The Promised One: Advent Day 22

Read & Journal

Read Luke 2:1-7. Consider these questions:

• This passage may seem familiar, but take a moment to consider what you’ve just read. What details stick out to you? Did you notice anything you hadn’t before? Think about your current context (life experience, current events or circumstances you have faced or are facing presently). Because of your lived experience, what did you notice as you read?

• What do these verses teach you about God? About his character?

• What did you learn about Jesus? About his mission or purpose?

• How do you see God’s promises or prophecy being fulfilled in this passage?

• Why is it important that Jesus’ family was in the line of David?

• Consider the circumstances of Jesus’ birth. What words would you use to describe the scene?

• Why is it important to note that Jesus’ birth was humble? Explain.

• The Jews expected the Messiah to come, but not in a lowly manger. Have you ever placed your own expectations on Jesus? What did you learn from that experience?

Ponder

Life was full of changes, but one thing had remained constant over the centuries: God was going to send the Messiah. He had promised a Savior from the very beginning, proclaimed it through prophets and priests and kings. And now, at just the right time, God set that promise into motion in Bethlehem.

Scholars may debate the historical details surrounding the timing of Jesus’ birth, but Scripture simply states a few facts. Joseph had to go to Bethlehem for a census, and for whatever reason, Mary went with him. If the couple traveled through Samaria, the trip was about 85 to 90 miles, and Mary was in the final stages of her pregnancy.

Giving birth to her first child far from home without the guidance of her mother or a midwife probably wasn’t what Mary had envisioned. But, in light of the scandal her pregnancy had likely caused, maybe it was better to take a tiring journey with Joseph than stay home alone. Whatever the reason, it accomplished God’s purposes, because while they were there “the time came for her baby to be born” (Luke 2:6), fulfilling a Micah 5:2 prophecy that the Messiah would be born there.

The promises, the prophecies—they were all coming true. The story of redemption God had been weaving throughout history—through his interactions with the patriarchs, the Israelites, the world—culminated in this moment. God had kept his promise; the Messiah had come.

The Jews expected the Messiah to be a warrior, a charismatic, attention-getting leader who set the world straight and released them from oppression. They expected a Messiah who arrived with celebration and earthly power, not a baby wrapped in swaddling clothes lying in a manger in Bethlehem. Jesus’ birth was humble and lowly, the King of kings putting on flesh and making his home among us (John 1:14). He, who deserves all power and glory and honor, became like us.

We often come to God with expectations. We expect him to answer our prayers in a certain way, according to our timeframe. We tell him what our lives should look like or ask him to shape his will to fit ours. But Jesus’ birth should teach us that God does not always fit inside the box we create for him. God is not defined by our expectations of him, but rather his character. His plan of redemption didn’t fit anything the Jews had imagined—and his ability to work in our lives lies beyond even our greatest expectations. He can do infinitely more than we can ask or imagine (Eph. 3:20).

Today, let go of the expectations. Stop trying to put Jesus into the box you have created for him. God’s plans for your life may not look exactly like the life you expected, but lay it down. What he can do through you to build his kingdom is bigger and better than you could ever imagine.

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