He Is Christ the Lord – Advent Devotional

The word “advent” comes from the Latin word “adventus” and simply means “arrival” or “approach.” It usually carries with it the idea of hopeful anticipation—something good is coming! For Christians, “Advent” represents the four weeks before Christmas when we anticipate the arrival of our greatest hope—Jesus Christ, the Savior of the world!

I’ve always loved the Advent season. When I was a child, my parents would hang up a paperboard advent calendar on the first day of December. The calendars varied over the years, but my favorites were always those that appeared to be a single, unified picture. Then, when you looked closely, you could see tiny numbers indicating “doors” to be opened. Each day, one of my siblings or I would open that day’s door to reveal the picture behind it—a bird, a tree, a star, maybe a poem or Bible verse—a picture within a picture. For me, it was magical.

In some ways, the Bible is like those advent calendars. It is one big picture, one grand story from beginning to end. But hidden within that grand picture of God’s immeasurable love for his people are individual stories, episodes, prophesies and truths.

This year, as we prepare to celebrate Jesus’ coming, we thought it fitting to focus on the larger picture of God’s redemption in Christ. As a roadmap to that larger picture, we’ll consider the angel’s announcement of Jesus birth to the shepherds outside of Bethlehem:

Do not be afraid. I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is Christ the Lord. (Luke 2:10-11)

Each piece of this announcement is a door into the larger picture of God’s redemption in Christ. So, as you meditate on these narratives over the next few weeks, let each one remind you of the grand story of God’s deep, unmatched love for a broken and hurting world. And may the wonder of his love bring you great joy as you celebrate his coming.

Devotional

Do not be afraid. I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is Christ the Lord. (Luke 2:10-11)

One of the most beautiful things God repeatedly says in the story of Jesus’ birth is that his people do not need to be afraid. When the angel Gabriel comes to Zechariah to tell him that his wife Elizabeth will have a son, and he will prepare the way for the Messiah, the angel says, “Do not be afraid” (Luke 1:13). When the angel Gabriel comes to Mary and announces that she has been chosen to be the mother of God’s Son, he tells her, “Do not be afraid” (Luke 1:30). And when an angel of the Lord announces Jesus’ birth to the shepherds, he begins the message with, “Do not be afraid" (Luke 2:10). Even in situations that must have been bewildering, and more likely terrifying, God says, “Do not be afraid.” Why? Well, because in every situation, he is in control. His plan is in place. And he is bringing “good news of great joy that will be for all the people.” Something good is coming!

Not only were they not to be afraid in that moment, but as God’s plan developed in their lives, they were not to be afraid of the future. Zechariah and Elizabeth did not need to fear a pregnancy late in life or the sneers of those who doubted their story. Mary did not need to fear the ridicule she would receive for being pregnant out of wedlock or the possible rejection of her fiancé Joseph or worse, of her family and entire village. The shepherds did not need to fear going before a king, even in their lowly state.

This is our assurance as well.

One reason we don’t need to fear is because Jesus’ birth was not something God just came up with on a whim. In fact, the salvation Jesus brought at his incarnation goes all the way back to the first book of the Old Testament.

In Genesis 3:15, after Adam and Eve disobeyed God in the garden of Eden, God offered them a path to redemption. As he said to the serpent:

I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and hers; he will crush your head, and you will strike his heel. (Genesis 3:15)

Here, God explained that the offspring of the woman would crush the serpent’s head. Theologians commonly call this the proto-euangelion, or “first gospel,” because it was the first time in history that God revealed his plan to send a Redeemer to rescue humanity from the curse of sin. Throughout the Old Testament, the prophets predicted the coming of this Redeemer, and in the New Testament, God fulfilled his promise in the birth of Jesus.

For this reason, we celebrate Jesus’ birth every year. The “good news of great joy” (Luke 2:10) that accompanied his birth gives us great assurance that he really is God’s chosen Messiah and King. And he really will “save his people from their sins” (Matthew 1:21).

We do not need to be afraid.

Watch

Personal Appication

• Read Luke 1:1–2:40. What do God’s responses to the people’s fears in this passage tell you about the heart of God?
• What are you worried about or afraid of right now? Pray through each fear, asking God to give you peace and comfort.
• If you did not need to fear your future or be anxious about the way people react to you because you know that God is with you and is in control, how might that change the way you live and interact with other people?

