Hope Reborn

Israel and Jesus

Good evening everyone. I trust you are all having a time of refreshment and worship as we have been walking through our Christmas Eve worship experience. Tonight we are closing out the series called Hope Reborn and I am hoping to talk just really briefly. What I would like to tell you tonight is how all of what we have been talking about actually ties together. How Adam through Moses is connected we have looked at over the past few weeks. Then we need to understand how Israel connects to Jesus. I mean Israel is a nation of people that was made from the covenant with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. Do you know why this covenant is always referred to with all three of these men? Well, actually it is to show the continual covenant and not just a 1 time covenant.

So on Sunday I left you with this quote from

Hosea 11:1 ESV

When Israel was a child, I loved him, and out of Egypt I called my son.

This is interesting because it both refers to something that has already happened, as well as something that is still going to happen. The something that has already happened is of coarse the story that we talked about this past Sunday. The person of Israel that was loved, and then how God called Israel out of Egypt using Moses as a leader. Then you also have Jesus being called out of Egypt. You see in Matt. 2:13-15 says

Matthew 2:13–15 ESV

Now when they had departed, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream and said, “Rise, take the child and his mother, and flee to Egypt, and remain there until I tell you, for Herod is about to search for the child, to destroy him.” And he rose and took the child and his mother by night and departed to Egypt and remained there until the death of Herod. This was to fulfill what the Lord had spoken by the prophet, “Out of Egypt I called my son.”

So in Matthew we read that this passage in Hosea actually does refer to Jesus Christ who is the only hope of the World. This hope was finally fulfilled in the incarnation of God’s true Son by nature, Jesus Christ. Matthew tells us that Jesus fulfills Hosea 11 (Matt. 2:13–15). He is the true Israel, the faithful Israel who succeeds where old covenant Israel failed. Like ancient Israel, He came up out of Egypt, passed through the waters (in his baptism), and was tested in the wilderness. Unlike old covenant Israel, however, Jesus passed the test. He is therefore worthy to be called God’s Son because of who He is in His deity and because of what He accomplished in His humanity.

Let’s briefly remember what happened when Hope was Reborn.

Luke 2:1–20 ESV

In those days a decree went out from Caesar Augustus that all the world should be registered. This was the first registration when Quirinius was governor of Syria. And all went to be registered, each to his own town. And Joseph also went up from Galilee, from the town of Nazareth, to Judea, to the city of David, which is called Bethlehem, because he was of the house and lineage of David, to be registered with Mary, his betrothed, who was with child. And while they were there, the time came for her to give birth. And she gave birth to her firstborn son and wrapped him in swaddling cloths and laid him in a manger, because there was no place for them in the inn. And in the same region there were shepherds out in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night. And an angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were filled with great fear. And the angel said to them, “Fear not, for behold, I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. And this will be a sign for you: you will find a baby wrapped in swaddling cloths and lying in a manger.” And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying, “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace among those with whom he is pleased!” When the angels went away from them into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, “Let us go over to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has made known to us.” And they went with haste and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby lying in a manger. And when they saw it, they made known the saying that had been told them concerning this child. And all who heard it wondered at what the shepherds told them. But Mary treasured up all these things, pondering them in her heart. And the shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all they had heard and seen, as it had been told them.

Tonight you have the opportunity to trust in that Hope that has never failed. Tonight you have that opportunity to decide to turn your focus from you to God…Tonight, you have the choice to be like the Israel that selfishly whined because they thought things were hard…or you have the choice to put your faith in the only Hope that has never failed. if you are here tonight, or online and you have been thinking about making this choice to trust the one who never failed, then I want to ask you to do something specific…For those of you online, I want to ask you right now to click the like button and send us a message here to the church. Then someone will reach out to you so that we can have a conversation. If you are here tonight and you would like to make that

—Prayer—