Christmas 2018 The Son of God
Hello this is Eric again. A friend asked me, “How can I know that the Bible is true?” So, I am taking some time to answer my friends question and to do this I am looking at one of the evidences the Bible gives to answer this question, Prophecy.
(Read the previous blogs here)
Well, since we have stepped into the “really blow my mind” section of the prophecies about Christmas with “The Virgin will be with Child”; let’s up the ante a bit.
The prophecies that we are looking at give us clues as to who this Rescuer, the Messiah, the Christ—is. So, up to this point we have learned that the Messiah is someone God has planned to send even before He created everything. The Messiah is someone who is going to rescue us from Satan, sin, death, God’s judgement, and Hell. The Messiah will be someone who is born of a Virgin. (This is where we need to put on our sandals and stop for a moment and imagine ourselves in their day and age…’that’s just not possible, how would that be?’) And then…
In Psalm 2 we are given a picture of nations conspiring against God and trying to overthrow His rule (sound familiar?) God’s response to the threat of humankind’s rebellion? He laughs and rebukes them and tells them that He has installed His King on His holy mountain. Now, this is important for us because God is telling Israel about the Messiah, the Christ (the Anointed One), the Rescuer. Psalm 2:7 says,
“The king proclaims the Lord’s decree: ‘The Lord said to me, ‘You are my son. Today I have become your Father.’”
The Messiah, the Christ—the Anointed One. When kings were installed, or chosen by God to become king, they were anointed. This meant that a flask of olive oil, which had been seasoned by some beautiful spices, was poured over the head of the one who was to be king. It was a sign from God that this person had been chosen to rule as God’s representative. The king was to make a copy of the law that God gave, and was to study it regularly so that he would rule the way God wanted him to rule. This passage not only lets us know that the king God is installing will be His Son. God's Son...
Whoa. Now that definitely falls into the “really blow my mind” category of prophecy. There are so many tangents that I could run down at this moment…but let me look at one. Deuteronomy 6:4 says,
“Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one.”
God is doing something new. He is letting people know who He is, and that the Messiah is going to be His Son. OK, now some things are making more sense, and others are really stretching our understanding of who God is and what He is doing. Matthew 1:26-33 says,
In the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent from God to a city of Galilee named Nazareth, to a virgin betrothed to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David. And the virgin's name was Mary. And he came to her and said, “Greetings, O favored one, the Lord is with you!” But she was greatly troubled at the saying, and tried to discern what sort of greeting this might be. And the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus. He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. And the Lord God will give to him the throne of his father David, and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of his kingdom there will be no end.”
Now we are seeing the other half of the story. Mary is greeted by the angel Gabriel, and she is told that she is going to have a son who will rule on the throne of his father David…Forever.
There are a bunch of questions that can be asked here, but I think we should let Mary lead the way for us (vs. 34),
“And Mary said to the angel, “How will this be, since I am a virgin?”
There’s the question. That’s it! How in the world will this happen. (And, BTW, if this happens, she is going to have to live with this, and all of the ramifications of it, including, telling Joseph.) Gabriel responds (vs. 35-37),
And the angel answered her, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; therefore the child to be born will be called holy—the Son of God. And behold, your relative Elizabeth in her old age has also conceived a son, and this is the sixth month with her who was called barren. For nothing will be impossible with God.”
We are way into new territory here in the “blow your mind” category. What do you do with this? How do you respond to such an amazing, and seemingly impossible prophecy as this? Just like Mary did (vs. 38),
“And Mary said, ‘Behold, I am the servant of the Lord; let it be to me according to your word.’ And the angel departed from her.”
In faith—trusting God more than her eyes could see; and by obedience—lived out in love by quickly and cheerfully obeying God Mary said ‘Yes’ to God. Just like we should step out in faith as we follow Jesus.
One final question, can anyone confirm this—it still seems too good to be true?
What kind of confirmation would you need? What if God were to tell you Himself, would this help? Good, because He does. In Matthew 3 we read about Jesus’ baptism (vs. 16-17),
“After his baptism, as Jesus came up out of the water, the heavens were opened and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and settling on him. And a voice from heaven said, ‘This is my dearly loved Son, who brings me great joy.’”
