Precious Promises: The Coming of the King

Introduction

Isaiah 9:2–7 CSB

The people walking in darkness have seen a great light; a light has dawned on those living in the land of darkness. You have enlarged the nation and increased its joy. The people have rejoiced before you as they rejoice at harvest time and as they rejoice when dividing spoils. For you have shattered their oppressive yoke and the rod on their shoulders, the staff of their oppressor, just as you did on the day of Midian. For every trampling boot of battle and the bloodied garments of war will be burned as fuel for the fire. For a child will be born for us, a son will be given to us, and the government will be on his shoulders. He will be named Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Eternal Father, Prince of Peace. The dominion will be vast, and its prosperity will never end. He will reign on the throne of David and over his kingdom, to establish and sustain it with justice and righteousness from now on and forever. The zeal of the Lord of Armies will accomplish this.

One of the key themes running through the Old Testament is the need that God’s People have for a king.

Need for a King

At the very beginning, in Genesis 3, the first two humans, Adam and Eve, are tempted by the serpent in the Garden of Eden, rebel against God and are cast out from that paradise and from fellowship with God, doomed to death apart from God outside of the garden. But, God says, all is not lost. The offspring of Adam and Eve will have victory over the serpent, his influence and deceit will not last forever.

Genesis 3:15 “I will put hostility between you and the woman, and between your offspring and her offspring. He will strike your head, and you will strike his heel.”

Questions are introduced, need is introduced.

Who is going to bring them back to the garden?

Who is going to crush the head of the serpent?

Who is going to make things right with God?

Over 2000 years later, the people of God are still waiting for this king.

In Genesis 49, Jacob, the son of Isaac, the son of Abraham prophesies over his sons and promises that one day a king will arise from the descendants of his son Judah. A king who is like a lion, who will have complete victory over the enemies of God, whose kingdom will never end, this mighty lion king, the Lion of Judah, will one day come and make all things right again.

Genesis 49:8–10 “Judah, your brothers will praise you. Your hand will be on the necks of your enemies; your father’s sons will bow down to you. Judah is a young lion— my son, you return from the kill. He crouches; he lies down like a lion or a lioness—who dares to rouse him? The scepter will not depart from Judah or the staff from between his feet until he whose right it is comes and the obedience of the peoples belongs to him.”

Several hundred years later, the Holy Spirit comes upon Balaam prophesying the same thing in Numbers 24, a star, he says, will come from Jacob, a ruler who is like a lion, a lion king that will destroy all the enemies of God and free God’s people from the curse of darkness that they are under.

Numbers 24:9 “He crouches, he lies down like a lion or a lioness—who dares to rouse him? Those who bless you will be blessed, and those who curse you will be cursed.”

Numbers 24:17–19 “I see him, but not now; I perceive him, but not near. A star will come from Jacob, and a scepter will arise from Israel. He will smash the forehead of Moab and strike down all the Shethites. Edom will become a possession; Seir will become a possession of its enemies, but Israel will be triumphant. One who comes from Jacob will rule; he will destroy the city’s survivors.”

God himself sets up the idea of a king in Deuteronomy 17 where he paints the picture of a righteous king that will rule his people in righteousness and authority.

Whether directly or indirectly, the idea of a righteous, mighty victorious king is referenced over and over in the Old Testament, through the time of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, to the time of King David and through the time of the shattered kingdom, and the exile and the prophets.

Genesis 12, 2 Samuel 7, Psalm 2, Psalm 22, Proverbs 30, and the prophets Micah, Isaiah, Zechariah, Daniel, and many more references shape this understanding of the promised king, the king needed so desperately by God’s people, a mighty lion king, the Messiah or “anointed one” who would come to set the people free, crush the head of the snake, and return God’s people to himself.

Failed Kings

These promises caused God’s people in the Old Testament to look for this king, this Messiah.

Moses was used by God to deliver his people from Egypt, and served as a mediator between God and his people, leading them to the promised land.

But Moses was not this promised king. He was sinful and flawed in his own way, and although a mighty man of God, he was kept by God from entering the Promised Land due to his sin.

The people of Israel tried to make themselves a king apart from God’s blessing in 1 Samuel 8 by crowning Saul as king, and ultimately Saul was a wicked king who rebelled against God in a variety of ways. He was not this promised king.

Even King David, the author of the Psalms and a “man after God’s own heart,” was not the Messiah. His horrific sin with Bathsheba destroyed his family, and God will not even allow David to build him a temple because he was a man of war, he had blood on his hands. He was not this perfect, righteous king that the people need.

