Thursday, December 7, 2017

Dec 8 - Luke 2:4-5)

 

Joseph also went up from Galilee,

out of the city of Nazareth,

into Judea, to the city of David,

which is called Bethlehem,

because he was of the house

and lineage of David,

to be registered with Mary,

his betrothed wife,

who was with child.

Luke 2:4-5

 

            Adult Message …

 

Yesterday, we started talking about how Jesus fulfilled hundreds of prophecies. Today’s verses, in an economy of words, reference a few of these prophecies specifically – he’d be born in Bethlehem (Micah 5:2), his roots would be in Nazareth (Isaiah 11:1), and he’d be from the line of King David (2 Sam 7:12-16).

 

In other words, these verses point us backward … to … a God who points us forward.

 

We’re in the season of Advent. That’s what Advent does too. As a season, Advent mostly points us backward in order to assure us that what’s ahead is equally – if not even more – glorious!

 

Or to put this another way: The theme of Advent is not that Christ came in the past. The theme is that he will come (again) in the future. Therefore, Advent points forward and backward, but much of the point of pointing backward to the fulfillment of all the prophecies in the past is to give us a hunger to know what God has waiting for us in the future.

 

So let me point backward – for just a moment -- to look at one short week of past-tense history: During the final week of Jesus’ life on earth, what did our Lord and Savior spend his time doing? Well, on a Sunday, Jesus entered Jerusalem – we call this Palm Sunday – and by Friday noon, he was hanging on a cross.

 

My question today is, What did he do in between?

 

The answer: He spent most of his time prophesying!

 

Let me give you a few examples …

 

·         After Jesus entered Jerusalem, the first thing he did was cleanse the Temple (Mt 21:12-17). Jesus turned over booths, chased out the moneychangers, and, in a sense, prophesied that the old sacrificial system had not only been corrupted, but was about to come to an end! (And that end was through the New Covenant and Jesus’ once-and-for-all sacrifice upon the cross.)

 

·         Next, he cursed a fig tree (21:18-22), prophesying in a sense that the Old Covenant (symbolized by the persistent failure of God’s people to bear true fruit under) would soon wither and die. (And he didn’t speak it here, but it’s clear that Jesus had prophesied that a New Covenant and a new fruitfulness and hopefulness among God’s people was soon coming into being.)

 

·         Next, Jesus’ authority is questioned (21:23-27). And how does he respond? He essentially compares himself to a prophet! In comparing himself to the recent prophet, John the Baptist, Jesus was establishing again for himself prophetic authority. (Sure, as the Messiah, the Son of God, Jesus was greater than a mere prophet, but along with Priest and King, Prophet was one of Christ’s primary roles!)

 

So far, Jesus has cleansed the temple, pointed to his prophetic authority, and heralded the end of the Old Covenant and the inauguration of the New. Then he starts telling parables …

 

·         The first parable – the Parable of the Two Sons (21:28-32) – is a prophecy of judgment. Jesus is saying that some people say the right things, but ultimately do not do what their father (the Father) commands. This is an indictment of Israel’s failures.

 

·         Next is the Parable of the Wicked Tenants (21:33-46). It too is a prophecy of judgment upon those who will – in just a day or two – reject the landowner (God the Father) by killing his son, the heir (the Son of God).

 

·         Similarly, in the Parable of the Wedding Banquet (22:1-14), the father’s (the Father’s) invitation to the marriage feast of his son (the Son) is rejected. Israel – nor you or I – should reject the invitation of the Father. But Jesus was prophesying that the scribes and Pharisees and most of God’s people were about to do just this.

 

Alright, this is enough for today. (More will come tomorrow and the next day.) But what have we seen so far? Matthew 21 and 22 recorded short-term prophecy. And it was almost immediately fulfilled! By the end of the week, “Jerusalem, the city that kills the prophets” (23:37) had put the Son / the heir to death.

 

Now, what should this do? If Jesus’ immediate prophecies were fulfilled, this should give us confidence to trust the rest of the prophecies that Jesus unfold on those few short days between Palm Sunday and Good Friday. (In other words, stay tuned tomorrow!)

 

In Christ’s Love,

a guy who loves Advent

because it enacts precisely

what I encouraged you to do –

We are encouraged to trust future

prophecies (Christ’s coming again)

because other long-awaited prophecies

(the coming of the Messiah at Christmas)

have already been fulfilled

 

            Children’s Message …

 

Let’s start with three key words or phrases: “Nazareth,” “Bethlehem,” and “ancestral line of King David.”

 

So if you see these three terms in today’s verse. It says, “Joseph … [along] with Mary ... who was with child … went … out of … Nazareth, into … the city … called Bethlehem, because he was of the house and lineage of David (Luke 2:4-5). Did you hear those three words?

 

·         Where were Jesus’ roots? Nazareth. Well, did you know that prophecy said his roots would be in Nazareth (Isaiah 11:1)?

·         Where was Jesus born? Bethlehem. Did you know that prophecy said that he’d be born in Bethlehem (Micah 5:2)?

·         Who was Jesus’ famous, kingly ancestor? He was a descendent of King David (who’d lived a thousand years before Jesus was born). Well, did you know that prophecy also said that Jesus would be from the line of David (2 Sam 7:12-16)?

 

In other words, these verses point us backward … to … a God who points us forward.

 

That’s what Advent does too. Advent mostly points us backward … but for a purpose. Advent wants to show that if old prophecies of Jesus’ first coming could be trusted, then we should trust prophecies of his second coming too.

 

In Jesus’ final week on earth – between Palm Sunday and Good Friday – do you know what he spent much of his time doing? The Bible says that Jesus spent much of this week telling his disciples that one day he would return to earth in glory to make all things right and new.

 

Discussion Questions:

 

1.       What is prophecy?

2.    Do you tend to trust in it? Why or why not?

3.    We’ll look at this more in coming days, but what do you think it will be like when Jesus comes again?

 

 

 

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