Devotional

The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim liberty to the captives and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty those who are oppressed, to proclaim the year of the Lord's favor… Today this Scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing. (Luke 4:18-21)

When Jesus was born, the angel’s announcement of “good news of great joy” was more than just a call for the shepherds to be happy. It was the announcement that God had come to heal and free his people; the Messiah had been born! Later, Jesus confirmed this message of good news.

Near the beginning of his public ministry, Jesus went into a synagogue in his hometown of Nazareth in Galilee and read from Isaiah 61:1-2, a passage that is generally considered to anticipate the coming of the Messiah. He read:

The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim liberty to the captives and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty those who are oppressed, to proclaim the year of the Lord's favor. (Luke 4:18-19)

Luke tells us that “The eyes of all in the synagogue were fixed on him” (Luke 4:20).

I’ve always pictured a group of very learned Jewish scholars and rabbis sitting around, listening to Jesus reading, and nodding in approval. Then he says these words: “Today this Scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing” (Luke 4:21).

Wait. What?

Luke tells us that, at the time, “all spoke well of him and marveled at the gracious words that were coming from his mouth” (Luke 4:22). So, it would be natural to assume that these men were pleased with him. But then, in verse 24, Jesus reprimanded these same men by saying that a prophet is never accepted in his home town. Jesus knew his audience well. In verse 29, Luke tells us, “They rose up and drove him out of town… so that they could throw him down the cliff.” You don’t have to read too closely between the lines to know that they were not happy about his claim to be the Messiah.

But the events of Jesus’ public ministry—especially his miracles—were designed to prove that what he said in Luke 4 was true.

Jesus did miracles for a number of reasons. For one, having the character of God, he had great compassion for people. Matthew 9:36 says, “When he saw the crowds, he had compassion for them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd.” Bringing good news to the poor, proclaiming freedom for captives, healing the sick, were all evidence of our Lord’s great kindness and mercy. And this supernatural, undeserved compassion continues for us today.

But there was another reason Jesus did miracles.

In John 20:30-31, the apostle John tells us that “Jesus did many other signs in the presence of the disciples, which are not written in this book; but these are written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name.”

Jesus did not come to earth as a helpless baby just so he could heal a few people and feed some crowds for an afternoon. He came to earth to give us life in his name. And his miracles give us just a small taste of what that life will be like in eternity—no hunger, no captivity, no disease, no oppression, no poverty. The Spirit of the Lord really was upon him. He really did proclaim good news to the poor and liberty to the captives. He really did heal the blind and free the oppressed. And these reversals from sickness to health, from captivity to freedom, from poverty to fullness were all signs that he really was the Messiah.

We should note that in the Bible “poor” doesn’t always mean “without material wealth.” Jesus himself was poor in the worldly sense—he had no home, no possessions, he was born in a stable. But when Jesus said he came to bring good news to the poor, he was also talking about more than just lifting people out of their physical poverty.

In Jesus’ sermon on the mount, in Matthew 5:3, he said, “Blessed are the poor in spirit, because theirs is the kingdom of heaven.”

Dutch theologian Herman Ridderbos, in his book The Coming of the Kingdom, wrote:

It may be said that the concept “poor” is determined both socially and in a religious-ethical sense. But above all, this word derives its meaning from the fact that such “poor” … are the true people of God … in contrast to those who have fastened their hope upon this world.¹

Jesus had a heart for those in poverty, and he came to proclaim good news to them, but more than this, he brought good news to those who were poor in spirit—those who knew they needed him—regardless of whether or not they were materially poor. To the poor in spirit, he brought the good news of their inheritance in the kingdom of God.

As difficult as life may seem at times, if we believe in Jesus, he will give us abundant life in his name (John 10:10). Our darkness will turn to light (John 8:12), our sorrow will turn to joy (John 16:20), and we will inherit the kingdom of God. Praise God, he is our hope and salvation!

This is indeed good news of great joy!

¹ Ridderbos, H. (1962). The Coming of the Kingdom (p. 189). P&R Publishing.

