The Promise of Hope

Last week we mentioned that ever since Adam and Eve sinned there was a need for hope, and there was also a promise of hope.

Genesis 3:15

Genesis 3:15 NIV

And 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.”

Even from that moment Adam and Eve were promised that eventually their offspring would crush the head of evil. We believe that happened in the life of Jesus.

The Promise of Hope

In John’s Gospel we read of Jesus calling some of his first disciples, one of them named Philip. As soon as Philip follows Jesus, he immediately runs out to tell his friend Nathanael about this rabbi he now follows.

John 1:43-51

John 1:43–51 NIV

The next day Jesus decided to leave for Galilee. Finding Philip, he said to him, “Follow me.” Philip, like Andrew and Peter, was from the town of Bethsaida. Philip found Nathanael and told him, “We have found the one Moses wrote about in the Law, and about whom the prophets also wrote—Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph.” “Nazareth! Can anything good come from there?” Nathanael asked. “Come and see,” said Philip. When Jesus saw Nathanael approaching, he said of him, “Here truly is an Israelite in whom there is no deceit.” “How do you know me?” Nathanael asked. Jesus answered, “I saw you while you were still under the fig tree before Philip called you.” Then Nathanael declared, “Rabbi, you are the Son of God; you are the king of Israel.” Jesus said, “You believe because I told you I saw you under the fig tree. You will see greater things than that.” He then added, “Very truly I tell you, you will see ‘heaven open, and the angels of God ascending and descending on’ the Son of Man.”

The Promise of Hope

Did you notice that Philip knew who Jesus was by what Moses and the prophets wrote about him?

The Hebrew Bible is full of references to the coming Messiah. Jesus points one of them out to us. Did you catch it? It’s right there! The Joseph story!

But this phrase, “Moses and the prophets” appears somewhere else in Scripture as well, a place that most of us should know.

Luke 24:25-27

Luke 24:25–27 NIV

He said to them, “How foolish you are, and how slow to believe all that the prophets have spoken! Did not the Messiah have to suffer these things and then enter his glory?” And beginning with Moses and all the Prophets, he explained to them what was said in all the Scriptures concerning himself.

Have you ever thought about the Old Testament containing the promises of the coming Messiah? I think we grasp this on some level, but the fact that God was continually telling people the Messiah was coming, and giving them promises and signs to look for in his coming.

Hope Fulfilled

Now before we proceed to look at some of these prophecies, I want us to understand if these were something that someone could just fake. Could someone fulfill these prophecies and not actually be the Messiah?

Peter Stoner, well respected mathematician and scientist, decided to figure out the odds of doing just that. But instead of trying to calculate all of the prophecies, he just settled on 8. What are the odds that someone could fulfill just 8 of these prophecies. The answer was one in one hundred quadrillion, or 1 with 17 zeros behind it.

That’s a huge number that we can’t even rationalize. To explain this probability Stoner gave the following example. Fill the entire state of Texas two feet deep with silver dollars, one of which is marked. Release a blind man at random inside the state of Texas walking on top of those silver dollars. The odds of him stopping bending down and picking up that silver dollar on the first attempt is the same as anyone meeting just 8 of the prophecies. Jesus is the Messiah.

The Messiah would be the seed/offspring of a woman and would crush the head of Satan (Genesis 3:15)

He would come from the seed/offspring of Abraham and would bless all the nations on earth (Genesis 12:3).

He would be a “prophet like Moses” to whom God said we must listen (Deuteronomy 18:15)

He would be born in Bethlehem of Judah (Micah 5:2)

He would be born of a virgin (Isaiah 7:14)

He would have a throne, a kingdom and a dynasty, or house, starting with King David, that will last forever (2 Samuel 7:16)

He would be called “Wonderful Counselor,” “Mighty God,” “Everlasting Father,” “Prince of Peace,” and would possess an everlasting kingdom (Isaiah 9:6-7)

He would be pierced for our transgression and crushed for our iniquities (Isaiah 53:5)

He would die among the wicked ones but be buried with the rich (Isaiah 53:9)

He would be resurrected from the grave, for God would not allow His Holy One to suffer decay (Psalm 16:10)

Can you see how Jesus “explained to them what was said in all the Scriptures concerning himself?”

