The History of Our Hope”
SCRIPTURE: Luke 24:44
“Then He said to them, "These are the words which I spoke to you while I was still with you, that all things must be fulfilled which were written in the Law of Moses and the Prophets and the Psalms concerning Me.”
INTRODUCTION: Advent is the season of preparation. It is marked by candle lights, wreaths and ornaments that remind us to go into the Christmas holiday excited about what God has done and is going to do.
Today is the day we begin our preparation for the coming of Christ. This is the first Sunday in Advent, the Sunday of HOPE.
This is the week where we express the hope we have in knowing that Christ will come again.
To do that we set this Sunday in advent aside to discuss the events leading up to Christ’s first coming.
QUOTE: One of my professors, Dr. Powers, always tells us, “You cannot preach Christ’s second coming until you have successfully preached His first coming”
More than simply discussing the manger, the Virgin Mary or the wise men (which are all significant) this week we are going to step into a time when God was laying out His plan before prophets. Not days and months before the birth of Christ, but centuries prior to the blessed event.
I. We begin by stepping back about six hundred years before Christ to the time of Isaiah
Isaiah 7:14 “Therefore the Lord himself shall give you a sign; Behold, a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel.”
a. This verse has been a point of contention for many scholars
i. They say that this verse doesn’t point to Christ, because the Hebrew word for virgin in this verse is “almah” which means a young maiden of marriageable age
ii. Some people argue that this word does not necessarily mean a virgin
iii. It is important to note, however, that Strong’s Concordance writes in the definition of this Hebrew word a caption: “There is no instance where it can be proved that this word designates a young woman who is not a virgin.”
o What that basically means is that whenever this word is used in scripture it is referring to a virgin
o Yet some scholars contend that either Jesus was not born of a virgin, or that this verse does not refer to Jesus at all
b. But let’s break the verse down and see what it really means:
c. FIRST: The verse boasts that God will give a ‘sign’
i. A young woman conceiving naturally and having a child is not much of a sign; This happens everyday
ii. But if a virgin would conceive and bring forth a child, the conception would then step into the realm of a divine movement of God
iii. The New Testament even goes as far as confirming the virgin birth, and the true meaning of this verse:
o Matthew 1:22-23 “Now all this was done, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken of the Lord by the prophet, saying, Behold, a virgin shall be with child, and shall bring forth a son, and they shall call his name Emmanuel, which being interpreted is, God with us.”
iv. The Greek word in the New Testament for virgin is “Parthenos”, which means virgin!
v. Virgin is what Isaiah meant, virgin is what Matthew meant, virgin is what Mary was, and Jesus’ miraculous birth was clearly foretold in this passage
d. SECOND: The verse also say that He will be called “Immanuel” which means “God with us”
i. There have been many characters in history that thought themselves to be gods, but only one God-Man; Jesus Christ
o John 1:1,2,14 “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. And the Word became flesh, and dwelt among us, and we saw His glory, glory as of the only begotten from the Father, full of grace and truth.”
ii. Jesus was God in the flesh, the eternal who made himself to be lower than the angels to come and fellowship with His creation
iii. This verse in John is a fulfillment of the prophecy from Isaiah – Isaiah prophesied that the one born of the virgin would be called “God” and John, under the inspiration of the Spirit, called Jesus “God”
Transitional Statement:
Isaiah spoke at great lengths about the coming Savior, but He was
not the only prophet to bring the “Good News” a little early
II. Many years before Isaiah, God spoke through Moses and gave Israel the hope of a Savior
Deuteronomy 18:18,19 The Lord said to Moses, “I will raise up a prophet from among their countrymen like you, and I will put My words in his mouth, and he shall speak to them all that I command him. It shall come about that whoever will not listen to My words which he shall speak in My name, I Myself will require it of him.”
a. How is this verse a specific prophecy about Christ?