Watch

Personal Appication

• Read the following passages. How might a recognition of your own poverty before God change your attitude toward the poor in your community?
  • Deuteronomy 15:11
  • Proverbs 14:31
  • Matthew 5:42
  • Acts 20:35
  • Galatians 2:10
  • James 1:27
  • 1 John 3:17
• Write down a list of times when your life has turned from darkness to light or from sorrow to joy. What brought about the change? Spend some time in prayer and thank God for these reversals.
• Pray and watch for God to bring you someone who needs to hear the good news of the gospel. Share your story with them of how God has saved you.

Devotional

“For my eyes have seen your salvation that you have prepared in the presence of all peoples, a light for revelation to the Gentiles.” (Luke 2:30-32)

How many people do you know who don’t look like you or speak your language or have your same religious or political beliefs? In Jesus’ day, he surprised and angered a lot of the Jews because, throughout his ministry, he made it clear that he hadn’t come just for the Jewish people.

He had come for everyone.

Not long after Jesus was born, Mary and Joseph took him to the temple in Jerusalem to present him to God according to the Jewish law. A “righteous and devout” (Luke 2:25) man named Simeon, who had been told by the Holy Spirit that he would not die until he had seen “the Lord’s Christ” (Luke 2:26) held the baby Jesus in his arms and made a statement that might have shocked some Jews at the time. Simeon called Jesus, “a light for revelation to the Gentiles” (Luke 2:32).

This doesn’t sound so bad to us, especially since most of us are Gentiles (people who are not Jewish by heritage). But by the time Jesus was born, most Jews wanted nothing to do with Gentiles. In fact, many of the most religious Jews wouldn’t even look at a Gentile, much less eat with one or share their special salvation with them. Gentiles were considered idolaters with low moral, social and ethical standards. So, for the Jews, associating with Gentiles, except for certain acts of charity, was off-limits.

Even Peter, who had spent three years with Jesus, was swayed by some of the more influential Jews not to associate with Gentiles. But the apostle Paul was having none of that. Paul wrote:

When [Peter] came to Antioch, I opposed him to his face, because he stood condemned. For before certain men came from James, he was eating with the Gentiles; but when they came he drew back and separated himself, fearing the circumcision party. And the rest of the Jews acted hypocritically along with him, so that even Barnabas was led astray by their hypocrisy. (Galatians 2:11-13)

Giving in to peer pressure, Peter and Barnabas had rejected the truth that Jesus had come for all the people. But they should have known better. The idea that God’s salvation was available for everyone wasn’t new.

Almost 2000 years before this, God had told Abraham, “In your offspring shall all the nations of the earth be blessed” (Genesis 22:18). “All the nations” included the Gentiles.

And when the angel announced Jesus’ birth to the shepherds in Luke chapter 2, he said the “good news of great joy” would be “for all the people.” It wasn’t just for the ones who looked like them, or spoke their language, or wore the same clothes. It wasn’t just for the rich or powerful or just for the “good” people.

And why was this? Because, as Jesus himself said:

I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance. (Luke 5:32)

We are all sinners. I am. You are. As Paul wrote:

None is righteous, no, not one; no one understands; no one seeks for God. All have turned aside; together they have become worthless; no one does good, not even one. (Romans 3:10-12)

Paul went on to say that “the venom of asps is under their lips” and other noteworthy descriptions of our depravity, but his point was that we are all a mess, and we can’t save ourselves. There is nothing inherent in any of us that gives us an edge over anyone else. In fact, it's precisely the belief that something in us makes us more worthy than someone else that Paul opposed as antithetical to the gospel. In other words, the more we think we deserve God’s salvation, the further we get from being saved.

Jesus came for people who recognize their sin, who know they need him. And his great desire is to save us all.

God our Savior … desires all people to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth. For there is one God, and there is one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus. (1 Timothy 2:3-5)

Jesus ate with tax collectors and sinners (Luke 5:29-32). He forgave immoral women (Luke 7:47-48; John 8:3-11). He welcomed little children (Matthew 19:14). He spoke with Samaritans—a people who were hated by the Jews (John 4:7-29). He healed the broken and the weak, the imperfect and the needy. And he welcomed anyone who came to him in humility.

At the consummation of God’s kingdom, the book of Revelation tells us that there will be “a great multitude that no one could number, from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and languages, standing before the throne and before the Lamb” (Revelation 7:9). God doesn’t discriminate against anyone who comes to him.

