Advent of the King

He will be great, and will be called the Son of the Highest; and the LORD God will give Him the throne of His father David. And He will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of His kingdom there will be no end. (Luke 1:32-33)

A throne and a kingdom signify a King. The birth of Jesus, His coming into the world, is the fulfillment of the promise God made long ago to David, that his descendent would forever occupy his throne. Isaiah likewise prophesied concerning the birth of this King.

For unto us a Child is born,
Unto us a Son is given;
And the government will be upon His shoulder.
And His name will be called
Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God,
Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.
Of the increase of His government and peace
There will be no end,
Upon the throne of David and over His kingdom,
To order it and establish it with judgment and justice
From that time forward, even forever.
The zeal of the LORD of Hosts will perform this.

(Isaiah 9:6-7)

The Magi came to Jerusalem and asked, “Where is He who has been born King of the Jews? For we have seen His star in the East and have come to worship Him” (Matthew 2:2). They were not of the house of Jacob. They were not even of the house of Jacob’s brother, Esau, from whom the paranoid king, Herod, descended. Yet, they understood that the time for the Great King had come (and it was not Herod). They had seen His star, prophesied in Numbers 24:16-17, “A Star shall come out of Jacob; a Scepter shall rise out of Israel,” and they came to give Him honor. They were of the goyim, the surrounding pagan nations — Gentiles. The kingdom and the covenant were not theirs, yet they understood that this King would be a benefit to the whole world. For just as the star could be seen in their land, so the King would arise not only in Israel but out of Israel — for the sake of the whole world.

This theme of kingship carried forth in the life and ministry of Jesus. After He was baptized by John and driven into the wilderness by the Holy Spirit, where He was proved for forty days, He came preaching, “The time is fulfilled, the kingdom of God is at hand. Repent and believe in the gospel” (Mark 1:15). His healing miracles manifested the authority of this kingdom: “If I cast out demons by the Spirit of God, surely the kingdom of God has come upon you,” He said (Matthew 12:28).

Standing before Pilate, who asked, “Are You the King of the Jews?” Jesus answered, “It is as you say.” Before Caiaphas, the high priest who demanded, “Tell us if You are the Christ, the Son of God,” Jesus said, ““It is as you said. Nevertheless, I say to you, hereafter you will see the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of the Power, and coming on the clouds of heaven” (Matthew 26:64). This was a reference to the prophetic vision of Daniel:

I was watching in the night visions,
And behold, One like the Son of Man,
Coming with the clouds of heaven!
He came to the Ancient of Days,
And they brought Him near before Him.
Then to Him was given dominion and glory and a kingdom,
That all peoples, nations, and languages should serve Him.
His dominion is an everlasting dominion,
Which shall not pass away,
And His kingdom the one
Which shall not be destroyed.

(Daniel 7:13-14)

When He was crucified, the charge placed above His head read, “THIS IS JESUS THE KING OF THE JEWS.” The resurrection from the dead by the Spirit of God demonstrated that King Jesus the Messiah, born of the seed of David, is indeed the Son of God (Romans 1:4-5). And before He ascended to His throne in heaven, at the right hand of the Father, Jesus came to the disciples and said, “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth,” then He commissioned them to teach all nations everything He had taught them (Matthew 28:18-20).

In Revelation, He is called Pantokrator, which means “almighty” or “all-powerful,” and “King of the Saints.”

Who shall not fear You, O Lord, and glorify Your name?
For You alone are holy.
For all nations shall come and worship before You,
For Your judgments have been manifested.

(Revelation15:3-4)

The coming of Jesus the Messiah into the world is the advent of the King who reigns over all.

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Let Earth Receive Her King
Advent, Christmas and the Kingdom of God
by Jeff Doles

Preview with Amazon’s “Look Inside.”

Available in paperback and Kindle (Amazon), epub (Google and iTunes) and PDF.

Mary in Expectation

Behold the maidservant of the Lord! Let it be to me according to your word. (Luke 1:38)

The angel Gabriel spoke the promise to Mary, “Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bring forth a Son, and shall call His name Jesus. He will be great, and will be called the Son of the Highest; and the Lord God will give Him the throne of His father David. And He will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of His kingdom there will be no end” (Luke 1:30-33).

Mary did not doubt, but she did not understand. “How can this be, since I do not know a man?” she asked (v. 34). So the angel told her. Now, the promise was amazing enough, but the explanation was even more astonishing: “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Highest will overshadow you; therefore, also, that Holy One who is to be born will be called the Son of God. Now indeed, Elizabeth your relative has also conceived a son in her old age; and this is now the sixth month for her who was called barren. For with God nothing will be impossible.”” (vv. 35-37).

The favor of God had indeed come upon Mary. Her response was simple and direct: “Behold the maidservant of the Lord! Let it be to me according to your word.” The word of the Lord had come; she presented herself to God and laid hold of His promise. Her expectation was now set: Whatever the angel of God had spoken, that is what would come to pass. The Holy Spirit would come upon her, she would bear the Son of God, who would assume the throne of David and bring His eternal kingdom into the world.

As the Child began to grow inside her, so did her expectation of what God’s word to her meant. Pregnant and pondering, Mary visited her cousin Elizabeth, who was beyond childbearing years but also miraculously with child. When Mary entered the house, Elizabeth’s babe quickened inside her and she immediately recognized the significance, for the angel Gabriel had also come to her husband Zachariah, with the promise of a child who would “turn the children of Israel to the Lord their God” (Luke 1:16). “He will be filled with the Holy Spirit, even from his mother’s womb,” the angel said (v. 15).

So, Elizabeth, too, was living in divine expectation, and now the child in her womb was alerting her that the Lord had come to her home. Filled with the Holy Spirit, she said, “Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb! But why is this granted to me, that the mother of my Lord should come to me? For indeed, as soon as the voice of your greeting sounded in my ears, the babe leaped in my womb for joy. Blessed is she who believed, for there will be a fulfillment of those things which were told her from the Lord” (Luke vv. 42-45). Elizabeth’s expectation had increased and now included expectation for the promise that had been given to Mary. At this, Mary poured out her all her ponderings in a song of praise.

My soul magnifies the Lord,
    and my spirit has rejoiced in God my Savior.
For He has regarded the lowly state of His maidservant;
For behold, henceforth all generations will call me blessed.
    For He who is mighty has done great things for me,
    and holy is His name.
And His mercy is on those who fear Him
    from generation to generation.
He has shown strength with His arm;
    He has scattered the proud in the imagination of their hearts.
He has put down the mighty from their thrones,
    and exalted the lowly.
He has filled the hungry with good things,
    and the rich He has sent away empty.
He has helped His servant Israel,
    in remembrance of His mercy,
As He spoke to our fathers,
    to Abraham and to his seed forever.”

(Luke 1:46-55)

See how big her expectation. It was not just about what God was doing for her but what He was doing for Israel and, more than that, how He was fulfilling the word He spoke to Abraham. This was the promise that He would bless all the families of the world through the seed of Abraham. Mary’s expectation was as big as the world. Even though she had not yet given birth to Jesus, she counted God’s promise to Abraham as fulfilled. For whatever God has begun, He will bring to completion.

Advent is a season of great expectation. A season for believing the fulfillment of all that God has promised. A season for presenting ourselves to the Lord and saying, “Behold the servant of the Lord! Let it be to me according to your word.”

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Let Earth Receive Her King
Advent, Christmas and the Kingdom of God
by Jeff Doles

Preview with Amazon’s “Look Inside.”

Available in paperback and Kindle (Amazon), epub (Google and iTunes) and PDF.

