The
Promised Savior from the line of David
The
first thing that jumped out to me is that Jesus is the Promised Savior from the
line of David.
In
the beginning of the passage, we see Joseph, who is from the line of David,
going to the town of Bethlehem because of a census. The author Luke
added these two simple facts for very significant reasons.
In
the Old Testament, God promised His servant David, that He will establish His
eternal Kingdom through his descendant (2 Samuel 7). And through Micah the
prophet (Micah 5:2), God promised that a ruler for Him will come from
Bethlehem.
So
by mentioning the simple facts that Joseph (who is Jesus’ earthly father) is
from the line of David; and that Jesus is born in Bethlehem; Luke is making a
point.
He
is telling his reader that Jesus is David’s descendant and He is THE Promised Messiah.
The Promised King of God’s eternal kingdom. The Promised Savior – who will save
all from sin and death. Jesus, the Promised Savior is born! What good news!
I
must confess that I often take the good news of God saving the world for
granted. I forget to meditate in my mind and feel in my heart – the good-ness
of God in saving me! But I was struck afresh by the good-ness of this good news
recently.
I
was holding Mya in my arms the other night. And as I look down upon her face, I
was overwhelmed by the beauty and purity embodied in this little baby. I know
she is a sinner. A little one. But a sinner nonetheless. Even so, she was this
picture of perfect innocence, peace, beauty and purity.
Suddenly
in an instance, I saw her life flash before my eyes. She will grow up, and
experience pain and suffering in this broken world. A result of sin in this
world, the sin of others, and her very own sin. And she will experience death –
the death of others, the death of her parents (us) and loved ones, and her own
death.
It
broke my heart. How can such purity and beauty be stained by pain and
suffering? And how can such peace and innocence be ravished by death? My heart
ached so badly. I don’t want her to experience any of that. I wish I could
protect her from all the pain. I don’t want her to suffer. I don’t want her to
experience death. I felt very strongly and clearly – “I hate pain. I hate
suffering. I hate death”. Yet, alongside these feelings, was an unmistakable
helplessness. There was NOTHING I can do about these inevitable experiences
that Mya will have.
When
Arthur came by and learnt what was causing me to cry, he comforted me saying, “There
is someone like you, you know. Someone who hated pain, suffering and death. And
He hated them even more than you. But the difference is, He could do something
about it, and He did. This is why God had to send His son. This is why Jesus
had to come. This is why we have Christmas. So that we’ll have a chance at
eternity with Mya.”
Indeed.
Christmas is God not letting sin, pain, suffering and death have the final
word. Christmas is Jesus doing something about that, so that we can have a
chance to be with our loved ones, in heaven forever. What good news! Thank God
for the Promised Messiah from the line of David!
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