As the angel said 2000 years ago, the good news of Jesus Christ is for all the people.

Watch

Personal Appication

• Think about a time that you felt like an outcast. How does knowing that God came for all people give you comfort and confidence?
• Read Galatians 2 where Paul reprimands Peter for his hypocrisy. In verse 6, Paul says, “God shows no partiality” (ESV). Consider ways you have been tempted to show partiality to those who seem to be “influential” or more “acceptable.” In light of this chapter, how might you avoid this behavior?
• Write down the names of at least three people you know who may not look like you, talk like you, dress like you, or worship like you. Pray for each of them. Pray that the next time you see them, God would remind you that he came for them as well.

Devotional

Everything must be fulfilled that is written about me in the Law of Moses, the Prophets, and the Psalms. (Luke 24:44)

Have you ever made plans that didn’t work out?

When I lived in Los Angeles, I owned a guidebook called Trails of the Angels that had a detailed list of hikes for the mountains just outside the city. Some hikes promised waterfalls at the end; others hidden caves. But the book was far from perfect. Sometimes, I’d plan a hike that was exactly as described and amazing. But sometimes, I’d arrive at the place where the trailhead was supposed to be, and there would be nothing there. Or I’d start on the hike, and the trail was so overgrown that it had become impassible. Sometimes the book neglected to tell me about a steep climb up the face of a rock wall. And sometimes, I just misread the book and ended up in the wrong place entirely.

When humans make plans, they don’t always turn out the way we expect, even when we hold the guidebook in our hand. But when God makes plans, his purposes are always fulfilled, and his outcomes are always amazing.

Without question, God’s greatest plan throughout history was to send a Redeemer, a Messiah, who would save his people from their sins and reconcile us back to himself. And he provided a guidebook—his Word—to show us the way.

Many people in Jesus’ day were looking for the Messiah. Most of them thought he would come with great power, wipe out the Romans, and raise up the Jews in a sudden, glorious military victory. But this scenario wasn’t actually what the guidebook told them.

In Jewish tradition, the Hebrew Bible (what we call the Old Testament) is divided into three parts: The Law (the first five books of the Bible, also known as the Torah or Pentateuch), the Prophets (or prophetic books), and the Writings (which include the Psalms). From the first to the last, these books detail God’s plan of salvation, and they teach that every part of God’s plan will be fulfilled.

This is why, when Jesus appeared to his disciples after his resurrection, he told them:

Everything must be fulfilled that is written about me in the Law of Moses, the Prophets and the Psalms. (Luke 24:44)

Everything must be fulfilled. Even the parts we don’t expect.

The Jews of Jesus’ day didn’t expect the Messiah to be born to a poor, unmarried woman and placed in a feeding trough. They didn’t expect him to be hung on a cross like a common criminal and placed in a borrowed tomb. They didn’t expect him to rise from the dead. But Jesus’ life, death and resurrection were all prophesied long before his coming.

In fact, when the angel declared to the shepherds, “Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you,” he was referring to God’s plan that the Messiah would be a descendant of King David and would be born in Bethlehem.

As the prophet Micah wrote:

But you, O Bethlehem Ephrathah,
    who are too little to be among the clans of Judah,
from you shall come forth for me
    one who is to be ruler in Israel,
whose coming forth is from of old,
    from ancient days. (Micah 5:2)

So, it shouldn’t have surprised them where Jesus was born. But it did. And it shouldn’t have surprised them that people in Jesus’ day began to refer to him with the messianic title “Son of David.” But this both surprised and angered them.

In addition, the humiliation and agonies Jesus suffered shouldn’t have surprised them. They were all right there in the book.

In Isaiah, we read this about the Messiah:

He was despised and rejected by men,
    a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief;
and as one from whom men hide their faces
    he was despised, and we esteemed him not. (Isaiah 53:3)

When we celebrate Advent, we’re really celebrating the beginning of a new age of the fulfillment of God’s plan. It started with Jesus' incarnation and his life, death and resurrection, and it will culminate in his return in power and glory to wipe every tear from our eyes.