Simeon and Anna in Expectation

Behold, there was a man in Jerusalem whose name was Simeon, and this man was just and devout, waiting for the Consolation of Israel, and the Holy Spirit was upon him. And it had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he would not see death before he had seen the Lord’s Christ. (Luke 2:25-26)

Forty days after Jesus was born, Mary and Joseph brought him to Jerusalem, to the temple to be dedicated to the Lord (Luke 2:22-24). This was standard practice for all firstborn children, according to the Law of Moses. There was nothing unusual about what they were doing … except for what happened next.

It is as this point in his narrative that Luke introduces us to Simeon, and in a very significant way — with the word Behold. In the Bible, “behold” is a word that focuses our attention and calls us to see something of importance. Others in the temple that day might not have noticed what happened next, but Luke does not want us to miss it.

Simeon was a man of no special prominence in Jerusalem. Neither a priest, nor a politician, nor a religious leader. But he was a man who had received a very special promise from God, revealed to him by the Holy Spirit: Before he died, Simeon would lay his yes on God’s Messiah.

Now, on the very same day that Mary and Joseph brought Jesus into the temple, the Holy Spirit led Simeon in also. “By the Spirit” is how Luke puts it. We do not know exactly how it was, whether it was a conscious revelation or merely a prompting in Simeon’s spirit, to which he had learned to be obedient. However it happened, the Spirit of God got him there at precisely the right place and precisely the right time.

It was a moment of fulfillment, for Simeon, certainly, but more importantly, it was a realization of God’s plan from the beginning. His purpose in Adam, in Abraham, in Jacob, in Moses and the children of Israel, in King David and all the prophets, was now being realized in the presentation of Jesus. Simeon immediately recognized Him for who He was — the Messiah, God’s Anointed. Scooping Him up in his arms, Simeon blessed God:

Lord, now You are letting Your servant depart in peace,
According to Your word;
For my eyes have seen Your salvation
Which You have prepared before the face of all peoples,
A light to bring revelation to the Gentiles,
And the glory of Your people Israel.”

(Luke 2:29-32)

Now, coming into the temple at that same moment was a very elderly prophetess named Anna. She had been a widow for about 84 years and had spent her life fasting and praying, night and day, in the temple courts (vv.36-37).Perhaps she had seen Simeon before. Perhaps they had spoken about the promise he had received. Or perhaps it was a life spent in prayer which sharpened her senses so that, when she saw Simeon with Mary and Joseph and Jesus, she immediately understood what was happening. Though Luke does not say, there is no reason to doubt that she, too, was led in by the Spirit. Recognizing the presence of Jesus, Her response was simple, but significant. “She gave thanks to the Lord, and spoke of Him to all those who looked for redemption in Jerusalem” (v. 38).

You see, like Simeon, Anna had an expectation that the Anointed One would soon come and God’s promise would be fulfilled. And they were not the only ones. There were others also who had such an expectation and “looked for redemption in Jerusalem.” Anna sought them out and shared the good news with them.

Of course, Anna and Simeon were old and would not get to see Jesus move through the stages in His life. They would not witness the cross or see His in resurrection. No matter. They had learned to hear the voice of God and to be led by the Spirit. They had learned to live in expectation of the promise of God. They had learned to behold, and to understand what they were seeing. They had seen enough to know that God’s kingdom purpose in Israel would be fulfilled and all the world would be blessed by it. It was now beginning before their eyes.

Two thousand years later, we have still not yet seen the full manifestation God’s kingdom in the world, the will of God being done thoroughly and completely on earth as it is in heaven. But it has begun and is increasing every day. Jesus said, “From the days of John the Baptist until now, the kingdom of heaven has been forcefully advancing and forceful men lay hold of it” (Matthew 11:12 NIV). “The law and the prophets were until John. Since that time the kingdom of God has been preached, and everyone is pressing into it” (Luke 16:16). The apostle John put it like this: “The darkness is passing away, and the true light is already shining” (1 John 2:8).

The infant Messiah, beheld and blessed by Simeon and Anna, grew to manhood and went to the cross for our sake. Forty days after His resurrection, He ascended to His throne at the right hand of the Father. We are now living in the days of King Jesus the Messiah, Lord of heaven and earth. Of Him, the prophet Isaiah said, “Of the increase of His government and peace there will be no end” (Isaiah 9:7).

As you look to a new year, do you hear the promise of God? Do you see the kingdom of God breaking into the world and increasing? Do you behold King Jesus? Do you pray as He taught us, “Kingdom of God, come. Will of God, be done on earth as it is in heaven”? Do you yield yourself to be led by the Spirit of God, that this expectation may come to pass in you?

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Let Earth Receive Her King
Advent, Christmas and the Kingdom of God
by Jeff Doles

Preview with Amazon’s “Look Inside.”

Available in paperback and Kindle (Amazon), epub (Google and iTunes) and PDF.

The Pleasure of God at Christmas

Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace among those with whom He is pleased!” (ESV)

This is the crescendo of the good news the angel of the Lord announced to shepherds on the night Jesus was born. A multitude of angels now appeared in the heavens with this praise.

• Glory to God in the highest. The highest praises heaven can offer belong to God as He brings forth the fulfillment of the promises He made to Abraham, David and the prophets. God’s gift of the Messiah King, Jesus, is the greatest revelation of His glory.
• Peace on earth. The coming of Jesus into the world brings the peace, the shalom, of God. It is wholeness, restoration, reconciliation, the mending of rifts between God and man, man and fellow man, man and creation.
• Among those with whom He is pleased. The coming of Jesus into the world is the pleasure of God revealed.

It is this last point that I want to focus on here. The Greek for “pleased” is eudokia. It is used often in the New Testament to speak of God’s pleasure and delight. The angels’ announcement meant that God’s favor and good will were now being made manifest on the objects of His delight.

What is it that delights God and who are those with whom He is pleased, who bring Him pleasure?

First, it is Jesus Himself that pleases God, not only in His divinity (in which the Father always delighted) but now also in His humanity. When Jesus was baptized by John, identifying with repentant sinners whom He came to save, the voice of the Father came from heaven and said, “You are My beloved Son; in You I am well pleased [eudokeo]” (Luke 3:22). It was repeated again at the mount of transfiguration, where Jesus shone in all His glory and the voice of the Father said, “This is My beloved Son in whom I am well pleased [eudokeo]. Hear Him!” (Matthew 17:5).

Eudokeo is the word used when Matthew quotes the prophet Isaiah concerning Messiah and which Matthew applies to Jesus: “Behold! My Servant whom I have chosen, My Beloved in whom My soul is well pleased! I will put My Spirit upon Him, and He will declare justice to the Gentiles” (Matthew 13:18; it is also the word used in the LXX, the ancient Greek translation of the Hebrew Scriptures, in Isaiah 42:1, the passage Matthew cites).

Jesus used this same word when He spoke to His disciples about the kingdom: “Do not fear, little flock, for it is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom” (Luke 12:32). And in His prayer of thanksgiving when the disciples returned rejoicing, having healed the sick, expelled demonic spirits and preached the kingdom of God in Jesus’ name: “I thank You, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that You have hidden these things from the wise and prudent and revealed them to babes. Even so, Father, for so it seemed good [eudokia] in Your sight” (Luke 10:21). It pleases God to reveal His kingdom to those who simply trust Him.

Again and again, it is in Jesus Christ that the pleasure of God is revealed. Paul says that God “predestined us to adoption as sons by Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the good pleasure [eudokia] of His will …having made known to us the mystery of His will, according to His good pleasure [eudokia] which He purposed in Himself.” (Ephesians 1:5, 9). “For it pleased [eudokia] the Father that in Him [Jesus] all the fullness should dwell, and by Him to reconcile all things to Himself, by Him, whether things on earth or things in heaven, having made peace through the blood of His cross” (Colossians 1:19).

