romise Pkept a
© 2016 by Christopher Kou ∙ Illustrations by Timothy Kou Published by Christ Covenant Church of Chicago
The holidays are here again! It’s a time to gather with family and friends, a time to renew love and gratitude to one another. The season is made rich with the fragrance of evergreens; the glow of candles and strings of lights that brighten long evenings; the ringing of bells, music, and laughter filling us with good cheer. But what does all of it mean? Is there anything more to the season than festivity and material gifts that warm our hearts? The answer is yes. The holidays, which close our year and herald the arrival of a new one, really are what we call them: holy-days. “Holy” means “set apart” for a purpose.1 These are the days that people from around the world have set apart for centuries to celebrate an event—an event that took place over two thousand years ago, yet its effects have been felt in every time and place, continuing even today and giving light to the world, much like the candles and strings of lights that illuminate the darkness of winter. 1. Exodus 20:8-11
A Long Anticipated Birth A little over two thousand years ago in the land of Judea, a child was born in a tiny village called Bethlehem: the house of bread.2 This was not just any child. He was destined to be a king. Yet this child prince was born in the humblest of buildings instead of a palace. Those who attended his birth were not the emissaries or envoys of surrounding kingdoms, but the shepherds of nearby fields and perhaps a donkey or two. His mother Mary laid him in a feed box intended for the barn animals instead of in a golden crib. Although his birth went unnoticed by most of the royal courts of the world, the royal court of heaven celebrated with loud shouts of acclaim as they announced the arrival of the king to the shepherds. “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace 2. Matthew 2:1-6
among those with whom he is pleased!”3 The king’s arrival and birth was the climax of so many promises that God had made since the beginning of the world. This king would rule, but he would rule in a way no king had ever ruled before. Instead of conquering his enemies with a sword of steel, he would win them to himself by dying for them. Instead of destroying them, he would save them from their own destructive ways. Because he would do this, he was named Jesus: Yahweh, the God of Israel, saves. 4 3. Luke 2:8-20 4. Matthew 1:21
Promises Made Genesis, the book of beginnings, tells us the story of how our first father, Adam, sinned by disobeying God’s commandment. He was created by God in the image of God to be a ruler and a member of God’s heavenly court, and he was placed in the Garden of Eden to guard and tend it as the holy place of God.5 But Adam rebelled by eating a fruit that was not his to take. When God placed Adam in the Garden of Eden, he said, “Of the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil you shall not eat, for on the day you eat it, you will surely die.” There was another tree, The Tree of Life, which also was in the middle of the garden. The man and the woman should have eaten that and received life.6 But the Serpent came to deceive them, and they believed the Serpent’s lie that God was withholding a good thing from them. It was true that the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil was good and that it would make them wise, but they should have waited on God’s timing for when they would receive the 5. Genesis 2:15-17 6. Genesis 2:9
knowledge they needed to rule in wisdom. Instead of receiving life, they chose death by rebelling against God. Because of this, God had to expel them from his garden sanctuary, and they could no longer be in close companionship with God.7 Now, because they were separated from God, the source of life, they would eventually die. This awful condition Adam passed on to all his children, to all of humankind. Not only would their bodies die, but their souls as well were corrupted by sin so that no one in the human race could ever escape the cycle of destruction of self or of neighbor. Adam’s first son, Cain, sinned not only against God but against his brother. Cain killed his brother Abel and became the first murderer.8 From that point forward, human history has been marked by violence, hatred, and destruction. Left to our own devices, humankind would fall ever lower and lower until it ceased to exist. In the presence of a holy and righteous God, humanity 7. Genesis 3:1-24 8. Genesis 4:3-10
could not escape condemnation and eternal sentence of death.9 But God loved the world and loved humankind, which he had created in his own image and likeness. And so he promised the man and the woman that one day her seed, that is, her offspring, a son of the woman, would crush the head of their enemy, the Serpent, and save humankind from sin and death. The man and his wife believed God’s promise, and so the woman was named Eve: mother of all living.10 As the deadly consequences of sin stained every nation and every person in every age, humankind longed for the day when God would fulfill his promise.11 Who could have dreamed that the Savior God planned to send would be his own Son! Promises Fulfilled The history of humankind until the birth of Jesus is the history of warfare between the seed of the woman and the seed of the Serpent. God himself 9. Psalm 90:7-9; 130:3 10. Genesis 3:15, 20 11. Isaiah 7:14; 9:6-7; 40:1-5; Micah 5:2-3