HIs son, Solomon, the author of Proverbs and the wisest man who ever lived, is still not this ultimate king that the people need. He fails to uphold God’s commands and wanders into sin and ignores God’s commands. He was also not this promised king.

These men and many more, some of them kings and some of them just leaders of God’s people, are all heroes of the faith in some way, but they are not the Messiah. Their hands are dirty with sin and although they may have accomplished much for God, they did not fulfill what had been spoken of from ancient times.

The serpent’s head was still not crushed, and the people were still living in darkness outside of the garden.

God’s people were still looking for their king.

They needed a king who was not just a ruler but a counselor, was not just a man but God himself, was not just a monarch but a Father, and was not just a conqueror but a peacemaker.

The “precious promise” that God gives through his prophet Isaiah is that this king is still coming. Though the people are living in darkness, a great light will dawn. This child born of a virgin will come and rule and he will be…

A Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Eternal Father, a Prince of Peace.

Everything they need in a king.

So God’s People wait for their king, their Messiah, their deliverer.

When will he arrive? How will he arrive? What sort of entrance would be fitting for this mighty lion king who is not just a ruler but the Messiah, God himself come to save his people from their sins and deliver them from the kingdom of darkness into the domain of light?

Coming of the King

About 700 years after the time of the prophet Isaiah, God’s people are still waiting for their king. They are under Roman occupation, their king, Herod the Great, a Roman puppet who is known as a brutal tyrant.

Many have lost hope, turning to violence or strict religious adherence to try to deliver themselves.

The darkness is thick, and the promise of a Messiah, a deliverer, seems to many to be a legend, a story, some folk tale meant to give a sliver of hope to those naive enough to believe it.

And then one day…

Luke 1:26–33 CSB

In the sixth month, the angel Gabriel was sent by God to a town in Galilee called Nazareth, to a virgin engaged to a man named Joseph, of the house of David. The virgin’s name was Mary. And the angel came to her and said, “Greetings, favored woman! The Lord is with you.” But she was deeply troubled by this statement, wondering what kind of greeting this could be. Then the angel told her, “Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. Now listen: You will conceive and give birth to a son, and you will name him Jesus. He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High, and the Lord God will give him the throne of his father David. He will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and his kingdom will have no end.”

When we read this familiar Christmas story we may gloss over some details just because we have heard it so many times.

When we read this story in the context of the whole Bible, we understand that Christmas signifies the coming of the Messiah, the culmination of thousands of years of waiting, suffering, need, and darkness.

The king is finally coming.

But the way he is arriving is not what the people expect, and it is not what we would expect, either.

Luke 2:1–20 CSB

In those days a decree went out from Caesar Augustus that the whole empire should be registered. This first registration took place while Quirinius was governing Syria. So everyone went to be registered, each to his own town. Joseph also went up from the town of Nazareth in Galilee, to Judea, to the city of David, which is called Bethlehem, because he was of the house and family line of David, to be registered along with Mary, who was engaged to him and was pregnant. While they were there, the time came for her to give birth. Then she gave birth to her firstborn son, and she wrapped him tightly in cloth and laid him in a manger, because there was no guest room available for them. In the same region, shepherds were staying out in the fields and keeping watch at night over their flock. Then an angel of the Lord stood before them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. But the angel said to them, “Don’t be afraid, for look, I proclaim to you good news of great joy that will be for all the people: Today in the city of David a Savior was born for you, who is the Messiah, the Lord. This will be the sign for you: You will find a baby wrapped tightly in cloth and lying in a manger.” Suddenly there was a multitude of the heavenly host with the angel, praising God and saying: Glory to God in the highest heaven, and peace on earth to people he favors! When the angels had left them and returned to heaven, the shepherds said to one another, “Let’s go straight to Bethlehem and see what has happened, which the Lord has made known to us.” They hurried off and found both Mary and Joseph, and the baby who was lying in the manger. After seeing them, they reported the message they were told about this child, and all who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds said to them. But Mary was treasuring up all these things in her heart and meditating on them. The shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things they had seen and heard, which were just as they had been told.

Although King David is his ancestor, Jesus is not born to a royal couple, his future assured by wealth and status, but to a scared, vulnerable young couple, a virgin teenage girl and a carpenter, barely more than children themselves.

He is not born in a royal palace with servants waiting on him hand and foot from the moment that he entered the world.

