The Long Wait
I'm not good at waiting - at all. But for the last few years, 'waiting' is all my life seems to be about... I've been waiting years to finish our house build. I've been waiting years to get my kids' various medical issues sorted out. We've all been waiting for a very long time for something resembling 'normal' to return. 'Waiting' just seems to be what we do now...
In case you haven't been paying attention - there's a little less than two weeks before Christmas Day. So there's more waiting... My kids are counting down the days until 'Santa comes' - but we remember what Christmas is really all about. We celebrate the event of God entering His creation as a baby in a manger, God in the flesh, 'God with us'.
I was thinking about the birth of the Christ child and the anticipation throughout the ages, and I realized that there has always been a lot of waiting involved. Let's go all the way back, way before the manger even comes into the story. The first 'waiting' in the Christmas celebration is...
I. The wait for The Messiah
We know that the prophet's spoke of the Messiah for hundreds of years before Jesus came in the flesh. And even before all the major prophetic writings, there are clues from the beginning of the Book of Genesis that something was going on behind the scenes - clues that something big was coming.
Even before the time that the nation of Israel came into being - there was a waiting, a longing for something - a longing for a Messiah. God's people understood that they lived in a fallen world - how they were separated from their Creator. Even the religious rituals that God Himself instituted in the Temple worship - all of the tradition and rules and symbolism - everything became a reminder of the separation between the sacred and the common; the holiness of God and the sin of the people.
God's people knew that God had a plan. But they didn't fully understand it, yet. They were waiting for a new King, a warrior, someone to lead them to victory over their oppressors. But it wasn't until God more clearly revealed things through His prophets that people began to understand a little bit more about what they were actually waiting 'for'... And it was very different from what many were expecting. They were waiting for a King, but first He had to show up as...
A. A baby
At Christmas time, we of course celebrate the birth of the Christ Child. We know the stories, we know the Bible verses about Mary and Joseph and the baby Jesus in the manger. We know the story of there being 'no room in the inn'. We know the story of how the angels appeared to the shepherds. We even throw in the story of The Wisemen even though it happened quite a bit after Jesus' birth because, in hindsight - it fits so perfectly in recognizing baby Jesus as this promised Messiah, this coming King.
But they didn't have Christmas in the Old Testament. They didn't really even have Christmas celebrations in the New Testament - not like what we know. Before Jesus' birth - they were waiting. What they did have was promises, prophecies, hints at what was to come.
Hundreds of years before Jesus' birth, the prophet Isaiah wrote this passage from Isaiah 7:14 (NIV)...
Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign: The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and will call him Immanuel.
It wasn't until around the 8th century B.C. where the traditional understanding of where we tend to pick up the Christmas story even begins to crystallize. It's where the expectancy of the Christ child comes into focus. The wait for this baby heightens as hints become revealed as to how this story would unfold.
Isaiah 9:6-7 (NIV)
For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. (7) Of the increase of his government and peace there will be no end. He will reign on David's throne and over his kingdom, establishing and upholding it with justice and righteousness from that time on and forever. The zeal of the LORD Almighty will accomplish this.
The waiting starts with its focus on a baby, and then, once this baby is born - for those paying attention, the waiting turns its focus to the wait for this child to become...
B. A man
For the Christ child to grow into the promised Messiah - for this baby to grow up into the man who would save the world from sin. The waiting turned from the joyful expectancy of Mary and Joseph in a manger to the purpose for which this child came in the first place. The waiting inevitably turned its focus from the celebration of Jesus' birth to the violence of the cross.
Isaiah 53:3-5 (NIV)
He was despised and rejected by men, a man of sorrows, and familiar with suffering. Like one from whom men hide their faces he was despised, and we esteemed him not. (4) Surely he took up our infirmities and carried our sorrows, yet we considered him stricken by God, smitten by him, and afflicted. (5) But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was upon him, and by his wounds we are healed.
As I've said - there was a lot of waiting on the part of the Nation of Israel, waiting for their promised Messiah to rise up and save them. But if you stop to think about it - there was even more waiting behind the scenes, a 'waiting' to which they may not have given much thought.
God's people weren't the only ones waiting. Mankind may have been waiting for the gift of the birth of the Messiah, but there's also the anticipation of the giver. And when you have a gift as wonderful as the Christ Child, I can't even pretend to know the anguish of...
II. God's wait
Behind the 'curtain of Heaven', God was waiting, too - waiting since before the beginning of creation. The birth of Jesus wasn't just some 'plan B', something that God decided to do because He found out that the Temple sacrifices weren't quite what He'd thought they'd be. No, the birth of Jesus, the coming of God in the flesh to personally save His people - this was God's plan all along.
When you understand the entirety of scripture, when you view the Old Testament through the lens of the New - you understand that Jesus has always been with the Father. Jesus is the creative force behind all of creation. Jesus is God's Word become flesh. Jesus is one with the Father; and God the Father was waiting for just the right time to give mankind the gift they had been longing for for centuries. God was waiting for the precise moment in history for the birth of...
A. His Son
And those of you who have children can understand that long wait. (I've been through that more than a handful of times... I wasn't even the one carrying the child and that wait was long - each time!)
Imagine waiting from before the beginning of time for your only son to be born. I have to admit that I don't completely understand why God had to wait as long as He did to give His people the gift of the Christ child. But I do know that God's timing is always perfect according to His plan.