i. Although many prophets spoke God’s Word after Moses, it is obvious that this was a specific prophecy concerning a specific prophet
ii. It said God would raise “a prophet” meaning he was pointing to one in particular
iii. This Prophet would speak as no prophet before, He would carry the very words of God on His lips
b. Jesus was known for many things: miracles, signs and wonders – but the one trait of Jesus that stood above all else was His skills as an orator (speaker)
i. No one has ever spoken with the wisdom, elegance and power that Jesus did
ii. Matthew 7:28, 29 “And it came to pass, when Jesus had ended these sayings, the people were astonished at his doctrine: For he taught them as one having authority, and not as the scribes.”
iii. Even non-Christians are moved by His powerful words and often are found using His quotes without knowing
c. He also fulfilled the second part of the prophecy
i. “…It shall come about that whoever will not listen to My words which he shall speak in My name, I Myself will require it of him”
ii. John 12:47-50 “And if any man hear my words, and believe not, I judge him not: for I came not to judge the world, but to save the world. He that rejecteth me, and receiveth not my words, hath one that judgeth him: the word that I have spoken, the same shall judge him in the last day. For I have not spoken of myself; but the Father which sent me, he gave me a commandment, what I should say, and what I should speak. And I know that his commandment is life everlasting: whatsoever I speak therefore, even as the Father said unto me, so I speak.”
iii. Jesus clarified that it was not He who was being the judge, but the very Words He was speaking, which came from God, that brought judgment
iv. God will bring judgment on all who hear His Words and do not heed them
v. Jesus also said, “…Blessed are they that hear the word of God, and keep it.” (Luke 11:28b)
Transitional Statement:
The most amazing prophetic fulfillments by Jesus are those things that happened
by outside circumstances (things that were obviously in God’s control)
III. Even the place of Jesus’ birth was a prophetic miracle
Micah 5:2a “But thou, Beth-lehem Ephratah, though thou be little among the thousands of Judah, yet out of thee shall he come forth unto me that is to be ruler in Israel; whose goings forth have been from of old, from everlasting.”
a. It is appropriate that Jesus would b born in Bethlehem
i. The name Bethlehem means, “House of Bread”
ii. Jesus is the “Bread of Life”
b. However, Jesus should have been born in Nazareth, not Bethlehem
i. It occurred however that, just in time for His birth, Jesus’ earthly parents were called to Bethlehem for a census
ii. God used a Roman census to get Mary to just the right place at just the right time
c. I am sure that, if given a choice, Mary would not have wanted to travel all the way from Nazareth to Bethlehem while pregnant
i. Illustration “Long Walk” According to world distance walking record holder Arthur Blessitt, Mary walked 130 miles (209 km) from Nazareth to Bethlehem, which was south of Jerusalem. He also points out that walking was the mode of transportation back then and there is no account in the Bible that she ever rode on a donkey as she is often portrayed
ii. It was Joseph’s lineage, being from the house of David, that caused them to have to travel this great distance – something that, again, defies anyone’s ability to manipulate
iii. It is amazing how the sovereign hand of God was guiding and controlling the situation so that His will would be accomplished
d. And we can be sure that this prophecy was dealing with Jesus because of the conclusion
i. “Whose goings forth have been from of old, from everlasting”
ii. Only Jesus could boast that He is not only eternal forward, but preexistent as well
CONCLUSION: What a grand hope these prophets must have felt as God showed them the Savior who was to come!
Too often we have a tendency to lose hope. We fight battles with each other or face tremendous trials and we just cannot seem to see the light at the end of the tunnel
But just as God gave light to His people hundreds of years ago through His prophets, He continues to give light to us through His Son
As we enter this season of Advent, let us do so with a true sense of hope.
Hope for God’s presence with us through the Christmas season, hope for His blessing on us in the New year and the blessed hope of our Savior…
Who is risen… and is coming again
Oh, what a blessed hope!
(Let us pray)
---INVITATION---
