The Story Ch 22 Birth of the King

Cold Open

Happy Sunday Dublin Powell Youth! Remember back when we studied Mark, and we talked about the tension building before the birth of Christ? Well, we just spent the last 21 lessons walking through that tension ourselves. We’ve read about all of the things Scripture records about God’s story leading up to the birth of Jesus. We’ve talked about the lower story and the upper story and how the Israelites in the lower story often didn’t quite align just right with God’s upper story. And after building His chosen people into a great nation God allowed them in His judgement to be conquered and carried off, far from their home with Him! But then through Cyrus God allowed His people to return home and rebuild the temple, reestablishing the symbols and institutions of their convenant but leaving them under the rule of the kingdoms of the earth, of the Persians and the Greeks and the Romans. And for 400 years after the restoration of the temple God was silent. For 400 years the people of God waited to see what God would do next, how He would free them from Roman oppression, how He would keep His promise that the whole world would be blessed through them, and one night in Bethlehem, the lower story and the upper story became one single narrative when Jesus Christ left his throne in heaven with the Father to be born a human child. Today is Sunday, September 13th, let’s get into it.

Intro Videos

Intro

Wow, so that was our longest story recap yet, but I love how it traces all the way back and shows the thread of God’s redemptive plan throughout the Old Testament. Because honestly one of the biggest well-intentioned mistakes that I see as people unpack the Story of the Bible is that they treat the New Testament as if it’s a big shift, a turning point where God decides oh okay well instead of pouring out my wrath on these people I will send Jesus instead to save them. But nothing could be further from what is reveled in Scripture! Not only does God shower grace abundantly on His rebellious people over and over in the Old Testament, but we can see all along that God was preparing His people to bring forth His kingdom in the world. The Gospel of John begins like this:

John 1:1–14 NIV

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning. Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made. In him was life, and that life was the light of all mankind. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it. There was a man sent from God whose name was John. He came as a witness to testify concerning that light, so that through him all might believe. He himself was not the light; he came only as a witness to the light. The true light that gives light to everyone was coming into the world. He was in the world, and though the world was made through him, the world did not recognize him. He came to that which was his own, but his own did not receive him. Yet to all who did receive him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God—children born not of natural descent, nor of human decision or a husband’s will, but born of God. The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the one and only Son, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.

From the Beginning

Jesus is the Word of God who has been with the Father since the very beginning, and it is of Him that God speaks to Abraham in the very first book of the Bible.

Genesis 26:4–5 NIV

I will make your descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky and will give them all these lands, and through your offspring all nations on earth will be blessed, because Abraham obeyed me and did everything I required of him, keeping my commands, my decrees and my instructions.”

And unlike me when I pretend all the way up to my mom’s birthday that I have this great present for her when really I go shopping for it about 2 days before her birthday, God knew from the start exactly how He would use Israel to bless the nations.

He built Israel, delivered them from slavery in Egypt, guided them through the desert for 40 years, delivered the promised land into their hands by defeating their enemies, delivered them into their enemies hands for the sins of Israel, and brought a faithful remnant home to Jerusalem to wait through 400 years of silence, walked among them for 30 years in Jesus, gave Himself up to their hatred to be condemned to death, rose from the dead, walked among His people AGAIN instructing them on what was to come, then the Holy Spirit descended on them at Pentecost, and it was at THAT moment that the Jews were ready to go out and be a blessing to ALL the nations, sharing the good news that the new kingdom of God was at hand!

…but I’m getting a little bit ahead of our story! Let’s bring it back to the birth of Christ.

Prophesy Fulfilled

Scholars estimate that anywhere between 100 and 350 unique prophesies were fulfilled in the birth, life, and death of Jesus Christ. And it’s clear that while the birth of Jesus was not a dramatic shift in God’s plan, but rather a perfect fulfillment of it, it WAS a dramatic shift in the ways of the world.

Before Jesus, time on the Earth was measured by the kings. We see it all the time in Scripture. “In the 4th year of King Solomon”, “in the 12th year of the reign of Artexerxes”, “in the days of King David”, “During the reign of Ceasar Augustus”. No matter what you do or don’t believe about the divinity of Jesus and whether or not He was the Christ, this year is 2020 A.D. or “Anno Domini” meaning “the year of our Lord”. Sure, the estimate is a little bit off and its likely Jesus was actually born in 6 B.C. or “before Christ”, but the impact remains the same. This is not the 4th year of the presidency of Donald Trump, or the 65th year of her Royal Majesty Elizabeth II, or even the second year of His Majesty the Emperor of Japan. This is the year of our Lord two thousand and twenty.

You see while nothing about God changed because of the birth of Jesus, everything about creation did. All people, not just the Jews have the opportunity to be adopted as children of God the Father, to be grafted into His Holy kingdom that is currently here on Earth, and to delight in the forgiveness of our sins and reconciliation to our creator.

Even more, we no longer have to maintain strict obedience to law in order to earn this privilege, it is freely given, the price already paid by Jesus Christ, God become man, humbly born and lain in a manger in Bethlehem.

Conclusion

Let me pray for us before we go.

Next week, we will continue our study with Jesus’ ministry on Earth, and I can’t wait to study with y’all again. Grace and peace.