worked in every part of history, protecting Eve’s seed from people who served the Serpent and bringing humankind closer and closer to readiness for the coming of their promised Savior. When the appointed time finally came, a child, the seed of Eve, was born to Mary, and she named him Jesus—the Savior. In this child, all the promises of God would be fulfilled. He would save us from our own sin, and he would bear the righteous sentence of death that all sin brings.12 Because he was a man, he could represent humankind the way Adam had.13 Because he was God the Son, he had no sin of his own.14 Only a sinless man could bear the full weight of sin’s consequences for the rest of humankind. God the Father set Jesus apart for this mission, 12. Romans 3:23; 6:23 13. Romans 5:12-21 14. Hebrews 4:14-15
sending the Holy Spirit upon him to empower his work. And so he is called the anointed: Messiah and Christ.15 Instead of entering the age old cycle of violence and destruction to build his kingdom as other kings had done, Jesus, the seed of Eve, took on himself all the violence and destruction that the Serpent could marshal against him. All the forces of evil conspired to take the Son of God and kill him by nailing him to a wooden cross. There, on behalf of sinful humankind, as our substitute, he willingly suffered the punishment of death that God’s justice required.16 But death could not hold him, because he was innocent of any sin. After three days, God raised Jesus up from the grave to new life, not only in spirit 15. Matthew 3:13-17; 16:13-17 16. John 19:16-30
but in his physical body.17 He was reunited with his friends and followers for 40 days before being lifted up into heaven before their eyes.18 During this time, hundreds of people saw him, spoke with him, and ate with him.19 They became witnesses to the risen Jesus. His resurrection proved to everyone that he is God the Son, and that he has overcome death and sin.20 To those who believe in this Jesus Christ, who trust in his sacrifice for liberty from the bondage of sin, God gives the free gift of salvation and life.21 What Now? Adam was created to be a ruler and a member of God’s heavenly court, but his sin prevented him from taking that place. Jesus has done what Adam failed to do. When he went up into heaven, he entered the heavenly royal court, not as a mere 17. Matthew 28:1-9; Mark 16:1-6; Luke 24:36-49; John 20:24-29 18. Acts 1:3-11 19. 1 Corinthians 15:3-7 20. Acts 2:32-36; 1 Corinthians 15:54-57 21. John 3:16-18; 20:31; Romans 6:23; 1 John 5:13
member of the court, but as the king and the Lord of all. There, he sits at the right hand of God the Father, and he rules over both heaven and earth.22 Now, there is a man in heaven—one of our own human race—sitting on the throne! And he hasn’t left us out of his plan. He sent the Holy Spirit so that his people can participate in his work.23 Jesus, the man who represents us, is the Son of God, and we can also be children of God. The Father adopts those who are in Jesus Christ—those who are represented by him—into his family.24 This family of God is now spread throughout the world. You will find it wherever people believe in this good news of Jesus and gather together to worship and praise God for the fulfillment of his promises. All believers in Christ—all Christians—have been made brothers and sisters in the family of God. And because Jesus, our eldest brother, is the king, all his brothers and sisters are welcomed into the court 22. Matthew 28:18; 1 Corinthians 15:25-27; Philippians 2:8-11 Hebrews 1:3-4; Revelation 5:3-14 23. Philippians 12-13; Hebrews 9:14; 1 Thessalonians 1:2-5 24. Romans 8:14-17; Hebrews 2:10-12
of heaven.25 His people, the Church, are given free access to the heavenly throne. God now welcomes us to speak to him as to our Father who loves us.26 What does this story mean for you? What should you do about it? God calls you and calls everyone to believe in Jesus. He invites you to join the family of God and enter into his heavenly court, where we find true joy, freedom, peace, hope, and purpose. If you have not received Jesus as your Savior and acknowledged him as Lord, then today is the day of salvation!27 In Jesus Christ, you can be set free from the weight of sin’s guilt and the terror of the death it brings. Believe in him and receive life. If you have believed in Jesus, then God calls you to continue in faith, in worship and fellowship 25. Ephesians 2:4-7; Hebrews 10:19-22; 12:22-24 26. Galatians 4:6 27. 2 Corinthians 6:1-2
with his people, and in proclaiming this good news of salvation throughout the world.28 Now that’s something to celebrate! So with all God’s people, we pray that you and yours will have a truly blessed Christmas. May you be filled with the joy of our Savior’s birth and with the knowledge of Jesus Christ, our Lord and King! 28. Matthew 28:19-20; Hebrews 10:23-25
We encourage you to read and consider the passages referred to in this booklet. All of them can be easily looked up online at esvbible.org
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