And I know that the Apostle Paul wrote this, in Galatians 4:3-7 (NIV)...
So also, when we were children, we were in slavery under the basic principles of the world. (4) But when the time had fully come, God sent his Son, born of a woman, born under law, (5) to redeem those under law, that we might receive the full rights of sons. (6) Because you are sons, God sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, the Spirit who calls out, "Abba, Father." (7) So you are no longer a slave, but a son; and since you are a son, God has made you also an heir.
The idea of 'sonship' and being an heir is something about which I do know a little. Most of you know that I have four sons, (two daughters, but four sons), Winston, Benjamin, Sullivan and August - or Winnie, Benji, Sully and Augie. Benji, Sully and Augie are biologically related to me but my oldest son, Winston is not - but they are all my sons and all legally my heirs. They are all my sons in every way that counts.
I've shared this before, but I am very proud of this particular document. I have here a legal document dated Dec. 22nd, 2009 that states, "It is therefore ordered that from this date, (Winston Scott Buche), shall be to all legal intents and purposes the child of the Petitioners, Ronald S. Buche and Erin B. Buche, husband and wife, and for the purposes of inheritance and all other legal incidents and consequences it shall be the same as if the child had been born to the Petitioners in lawful wedlock." Signed, Judge Millard S. Everhart
Because of the Christ child, we are now just as much legal heirs to God's Kingdom as God's own 'biological' Son, Jesus. Those who have been baptized into Jesus are now brothers with Him in every sense of the word with the same rights and privileges in regard to God's Kingdom.
And that is the end result of yet another wait on God's part - the wait for Jesus to accomplish His purpose on the cross. Jesus' birth started the wait until...
B. His sacrifice
From before Jesus' birth in a manger, God knew that the cross was His destiny. Jesus' entire life as a man was preparation for His death - The most significant death in all of history. Again, Paul, from Romans 5:1-6 (NIV)...
Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, (2) through whom we have gained access by faith into this grace in which we now stand. And we rejoice in the hope of the glory of God. (3) Not only so, but we also rejoice in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; (4) perseverance, character; and character, hope.
(5) And hope does not disappoint us, because God has poured out his love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, whom he has given us. (6) You see, at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly.
Jesus' birth came at just the right time, and Jesus' sacrifice came at just the right time. God's timing is always perfect. Jesus' death was exactly according to God's plan and it was then followed swiftly by Jesus' resurrection. There had been enough waiting for Jesus' birth and His sacrifice - God's power in Jesus' resurrection couldn't wait years - and on the third day, Jesus defeated death! Jesus didn't stay dead - and neither do those in Christ. And with Jesus' resurrection, there came a promise - one that leads us to the final waiting of our story...
C. The wait for His return
God's people waited for The Messiah's birth. They waited for Jesus to grow up - they waited to be saved. God waited to send His Son and waited for the right time for His sacrifice. Now we wait for God's perfect timing for Jesus' return.
Last March, Erin and I took Sully and Augie to Cincinnati for Sully's throat surgery. With all the Covid restrictions, only one of us could be back in the waiting room - so Augie and I had to wander around the hospital's concourse. I had to try and entertain a toddler for hours... We went back and forth, we killed some time in the cafeteria, Augie waved at the security guards each time we passed, he took several naps while I just kept moving...
Anyone who has had to deal with a loved one having surgery knows the frustration of waiting. I was waiting for some news, any news - helplessly waiting, trusting that the surgeon and nurses who were doing all the work were doing their very best.
But that's not the kind of waiting I'm talking about when we talk about waiting for Jesus' return. That was an example of passively waiting. We were waiting with really nothing to do. When we talk about our wait for Jesus' return - it's supposed to be an active waiting. - A wait with a mission until His return. And this Christmas celebration is just a part of the proclamation of who Jesus is. We are called all year long to tell people that Jesus came to save them - to save them for something better!
We are looking forward to a promised future as we look back once more to the book of Isaiah, to the prophecy in Isaiah 65:17-19 (NIV)...
Behold, I will create new heavens and a new earth. The former things will not be remembered, nor will they come to mind. (18) But be glad and rejoice forever in what I will create, for I will create Jerusalem to be a delight and its people a joy. (19) I will rejoice over Jerusalem and take delight in my people; the sound of weeping and of crying will be heard in it no more.
We wait for Jesus' return - and we know that every other promise has been kept regarding Jesus. He was predicted, He came, He grew, He gave His life, He conquered death - and He IS coming back! And that is why we celebrate Christmas!
So What?
As we actively wait for Jesus' return - don't just celebrate Christmas - celebrate Christ! Tell someone about Jesus. Don't just put up a tree and tell people 'Merry Christmas!" - tell people about Jesus. Don't just throw some money into a red kettle or donate to your favorite charity - I do encourage you to do those things - but also tell someone about Jesus and what He means to you.
God has demonstrated His perfect timing. And it just so happens that at this time of year - people are a little more open to talking about spiritual things. Many who don't consider themselves overly religious seem to find in themselves a need to get back to Church. At this time of year, as we talk about the incredible story of God becoming man, about baby Jesus, born of a virgin, born in a manger - people are a little more open to miracles.
And God wants to do just that. He wants to again perform the miracle of bringing life out of death. - The miracle of one more person having their sins washed away by the power of Jesus' blood.
What do I want for Christmas...? I'd love to see another brother or sister adopted into God's family. Timing is everything - and today is a great day for you to talk to someone about Jesus!