But it is also in us that God desires to show His pleasure. Paul says, “It is God who works in you both to will and to do for His good pleasure [eudokia]” (Philippians 2:13). In 2 Thessalonians 1:11-12, he says, “Therefore we also pray always for you that our God would count you worthy of this calling, and fulfill all the good pleasure [eudokia] of His goodness and the work of faith with power, that the name of our Lord Jesus Christ may be glorified in you, and you in Him, according to the grace of our God and the Lord Jesus Christ.”

God is doing a work of faith in us, His power manifesting in us to reveal the glory of King Jesus dwelling within. It is His good pleasure to bring this work to fulfillment in us.

It is by faith that we enter into the richness of God’s pleasure. “Without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him” (Hebrews 11:6). The Greek word for “please” here is not eudokia but euarestio, but it means the same thing. Without faith, it is impossible to please, but believing God and seeking Him with great expectation pleases God greatly.

Paul tells us, “Faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the Word of God” (Romans 10:17). So, “since, in the wisdom of God, the world through wisdom did not know God, it pleased [eudokeo] God through the foolishness of the message preached to save those who believe” (1 Corinthians 1:21). It pleases God for us to believe the good news of Jesus the Messiah and, through faith, bring us to restoration and wholeness in Him.

The coming of King Jesus into the world reveals the glory of God and the peace of God but also the pleasure of God.

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Let Earth Receive Her King
Advent, Christmas and the Kingdom of God
by Jeff Doles

Preview with Amazon’s “Look Inside.”

Available in paperback and Kindle (Amazon), epub (Google and iTunes) and PDF.

Shepherds’ Wonder, Angels’ Awe

On the night of Jesus’ birth, an angel of the Lord appeared to lowly shepherds tending their flocks in a nearby field. The glory of the Lord flooded them with brilliant light. They had never seen anything like this before and it was far beyond anything they could have ever imagined.

They were terrified. But then they heard a voice that turned their terror to wonder:

Then the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid, for behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy which will be to all people.” (Luke 2:10)

Good tidings! Great joy! And it would be for all people, even those of low estate and low esteem — like the shepherds. Quite unexpectedly, they now found themselves at the hinge point in the history of the world, and the birth of a king was being heralded to them. In a field. At night. By an angel of the Lord.

“For there is born to you this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord.” (v. 11)

This was not about just any king, but about the King. The Anointed One promised by God through the prophets long ago. The descendent of David who would sit on his throne and reign forever. This was about Christ the Lord — the Messiah King!

“And this will be a sign to you: You will find a Babe wrapped in swaddling, lying in a manger.” (v. 12)

Such an exalted King; such a humble entrance into His domain. Wrapped in strips of old cloth and cradled in a feeding trough. That would be the sign to the shepherds. Surely they needed that sign or else they would have been looking in all the wrong places for all the wrong reasons. Expecting to see finery and a royal court in attendance, they would have felt very much out of place.

Now a multitude of the heavenly army appeared, for as marvelous as this news was for shepherds, it was just as wonderful for angels. They could no longer remain silent but began praising God:

Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, goodwill toward men. (v. 14)

The angels were well aware of the glory of God that flooded heaven and filled the earth (Isaiah 6:3), but now they were witnessing the announcement of good news and redemption entering the world. It is something that, as Peter says, the angels of God eagerly desire to look into, stooping down and craning their necks, as it were, to gaze upon this great mystery (1 Peter 1:12). What they had greatly anticipated was now being realized, and they were in awe.

At the birth of Jesus the Messiah King, shepherds trembled in unexpected wonder and angels stooped deeply in awe.

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Let Earth Receive Her King
Advent, Christmas and the Kingdom of God
by Jeff Doles

Preview with Amazon’s “Look Inside.”

Available in paperback and Kindle (Amazon), epub (Google and iTunes) and PDF.

His Coming Brings Divine Dominion

For unto us a Child is born,
Unto us a Son is given;
And the government will be upon His shoulder.
And His name will be called
Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God,
Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.

(Isaiah 9:6 ESV)

So far in this prophetic song, Isaiah has spoken of the dawn of a great light in the midst of darkness (see His Coming Brings Light), the enlargement of the nation of Israel, ecstatic joy like that of the harvest and of portioning out the spoils of victorious battle. He has sung of the yoke being shattered, the burden being destroyed, and the rod of the oppressor being broken (see His Coming Brings Increase and Joy).

How would all this come about? Isaiah reveals the surprising answer, “For unto us a Child is born, unto us a Son is given.” The dawning of the light comes in the birth of a child. Not just any child, but one that is given, or sent, by God. This is the Anointed Son prophesied by King David in Psalm 2:

“Yet I have set My King
On My holy hill of Zion.”
I will declare the decree:
The LORD has said to me,
“You are My Son,
Today I have begotten You.
Ask of Me, and I will give You
The nations for Your inheritance,
And the ends of the earth for Your possession.
You shall break them with a rod of iron;
You shall dash them to pieces like a potter’s vessel.”

(Psalm 2:6-9)

It is this Messiah King of which Isaiah now sings. For the government will rest upon His shoulders and to Him will be given dominion — a kingdom. He is called by a series of titles, all of which emphasize His divinity.

• Wonderful. The Hebrew word refers to miracles that distinguish Him from all others and inspire wonder. Messiah would not only work wonders but would Himself be a wonder.
• Counselor. This speaks of great wisdom and purpose, and the ability to guide His people with divine counsel.
• Mighty God. He does not come as merely a divine-like being but as the one true God, as this name indicates elsewhere in Scripture (see Deuteronomy 10:17; Jeremiah 32:8; Nehemiah 9:32; and especially, because it is so close in context, Isaiah 10:21). It is a name that indicates divine power and strength.
• Everlasting Father, or Father of Eternity. As such, He will not decline, as other kings must, but will rule and reign forever.
• Prince of Peace. His reign is one that brings peace (Hebrew, shalom). This is prosperity of every kind and wholeness in every way.

Isaiah now turns our attention to the kingdom of this eternal King.

Of the increase of his government and of peace
There will be no end,
On the throne of David and over his kingdom,
To establish it and to uphold it
With justice and with righteousness
From this time forth and forevermore.
The zeal of the LORD of hosts will do this.

(Isaiah 9:7 ESV)

The Holman Christian Standard Bible renders it this way: “The dominion will be vast and its prosperity will never end.” The reign of God’s Messiah King will increase until His glory is revealed in all the earth, and every nation of the world will experience the peace and prosperity of His dominion. This was God’s plan in choosing Abraham in the first place, and making of Him a great nation. And this was His purpose in choosing David, a “man after My own heart,” to be its king.

This divine plan is now in the process of being fulfilled in the reign of King Jesus, son of David and son of Abraham, to redeem humanity, restore all of creation and accomplish the mandate God gave Adam to “be fruitful and multiply,” “fill the earth and subdue it,” and “have dominion” (Genesis 1:28). He is now establishing and enlarging His kingdom throughout the earth. It is a kingdom of justice and rightness that will last forever.

Though it has not yet come in all its fullness, this kingdom is already breaking into the world and it will be complete when the King comes again. Just as Jesus first entered the world as a child but then grew up into His destiny, likewise, His kingdom starts small but continues to grow until it will one day fill the earth. For it is the zeal of the LORD of Hosts, the intense desire and purpose of God, to bring it through to completeness.

The coming of King Jesus the Messiah brings the dominion of God into all the world.

