Selected Scriptures
Driving through the city of Atlanta at any time of the day can be a harrowing experience even for the most seasoned road warrior. In the heart of the city on I-75 there are 8 lanes of traffic going in each direction. As you move further out of town it narrows down to 6 lanes, then 4 lanes, and finally 2 lanes in each direction. Using this narrowing process as an analogy, I want you to think with me about the story of God’s redemptive plan that begins in Genesis and continually narrows until we arrive at the birth of the Christ Child….our Redeemer.
What many people don’t know is that the story of Jesus has its beginnings long before the Gospel writers penned their historical narratives. Like a major highway in a big city that is broad at some places with many lanes across, the story of Jesus actually begins with a broad pronouncement in the book of Genesis about a future coming Redeemer. His story periodically narrows throughout the biblical narrative until we reach Bethlehem on Christmas night.
After Adam and Eve had partaken of the forbidden fruit, all mankind was plunged under the terrible curse of sin. Nothing was left untainted by the consequences of their actions and mankind was suddenly separated from God. You might think that God would just write them off as a lost cause, but He didn’t. What comes next is what scholars and students of the Bible recognize as being the first mention of God’s unfolding plan to redeem mankind from his sin. Speaking to the serpent through whom Satan deceived Eve, God says…
“Because you have done this, You are cursed more than all cattle, And more than every beast of the field; On your belly you shall go, And you shall eat dust all the days of your life. And I will put enmity Between you and the woman, And between your seed and her Seed; He shall bruise your head, And you shall bruise His heel.” (Genesis 3:14-15)
This is the very first pronouncement about God's future redemptive plan and though it is broad in its prophecy, we learn some very important facts about God’s plan to restore mankind to Himself. For instance...
- His plan will be accomplished through a specific “Man” (“her Seed”).
- This “Man” will enter the world by being born to a woman.
- He will be at war with Satan throughout the course of His life.
- At a specific time, Satan will wound Him, but not destroy Him.
- This “Man,” however, will ultimately defeat Satan and be the Victor over him.
To call this coming “Man” the “Seed” of the woman is to indicate that this is not an angelic creature or some other non-human creation. It indicates that “the Seed” will come through the woman and be made like other human beings in some way. From the human perspective (because this is not “plan B” for God -- cf. Acts 2:23), this is the genesis of God’s redemptive work to bring about salvation for all mankind.
As the biblical account continues, the picture of God’s redemptive plan becomes even more specific with the story of Noah. He lived during a very wicked period of time, which further illustrated the continuing effects of Adam and Eve’s fall into sin. As a result, God destroyed every living human being with a catastrophic flood that covered the entire earth. Only Noah and his family survived on the ark he had built, along with the animals that were also saved. After a year of living in the confines of the Ark, they were commanded to leave it so they could multiply and replenish the earth. It’s at this point that God gives another clue as to the outworking of His redemptive purposes. He says that mankind’s redemption will come through the semitic people who were the descendants of Noah’s son, Shem.
“And he said: ‘Blessed be the Lord, The God of Shem, And may Canaan be his servant. May God enlarge Japheth, And may he dwell in the tents of Shem; And may Canaan be his servant.’” (Genesis 9:26-27)
Though Noah had three sons, this text is telling us that only through Shem would God send His Redeemer.
Again the “road” narrows in Genesis 12 where God specifically chose Abraham to be the father of the nation of Israel. When God called Abraham to leave his country and follow Him by faith to discover a land that would ultimately be the homeland of the Jewish people...Abraham obeyed God! He was also assured that his descendants would be so many in number that they couldn’t be counted...like the stars in the night sky. Even more significant is the fact that God said through Abraham the promise of a coming Redeemer would be fulfilled!
“I will make you a great nation; I will bless you, And make your name great; And you shall be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you, And I will curse him who curses you; And in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.” (Genesis 12:2-3)
It is with Abraham that God makes this covenant that through his descendants would come the Redeemer, so that through him, “all the families of the earth [would] be blessed.” We know this promise concerned the coming of the Messiah that was first announced in Genesis 3:15.
As this road continues to narrow, we learn that God’s promise of a Redeemer would only come through a son born to Abraham and Sarah. Though this couple was well passed the child-bearing age, God miraculously gave them a son when Abraham was 100 and Sarah was 90 years of age. And, it is through this specific son (Isaac) that God’s promised redemptive plan would continue unfolding.
It is at this point that the biblical narrative again brings us to another narrowing point concerning the two sons of Isaac: Esau and Jacob. The custom was for the oldest son (Esau) to receive the rights from his father of his promised inheritance from God. However, Esau sold his rights to his conniving brother, Jacob. Would God honor this agreement? He did and because of this transaction, Jacob became the lineage through whom the Redeemer would ultimately come.
