For a child will be born to us, a son will be given to us, and the government will rest on His shoulders; and His name will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Eternal Father, Prince of Peace.
Isaiah 9:6
The Significance of Waiting for Jesus
This time of year always brings back memories of my grandparents on Christmas Eve. We would all go to their house and have a huge dinner. Ham, mac and cheese, green beans, and a table full of desserts. It’s so funny when you think back on those days. As a kid, I cared nothing for the food or the desserts. Those were just the necessary things to go through to get to the real meaning of Christmas. PRESENTS! But wait, between the food and presents was the punishment. That’s right. Punishment.
We would spend time eating at the children’s table and moving food around our plates for what seemed like days. Then one of the kids made the move and went to their parents and asked, “When do we get to open presents?” This one generally got the obligatory response. “When we are finished eating.” That seemed ok, but it wasn’t truthful. Do you remember what Elf said? He said, “You sit on a throne of lies!” After eating came the punishment. Eating wasn’t enough. Eating was never enough.
After eating came WASHING THE DISHES. That’s right. It was a bait and switch. While the adults washed the dishes for what seemed like days, the kids would run around the house trying to knock things off tables, break body parts, and lose their minds.
Then, when we all gathered around the Christmas tree, the pain was still not over. My grandmother would always pull out her Bible and read the Christmas story. I was like, “Come one!” Another thing to go through to get to the real meaning of Christmas…PRESENTS!
Don’t judge me. I was a kid. I wanted to open the unknown toy in the beautifully wrapped present with homemade bows (which, by the way, the homemade bows always somehow made it into the trash bag even though there was something incredibly important about saving those things).
I can remember my grandmother like it was yesterday reading from Luke 2. Another waiting technique employed by the adults just to aggravate the kids. All the kids were on their hands and knees, just waiting for the explosion of gift-wrapping paper being thrown across the room.
However, as I’ve gotten older, I realize more and more just how special that Christmas story is. God neatly packaged it in Scripture in such a way that we cannot ignore it, and we cannot deny it.
Can you sense the significance of the anticipation? Since Genesis 3:15, people have been waiting for a Messiah to redeem (pay the penalty for our sins). Just like us kids! We were waiting and waiting and waiting. But finally, the gifts were opened. Those gifts only brought temporary fun and excitement. The anticipation of the gift is oftentimes what makes the gift so special. In the same way, Jesus brings so much more than just a gift. He lays His own life down for us. More about this in a couple of minutes.
The Significance of Jesus Being Born
Isaiah tells us in Isaiah 9:6 something very special about Jesus. Oftentimes, we look at this verse and overlook the very first phrase because we are more excited about the incredible names Jesus is called. “Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Prince of Peace” (Isaiah 9:6, ESV). They are all wonderful and certainly speak to His significance. But there is something just as spectacular found in the first phrase of verse 6. These words: “For a Child will be born to us, a son will be given to us.”
Did you catch that? Jesus was born to us and given to us. Why? To seek and save the lost (Luke 19:10). When I was a kid waiting to open presents, the idea of associating Jesus with what was in the wrapped box was just a means to an end. And that end was opening the presents. But Jesus is actually the means to a beginning.
The angel of the Lord tells the shepherds in the fields, “I bring you good news of great joy which will be for all people; for today in the city of David, there has been born for you a Savior, who is Christ the Lord” (Luke 2:10-11). WOW.
It was great news for all people. The news? The Lord Jesus Christ had been born FOR ALL PEOPLE.
Let me quickly break down this amazing news for us. First, Jesus is a Savior who rescues people from the danger of their sins. What is the danger? Judgment and separation from God for eternity. Who doesn’t want that?
Second, Jesus was Christ (Messiah). The Messiah was the one God anointed to redeem (buy back) the world from the penalty of their sins. This means that Jesus was uniquely selected by God to pay our penalty. This was also a foreshadowing of Jesus dying for us to pay that penalty.
Third, the news of Jesus the Messiah being born was good news for all people Jesus was born for us. Jesus was born for you. You may have had the worst year in history. You may have gotten terrible health news, some close family members may have died, taxes increased, and no one seems to care. But let me tell you this. Jesus, the Messiah, He cares for you. He was born for you so that He could die for you. And because of His death, it gives us an amazing hope (1 Corinthians 15:12-19).
The Significance of Jesus Being Our Great Hope
I realize this post is a little long, but let me try to close it this way. The amazing hope we have is regardless of what happens in our lives, Jesus was born for us so He could die for us so that we could place our faith in His death, burial, and resurrection from the dead and the fact that He paid the penalty for our sins so that we could experience something incredibly unique. This is how John states it.
10 The thief comes only to steal, kill, and destroy. I (Jesus the Messiah) came that they may have life and have it abundantly (John 10:10).
This year, as you take some time to read the Christmas story, remember Jesus was sent to YOU to seek and save YOU from the judgment and penalty of YOUR sins so that you could live an abundantly joyful life here and eternal life with Jesus in heaven when your time on earth in this body is finished.
What great hope and joy that is! Don’t miss the first phrase in Isaiah. It is the foundation for everything in life!