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Let Earth Receive Her King
Advent, Christmas and the Kingdom of God
by Jeff Doles

Preview with Amazon’s “Look Inside.”

Available in paperback and Kindle (Amazon), epub (Google and iTunes) and PDF.

His Coming Brings Increase and Joy

You have multiplied the nation;
You have increased its joy;
They rejoice before you
As with joy at the harvest,
As they are glad when they divide the spoil.

(Isaiah 9:3 ESV)

The prophet Isaiah has slipped into prophetic poetry (beginning in verse 2; see His Coming Brings Light). It was not the song the people in his own day were singing but one that would arise in the northern and southern territory of Galilee. It is cast in a prophetic tense, and that he sings it as though it were already accomplished demonstrates the surety that it would come to pass.

The Hebrew word for “multiplied” means increase, abundance, expansion, enlargement, to become great and many. Israel, the people of the promise given to Abraham, would multiply and increase, in number and influence, because of the light that would dawn in Galilee. But there would also be an increase in joy, like that of harvest time. The time of sowing in tears past; the time of reaping and gathering begun. A festival time. And gladness, like that of dividing the spoils. Ecstatic joy! The Hebrew word for “gladness” here literally means to turn about or spin around. Why? Because the enemy has been broken and what was stolen has been restored, with plenty more besides. See how the prophet sings in verses 4-5:

For the yoke of his burden,
And the staff for his shoulder,
The rod of his oppressor,
You have broken as on the day of Midian.
For every boot of the tramping warrior in battle tumult
And every garment rolled in blood
Will be burned as fuel for the fire.

(ESV)

The lifting of the burden, the breaking of the yoke, deliverance from the oppressor — this is the work of the anointing (see Isaiah 10:27; the KJV particularly brings out that this is anointing). It is the work of the Anointed One — Messiah! It is fulfilled in the coming of King Jesus, who took the text of Isaiah 61as the charter of His ministry. Standing in the synagogue to read, as He began His ministry, He unfolded the scroll of Isaiah to that place and began:

The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me,
Because He has anointed Me
To preach the gospel to the poor;
He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted,
To proclaim liberty to the captives
And recovery of sight to the blind,
To set at liberty those who are oppressed;
To proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord.

Then sitting down to teach, He announced, “Today this Scripture is fulfilled in your hearing” (Luke 4:17-22). It was the kingdom of God breaking into the world. Not all at once and in all its fullness, but as a seed that has been growing and expanding ever since.

All this the prophet foretold would begin in Galilee, in the circle of the nations. For as Isaiah 9:6-7 will go on to show, it is not only for Israel’s, but for all the nations of the earth (see His Coming Brings Divine Dominion).

The coming of King Jesus the Messiah into the world brings abundance of blessing and ecstatic joy.

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Let Earth Receive Her King
Advent, Christmas and the Kingdom of God
by Jeff Doles

Preview with Amazon’s “Look Inside.”

Available in paperback and Kindle (Amazon), epub (Google and iTunes) and PDF.

His Coming Brings Light

The people who walked in darkness
Have seen a great light;
Those who dwelt in a land of deep darkness,
On them has light shined.

(Isaiah 9:2 ESV)

Isaiah 9 is a messianic prophecy. That is, it foretells the coming of Messiah into the world. Verse 1 speaks of the judgment the northern tribes of Israel were about to experience because of their rebellion against God. But there was also a promise of a time of restoration:

But there will be no gloom for her who was in anguish. In the former time he brought into contempt the land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali, but in the latter time he has made glorious the way of the sea, the land beyond the Jordan, Galilee of the nations. (ESV)

Zebulun was in lower portion of Galilee and Naphtali in the upper. But both were overshadowed, oppressed by the Syrians and Phoenicians and corrupted by their ways. The “way of the sea” was the region of the Sea of Galilee. “Galilee” comes from a Hebrew word that means “circle.” These tribes were surrounded, encircled by the nations in upper Galilee.

However, the light of God would once again break through the darkness and shine brightly in this region. After a long night, a new dawn would come.

Matthew finds this new dawn in the ministry of Jesus. However, it was not just the dawning of Jesus’ ministry, but the kingdom of God arising in the earth, now present in the person of the King.

Now when Jesus heard that John had been put in prison, He departed to Galilee. And leaving Nazareth, He came and dwelt in Capernaum, which is by the sea, in the regions of Zebulun and Naphtali, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by Isaiah the prophet, saying:

The land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali,
By the way of the sea, beyond the Jordan,
Galilee of the Gentiles:
The people who sat in darkness have seen a great light,
And upon those who sat in the region
    and shadow of death
Light has dawned.

From that time Jesus began to preach and to say, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.” (Matthew 4:12-17)

Years before, an old man named Simeon had been watching for its coming, for he had received a promise from God that he would see it in his lifetime. On the day Mary and Joseph brought their infant Child for dedication in the Temple, the Spirit of God led Simeon in also. When he saw Jesus, he took Him up in his arms and praised God:

Lord, now You are letting Your servant depart in peace,
According to Your word;
For my eyes have seen Your salvation
Which You have prepared before the face of all peoples,
A light to bring revelation to the Gentiles,
And the glory of Your people Israel.”

(Luke 2:29-32)

The coming of King Jesus the Messiah into the world brings a light that reveals the glory of God to all the nations of the earth.

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Let Earth Receive Her King
Advent, Christmas and the Kingdom of God
by Jeff Doles

Preview with Amazon’s “Look Inside.”

Available in paperback and Kindle (Amazon), epub (Google and iTunes) and PDF.

God Rest You Merry

God rest you merry, gentlemen
Let nothing you dismay
Remember Christ our Savior
Was born on Christmas day
To save us all from satan’s power
When we were gone astray
O tidings of comfort and joy
Comfort and joy
O tidings of comfort and joy

This, of course, is from that hearty old English carol, “God Rest You Merry, Gentlemen.” It speaks not only of comfort, but also of joy and merriment, just as the Gospel does, the good news that King Jesus has come into the world.

In the Old Testament, the prophet Isaiah brought God’s promise of comfort for His people, comfort that would be fulfilled through the Messiah, the Anointed (see Christmas in Isaiah):

“Comfort, yes, comfort My people!”
Says your God.
“Speak comfort to Jerusalem, and cry out to her,
That her warfare is ended,
That her iniquity is pardoned.”

(Isaiah 40:1-2)

In verse 11, he speaks of God coming to them as a tender shepherd:

He will feed His flock like a shepherd;
He will gather the lambs with His arm,
And carry them in His bosom,
And gently lead those who are with young.

David knew Him as “The LORD My Shepherd” and drew great comfort from the assurance that His rod and staff were always present to protect and guide (Psalm 23:1, 4). In the New Testament, He is revealed in King Jesus the Messiah, who said of Himself, “I am the Good Shepherd. The Good Shepherd gives His life for the sheep” (John 10:11).

Comfort.

But also great joy. On the night of Jesus’ birth, the angels announced to shepherds in a nearby field “good tidings of great joy which shall be to all people” (Luke 2:10). The shepherds came glorifying and praising God for this marvelous news (v. 20). Likewise, when the wise men, seeing that the star which guided them on their quest came to its rest over the place where the young Child was, they “rejoiced with exceeding great joy” (Matthew 2:10) — joy without limit.

From God our heavenly Father
The blessed angels came
And unto certain shepherds
With tidings of the same
How that was born in Bethlehem
The Son of God by name
O tidings of comfort and joy
Comfort and joy
O tidings of comfort and joy

The apostle Paul spoke of the kingdom of God, the one Jesus announced was now present in the world, the one over which Jesus now ruled and reigned at the right hand of the Father, as a kingdom of joy: “The kingdom of God is not eating and drinking, but righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit” (Romans 14:17). And he offered this benediction: “Now may the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, that you may abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit” (Romans 15:13).

