The Gospel Coalition

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Believe it or not, the promises were definitely still there. In fact, God kept on making more promises all the time. God promised that the Snake-Crusher, Abraham’s child, Judah’s lion, David’s Son would come from Bethlehem. God promised he would be born of a virgin. God promised a messenger to prepare the way. God promised that the Deliverer would save Israel and be a light to the nations. God promised lots of amazing things.

But Israel was too busy disobeying God’s commands and ignoring God’s warnings to notice. God sent miraculous prophets like Elijah and Elisha and rebuking prophets like Amos and Malachi and sad prophets like Jeremiah and good news prophets like Isaiah. It didn’t matter which ones God sent or how many, the people never listened. Not for very long anyway.

And so one day it happened that God stopped sending the prophets. No more warnings. No more direction. No more word from the Lord. Only silence. For four hundred years. God had sent prophets, priests, and kings; he tried starting out and starting over with Adam and Noah; he chose Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob; he gave Moses the law; he sent Israel judges; he raised up deliverers; he conquered enemies; he provided sacrifices; he lived among them in a tent and in a temple; God gave his people every opportunity and ten thousand chances, but still sin and the serpent seemed to be winning.

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Until…all of a sudden, they lost.

Which brings us at last to Christmas. This is where we meet the new Adam, the child of Abraham, and the Son of David. It’s at Christmas where we see the real Deliverer, the real Judge, the real Conqueror. No one understood it completely at the time, but when Mary pushed out that baby, God pushed into the world the long-expected Prophet, Priest, and King. God gave his people a new law, a new temple, and a new sacrifice. Best of all, he gave his people a new beginning.

Of course, some things were different than people had expected. The stable with the animals and  the scandal with Mary were surprises.  But the biggest surprise what that the Chosen One of God was chosen by God to die. It just didn’t seem right that the one destined to crush the serpent would be crushed himself. So when Jesus, the Christ, the Son of the living God, died, it seemed a shocking evil beyond belief. And it was. The worst thing that’s ever happened in the world.

But also the best. Just as we would expect from God. And just as God planned it.

We break promises, so God keeps his. We run from God, so he comes to us. We suffer for sin, so the Savior suffers for us. The history of our Story is the story of God doing what we can’t in order to make up for us doing what we shouldn’t. And so deliverers are born to die. Things fall apart so they can come together. God kicks his own people out of paradise and then does whatever it takes to bring them back again.

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The story of Christmas is a wonderful story. It’s a familiar story. And it’s a true story. But it’s not the beginning of the story. As we’ve seen, it’s actually the beginning of the end of the story that we are still in the middle of.

We needed a Savior. So God promised a Savior. And God sent a Savior. “You shall call his name Jesus,” the angel told Joseph, “for he will save his people from their sins.” That’s why he came. That’s why he reigns. That’s why we follow him. Because that little baby in the straw is the One God said would come, the One who is coming again, and the One who loves us even more than we love Christmas.