students of jesus

God comes to us in unexpected ways, which means my expectation can be the very thing that causes me to miss him. This is a lesson from the first Christmas: God came to nation which eagerly longed for his coming, prayed for his return, and placed all their hopes in his presence. Yet most of the nation missed the hour of his visitation.

Is this simply history, or is it a parable for our day?

For centuries the people of God had looked for a day of God’s personal visitation. Suffering under the twin fists of Rome and King Herod (a counterfeit king), the people of the nation remembered the golden age of King David a thousand years earlier. They knew King David was the prototype of God’s chosen vessel, a unifying and conquering King who established Israel in peace, security, and prosperity. After David’s reign many the prophets began to anticipate a day the God of Israel would not rule through a representative king; instead, God would come personally, take his place on earth, and establish Jerusalem as his capital city.

The day of God’s visitation would be both glorious and terrifying. The oppressed (Israel) would be rescued and the oppressor (Persia, Syria, Greece, Rome--or whomever was on top at the time) would be cast down. The people of Israel were looking for their freedom. They expected God to judge the rest of the world as well. They expected God would come to the Temple and establish his throne on the earth. They expected the Day of the Lord would be both great and terrible: great for them, terrible for their enemies. These expectations were based on their understanding of the scriptures and the encouragement of their teachers. These expectations shaped their view of the world, and became the very substance of their hope.

Who could have imagined that when God came to earth personally, he would be dressed in the frailty of an infant child? Who could have imagined that someday God would indeed come to the Temple, only to declare that the true Temple was inside a human body? Who could have imagined that this King would establish his throne in the hearts of men? And perhaps most incredibly, who could have imagined that the Day of Judgment would indeed come, but that the Son of God would take the judgment upon himself in order to save the guilty?

Of course, in our day, we know these things. We are safe from any misunderstanding. We can see clearly. We have the scripture. We have great teachers. We are God’s people. But what if God’s people now are no different from God’s people then?

The first Christmas serves as an Advent meditation today: how do my expectations blind me to the coming of the King?