The Messiah, the Christ, the Anointed One, the King…will be, and is—the Son of God.
Do you want to walk on this journey with us?
Subscribe here
(Read the previous blogs here)
Well, since we have stepped into the “really blow my mind” section of the prophecies about Christmas with “The Virgin will be with Child”; let’s up the ante a bit.
The prophecies that we are looking at give us clues as to who this Rescuer, the Messiah, the Christ—is. So, up to this point we have learned that the Messiah is someone God has planned to send even before He created everything. The Messiah is someone who is going to rescue us from Satan, sin, death, God’s judgement, and Hell. The Messiah will be someone who is born of a Virgin. (This is where we need to put on our sandals and stop for a moment and imagine ourselves in their day and age…’that’s just not possible, how would that be?’) And then…
In Psalm 2 we are given a picture of nations conspiring against God and trying to overthrow His rule (sound familiar?) God’s response to the threat of humankind’s rebellion? He laughs and rebukes them and tells them that He has installed His King on His holy mountain. Now, this is important for us because God is telling Israel about the Messiah, the Christ (the Anointed One), the Rescuer. Psalm 2:7 says,
“The king proclaims the Lord’s decree: ‘The Lord said to me, ‘You are my son. Today I have become your Father.’”
The Messiah, the Christ—the Anointed One. When kings were installed, or chosen by God to become king, they were anointed. This meant that a flask of olive oil, which had been seasoned by some beautiful spices, was poured over the head of the one who was to be king. It was a sign from God that this person had been chosen to rule as God’s representative. The king was to make a copy of the law that God gave, and was to study it regularly so that he would rule the way God wanted him to rule. This passage not only lets us know that the king God is installing will be His Son. God's Son...
Whoa. Now that definitely falls into the “really blow my mind” category of prophecy. There are so many tangents that I could run down at this moment…but let me look at one. Deuteronomy 6:4 says,
“Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one.”
God is doing something new. He is letting people know who He is, and that the Messiah is going to be His Son. OK, now some things are making more sense, and others are really stretching our understanding of who God is and what He is doing. Matthew 1:26-33 says,
In the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent from God to a city of Galilee named Nazareth, to a virgin betrothed to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David. And the virgin's name was Mary. And he came to her and said, “Greetings, O favored one, the Lord is with you!” But she was greatly troubled at the saying, and tried to discern what sort of greeting this might be. And the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus. He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. And the Lord God will give to him the throne of his father David, and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of his kingdom there will be no end.”
Now we are seeing the other half of the story. Mary is greeted by the angel Gabriel, and she is told that she is going to have a son who will rule on the throne of his father David…Forever.
There are a bunch of questions that can be asked here, but I think we should let Mary lead the way for us (vs. 34),
“And Mary said to the angel, “How will this be, since I am a virgin?”
There’s the question. That’s it! How in the world will this happen. (And, BTW, if this happens, she is going to have to live with this, and all of the ramifications of it, including, telling Joseph.) Gabriel responds (vs. 35-37),
And the angel answered her, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; therefore the child to be born will be called holy—the Son of God. And behold, your relative Elizabeth in her old age has also conceived a son, and this is the sixth month with her who was called barren. For nothing will be impossible with God.”
We are way into new territory here in the “blow your mind” category. What do you do with this? How do you respond to such an amazing, and seemingly impossible prophecy as this? Just like Mary did (vs. 38),
“And Mary said, ‘Behold, I am the servant of the Lord; let it be to me according to your word.’ And the angel departed from her.”
In faith—trusting God more than her eyes could see; and by obedience—lived out in love by quickly and cheerfully obeying God Mary said ‘Yes’ to God. Just like we should step out in faith as we follow Jesus.
One final question, can anyone confirm this—it still seems too good to be true?
What kind of confirmation would you need? What if God were to tell you Himself, would this help? Good, because He does. In Matthew 3 we read about Jesus’ baptism (vs. 16-17),
“After his baptism, as Jesus came up out of the water, the heavens were opened and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and settling on him. And a voice from heaven said, ‘This is my dearly loved Son, who brings me great joy.’”
The Messiah, the Christ, the Anointed One, the King…will be, and is—the Son of God.
Do you want to walk on this journey with us?
Subscribe here
Comments
Post a Comment