He was born in a stable, which was probably some kind of cave, and placed into a manger, a place where animals ate. And there are no servants to wait on him but only poor shepherds who come to worship.

There is no royal procession for him when they leave Bethlehem, he is just loaded up on a donkey with his mother, perhaps related to the one Jesus will ride into Jerusalem a little over 30 years later.

The long-awaited, desperately needed king is here, but he has not arrived how we would expect.

If you’ve ever visited Washington D.C., and especially if you’ve visited the White House, you have some understanding of the security necessary to protect the President of the United States and the other government officials who work there.

The grounds to the sky are under 24/7 surveillance. Short to medium surface-to-air missiles are stationed at key areas around Washington D.C. Aircraft are not allowed to fly over the White House, the National Mall and over the residence of the Vice-President, an area known as Prohibited Area 56. There is also a flight restricted zone of 15 nautical miles around the nearest airport to the White House, Reagan Washington National Airport.

There is a fence surrounding the perimeter of the White House grounds, 13 feet tall fitted with pressure sensors, anti-climb and anti-intrusion technology. It’s blast and ram proof.

There are infrared cameras everywhere and a roof-mounted radar system. The 150 windows in the White House are fitted with bulletproof glass.

It is not publicly available exactly how many Secret Service agents patrol the White House, but we do know that over a thousand are stationed at different points around Washington D.C. Armed patrols, snipers, and many who you would never be able to spot are all on guard, vigilant and watching for any sign of a threat.

Inside the White House, there are also plenty of security measures, one of the most famous being the Presidential Emergency Operations Center underneath the East Wing, accessible by a secret elevator. It’s a secure shelter and command center with survival necessities and secure communications where the President can retreat to in the event of an emergency.

That’s only scratching the surface of what I am sure security is like at the White House, and I hope looking up that info didn’t put me on any sort of list. If it did, I’m sorry, I promise I am not a threat.

Now, consider how you would plan security for the birth of the Savior of the world, the prophesied Messiah, Immanuel, God with us.

There are no snipers providing cover for the stable, the shepherds were not plainclothes security, there were no motion sensors surrounding the place of Jesus’ birth.

Imagine that your baby is the promised Messiah, the Son of God. How are you supposed to keep the Savior of the world safe? You’re a young couple, a teenager and a carpenter, why has God dropped this responsibility on you? Did the angel Gabriel get his zip codes mixed up, come to the wrong house? Did he forget to make reservations at the finest hotel in Bethlehem?

How does it make any sense that this is the way that our king comes to us?

The simple answer is: it doesn’t. But that is the beauty and wonder of Christmas, of the coming of our king.

The manger was not plan B.

The way King Jesus came into the world was not some panicked backup plan enacted at the last minute, or just some random coincidence. This event had been in the mind and heart of God from eternity past that Jesus, the Son of God, would come to earth in just this way, just this time, to just those parents in just that place. As Tolkien wrote of the wizard Gandalf, “he is never late, nor is he early; he arrives precisely when he means to.”

Nothing was a mistake, nothing was out of place.

But it still seems foolish, doesn’t it?

Jesus had enemies - both human and spiritual enemies. Herod the Great, upon hearing that this “King of the Jews” may have been born, ordered for all boys under 2 years old to be killed, an insane act of evil driven by an irrational lust to hold onto power and destroy any rumor of a threat against that power.

Furthermore, that ancient serpent, Satan, and his legion of demonic hordes were enraged at the coming of this king, and horrified that it meant their time was short. The entire forces of hell were set on destroying this king and upsetting God’s plan of redemption.

This cosmically important child, this king who was himself God in the flesh, this vulnerable baby, born to vulnerable parents in a vulnerable place, was not without enemies.

But Jesus’ perceived vulnerability displays true power.

In our world, power has to be proven. We value “shows of force,” and other outward displays of might. Our leaders feel the need to prove they are the biggest and best, and if we are honest with ourselves, we feel more secure knowing that we have powerful leaders, or at least leaders that act powerful. Tyrants, authoritarians and dictators double down on this, organizing great displays of might and forcing everyone around them to agree and go along with the reality that yes, they really are the most powerful, yes, no one is more powerful than them, and so on and so forth.

This inherent need to prove power, to put on great shows to display power, actually reveals a deep insecurity because they know how little power they actually have. How fragile their hold on power is, how fragile their own lives are and how tenuous their position is.

God has no such insecurity because he is the source of all power.

