Advent

Without any pomp or circumstance, a royal baby was born. In the chaos of the Roman Empire, the Prince of Peace entered the human race. All heaven looked on as God wrote his story of love in living letters. Jesus became, in Paul’s words, “the image of the invisible God.”

In our busy lives, it’s hard for some people to make room for Jesus. They keep him at a distance. The things of life fill their hearts with temporary satisfaction. But sooner or later temporal things fail to satisfy. The heart of the person who makes room for Jesus is filled, changed, and transformed.

When God sent his Son into the world, he did not make it easy for the parents or the child. He stripped the Anointed One of every royal privilege. Already tagged as an illegitimate child, Jesus breathed his first breaths of air in a musty stable. Jesus learned obedience through suffering…all the way to the cross.

The virgin birth, however hard to explain, is something we need to know. Every aspect of our faith and hope for eternal life hinges on this truth. If Jesus were simply a product of a man and a woman, His life and death mean nothing more than yours or mine.

There are some surprising people included in Jesus’ genealogy. Yesterday we considered several observations about Matthew’s list (Matthew 1:1-17). Today we will consider four women in Jesus’ lineage.

Matthew’s genealogy answered the important question that a Jew would ask of the person who claimed to be the Messiah. Jesus is a royal descendant from King David and has the rightful lineage of the Eternal King.

God was with John as he grew and “became strong in spirit.”

God came to rescue. God promised to send a deliverer “as he said through his holy prophets of long ago.” In Jesus, this promise was fulfilled. Jesus came to rescue us from the world, from our sin, from the devil, and from death.

Not everyone knew about Gabriel’s visit to Zechariah regarding the birth of John the Baptist, the one who would prepare the way for Jesus. But the manner of his birth to parents well past childbearing age, and Zechariah’s recovered speech left them “filled with awe.” They knew that this child was destined for a special assignment, “For the Lord’s hand was with him.”