During a late night vision at Bethel of a ladder extending from Heaven to earth, Jacob was assured that he was the line through whom God’s redemption would pass. And, he had the same basic promise given to him that had been made earlier to his father and grandfather.
“Then he dreamed, and behold, a ladder was set up on the earth, and its top reached to heaven; and there the angels of God were ascending and descending on it. And behold, the Lord stood above it and said: ‘I am the Lord God of Abraham your father and the God of Isaac; the land on which you lie I will give to you and your descendants. Also your descendants shall be as the dust of the earth; you shall spread abroad to the west and the east, to the north and the south; and in you and in your seed all the families of the earth shall be blessed. Behold, I am with you and will keep you wherever you go, and will bring you back to this land; for I will not leave you until I have done what I have spoken to you.’” (Genesis 28:12-15)
Jacob would ultimately have twelve sons whose descendants would become known as the twelve tribes of Israel. The question before us now is through which one of these sons was the promised Redeemer to come? Because of the sinfulness of the three oldest brothers (Reuben, Simeon and Levi), God chose Judah to be the lineage of His promised Messiah. Listen to the promise God made to him…
“Judah, you are he whom your brothers shall praise; Your hand shall be on the neck of your enemies; Your father’s children shall bow down before you. Judah is a lion’s whelp; From the prey, my son, you have gone up. He bows down, he lies down as a lion; And as a lion, who shall rouse him? The scepter shall not depart from Judah, nor a lawgiver from between his feet, until Shiloh comes… (Genesis 49:8-10)
What does God mean when He says, “until Shiloh comes?” One scholar writes, “Shiloh is an obscure word, probably meaning the one “To Whom It Belongs.” That is, until the One to whom all royal authority belongs comes, the tribe of Judah will always have a lawgiver in its ranks (Is. 9:1–6). Shiloh, like Seed (Genesis 3:15), is a name for the coming Messiah.”
There is another narrowing point just ahead as we arrive at the very crucial intersection with the well-known King David (1 Samuel 16). It’s at this place in the story that we meet again the promise of God about the coming Redeemer. And, this should come as no surprise to anyone familiar with this unfolding story; this once shepherd boy, youngest son of Jesse and now King of Israel, is from the tribe of Judah. As you are about to hear, something very special is happening as God forges a covenant with King David.
Moreover I will appoint a place for My people Israel, and will plant them, that they may dwell in a place of their own and move no more; nor shall the sons of wickedness oppress them anymore, as previously, since the time that I commanded judges to be over My people Israel, and have caused you to rest from all your enemies. Also the Lord tells you that He will make you a house...And your house and your kingdom shall be established forever before you. Your throne shall be established forever. (2 Samuel 7:10-11, 16)
As you can tell, these promises are very specific and have far-reaching implications beyond just the time of David’s reign in Israel. They have to also refer to a reign and a King that will last forever...something not true for David himself. There is only One Person that can completely fulfill this covenant and that's the coming Messiah. In essence, God promises David that a time will come when the Prince of Peace will sit on the throne of David and rule the nations of the earth! This is an inviolable promise from God that is yet to be fulfilled in it’s literal sense!
What we learn through all of these junctures is that we have moved from a very general promise about a coming Redeemer from the human race to tracing His lineage to specific descendants chosen by God (Shem, Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Judah and David), so that we arrive at a place where we can find the One that will ultimately reign forever! Each of these stops along this road has narrowed the focus so as to bring us to the city of Bethlehem and a very unique person...Jesus!
There are many interesting things that can be learned about Jesus from the Old Testament prophecies. But, one of the most significant ones concerns the means by which the Messiah would be delivered into this world...i.e., a virgin birth!
“Therefore the Lord Himself will give you a sign: Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a Son, and shall call His name Immanuel.” (Isaiah 7:14)
As this prophecy clearly indicates, this One to be born is no ordinary human being!! There is something very special about Him that clearly identifies Him as the coming Messiah...our Redeemer. He is to be both supernatural (born of a virgin) and fully human (born of a woman). This is our first glimpse at the truth about the dual natures of Christ that are perfectly blended into this one Person...fully man and fully God.
One other detail to help further narrow our journey in identifying the coming Redeemer concerns the birthplace where He will enter the world.
