Christmas: The Promises of God
During advent season, many pastors retell the Christmas story to their congregants. It is a blessing to hear afresh the narrative of how our Lord came to earth, answering the long-awaited hopes of His people. After 400 years of silence, the angels sang praise of His immanent arrival to shepherds. One my favorite decorations I set up is the nativity. I’ve collected pieces over the years that visually express how the story unfolds in the synoptic gospels.
This year, I’m reflecting on a more distant part of the Christmas story, the one that started in Genesis 3, where our ancestors ate of a tree in disobedience and sin entered the world. The curse was upon the earth and humanity has suffered in sin ever since. Genesis 3:15 predicts the enmity between humankind and its oppressor to end when the Offspring will come who will crush his head, rendering the snake, one symbol of Satan found in scripture, ineffective. 1 John 3:8 says the reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the devil’s work. Throughout the Bible, God describes the coming King who would be born in humility and the work He would do.
The baby we celebrate at Christmas was anticipated because all the promises of God find their yes in Him. The Bible is a story about the great plan of God to rescue His people. The Jesus Story Book Bible’s advent resources says it this way:
All through the Bible, all through the long years, God has been waiting for exactly the right time to send his great gift. He has been waiting for Christmas!
From the moment Adam and Eve left the garden he whispered the promise, “It will not always be so.” To Abraham, he promised one day a child will come to bring laughter to the whole world. He promised Joseph, David, Isaiah. One day, he will send us a Good Shepherd. A Brave Hero. A Young Prince. A Mighty King. A Great Rescuer.
A Child.
And every story whispers His name.
Christmas is when, at last, everything is ready. The time has come, at last, for God to give us his great gift[1].
As you read the following verses, reflect on the God’s plan and how Jesus fulfills every promise made by the Father.
“I will bless those who bless you,
and whoever curses you I will curse;
and all peoples on earth
will be blessed through you” (Genesis 12:3).
All peoples of the earth are blessed through Christ[2]. His gift of salvation is for all people, not just those of Israel. All can experience the joy of salvation and peace with God.
“The scepter will not depart from Judah,
nor the ruler’s staff from between his feet,
until he to whom it belongs shall come
and the obedience of the nations shall be his” (Genesis 49:10).
Jesus is a king. He came from the line of Judah[3] to save and serve a people by removing the penalty of sin from their life. As believers, our obedience comes by a transformed spirit, as He works within us to give us His will and heart of through the Spirit.
“When your days are over and you rest with your ancestors, I will raise up your offspring to succeed you, your own flesh and blood, and I will establish his kingdom. He is the one who will build a house for my Name, and I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever” (2 Samuel 7:12–13).
The King who came and is coming again rules an eternal kingdom. Death isn’t the end for Jesus or the people[4]. He calls His people a house[5] as they will live with Him forever[6].
“So Moses made a bronze snake and put it up on a pole. Then when anyone was bitten by a snake and looked at the bronze snake, they lived” (Numbers 21:9).
“Then Moses summoned all the elders of Israel and said to them, ‘Go at once and select the animals for your families and slaughter the Passover lamb. Take a bunch of hyssop, dip it into the blood in the basin and put some of the blood on the top and on both sides of the doorframe.
‘None of you shall go out of the door of your house until morning. When the Lord goes through the land to strike down the Egyptians, he will see the blood on the top and sides of the doorframe and will pass over that doorway, and he will not permit the destroyer to enter your houses and strike you down.
‘Obey these instructions as a lasting ordinance for you and your descendants. When you enter the land that the Lord will give you as he promised, observe this ceremony. And when your children ask you, “What does this ceremony mean to you?” then tell them, ‘”t is the Passover sacrifice to the Lord, who passed over the houses of the Israelites in Egypt and spared our homes when he struck down the Egyptians.”‘ Then the people bowed down and worshiped” (Exodus 12:21–27).
There are so many pictures of Christ in the Old Testament for us to gaze in awe at God’s perfect plan; in the previous two verse we see pictures of Jesus that create anticipation. When we look to the baby in the manager, we are looking at the Son of Man who was lifted up for the salvation of all[7]. Like the lamb in the exodus story, our Passover lamb has been sacrificed.[8] Jesus gave us the greatest gift—Himself, and as we remember the Christmas story, we rejoice in what He came to do.
Oh, that my words were recorded,
that they were written on a scroll,
that they were inscribed with an iron tool on lead,
or engraved in rock forever!
I know that my redeemer lives,
and that in the end he will stand on the earth.
And after my skin has been destroyed,
yet in my flesh I will see God;
I myself will see him
with my own eyes—I, and not another.
How my heart yearns within me!” (Job 19:23–27)
Does your heart yearn to be with the Redeemer, the one who will stand on the earth? His voice gives life to dead people. John explains the phenomenon of how those without skin will see God in the flesh as those in the graves will come out when they hear His voice[9].
On this mountain he will destroy
the shroud that enfolds all peoples,
the sheet that covers all nations;
he will swallow up death forever.
The Sovereign Lord will wipe away the tears
from all faces;
he will remove his people’s disgrace
from all the earth.
The Lord has spoken” (Isaiah 25:7–8).
I long to experience life without tears, as my nature is changed and sin reigns no more. There will be no more tears because they will be no more death[10].
“For I will pour water on the thirsty land,
and streams on the dry ground;
I will pour out my Spirit on your offspring,
and my blessing on your descendants” (Isaiah 44:3)
The people of God get to experience living water. Like Jesus offered the Samaritan woman at the well[11], all of us go through life unsatisfied and seeking apart from union with Him. This longing is only quenched in Jesus. Though He has ascended to the Father, He has sent the Spirit to His people. [12]
“In my vision at night I looked, and there before me was one like a son of man, coming with the clouds of heaven. He approached the Ancient of Days and was led into his presence. He was given authority, glory and sovereign power; all nations and peoples of every language worshiped him. His dominion is an everlasting dominion that will not pass away, and his kingdom is one that will never be destroyed” (Daniel 7:13–14).
Ultimately the story of Christmas is not over. The perfect gift of God, which we reenact each December by giving and receiving lesser gifts, is coming again. The Ancient of Days who was, and is, is to come. In Christ, all God’s promises are fulfilled.
Reflection:
-Have you ever considered the Christmas story to be part of a bigger story?
-Which verse in this post spoke a promise fulfilled you needed to hear?
-Who and how can you share the gift of Jesus with this year?
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[1] From the advent storybook bible supplement, pg. 3
https://cdn.thebridgemarkham.com/2021/11/jesus-storybook-bible-advent-2021.pdf
[2] Acts 3:25-26
[3] Luke 3:33
[4] Acts 2:24, Romans 8:11; 1 Corinthians 15:50-58
[5] Ephesians 2:21-22
[6] Psalm 23:6
[7] John 3:14-18
[8] 1 Corinthians 5:7
[9] John 5: 28-29
[10] 1 Corinthians 15:54
[11] John 4
[12] John 16:7
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