The apostle John, who experienced firsthand the joy of knowing King Jesus in His earthly ministry, said:

That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked upon, and our hands have handled, concerning the Word of life — the life was manifested, and we have seen, and bear witness, and declare to you that eternal life which was with the Father and was manifested to us — that which we have seen and heard we declare to you, that you also may have fellowship with us; and truly our fellowship is with the Father and with His Son Jesus Christ. And these things we write to you that your joy may be full.

Not only because Jesus has rescued us from satan’s power — and indeed, as John notes, “For this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that He might destroy the works of the devil” (1 John 3:8) — but more than that, because it is in Jesus the Messiah that we have fellowship with God.

Now, this is indeed cause for comfort, joy, and merriment. It is the greatest news we could ever receive, and the third verse of this old carol shows us how to celebrate it:

Now to the Lord sing praises
All those within this place
And with true love and brotherhood
Each other now embrace
This holy tide of Christmas
All others doth deface
O tidings of comfort and joy
Comfort and joy
O tidings of comfort and joy

God rest you merry in this Advent and Christmas season.

You can listen to a bit of this carol as well as the other songs from our Christmas album here.

He Come from the Glory:
A Walking Barefoot Christmas

Available at Amazon for immediate download in MP3. You can also order it as a CD.

We have also put together a little PDF booklet with song lyrics and CD info, which you can download here.

He Come from the Glorious Kingdom

He come from the glorious kingdom.

That’s a line from a traditional Christmas carol of the West Indies, “The Virgin Mary Had a Baby Boy.” We include that song in our Christmas project. In fact, we named our Christmas album after it: He Come from the Glory.

The Virgin Mary had a baby boy
The Virgin Mary had a baby boy
The Virgin Mary had a baby boy
And the name of that child was Jesus

He come from the glory
He come from the glorious kingdom
He come from the glory
He come from the glorious kingdom

I’ve adapted the song a little bit, adding a little bridge section and some new lyrics, which is why we call this carol “He Come from the Glory” instead of by its traditional name:

Oh, the shepherds bow and the angels sing
And the wise men, they come a’wondering
Hallelujah for the newborn King
The name of that child was Jesus

Jesus came down here from the kingdom of glory, the kingdom of God. But He did not just come down to us from that glory and kingdom; He came with them, bringing them to us. Indeed, He came as the king of that kingdom.

The more I study the Gospel, the more I see that it is the good news about the kingdom of God, the rule and reign of God through Jesus the Messiah King. That is why, when Jesus grew up and began His ministry, He said, “The time is fulfilled and the kingdom of God is at hand. Repent and believe the gospel” (Mark 1:15; see The Gospel Jesus Preached). Every promise and prophecy of the Hebrew Scriptures converged on this, the coming of the King with His kingdom (see The Gospel of the King and The Gospel of God’s Messiah King).

You can listen to a bit of this carol as well as the other songs from our Christmas album here.

He Come from the Glory:
A Walking Barefoot Christmas

Available at Amazon for immediate download in MP3. You can also order it as a CD.

We have also put together a little PDF booklet with song lyrics and CD info, which you can download here.

Christmas in Mark

The beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God. (Mark 1:1)

If we think of Christmas only as the nativity scene, then Mark has nothing to offer us concerning it — no star, no shepherds, no wise men, not even Joseph and Mary, or the infant in a manger. But if we think of Christmas as the coming of Christ into the world, then Mark has something very important to tell us.

The gospel of Jesus Christ has a beginning, and Mark locates that beginning in John the Baptist, and the prophecy that lays out his mission:

As it is written in the Prophets [Malachi 3:1 and Isaiah 40:3]:

“Behold, I send My messenger before Your face,
Who will prepare Your way before You.

The voice of one crying in the wilderness:

‘Prepare the way of the Lord;
Make His paths straight.’”

(Mark 1:2-3)

Literally, the language alludes to road-building, the preparation of highways. The custom in those days was for kings to send people ahead to make level and passable the roads on which they would soon be traveling. Metaphorically, it is about preparing the hearts of the people to receive the King. This is what Mark is talking about. The role of John the Baptist was to prepare the hearts of the people to receive the Messiah.

John came baptizing in the wilderness and preaching a baptism of repentance for the remission of sins. Then all the land of Judea, and those from Jerusalem, went out to him and were all baptized by him in the Jordan River, confessing their sins.

Now John was clothed with camel's hair and with a leather belt around his waist, and he ate locusts and wild honey. And he preached, saying, “There comes One after me who is mightier than I, whose sandal strap I am not worthy to stoop down and loose. I indeed baptized you with water, but He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit.” (Mark 1:4-8)

Preparing the way for the Coming King, John preached a baptism of repentance. The Greek word “repentance” literally refers to a change of mind, how one thinks about something. It was a preparation of their hearts: First, concerning sin, that it did not belong in their lives; second, concerning how they could be delivered from it and find forgiveness — they would not be able to deal with it themselves. Many came confessing their sins, agreeing with God that they had been wrong to do such things, and also looking to Him to do something about their shortcomings. They were baptized, their bodies cleansed, their hearts bathed in this new message John was bringing:

There comes One after me who is mightier than I, whose sandal strap I am not worthy to stoop down and loose. I indeed baptized you with water, but He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit.

John’s baptism pointed them to Jesus the Messiah, and prepared their hearts, by repentance, to receive Him. But Jesus would come and wash over them with the life-changing reality of the Holy Spirit. This is the beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ according to Mark.

This is the season of Advent, the four weeks before Christmas when we prepare our hearts to celebrate the birth of our King, even as we watch for His return. It is a season of repentance, to let go of the expectations we have set upon ourselves, that we may more fully anticipate Him. Even now, He will bathe us with His Spirit and change the world.

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Let Earth Receive Her King
Advent, Christmas and the Kingdom of God
by Jeff Doles

Preview with Amazon’s “Look Inside.”

Available in paperback and Kindle (Amazon), epub (Google and iTunes) and PDF.

Christmas Dreams: Return to Israel

Now when Herod was dead, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared in a dream to Joseph in Egypt, saying, “Arise, take the young Child and His mother, and go to the land of Israel, for those who sought the young Child’s life are dead.” (Matthew 2:19-20)

In the previous dream, which directed Joseph to take the baby Jesus and His mother and flee to Egypt, there was the promise of a new word that would come. That angel said, “Stay there until I bring you word, for Herod will see the young Child to destroy Him” (Matthew 2:13). And now here was that new word: “Arise, take the young Child and His mother, and go to the land of Israel, for those who sought the young Child’s life are dead.”

The threat had passed, and the promise of the first dream remained: “You shall call His name JESUS, for he will save his people from their sins” (Matthew 1:21). God had showed Himself faithful to His Word. And He would continue to do so, even as another threat emerged:

Then he arose, took the young Child and His mother, and came into the land of Israel. But when he heard that Archelaus was reigning over Judea instead of his father, Herod, he was afraid to go there. And being warned by God in a dream, he turned aside into the region of Galilee. (Matthew 2:21-22)

When Herod died, he divided his kingdom among his three remaining sons (the ones he did not already have killed). To the cruelest one, Archelaus, he gave the region of Judea, subject to the approval of Rome. Galilee came under the rule of Herod Antipas, who was much less vicious than his brother.

