“In those days and at that time I will make a righteous Branch sprout from David’s line; He will do what is just and right in the land.” Jeremiah 33:15 NIV
Over the years various Messiah-like figures arose and attempted to bring liberation and restoration to Israel. But they all flamed out. A week before Passover, comes a most unexpected candidate: Jesus of Nazareth, with his band of rag-tag followers, riding on a borrowed donkey into Jerusalem. The crowds had seen what Jesus was capable of and hailed him as their King. They were right. Every prophecy He fulfilled and miracle He performed proved that this was the One, the righteous Branch from David’s line. What did those people expect of Jesus? What were they hoping for? What they had always hoped for: a holy war, the restoration of Israel’s political freedom, a descendant of David on the throne, and glory restored to the Temple. But Jesus came not in the way they expected. He came to do justice to their sin and ours, to be righteous in ways we have not and cannot. He came to carry out a great exchange: our sin for his righteousness. He came to be our substitute. He came to launch a holy war not against Rome, but against sin and death and the devil. The powers of hell that threatened to destroy us eternally. Jesus came to save, not by ruling on a throne but by dying on a cross. In Jesus, God kept his promise. Is that what you expect of Jesus, what you are hoping to receive from Him?
PRAYER THOUGHT
Lord, in this Advent open the eyes of our hearts to see You as the True Saviour.
PRAYER FOR TODAY
Holy Spirit, open the eyes of our hearts to see Jesus, the Saviour, as He really is. Remove all false expectations we have of Him. AMEN
INTERNATIONAL BIBLE READING ASSOCIATION (IBRA)
John 10:11-18
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