Generations of Israelites had been waiting for God to fulfill His promise, “the virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and will call him Immanuel” (Isaiah 7:14).
However, the people’s minds were set on a king as great and powerful as David. Finally, they thought the suffering and humiliation caused by their enemies would end. And the shoe of oppression would be on the other foot, and they would dominate their enemies. Expecting the Messiah to reign was, in the people’s minds, a reasonable interpretation of the prophets.
God had other plans. His King would overthrow sin instead. The people looked for a king of power as the means to salvation.
We are not so different from the Israelites. Our first reason for coming to Jesus is not salvation, but empowerment. We want Jesus to help us rise in this world and to trample the enemies of our success. We want the rich brought low, so we can be rich. We want the powerful toppled, so we can be powerful. We want Jesus to be a conquering King. And we believe that our hopes are reasonable.
God seems unreasonable. He made visible His kingdom by sending Jesus. Christ conquered sin but not the sinner; the ruination of sin was the salvation of the sinner.
God sees in the cradle, Jesus, His conquering King and Savior. God sees on the cross, Jesus, His conquering King and Savior. Blessed are we when we see what God sees.
Denise Larson Cooper has a passion for Christ and sharing His Word. A wife and mother of two daughters, Denise currently works as a gymnastic coach.
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Godnesia: Keeping God in Mind Each Day http://amzn.to/2GSquOD
Ordinary Days With an Extraordinary Savior – http://amzn.to/2mFGASBLife Is a Metaphor: Recognizing God in the Everyday – http://amzn.to/2De1rU2