The names of Jesus follow indicating the message he
would bring. This will be eternal, emphasizing a kingdom of justice and
righteousness forever. The message is promised again in Isaiah 49:6, “…I will make
you a light to the Gentiles that you may bring my salvation to the ends of the
earth.” This is ultimately fulfilled in Jesus Christ.
This
messenger is again promised in Micah 5:2, “But you Bethlehem Ephrathah, though
you are small among the clans of Judah, out of you will come for me one who
will be ruler over Israel, whose origins are from old, from ancient times.” His
conclusion is made in Micah 5:5, “He will be their peace.” Micah again states
clearly in Micah 7:7, “But as for me, I watch in hope for the Lord. I wait for
God my Savior; my God will hear me.”
The unique
elements of the message and the messenger are intertwined. That is seen in both
Old and New Testaments. The expressions used to describe the Christmas season
express truths about the messenger.
The name
“Immanuel” used for the son announced in Isaiah 7:14 is not just a name but has
a theological meaning, “God with us.” The message and the messenger are
combined in this meaning. Christ would be God Himself in person as he came to
live among mankind, The names given him in Isaiah 9:6, “Wonderful Counselor,
Mighty God, Everlasting Father, and Prince of Peace” refer to promises Christ
would fulfill and are used to announce the good news of Christmas.
The promise
“Light for the Gentiles” referred to in Isaiah 49:6 is identified by Simeon in
Luke 2:32 when he holds Jesus in his arms and declares the fulfillment. It is
further fulfilled in the message Jesus proclaimed when he said, “I am the Light
of the World” in John 8:12.
The ruler
promised in Micah 5:2 is spoken of in Micah 5:5, “he will be their peace.” Not
only does Jesus bring peace, he is the Peacemaker but he is also Peace. In John
14:27 Jesus says, “Peace I leave with you, my peace I give you.” Paul says in
Ephesians 2:14, “He is our peace.”
As Isaiah
invites all who are thirsty to come, Jesus declares in John 4:10, he will give,
all who ask, living water and in verse 14, such a person will thirst no more.
Jesus is the
Savior of the world as announced in Matthew 1:21, “You are to give him the name
Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins.” Luke agrees with it
when he says, “Today is born for you in the town of David, a Savior who is
Christ the Lord.” This became central to the church’s theology as expressed in
Ephesians 5:23, “Christ is head of the church, his body, of which he is the Savior.”
The church’s hope is in a coming Savior as Philippians 3:20, “Our citizenship
is in heaven. And we eagerly await a Savior from there, the Lord Jesus Christ.”
The promise
and message is also the messenger. The baby in the manger is the fulfillment of
promise centuries ago. That message is eternal so it includes us as well. He is
our Savior, our peace and so many other terms that described him. This hope is
for the generations to come as well. May each of us keep the message spreading
as the angels, shepherds and wise men did.
