The Consolation of Israel
In my last post I talked about how "Christ" means anointed one which means that Jesus is the Anointed King of Israel. Check out Psalm 2, one the most quoted psalms in the New Testament:
The kings of the earth set themselves, And the rulers take counsel together, Against the LORD and against His Anointed, saying, “Let us break Their bonds in pieces And cast away Their cords from us...yet I have set My King On My holy hill of Zion.” “I will declare the decree: The LORD has said to Me, ‘You are My Son, Today I have begotten You. Ask of Me, and I will give You The nations for Your inheritance, And the ends of the earth for Your possession. (Psalms 2:2-8 NKJV)
If you're around church during Christmas time, most likely you will hear certain passages of Scripture recited concerning the birth of Jesus. And if you've grown up in church like me, you've heard them year after year and it's easy to zone out, eyes glaze over, and completely miss what is being said. Though in doing so, we do a great disservice to one of the most foundational parts of the story, not simply that Jesus came in a cute manger scene with shepherds and cuddly animals standing by, but more importantly that Jesus came on the scene as a continuation of a much grander storyline. Christianity does not begin with the birth of Christ. It starts in Genesis with the creation account, the fall, the rebellion of man, Abraham, the Patriarchs, the election of Israel, the giving of the Law, King David, the Prophets, etc. The New Testament assumes the storyline of the Old. It builds on a pre-existent foundation laid in the Law & Prophets. Therefore when Jesus arrives, certain ideas like salvation, the gospel, the Christ, the Kingdom, were established clear in the minds of the early Jews who heard his message. And this is why I think it is critical to gain an understanding of what The Old Testament says. Just because we call it the "old" testament doesn't mean it is outdated or no longer useful.
In Luke 2, after his birth, Jesus is brought up to The temple by his parents. he is noticed by two aged and devout Israelites, Simeon and Anna. Verse 25 says, Simeon was righteous and devout, "looking for the consolation of Israel." Anna, who rarely left the temple from her fasting and prayer, spoke of the child "to all who were looking for the redemption of Jerusalem." (V. 38)
The consolation of Israel and the redemption of Jerusalem are promises referring to the age to come, when the Messiah will make Jerusalem a praise in all the earth (isaiah 62:6). Israel's history, even to this very day, is far from what Isaiah says in chapter 40, a salvation which Simeon and Anna were certainly yearning for: "Comfort, comfort my people, says your God. Speak tenderly to Jerusalem and cry to her that her warfare is ended, and her iniquity is pardoned." If Jesus is indeed the promised Christ, why hasn't war in Israel ended? Did he fail to fulfill the promises made to the Abraham, David, and the Jewish people? Not at all! Rather His first coming was "to bear the sins of many. To those who eagerly wait for Him He will appear a second time, apart from sin, for salvation."(Hebrews 9:28 NKJV) Not one stroke of the pen from all that was written in the law and the prophets will be left unfulfilled. That's the point of all this. Jesus is coming a second time, but this time it won't be to suffer, but to be glorified as the King of Israel, the Lion of Judah. In that day, the warfare in Jerusalem will be forever ended the consolation and redemption that Simeon and Anna were longing for will be realized.
Even so, come Lord Jesus!
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