So Joseph brought Jesus and Mary back to Israel, but not to Judea, which he had originally anticipated. Archelaus posed a new threat, and God was faithful to advise Joseph about it. Joseph and his family returned to Israel, but settled in the region of Galilee and a place called Nazareth.

And he came and dwelt in a city called Nazareth, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophets, “He shall be called a Nazarene.” (Matthew 2:23)

There is no one prophet who makes such a statement in the Old Testament. Matthew is gathering together a few prophetic ideas and bringing them to a conclusion. One such prophetic text might be Isaiah 11:1, which tells of a “branch” (Hebrew netzer) which would grow out from the roots of Jesse (father of King David). This would be a play on words between the Hebrew netzer and the name of the town Nazareth.

It may also have to do with the sullied reputation Nazareth had developed. In the Gospel of John, when Phillip went to his friend, Nathanael, and said, “We have found Him of whom Moses in the law, and also the prophets, wrote — Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph,” Nathanael answered, “Can anything good come from Nazareth?” (John 1:45-46). This would go along with Isaiah’s prophecy that Messiah would be despised and rejected:

For He shall grow up before Him as a tender plant,
  And as a root out of dry ground.
He has no form or comeliness;
  And when we see Him,
There is not beauty that we should desire Him.
   He is despised and rejected by men,
A Man of sorrows and acquainted with grief.
  And we hid, as it were, our faces from Him;
He was despised, and we did not esteem Him.

(Isaiah 53:2-3)

But none of these things mattered. They could not stop the angelic dream. They could not undo the plan of God and destroy His promise: The little Child named Jesus would grow up and save His people from their sins!

When God gives a dream, the enemy will try every way he can to stop it. But if we will hold onto God and His Word, and always be listening for His voice, He will bring us through to the place of fulfillment.

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Let Earth Receive Her King
Advent, Christmas and the Kingdom of God
by Jeff Doles

Preview with Amazon’s “Look Inside.”

Available in paperback and Kindle (Amazon), epub (Google and iTunes) and PDF.

Christmas Dreams: Arise, Flee to Egypt

Behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream, saying, “Arise, take the young Child and His mother, flee to Egypt, and stay there until I bring you word; for Herod will seek the young Child to destroy Him.” (Matthew 2:13)

What? Flee to Egypt? How can this be? Was not that which was conceived in Mary indeed of the Holy Spirit? Was not the young Child named Jesus, because He would save His people from their sins? Had the plan of God now fallen apart? Had the purpose of God come undone now because of the anger of Herod?

The Magi, following the Star, came to Jerusalem, to Herod, asking, “Where is He who has been born King of the Jews?” (Matthew 2:2). Now, Herod had been placed by the Romans as king over Jerusalem, but here was news of the rightful king whose coming had long been prophesied. Herod would not yield quietly to that.

Even the Star itself had been prophesied and was an indicator of the time of the Great King (Numbers 24:17). That is why the wise men came from the east — they had seen the Star. In the prophesy, this Great King would have dominion over all the enemies of God’s people, including Edom and Seir (Number 24:18). Herod was of Edom.

So Herod called together the chief priests and scribes and asked where this Messiah was to be born. They knew the prophecies, yet they were as troubled about it as Herod was. They answered that it would be in Bethlehem of Judea, according to Micah 5:2.

Herod met with the wise men again, this time in secret, for he was setting up a ruse. When he learned from them when the Star had first appeared, he sent them on their way, asking them to return when they found the infant King, so he could go and worship, too.

The wise men followed the Star on to Bethlehem, and found Jesus, now a young child, dwelling there in a house, along with His mother. They opened their treasures and presented Him with rich gifts befitting royalty. “Then, being divinely warned in a dream that they should not return to Herod, they departed for their own country another way” (Matthew 2:12).

It was when they departed that the angel of the Lord came to Joseph in a dream a second time: “Arise, take the young Child and His mother, flee to Egypt, and stay there until I bring you word; for Herod will seek the young Child to destroy Him.” Joseph quickly obeyed.

When he arose, he took the young Child and His mother by night and departed for Egypt, and was there until the death of Herod, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the Lord through the prophet, saying, “Out of Egypt I called My Son. (Matthew 2:14-15)

Ah, so this did not catch God by surprise after all. He had even indicated it long before through the prophets. Matthew quotes Hosea 11:1, “When Israel was a child, I loved him, and out of Egypt I called My Son.”

Hosea was talking about the exodus, when the children of Israel were delivered from Egyptian bondage. But Matthew sees a parallel here: Just as Israel experienced a time of exile in Egypt, so did Israel’s Messiah. And just as Israel’s bondage in Egypt did not mean the end of God’s plan, neither did Jesus’ exile in Egypt. In fact, it offered Him an important point of identification with the history of God’s people, whom He came to save.

Joseph’s second angelic dream did not signal that the first dream had failed. It had succeeded wonderfully, just as God said. It was so successful, in fact, that it had aroused the anger of the enemy.

Then Herod, when he saw that he was deceived by the wise men, was exceedingly angry; and he sent forth and put to death all the male children who were in Bethlehem and in all its districts, from two years old and under, according to the time which he had determined from the wise men. Then was fulfilled what was spoken by Jeremiah the prophet saying:

“A voice was heard in Ramah,
Lamentation, weeping, and great mourning,
Rachel weeping for her children,
Refused to be comforted,
Because they are no more.”

(Matthew 2:16-18)

Matthew finds a parallel between Herod’s “slaughter of the innocents” and an earlier time in Israel’s history, a time of exile and destruction. We find the prophet’s words in Jeremiah 31:15. Ramah was a territory apportioned to the tribe of Benjamin; Rachel was the mother of Benjamin who died giving him birth and was buried in Bethlehem. So Jeremiah uses the tears of Rachel as a symbol of the inconsolable weeping heard in the desolate land when Israel was carried off into Babylonian captivity. But there was also an expectation of hope, found in the next verse:

Refrain your voice from weeping,
And your eyes from tears;
For your work shall be rewarded, says the LORD,
And they shall come back from the land of the enemy,
There is hope in your future, says the LORD,
That your children shall come back to their own border.

(Jeremiahs 31:16)

In the same way, the rage of Herod, which had destroyed the future of so many Hebrew children and sent the young Messiah into exile, could not undo the plan of God. The message of Joseph’s second angelic dream, “Flee to Egypt,” was not a capitulation to the enemy. It did not signal the failure of the first dream, but the protection of it. And it bore this important expectation: “Stay there until I bring you word.”

Exile does not mean the end of divine dreams and callings. It is often where they are protected, and even shaped.

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Let Earth Receive Her King
Advent, Christmas and the Kingdom of God
by Jeff Doles

Preview with Amazon’s “Look Inside.”

Available in paperback and Kindle (Amazon), epub (Google and iTunes) and PDF.

Christmas Dreams: Do Not Be Afraid

Behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying, “Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take to you Mary your wife, for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Spirit. (Matthew 1:20)

Matthew’s Gospel begins with the genealogy of Jesus Christ, the Son of David, the Son of Abraham. It may seem like just a list of “begats,” but it tells an important story, tracing the kingly lineage, and the right of Messiah to rule and reign. But before it leads us to Jesus, it first introduces us to Joseph:

Now the birth of Jesus Christ was as follows: After His mother Mary was betrothed to Joseph, before they came together, she was found with child of the Holy Spirit. Then Joseph her husband, being a just man, and not wanting to make her a public example, was minded to put her away secretly.

Joseph begins this story with a dream, not the one with the angel, but the one that had already filled his heart with anticipation. He was pledged to be married, and his mind was busily preparing plans for their new life together.

