When Christmas time comes around, the same few Old Testament Scriptures come up from year to year – Isaiah 7, Isaiah 9, Micah 5. The prophecies in the Old Testament are a staple for Advent sermons and series of messages regarding the first coming of Christ through the virgin birth. But what does the rest of the Old Testament have to do with Jesus’ first coming? How do we make sense of the rest of the Old Testament during the Christmas season?
It is quite easy to miss the forest for the trees at times during the Advent season by only focusing on the specific prophecies regarding the virgin birth or the names of the Messiah. Studying the Old Testament for any length of time helps the student of Holy Scripture understand that every passage points to Jesus. The entire Old Testament consists of the promises made by a covenant God being faithful to redeem His people even in the midst of their rebellion and disobedience. What is the promise made? The Messiah, Jesus.
How is it that Jesus is the point of the Old Testament? How is it that we find Christmas in the other parts of the Old Testament? Here are a few ways you can find Christmas in the Old Testament.
The Burden of Bondage – The Fare of Freedom
The people of Israel, as they are becoming a nation through procreation, dwindled into a downward spiral of rebellion as they experienced the covenant blessings from Yahweh. The covenant terms, however, were understood from the beginning in this way: should these terms be broken by the people of Israel, there would be curses (Ex. 19:5-6; Deut. 28:45). Israel’s covenant deficiencies came not because they made a few poor decisions that led them to their covenant unfaithfulness. No, Israel’s covenant unfaithfulness came as a direct result of Adam’s and Eve’s disobedience in the Garden of Eden. Consequently, the fall of man corrupted man’s heart so much that there was never a possibility for Israel to actually keep their end of the covenant.
What’s amazing about all of this is that the Almighty God, who is all-knowing, knew this and still made a covenant with Israel (It’s like there was a plan in place from the beginning!). Israel’s bondage began in Eden, but was physically manifested in Egypt, Babylon, and Persia (among others). Every single prophecy, every single covenant promise, is a futuristic reality that came to fruition in the Godman, Jesus the Christ, but it was the fall of man that secured the unfaithfulness of God’s people in their covenant with Him.
Yet, in God’s gracious kindness, there is a remedy for us all – Jesus Christ the Righteous Redeemer. The fare for our freedom was His death (Rom. 6:23) and Jesus became one of us to pay that price, and in doing so bought back our freedom from our bondage, not in Egypt or Babylon, but from sin. Every human being is a slave to sin because of the disobedience from the Garden of Eden. Therefore, every human being is chained to their sin with no way of loosing their fetters. But, dear friends, Jesus has the key to the lock to your chains. Better yet – Jesus IS the key to the lock of those fetters. Christmas reminds us that though we are in bondage to sin, Jesus has unlocked our freedom through His obedient life and substitutionary death and has set us free from sin and death.
The Life of Conflict – The Promise of Peace
If you know anything about the history of the people of Israel, they were constantly living in conflict with their enemies and captors. Babylon was not a place of rest for Israel. Assyria was not kind to Israel. Persia, yes, they were a bit more accepting, that is, until Haman comes into the picture and wants Mordecai and his people dead and gone (Esther 3:1-14). While the conflict for Israel was self-inflicted, if you will, it was still very much a conflict. Conflict, even justifiable conflict, still affects the human way of life and psyche in ways that are significant factors in our lives. Israel had no hope. Israel thought they were going to be nothing but a memory. That is, until Isaiah prophecies that the virgin shall conceive a son and call His name Immanuel (Is. 7:14) and the birth of the Prince of peace (Is. 9:6).
Jesus coming as the Prince of peace does not remove the reality of a conflict-laden life, but instead brings us the peace to withstand whatever this fallen, broken world throws our way during our time on earth. We, like Israel, are sojourners in lands where we are not true citizens. Our citizenship has not been fully realized because we are longing for the day when we get to actually go home where true peace is our reality. Jesus came so He could bring us the peace that passes understanding (Phil. 4:7) in the new heavens and new earth. Until that day, however, we must live life with the Spirit of the Prince of peace in our hearts crying “Abba, Father!” and longing for the day when Christ will return and bring true peace on earth.
The Reality of Rebellion – The Redeemer of Man
Without beating a dead horse, it is so important to understand the situation in which Israel sits for a majority of the Old Testament story. They are captives, sojourners, exiles, yet they are still God’s people in covenant with Him. So, even though the covenant curses have been given, there is still grace all throughout this story because God doesn’t destroy them like He said He was going to do (go back a read Deuteronomy 28 for reference). Grace even in the midst of disobedience. Sounds a bit counterintuitive, doesn’t it?
“God’s plan all along was not to fix our unfaithfulness but was to be faithful for us through His incarnate Son.”
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That’s because it is counterintuitive. Grace in the midst of disobedience goes against everything we know as human beings. Yet, this is precisely what we see all throughout the Old Testament and (spoiler alert) in the New Testament as well. Paul reminds us of this in Galatians 4:4-5: “When the time came to completion, God sent His Son, born of a woman, born under the law, to redeem those under the law, so that we might receive adoption as sons” (Gal. 4:4-5, CSB). God’s plan all along was not to fix our unfaithfulness but was to be faithful for us through His incarnate Son. Jesus, the Son, was sent to redeem humanity from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us (Gal. 3:13).
Conclusion
Dear friends, during the Christmas season, we shouldn’t only look backward to what has happened but should also look forward to what will happen. In fact, that is the purpose of the advent season – to look backward so we can look forward in hope and joy! The Old Testament testifies to the goodness and grace of God that manifested itself in the person and work of Jesus Christ (Heb. 1:1-2) for our salvation. Praise God for His unspeakable gift!
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