Advent Week Four: “He is Here”

Many of my life expectations have been superseded. The superseding of expectations often follows seasons of disappointment. I cannot ignore the fact that at times I have felt like Jesus has not lived up to my expectations of Him. Though challenging, He is patient and in the end, I have reason to worship. With all the ups and downs of expectations, I have come to the place where the most important thing is His presence. Often, the situation is difficult and challenging and what makes the difference in presence.

I would think that you as well have expectations of Jesus. Perhaps your expectations have been in line with His promises and you live in peace. Or your expectations of Jesus have been reshaped by challenges. My hope for us is that we will come to expect what He has promised. The most important being His presence. At Christmas, we celebrate the reality that in the person of Jesus, God came among us in a unique way. Today, His presence remains and Jesus is here through His Spirit in us. With this in mind, I want to discuss the following observations.

His arrival was announced to the often doubted (Luke 2:8-20). Shepherds were often hired hands and not very trustworthy. They spent many of their days unsupervised and often stole from the chief shepherd and those nearby. People were commonly advised not to buy anything from shepherds because it was probably stolen.

His arrival was also announced to foreigners who were trusted in their own land (Matthew 2:1-2). First Century Jews trusted only themselves, perhaps reasonably so considering the hostility often present in their time. The eastern (Babylonian) wise men expected Jesus because they had believed the Jewish scriptures based upon exposure several hundred years earlier. An example of what may have shaped their expectations is Numbers 24:1. Based upon this text a saying was formed, “Messiah shall be revealed, a bright and shining star shall arise in the east;'' (John Gills Exposition of the Bible).

A third observation is, His arrival was announced by an often outspoken, out of date preacher that we know as John the Baptist (Matthew 3:1-9). He dressed like a prophet from long ago. He spoke of repentance as often did the prophets of previous generations. Finally, he spoke of repentance due to the arrival of the Kingdom of God in the person of Jesus. These to whom His arrival was announced would then become the announcers. They were not going to be very convincing. Their testimony would be rejected and Jesus would be crucified. If those that received the original announcement of the arrival of Jesus as Lord failed to be convincing, how did anyone ever become convinced that He was here?

What becomes most powerful here is how Jesus announced His own identity and presence. We know He is here because He has made Himself known as the resurrected Lord (John 21:1-14). He arrives as we doubt Him as seen by the fact that the disciples had gone back to fishing. He arrives in natural ways as He made them breakfast. He arrives in miracles of provision as He helped them find the fish. We know that He is here because the Holy Spirit has led us into all truth (John 16:13). The promise was to explain that He was about to be crucified, resurrected and ascended. The disciples were filled with grief and would not know how to go on. The Holy Spirit from the Day of Pentecost forward would be God with us. 

With all this in mind, the challenge becomes to live in His presence by being filled with the Holy Spirit. Wendy Farley writes in Theology Today, “When piety is limited to belief, to verbal formulations, to ideas about God, most of the human person is left out.” Her point is grounded in John’s portrayal of Jesus’ words in John 7:37-38 37 On the last and greatest day of the festival, Jesus stood and said in a loud voice, “Let anyone who is thirsty come to me and drink. 38 Whoever believes in me, as Scripture has said, rivers of living water will flow from within them.” 39 By this he meant the Spirit, whom those who believed in him were later to receive. Up to that time the Spirit had not been given, since Jesus had not yet been glorified”. Therefore, the prayer becomes for God to fill you with His Spirit. Pray that prayer now, and begin the journey of live overflowing.