But his dream was suddenly shattered, and his plans broken, when he discovered that Mary was pregnant, and he knew he was not the father. Now it appeared that Mary had been unfaithful and he had been betrayed. So he reluctantly filled his mind with different plans, and his joy was displaced by bitterness.

He had every right, under the law, to break his pledge and set Mary aside — if she had indeed been unfaithful to him. He might even have put her to public shame, except that he still cared for her, even though his heart ached. No, he would still put her away — his own honor demanded that — but he would do it quietly.

Joseph did not act hastily, but passionately pondered these things, his heart and his head debating whether to follow through with this intention. He was almost hardened to what he must do, when something unexpected happened:

But while he thought about these things, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying, “Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take to you Mary your wife, for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Spirit. And she will bring forth a Son, and you shall call His name JESUS, for he will save his people from their sins.” (Matthew 1:18-21)

“Behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream.” Before Matthew’s Christmas narrative is through, we will see this same declaration three times, at key moments.

It is easy to overlook the word “behold,” as if it was nothing more than a simple connective. But Matthew uses it very purposefully, drawing our attention to something important, something we are likely to miss if we understand things only in the natural. It is an indicator concerning something that was happening in the spiritual realm.

“Behold!” But what are we to give special attention to? “An angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream.” A messenger from God, for that is what an angel really is, was sent to Joseph in a dream. Dreams were often recorded in the Old Testament as a means by which God revealed His plans to His people. Now Joseph was having just such a dream. Not only that, but an angel of the Lord appeared to him in it.

It was a startling thing, a burst of brightness. The Greek word for “appear” means that this angel was radiant with light; and he came to shine in the shadows of Joseph’s troubled understanding.

The angel addressed him: “Joseph, son of David.” Here is the important connection to the royal lineage with which Matthew began his account. Joseph was legal heir to the throne which God promised would continue in David’s family line forever.

“Do not be afraid.” No doubt, Joseph was intimidated by this glorious appearance. Who wouldn’t be? But in the midst of the despair that had enveloped his heart, these words also brought a glimmer of hope: “Don’t be afraid—all is not lost!”

“Do not be afraid to take to you Mary your wife.” Here was the directive, and the anticipation that there was a future for Joseph and his beloved after all. And now came the understanding Joseph had been lacking and for which he was unprepared: “For that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Spirit.”

So this was not about Mary after all, but about God. Mary had not been unfaithful to Joseph; God was showing Himself strong, and faithful to an ancient promise, for this was about Messiah: “And she will bring forth a Son, and you shall call His name JESUS, for he will save his people from their sins” (his name means “The LORD saves”).

Joseph’s former plans would be set aside, and he would grieve for them no longer; God had now revealed a greater plan. Joseph would still have his Mary, but now he would step into destiny.

Then Joseph, being aroused from sleep, did as the angel of the Lord commanded him and took to him his wife, and did not know her until she had brought forth her firstborn Son. And he called His name JESUS. (Matthew 1:24-25)

The dream of Christmas is that God steps into hopeless situations, shines the brightness of His glory and fulfills the promise of redemption in unexpected ways.

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Let Earth Receive Her King
Advent, Christmas and the Kingdom of God
by Jeff Doles

Preview with Amazon’s “Look Inside.”

Available in paperback and Kindle (Amazon), epub (Google and iTunes) and PDF.

Behold the New

Many people are already starting to put away their Christmas decorations. Which is a shame, because the season of Christmas has only just started. Today is the second day of Christmas, yesterday being the first. The Twelve Days of Christmas are not a count-down to Christmas day, but a celebration which begins on Christmas day and runs all the way through to January 6, which some celebrate as Three Kings Day, and shows on the traditional church calendar as the beginning of Epiphany (for more about this, see Jesus is the Reason for EVERY Season).

Culturally, we are also getting ready for New Year, widely recognized as a time for new beginnings. How appropriate that it should smack in the middle of Christmas, because if Christmas is about anything, it is about the new beginning we have in Jesus Christ, the Word who became flesh and dwelt among us. Everything has changed since He came into the world.

At the Nativity, the event we celebrate at Christmas, the angels could not keep silent, but cried out:

Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, goodwill toward men. (Luke 2:14)

The earth has always been filled with the glory of God — as the angels in Isaiah’s vision proclaimed (Isaiah 6:3). All that was needed was a revelation of His glory, something God promised in Habakkuk 2:14: “For the earth will be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the LORD.”

That is what happened at the first Christmas:

The Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth. (John 1:14)

In other words, it was a revelation of the glory of God. That is indeed what the angels were singing about: Glory to God in the highest — “For there is born to you this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord” (Luke 2:11). It was this announcement which jolted the angels so that they could not contain themselves anymore, and they pierced the silent darkness with loud, powerful praises.

Glory to God in the highest — it has now been revealed! Not only glory, but peace as well, the peace of heaven coming into the earth. For Jesus is the Prince of Peace, and at the Cross, “the chastisement for our peace was upon Him” (Isaiah 53:5) In other words, He took our chastisement and gave us His peace. This would be the Hebrew understanding of peace, the shalom of God: wholeness, restoration, oneness — nothing missing, nothing broken.

The glory of God was revealed that night in the city of Bethlehem. The peace of heaven entered the earth that night, for all who trust in Him, for these are the ones upon whom His favor rests, the ones in whom He is well-pleased.

The Bible says, “For this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that He might destroy the works of the devil” (1 John 3:8). This began on that Christmas night and was completed thirty-three years later at the Cross.

The revelation of God’s glory and the peace of heaven entered the world at Christmas — and they have never left! They are not absent, but are fully present in power. The only problem is that we have so often failed to appropriate them.

Now is the time to lay hold of the revelation of the Word of God and the things announced by the angels at Bethlehem. Now is the time to give ourselves over to the Lord Jesus Christ, to receive the peace He came to give us and experience the favor He came to show us, to walk in the glory He came to reveal to us and live in the victory He came to give us. That is where our all our new beginnings lay.

“Therefore, if any one is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new” (2 Corinthians 5:17). Behold the new!

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Let Earth Receive Her King
Advent, Christmas and the Kingdom of God
by Jeff Doles

Preview with Amazon’s “Look Inside.”

Available in paperback and Kindle (Amazon), epub (Google and iTunes) and PDF.

Christmas: Receiving the Word Made Flesh

But as many as received Him, to them he gave the right to become children of God, to those who believe in His name. (John 1:12)

Jesus is the Word who was in the beginning, who is with God , and who IS God (John 1:1). He is the Word that became flesh and dwelt among (v. 14). In Him is light and life, more than enough for every human being who has come into the world.

But not all are willing to receive Him. Some love darkness rather than life, because their deeds are evil (John 3:19). The light shines in the darkness and overcomes it, and cannot ever be overcome by it. Many of Jesus’ own people did not receive Him, though He came expressly as their long-promised Messiah.

Even so, there have been many more who have continued to receive Him, and the grace of God is so abundant and rich that, all who have and do receive Him have the right to become children of God, for the Word, the only begotten Son of God has declared the Father to us (John 1:18). All who know Jesus may behold the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ (John 1:14; 2 Corinthians 4:6).

Have you received the Word made flesh and become a child of God? Have you beheld the glory, grace and truth of the Lord Jesus Christ? That is what Christmas is all about. 

Christmas in Psalm 2

Why do the nations rage,
  And the people plot a vain thing?
The kings of the earth set themselves,
  And the rulers take counsel together,
Against the LORD and against His anointed, saying,
  “Let us break Their bonds in pieces
  and cast away Their cords from us.”

