Wednesday, December 19, 2018

The Virgin shall give birth to Emmanuel.

"The virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and shall name him Emmanuel."  (Isaiah 7: 14).

What do we know about the true and full identity of the Emmanuel?

"He will be great and will be called Son of the Most High, and the Lord God will give him the throne of David his father,  and he will rule over the house of Jacob forever, and of his kingdom there will be no end.”  (Luke 1: 32 - 33).

Emmanuel is Son of God.
He has a throne. Therefore He is King.
He will rule over the House of Jacob forever.
His Kingdom (the House of Jacob) will last forever.

We know that Jesus had magnificent obsession for the theme of the Kingdom. The Annunciation of the Archangel Gabriel to Mary reveals some of the characteristics of this mysterious Kingdom. The new born King will be radically different from our ideas of kingship.  He will be born of a poor virgin girl from Nazareth in a stable. Before He was two, He will be running for His life to Egypt as a refugee.  His public ministry will be no different from the lowliness of His childhood.

What is the ultimate lesson in this sketch of Jesus?  The Jesus of the Bible and the Jesus of the Church can only be apprehended through faith. The shepherds, the Magi, Simeon and Anna, the Centurion, the Good Thief, etc all have something in common. They looked beyond the physical appearance and material circumstances of Jesus to see Jesus, the Son of God.  Christmas gives us the opportunity to examine our faith.
Do you have absolute confidence in the promises of God?  Then you are ready to meet the Real Jesus at Christmas.

"Let the Lord enter; he is the king of glory."  (Psalm 24: 7, 10).

"O Key of David, opening the gates of God’s eternal Kingdom: come and free the prisoners of darkness!"

"Nothing will be impossible for God.”  (Luke 1: 37).

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