ANTICIPATION
Anticipation…the feeling of excitement about something good to come. Not just hoping and longing, but a sense of something pleasant and better is going to happen. Anticipation is not anxiety that something bad is coming, waiting for the next shoe to drop. It is expectation for good.
The anticipation of a coming Messiah is a central theme in the Bible and it is the best thing that can happen. The Old Testament contains many prophecies of the Messiah and his coming.
The prophets of Israel foretold the coming of the Messiah for centuries and with much detail. Can you imagine a people like Israel seeing generations come and go waiting to see these glorious promises come to fulfillment in a long-awaited Redeemer? It feels long and heavy.
One passage from Isaiah tells us a lot about the Deliverer to come. Isaiah’s prophecy describes the Messiah as the “Wonderful Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace” (Isaiah 9:6). What do we learn about Jesus in these prophecies?
Well, the one who was to come and did come truly is a Wonderful Counsellor. He is the Godhead member who lived in the flesh and was tempted in every aspect that we are. Maybe, just maybe he gets us? And maybe we can counsel with him about anything and everything?
He is the Mighty God – not just one who subdued storms, He is the Lord of all creation, who spoke, and the world came into existence. And for me as a church leader it is comforting to know that He is also Lord of the Church. Mighty God over all.
The Everlasting Father? Sounds confusing. Jesus and the Father are one. If you have seen Jesus, you have seen the Father. It is mind-stretching to think about an eternal God who operates outside of time and space and is also One God in Three Persons. This verse is fantastic in that it points to the Holy Trinity as we simultaneously celebrate the incarnation.
He is the Prince of Peace. The true Peacemaker who not only brings the absence of fighting and war but restores people’s internal and external disharmony. Jesus removes all peace-disturbing factors and brings complete well-being for all. He fulfills the Hebrew title Shar Shalom – Prince of Peace.
We, the modern-day church join Israel of old as we pray Come Lord Jesus and we too wait for the glorious Lord to come not as a baby in a manger this time, but as our glorious, ruling King to establish His eternal Kingdom. As we rehearse the anticipation of Jesus’s first coming, our hearts are stirred to ponder and fix our desires or His second coming.
Let me pray for us.
Father Almighty God, thank you for sending your Son, Jesus. Thank you that we have the glorious story of the incarnation of when Mary gave birth to this boy who was not only flesh and blood, but was God incarnate, God in the flesh. Thank you, Jesus, for moving into our neighborhood and becoming one of us.
Thank you for taking our burdens and our sins and all of our struggles on yourself. And thank you God that you are this mighty God, this Prince of Peace, this wonderful Counselor, the One that we worship in this inspiring season. So bless all who are hearing this. May their Advent and Christmas celebrations be the best ever. May we look to you, Jesus, more than we ever have and give You the glory and the honor.
And just like the shepherds did, may we go about our days and over the hills and through the woods, speaking the gospel of Jesus Christ, we pray in Your name, Lord. Amen.
Come Lord Jesus – Amen!