(Psalm 2:1-3)

King Herod went into a rage at the news of the new King born in Bethlehem, God’s anointed one — Messiah (Hebrew), the Christ (Greek). The anointing of God breaks lifts the burden and shatters the yoke of oppression, but Herod wanted no part of it, precisely because he was one of the oppressors.

He who sits in the heavens shall laugh;
  The LORD shall hold them in derision.
Then He shall speak to them in His wrath,
  And distress them in His displeasure,”
“Yet I have set My King
  On My holy hill of Zion.”

(Psalm 2:4-6)

Christmas celebrates the birth of this King, who comes to set all things right. The oppressors of this world thought they were in control, but it turns out that they were seriously self-deceived — what a laugh!

“I will declare the decree:
  The LORD has said to Me,
‘You are My Son,
  Today I have begotten You.
Ask of Me, and I will give You
  The nations for Your inheritance,
  And the ends of the earth for Your possession.
You shall break them with a rod of iron;
  You shall dash them to pieces like a potter’s vessel.’”

(Psalm 2:7-9)

This is the Word that became flesh and dwelt among us, whose glory we behold, “the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth” (John 1:14). God’s truth shines a searchlight on the lies of the tyrants, and His grace — the favor of heaven — is far greater than their cruelties and comes to wipe them out. “For this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that He might destroy the words of the devil” (1 John 3:8).

Now therefore, be wise, O kings;
  Be instructed, you judges of the earth.
Serve the LORD with fear,
  And rejoice with trembling.
Kiss the Son, lest He be angry,
  And you perish in the way,
When His wrath is kindled but a little.
  Blessed are all those who put their trust in Him.

(Psalm 2:10-12)

Wise men came, kingly in stature, and bowed before God’s anointed one, for they understood the portent of the heavenly sign. "When they saw the star, they rejoiced with exceedingly great joy” (Matthew 2:10). They kissed the Son, as it were, honoring Him with gifts befitting a great King.

This psalm begins by depicting the conspiratorial rage of tyrannical kings and despots, but suddenly — and surprisingly — ends with an invitation to receive wisdom, a repentance that ends in exceedingly great joy. It is a promise of blessing — the power of favor of heaven — on all who entrust themselves to God’s anointed one, Jesus Christ.

Christmas: The Memra Became Flesh

In the beginning was the Memra, and the Memra was with God, and the Memra was God. (John 1:1)

John wrote in Greek, but he was Hebrew in thought and Aramaic in speech. The Greek word for “word” is logos, a word which depicted logic and reasoning. But John uses the word to mean so much more. Consider these Old Testament Scriptures:

By the word of the LORD the heavens were made,
And all the host of them by the breath of His mouth.

(Psalm 33:6)

He sent His word and healed them,
And delivered them from their destructions.

(Psalm 107:20)

Your word is a lamp to my feet
And a light to my path.

(Psalm 119:105)

I will worship toward Your holy temple,
And praise Your name
For Your lovingkindness and Your truth;
For You have magnified Your word above all Your name.

(Psalm 138:2)

In the Septuagint, which is an ancient translation of the Hebrew Scriptures into Greek, the word for “word” in every instance is the Greek logos. It is not merely the reason or logic of God, but the very breath of God by which He created the heavens and the earth. It is the healing, life-giving power of God. It is the light of God which He manifested at Creation. It is equal to the name of God. To speak of the Word of God is to speak of God Himself.

This is exactly how the ancient Hebrew mind perceived the Word of God. The ancient targums, which were translations of the Hebrew Scriptures into Aramaic, the Word of God is often used as the name of God. The Aramaic word for “word” is memra.

• Genesis 1:27 says, “So God created man in His own image.” The Jerusalem Targum has, “And the memra of the LORD created man in His likeness.”
• In Genesis 9:17, God says to Noah, “This is the sign of the covenant which I have established between Me and all flesh that is on the earth.” Targum Onkelos says, “This is the sign which I established between my memra and between all flesh which are on the earth.”
• In Genesis 17:7, God says to Abraham, “I will establish My covenant between Me and you.” Targum Onkelos says, “I will establish My covenant between My memra and you.”
• In Genesis 28:21, “then the LORD shall be my God.” Targum Onkelos has, “then shall the memra of the LORD be my God.”
• In Exodus 14:31, where the Hebrew text says, “and believed the LORD,” Targum Onkelos has, “and believed in His memra .”
• Joshua 12:2, “Now therefore, I beg you, swear to me by the LORD.” The ancient rabbi, Jonathan ben Uziel, has, “Now swear unto me by the memra of God.
• 1 Samuel 20:23, “And as for the matter which you and I have spoken of, indeed the LORD be between you and me forever.” Targum Onkelos says, “And the thing we spoke of, you and I, this is the memra of God between you and me forever.”
• Psalm 62:8, “Trust in Him at all times your people.” Onkelos has, “Trust in the memra at all times.”
• Isaiah 45:17, “But Israel shall be saved by the LORD.” Jonathan ben Uziel has, “Israel will be redeemed by the memra of God.”
• Isaiah 45:22, “Look to Me, and be saved, all you ends of the earth.” Jonathan ben Uziel has, “Turn to my memra , all dwellers on earth.”

This is in the mind of John as he opens his Gospel. He writes logos, but he thinks memra .

In the beginning was the Memra, and the Memra was with God, and the Memra was God. (John 1:1)

The startling thing is not that John equates the Memra/Logos/Word with God — that was nothing new for the Hebrew mind. The startling thing is that the Memra/Logos/Word “became flesh and dwelt among us” (John 1:14) and that He is identified as Jesus the Messiah, the unique Son of God (vv. 17-18).

(See also The Word Became Flesh)

Christmas: The Word Became Flesh

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God and the Word was God. (John 1:1)

Matthew’s Christmas story begins with a genealogy and tells of Mary and Joseph, of angels, dreams, and wise men. Mark begins with Old Testament prophecy and John the Baptist. Luke tells of Zechariah and Elizabeth, of Mary and Joseph, of census and stable and manger, of angels declaring and shepherds beholding, of Anna and Simeon.

John begins with the Word.

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through Him, and without Him nothing was made that was made. In Him was life, and the life was the light of men. And the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it. (John 1:1-5).

The author of Hebrews puts it this way:

God, who at various times and in various ways spoke in time past to the fathers by the prophets, has in these last days spoken to us by His Son, whom He has appointed heir of all things, through whom also He made the worlds; who being the brightness of His glory and the express image of His person, and upholding all things by the word of His power, when He had by himself purged our sins, sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high. (Hebrews 1:1-3)

There is only one Word.

• This Word has always been with God.
• This Word is that which was spoken by the prophets, for their message is one.
• This Word is that by which God made the worlds—“framed” the worlds, as Hebrews 11:3 puts it. Nothing was made without this Word.
• This Word is the brilliant expression of the glory of God, the exact image of His substance.
• This Word is the power that sustains and holds all things together.
• This Word is the Son of the Father, and heir to all things.
• This Word is full of life and light. “For the Word of God is living and powerful” (Hebrews 4:12). “Your Word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path” (Psalm 119:105).

We cannot understand Christmas unless we understand this. For it is this same Word that John describes in John 1:14:

The Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth.

It was necessary, in order for the Word to purge us of our sins, that the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, to bridge the gap between us and God. Having purged our sins by His death on the cross, the Word ascended to heaven and is now seated at the right hand of the Father. Because the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, all who receive Him are seated with Him at the right hand of Majesty (Ephesians 2:6).

The Word became flesh and dwelt among us. This is the unique gift of the Father which we celebrate in this season. It is the glory we behold, the grace we need and the truth we seek — all given to us in abundance.

(See also The Memra Became Flesh)