Many years ago in a small nation that was composed of a
once nomadic people, a voice rang out declaring hope and good news. This people who walked in spiritual and
emotional darkness were promised that they would experience a great light.
The message was spoken in the name and authority of the
Sovereign God of all creation, the one God, Lord and Shepherd of Israel. The glory of these marvelous words echoed and
resounded among the people, “For to us a child is to be born, to us a son is
given; and the government will be upon His shoulder, and His name will be
called ‘Wonderful Counselor, Almighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of
Peace.’”
Through this promise of a messianic King, hope was
offered to all who heard. They were
encouraged that God’s grace and mercy would come upon them. They were strengthened to face and endure
their struggle, knowing that God had not abandoned them.
Years and centuries passed, and the generations held on
to God’s promise of the light of salvation that would free them and all
humanity from the darkness. Finally in
an obscure village in a backward part of the evolving Roman
Empire , a child was born.
The young mother had been told by a divine messenger that the baby
within her womb was to be called Jesus, Yeshua, Savior. Furthermore, the messenger declared, “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 for ever; and His kingdom will be everlasting.”
The promised holy child was finally a reality. However, this child of God’s Light was born
into the world in a lowly manger, hidden in the bowels of an obscure
village. The only announcement of the
birth was heralded to a band of shepherds watching over their sheep on a
hillside outside the small village. Little
other notice was taken of the child until two years later upon the arrival of
wise men from the East seeking out the “new born king of the Jews.”
The ruling king of the region took notice only of the
information shared with him by the wise men, because he was eager not to lose
his control and status to some young competitor. He failed to recognize the possibilities of
God’s promise fulfilled in his kingdom. With lack of insight, the king decreed
that all male children two years old or under would be slaughtered. Because of their lack of notoriety the young mother,
her husband, and the child were able to quietly slip out from the village and
flee their homeland and the imminent disaster.
Once the king died the family was eventually able to make
their return to their home. In the next
years the child grew and was raised as a carpenter’s son, by His mother’s
husband. Nearly thirty years, old, He
started to preach encouraging His people to humble themselves before God. He only traveled within the three years of
his ministry to a few towns and villages proclaiming God’s message of
redemption. What little notoriety He
received caused the powers of the state to turn against Him, sentencing Him to death
as a threat to the religious and political systems. God’s fulfilled promise of Light was
seemingly extinguished by the fearful who condemned Him to a shameful
execution. The Light ridiculed and
rejected, now dead and buried.
As we enter into this time of year where we celebrate
God’s promise fulfilled in the child born in the manager, let us remember that
the story does not end with the birth nor with the death of this anointed
One. Today the world of six billion
people is still affected by this simple, yet, complex figure who entered time
almost unnoticed. The story has not
diminished in its power. The message
still carries with it hope and excitement.
For to us and all of humanity, God’s promise has been fulfilled. A child was born who brought within Him the Light
of God’s salvation to our world of darkness.
Through His death we are redeemed.
Furthermore, through the mystery and glory of His resurrection from the
dead, and His ascension into heaven, we are assured of God’s power and
grace.
Rejoice, for God has shown His faithfulness and steadfast
love by giving us a true reason to celebrate.
The great Light has come and is still shinning in our world!
In the Love of Jesus the
Messiah, God’s fulfilled promise,
Mark
