Our Savior is here - the birth of the King!

  If the Old Testament communicates God's message that, 'A Savior is Coming!', then the New Testament, announces, 'Our Savior is Here!'  -

 Luke 2 - announcing to shepherds near the site of Jesus' birth:
"That night there were shepherds staying in the fields nearby, guarding their flocks of sheep. Suddenly, an angel of the Lord appeared among them, and the radiance of the Lord’s glory surrounded them. They were terrified, but the angel reassured them. 'Don’t be afraid!' he said. 'I bring you good news that will bring great joy to all people. The Savior—yes, the Messiah, the Lord—has been born today in Bethlehem, the city of David! And you will recognize Him by this sign: You will find a Baby wrapped snugly in strips of cloth, lying in a feed trough.'
Suddenly, the angel was joined by a vast host of others—the armies of heaven—praising God and saying, 'Glory to God in highest heaven, and peace on earth to those with whom God is pleased.'”

Matthew 2 - announcing to the people of Israel:
"Jesus was born in Bethlehem in Judea, during the reign of king Herod. About that time some wise men from eastern lands arrived in Jerusalem, asking, 'Where is the newborn King of the Jews? We saw His star as it rose, and we have come to worship Him.'
King Herod was deeply disturbed when he heard this, as was everyone in Jerusalem. He called a meeting of the leading priests and teachers of religious law and asked, 'Where is the Messiah supposed to be born?'
'In Bethlehem in Judea,' they said, 'for this is what the prophet wrote:
And you, O Bethlehem in the land of Judah, are not least among the ruling cities of Judah, for a Ruler will come from you Who will be the Shepherd for My people, Israel.’"
 
Our Savior is here! Jesus’ life, His death and resurrection and His Spirit’s Presence in the heart of every believer, all announce that He is the expected Savior. ‘But these have been written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that believing you may have life in His Name.’ John 20:31

Merry Christmas!

And we watch expectantly looking forward to His promised return and reign as King!
'But as it is, He has appeared once for all at the end of the ages to put away sin by the sacrifice of Himself ... so Christ, having been offered once to bear the sins of many, 
will appear a second time, not to deal with sin 
but to save those who are eagerly waiting for Him.'  Hebrews 9:26,28

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Old Meets New (the Covenants reviewed)

Image
   God’s covenants throughout   the Old Testament promise ‘A Savior is coming.’  God's Promise in His rainbow to Noah speaks of His judgment but His mercy as well. God would raise up through Abraham a special people through which He would show the world His acts of faithfulness, blessing and salvation. In the Mosaic Law God shows His ways for us to live together with Him and with each other. Even with God's near Presence we fail miserably, but God's Way offers forgiveness. To David God Promised an anointed One, a King, Who would be a Savior - for Israel, and for all nations. God fulfilled all the promises of His covenants that He made even when people did not. Typically, each covenant was ratified with the blood of a sacrifice which declared, 'if I don't uphold my end of the bargain, then may I be slain like this sacrifice.' The Messiah would be the ultimate fulfillment of God's promise of an acceptable Sacrifice. His sacrifice would satisfy judgement...
Read more

Abraham and the Lamb

Image
  Abraham and Isaac - Matthew 1:2, Genesis 22 “And Abraham said, ‘God, Himself, will provide  the lamb  for the burnt offering, my son.’ ... And Abraham looked up and behind him he saw a ram, caught in a thicket by his horns."  Genesis 22:8,13 Throughout the Old Testament, God revealed Himself and His plan to men and women stirring their hearts to trust Him as God. Instead of Abraham offering up his son, Isaac, as a sacrifice to God ... God, Himself, would one day provide the pure and perfect Sacrifice in His Son, Jesus, to pay the penalty for our disobedience in unbelief. Isaac was to be the son through whom the Jewish nation would come, through whom Messiah, the Savior, would come - Genesis 21:12, 13. For the kids For teens
Read more

Rahab the harlot

Image
Joshua 2 & 6, Matthew 1:5     A red cloth hangs from a window opened high in a stone wall. The city, Jericho, is completely exposed. Its city walls collapsed ... except for one small section, the wall that houses the home of Rahab, the harlot. The refugee nation, Israel, had entered the Promised Land, Canaan, after fleeing Egypt and Jericho was the first city to be conquered. God had instructed the Israelites to march around the city and finally shout aloud. The walls of the city miraculously tumbled down.     After the defeat of the people of Jericho, all eyes turned to this one section of the wall still standing with  the scarlet rope of salvation  that had allowed two Israeli spies to escape days before - Rahab, the harlot, the foreigner, would be spared to become part of God's plan of salvation as an ancestor to Messiah.   “Then Joshua said to the two men who had spied out the land, 'Go into the harlot's house and bring the woman and all s...
Read more