Just as the prophet Isaiah wrote:

For to us a child is born,
    to us a son is given;
and the government shall be upon his shoulder,
    and his name shall be called
Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God,
    Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.
Of the increase of his government and of peace
    there will be no end,
on the throne of David and over his kingdom,
    to establish it and to uphold it
with justice and with righteousness
    from this time forth and forevermore.
The zeal of the Lord of hosts will do this. (Isaiah 9:6-7)

The Lord’s plans are perfect, and they will not fail. Today, as we look forward to celebrating Jesus’ birth, we can be assured that we are celebrating the birth of the Savior of the world, the Messiah, the glorious Son of David.

Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you.

Watch

Personal Appication

• Read Psalm 33. What does this passage tell you about God’s plans? How will his plans benefit his people?
• When have your plans been frustrated? How did you respond? Over time, were you able to see God's wisdom? If not, take comfort in knowing that God’s sovereign plans are perfect and that his plans are ultimately for your benefit, even if you can't see that benefit now.
• Spend some time this week thanking God for his plan of redemption and for revealing his salvation in Jesus Christ.

Devotional

We have seen and testify that the Father has sent his Son to be the Savior of the world. (1 John 4:14).

Merry Christmas!

Is there something that reminds you of your hope in Christ? For me, it’s jacaranda trees.

I was teaching in inner-city Los Angeles in 1992, when riots broke out. Much of the area near my school was looted and burned. Windows were shattered. Destruction was everywhere. But on the day I returned to work, I turned the corner to my school, and there in the midst of boarded windows and charred store fronts, was a line of jacaranda trees covered in the most gorgeous purple blooms I had ever seen. It took my breath away. The juxtaposition of devastation and profound beauty made no sense. But looking at those trees, I knew there was something beyond the darkness we had just been through. There was hope.

Jesus came into a world that had suffered devastation for thousands of years. But on that Christmas day, when the angel announced to the shepherds that a Savior had been born, God was providing something beautiful beyond the devastation. And unlike a jacaranda tree, Jesus wasn’t just a symbol of hope. He was the Savior of the world!

The Messiah’s coming had been prophesied in the Old Testament ever since Adam and Eve sinned in the garden. At that time, God could have been done with us, but he wasn’t willing to let us remain in our sin. He loved us too much. And so, on that Christmas morning, he gave us Jesus to be our salvation.

Thirdmill’s lesson on The Gospel According to Luke, defines the term “salvation” as:

Deliverance from the tyranny of evil and from God’s judgment against sin.

As Christians, we like to say that we’ve been saved, but we sometimes miss the reality of what we’ve been saved from. Jesus didn’t die on a cross just to make us a little nicer and a little more comfortable. He died to rescue us from the tyranny of evil and from God’s judgment.

Romans 3:23 tells us that “All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.” And Isaiah 59:2 tells us, “Your iniquities have made a separation between you and your God, and your sins have hidden his face from you.”

When we sin, we become slaves to the tyranny of evil—to the oppressive cruelty of a power we cannot defeat. It owns us. We deserve God’s righteous judgment, and there is nothing we can do on our own to avoid it. In our sin, we are those burnt out store fronts. We are those broken and boarded up windows. We are completely incapable of rescuing ourselves.

But God can.

The apostle John tells us, “We have seen and testify that the Father has sent his Son to be the Savior of the world” (1 John 4:14).

God’s incalculable, profound love for us led him to send his own Son to be born into a world devastated by sin. His Son lived a perfect life—resisting temptation, healing brokenness, proclaiming liberty, enduring betrayal and cruelty from people he loved, and dying in our place so that we could have our relationship with God restored. He defeated the tyranny of evil and took God’s judgment on himself. This is what we are saved from. This is why we celebrate Christmas.

So, today remember what the angel announced to the shepherds: You do not need to be afraid. The good news of great joy is for all of us. Just as God planned, a Savior has been born to you. He is Christ the Lord!

Today we celebrate the One who saved us from the darkness and gave us beauty in its place.

Watch

Personal Appication

• Read the Christmas story in Luke 2:1-40.
• Consider what you have been saved from. Where or who do you think you might be if Jesus hadn’t saved you?
• Spend some time with God today, thanking him not just for Jesus’ birth but also for the extraordinary salvation he brought you in Christ’s life, death and resurrection.