We’ve lost this ability. We forget that God told the people exactly what was going to happen and they weren’t prepared for it!

I want to take a brief look at what Gabriel the angel tells Mary when he gives her the news.

Luke 1:30–33 NIV

But the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary; you have found favor with God. You will conceive and give birth to a son, and you are to call him Jesus. He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his father David, and he will reign over Jacob’s descendants forever; his kingdom will never end.”

Did you notice how many prophecies were fulfilled in that statement?

Offspring of a woman - Gen. 3:15

Line of Abraham - Gen. 12:3

Born of a virgin - Isa. 7:14

A throne from the line of David that would last forever! - 2 Sam. 7:16

And it seems like possibly Mary didn’t understand the full weight of what was happening here. She hurried away to be with her family, away from the prying eyes of those who knew her in Nazareth. Yet when she gets there Elizabeth, her cousin, prophesies concerning the baby in the unwed virgin’s womb. And it’s in that moment that it hits Mary and she responds:

Luke 1:46–55 NIV

And Mary said: “My soul glorifies the Lord and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior, for he has been mindful of the humble state of his servant. From now on all generations will call me blessed, for the Mighty One has done great things for me— holy is his name. His mercy extends to those who fear him, from generation to generation. He has performed mighty deeds with his arm; he has scattered those who are proud in their inmost thoughts. He has brought down rulers from their thrones but has lifted up the humble. He has filled the hungry with good things but has sent the rich away empty. He has helped his servant Israel, remembering to be merciful to Abraham and his descendants forever, just as he promised our ancestors.”

Hope Fulfilled

Mary realizes that “The Hopes and Fears of All the Years are Met” in this moment that was coming. The hopes of generations were coming to fulfillment. This was the most anticipated event in the history of the world! And the majority of the people would completely miss it.

I want to take you to one more prophecy, one that the majority of the people in this world are not prepared for. A prophecy written some 535 years before Jesus was to be born.

Daniel is in Babylonian captivity and has a vision the he records in Daniel 7. The vision is far more detailed than we have time for today, but I want to draw our attention to two verses.

Daniel 7:13-14

Daniel 7:13–14 NIV

“In my vision at night I looked, and there before me was one like a son of man, coming with the clouds of heaven. He approached the Ancient of Days and was led into his presence. He was given authority, glory and sovereign power; all nations and peoples of every language worshiped him. His dominion is an everlasting dominion that will not pass away, and his kingdom is one that will never be destroyed.

Do you remember the verses we’ve been talking about the last few weeks? Matt. 24:14, Mark 13:10, that the Gospel must be preached to all nations, and then the end will come. Notice this prophecy in Daniel. All nations and peoples of every language would worship him. All nations.

The point of this passage is that the Son of Man is in charge of it all! That his rule will never end, and he expects the Church to make him known among the nations, and Christmas gives us that opportunity. Advent, expecting his second coming, gives us that opportunity.

Hope Fulfilled

Moses & the prophets gave God’s people a promise of hope in the coming Messiah. The Gospels record that Hope, Jesus - Messiah coming into the world…God become human to save humans, Moses & the Prophets fulfilled.

And Daniel gives us a glimpse of Hope Fulfilled one day when every nation will know, every knee will bow, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord!

And the world needs that Hope! We need to keep that hope in front of us!

Romans 15:13

Romans 15:13 NIV

May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.

Share the hope with others! Be a beacon of hope among the hopeless. Share the story of Jesus with whomever will listen. As you look forward to the celebration of his First coming, keep an eye toward his second coming as well.

If you don’t know this Hope that is only found in following Jesus, now’s the time to change. Now’s the time to commit to following Him!