This Lion King of Judah, the promised Messiah, Savior of the world can be born to a poor, scared young couple in a stable and laid in a manger because he is the Son of God, God himself, and God’s plan for the redemption of the world will not be thwarted by any force in hell or on earth.

Jesus was going to be born, Jesus was going to grow up, Jesus was going to save the world, and there was nothing that anyone could do about it.

No one can stand against this King, this King who hold true power. This King who has come to save the world.

Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Eternal Father, Prince of Peace.

We are rightly focusing on the Christmas story, but if you continue reading past this story, much of the rest of Jesus’ life and ministry makes little sense.

He hangs out with an eclectic group of misfits and outcasts, sinners, tax collectors, fishermen. He makes no effort to “move up the ladder” or gain earthly power for himself. He teaches and lives in a way that seems unconcerned with impressing or coddling those in power, but instead in focusing most of his time on ministering to the broken, the hurting, the ones who seemed worthless in the world.

What kind of king is this?

What kind of king allows himself to be wrongfully convicted, sentenced to death and dragged to a cross where he is hung like a common criminal to die? He could call down fire from heaven to destroy every one of his enemies, there are legions of angels ready in heaven to descend with righteous judgement and save their king from his death, but King Jesus does not call on them.

He hangs there on the cross, naked and alone, gasping out his final breaths, taking on the punishment for sin that you and I deserved and yet could not pay - because like all the failed kings and leaders in the past, our hands and hearts are dirty with sin.

And no one comes to save him.

He dies.

What kind of king is this?

A king that could not afford his own tomb, but had to have it purchased for him?

He is laid in that tomb, wrapped in swaddling cloths, and the stone is rolled in front of the entrance. And as that stone settles in its place with a thud, it seems as if this king was not really the Messiah, not the Savior. Just another disappointment.

But then morning breaks three days later, and all is calm, all is bright.

The stone, set in its place with devastating finality, begins to reverse its course, and as the tomb opens there stands our king, there stands our king, our…

Isaiah 9:6–7 …Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Eternal Father, Prince of Peace. His dominion will be vast, and its prosperity will never end. He will reign on the throne of David and over his kingdom, to establish and sustain it with justice and righteousness from now on and forever.

In the same way that the manger was not plan B, the cross was not plan B.

The cross was not some panicked backup plan enacted at the last minute, or just some random coincidence. This event had been in the mind and heart of God from eternity past that Jesus, the Son of God, would die in just this way, in just this time, and just this place, and then be risen from the dead, demonstrating his true power, unrivaled by any other, the power over sin and death, the power to reign and rule over all things and the power to save any and all that would put their faith and trust in him to save them.

From the manger to the cross, nothing was a mistake, nothing was out of place.

Conclusion

That is the kind of King that Jesus was, and it is the kind of King that Jesus still is.

Of course he is capable of majestic displays of power and might, some of which we still see today, and some we will see when he comes again, but very often your king ministers to you now in the quiet, in the silence. In the calm and in the brightness.

This is how your king comes to you.

How he ministers to your heart.

Perhaps in a way that you would not expect.

This is a king that can relate to the powerful and the powerless, the rich and the poor, the healthy and the sick, the joyful and the brokenhearted.

This is a king that has experienced the entire breadth of what it means to be human, while retaining the holiness of what it means to be God.

This is a king who has experienced every single thing that you have experienced as a human, been tempted in every way as you have been tempted, but has not sinned, and in his perfection and holiness, his death and resurrection, has achieved for you a salvation you could not achieve for yourself.

This is a king who has broken the power of sin and death, who reigns victorious over all things and is making all things new.

And “all things” means you too.

The manger was not plan B, the cross was not plan B, and your life is not plan B.

Your life is not some random coincidence. You have been in the mind and heart of God from eternity past and he wants a relationship with you. He wants to make you whole again. And he has the power to make you whole again.

Whatever it is that you have experienced in your life, you are experiencing, or you will experience, Christmas can give you the confident hope that this king we have been given is more than powerful enough to deal with anything that you experience in your life.

What do you need from your king this Christmas?

What is the need you feel is real that has not been met? What is broken in your heart that needs to be bound up? What is the blessing that you need to respond to with joy and thanksgiving? Do you need to acknowledge your need for a king, and receive Jesus as Lord and Savior of your life?

Jesus is a king of unrivaled power, yet bends his ear to hear what is on your heart.

This king who so often speaks in the quiet, in the stillness of our hearts.