LUKE 2
But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid. I bring you good news that will cause great joy for all the people. Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; He is the Messiah, the Lord.” — Luke 2:10-11 NIV
One of the hardest scenarios to process as a human is when we’ve been looking forward to something and it falls apart.
We wait in eager anticipation for it... We tell our friends about it... We dream about the fulfillment of it...
And the moment that it all comes crashing down is devastating.
Maybe it was something you were dreaming up on your own. Or maybe it was a promise made to you by someone else they didn’t keep.
Broken promises and broken dreams lead to broken pieces of our heart.
What a tragedy it would be if all the events and promises in the Old Testament of the coming Messiah never took place. What an immense heartbreak if we opened our Bibles and in the table of contents we only had the Old Testament but not the New Testament. But because of God’s faithfulness, none of these hypothetical heartbreaks are true. And as we’ve journeyed through the Old Testament looking for Jesus, we’ve seen rich evidence over and over again of just how very present Jesus was and is. He’s never been absent.
The Messiah, the Anointed One, was present at every turn of every page in the Old Testament in so many different ways.
01 Think back on all you’ve learned about Jesus. How do these truths encourage your heart in places you may feel disappointed or disillusioned today?
02 How do these truths challenge you to look at something you’re facing with more assurance that the Lord is with you?
For such a long-awaited moment in human history, we may expect the most glorious, highly produced, red-carpet entrance. The most spectacular palace filled with the largest banquet of food and drink. And maybe some orchestra music and a choir singing His praises as He’s so warmly welcomed.
This is what we would expect. In fact, this is exactly what the wise men expected when they saw a sign in the heavens that told of the birth of a new King. This is exactly why the wise men’s first stop was King Herod’s palace (Matthew 2:1–3).
Where else would a future king be born but in a palace?
But King Herod’s palace was empty, and the King of Heaven and earth instead was born in the most unforeseen place: a barn.
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