“But you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, though you are little among the thousands of Judah, yet out of you shall come forth to Me The One to be Ruler in Israel, whose goings forth are from of old, from everlasting.” (Micah 5:2)
Having looked at all of these details, the only Person that can meet all of the criteria is Jesus Christ. He was born in an obscure place named Bethlehem. He was born of the virgin Mary and was both fully human and fully divine. He was of the lineage of David, Judah, Jacob, Isaac, Abraham and Shem. And, each of these things (and others that could be mentioned) only serves to bring us back to the very first promise about a coming Redeemer in Genesis 3:15.
To take these thoughts one step further, listen to the words of the Apostle Paul about God’s perfect plan of redemption that fulfilled all of these prophecies at exactly the right moment in history!
“But when the fullness of the time had come, God sent forth His Son, born of a woman, born under the law, to redeem those who were under the law, that we might receive the adoption as sons.” (Galatians 4:4-5)
When we think about Christmas it should breathe hope into our fallen and broken world! God could have, but did not give up on mankind and simply leave him to his own sinful demise. Instead, He set in motion a redemptive plan that would free mankind from the penalty of sin and ultimately remove them from the very presence of sin.
Consequently, It is appropriate for us to say that HOPE was born on Christmas Day. When Christ came to us in Bethlehem, He came to be our Savior. Just think about the ways Christ brought hope to people who were otherwise hopeless.
- He brought hope to the demoniac when he delivered him from the demons that caused him to run through the tombs naked, cutting himself, and screaming at the top of his voice.
- He brought hope to the woman at the well when everyone else had given up on her by offering her the gift of “living water” so she would never have to thirst again.
- He brought hope to the woman with an issue of blood that had spent her whole life and life savings trying to find a cure but was healed when she touched the hem of His garment.
- He brought hope to the hungry when He had the people sit down on the grass and multiplied the food so that everyone ate until they were full.
- He brought hope to the widow whose son had died when He called him to get up out of the bier.
- He brought hope to the lepers when He healed them and sent them away to be ceremonially cleansed and accepted back into society.
- He brought hope to the crippled man at the pool of Siloam when He told him to take up his bed and walk.
- He brought hope to the blind and the deaf when He gave them their sight and hearing.
- He brought hope to Mary and Martha when He raised their brother from the dead after four days in the grave.
- He brought hope to Mary Magdalene when He delivered her from the possession of demonic spirits.
- He brought hope to the Centurion when He healed his servant girl by His word.
- He brought hope to Peter when He restored him to fellowship after cursing and denying Him three times during His trials.
- He brought hope to the disciples when they were on the storm-tossed waters of the Sea of Galilee and He spoke peace to the wind and waves.
- He brought hope to the leader of the synagogue when He raised his daughter from the dead.
- He brought hope to everyone when He was born in Bethlehem to seek and to save the lost.
- He brought hope to all mankind when He died on the cross for our sins and rose again the third day.
Listen to the words of this passage. Now may the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, that you may abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit. (Romans 15:13)
Maybe instead viewing the light of Christmas as shining IN on the birth of the Christ child, we should think of it as shining OUT from the Christ child...to those that sit in darkness.
One author, writing about a painting done by the famous artist Rembrandt, says, “This week I had an opportunity to study a famous painting by the Dutch artist Rembrandt called ‘The Adoration of the Shepherds.’ Painted in 1646, it depicts his vision of what it was like for the shepherds to see the baby Jesus. The painting is dark because it is a night scene inside what appears to be a barn. The dark tones force the viewer to study the images carefully. In the center is the Babe in the feeding trough. Mary is by his side, Joseph not far away. The shepherds are gathered around, intently studying the baby whose birth was announced by the angelic choir. If you look into the gloom, you can see outlines of the sheep. The shepherds couldn’t leave their sheep outside so they brought them into the barn with them. To the right there is a rickety ladder leaning through the shadows on a crossbeam. Next to the ladder is a rooster. Soon it hits you that the ladder and crossbeam make the dim outline of a cross, the rooster a symbol of betrayal in the distant future. Even in this joyous moment, the cross looms over the baby Jesus. But the most significant feature is the light. Unlike other Renaissance artists, Rembrandt didn’t paint Jesus as an angel with a halo. He is a very normal, very human baby. All is dark in the painting except for the baby in the manger. The light isn’t shining on the baby; it’s shining out from him. This was Rembrandt’s way of saying that all hope and light shines from the manger, lighting up a darkened world.”
On Christmas day hope was born for ALL mankind! Christmas is not just a season of miracles, love and humility. Christmas is also a season of hope...of light shining out on hopeless mankind. No matter where you’ve been or what you’ve done, there’s Light shining from out of Bethlehem that will lead you to the Savior of the world...if you’ll just follow it!
Ask Christ to let hope be born in your hearts this Christmas season!!
