Behold the Lamb of God

“Behold the Lamb of God

who came to take away the sins of the world.”

John 1:29

Last year around the middle of December I noticed that Noel Piper was posting daily advent readings.  The word advent was not unfamiliar to me. However, it was something I had never celebrated/practiced so I didn’t fully understand the advent season.  Since I was a child I had seen advent calendars, typically filled with tiny pieces of chocolate for each day of December.  So I assumed it was simply the countdown to Christmas day.  The daily readings held so much more than a piece of chocolate; so I decided to dig a little deeper about this season of advent. 

What I found was eye-opening.  The word advent means coming.  It isn't just a tradition but a reflection of the thousands of years that led to the coming of Christ, God robed in flesh as a baby. 

All the way from Genesis to Malachi the journey of the Israelites points to a desperate need for a King, a Savior, a Redeemer, a Deliverer, a Sacrifice.  The Israelites could not do it on their own. They could not uphold the law.  They could not offer enough animal blood to cover their sins.  No matter how hard they tried they could not deliver themselves from slavery.  Even of the Godliest of men that arose to lead them, they would still need more.  But not just them.  We need a savior.  We need delivering. 

I no longer want to ignore or overlook what led to Jesus’ birth, the reason for His coming. I no longer want to rush through this season of remembering. The history of God's people, the Israelites, is crucial in the magnificence of God delivering me from my sin through the word becoming flesh.

“The incarnation of the Savior of the world

could have come to pass in any number of ways. 

But God, in his infinite wisdom,

chose this couple for this night in this shelter. 

This boy, the angel had told them,

would be the heir to David’s throne. 

He would be

their wonderful counselor,

their mighty God,

their everlasting Father,

their Prince of Peace. 

The government would be upon his shoulders.”

Behold the Lamb of God by Russ Ramsey

Based upon Isaiah 9:2-7

And do you know what else I learned? There will be another, different advent, a second coming.