‘Come, thou long expected Jesus, born to set thy people free…’

This well known hymn by Charles Wesley opens with one of the greatest truths of the Gospel message. In Jesus Christ we are set free – set free from our fears and sins and able to take comfort and find rest in our Lord. What a wonderful feeling, to know we can find this through faith in Him. Yet today still there are many who do not know of this, who are unaware of the life we can have in Jesus Christ. So pray today that all people may echo the opening words of this hymn and know this freedom that Christ has to offer for themselves.

Read Luke 1:39-56

Looking at verses 39-45 initially, what do we learn from these verses?

• After her visitation from the Angel Gabriel, Mary, even with her faith would perhaps have been unsure exactly what to expect when she went to visit Elizabeth.
• The moment Mary came on the scene, Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit and the baby in her womb le[t for joy.
• Elizabeth’s greeting must have conformed Mary’s faith even more.
• Although Elizabeth herself must have been overjoyed with her own pregnancy she was more overwhelmed that the Mother of her Lord should come to visit her

As we read verses 46-56 what do we learn from this wonderful song of Mary’s?

• It very much echoes Hannah’s song in 1 Samuel 2:1-10.
• It’s a song of overwhelming joy but also of great humility.
• In referring herself to being blessed, Mary wasn’t being proud, rather she was recognising and accepting this wonderful gift that God has bestowed upon her.
• Mary glorifies God for what He will do through His Son.
• God is depicted as the One who will look after the poor, the oppressed and the despised.
• He will feed the hungry and be merciful.
• Through His Son, God will fulfil the promise He made to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.
• Through His Son, God will be with us forever.

‘To us a Child of hope is born…’

These words, taken from the hymn, The Race That Long In Darkness Pined, remind us of just one of the things that Jesus Christ offers to us all – hope. All too often in life, events and circumstances, many outwith our control, seem to dash so many of our hopes, dreams and aspirations, and we can be left feeling with a sense of hopelessness. In our Lord there is always hope, even in the darkest of days, many of which we may have faced in the past months. So come to the Lord today, tell Him all that is in your heart, that in Him you might know that hope that only He can give.

‘Christmas is coming! The Church is glad to sing, and let the Advent candles brightly burn in a ring…’

Yesterday we lit our third Advent candle in Church, reminding us indeed that Christmas will soon be with us. Sadly, of course, we are not able to sing at this time – at least not with our voices. But in our hearts we can rejoice and sing with joy. So let’s do that now – open your hearts to God. Rejoice and give Him thanks for this wonderful time of year. More than ever, after all that has happened this past year – and is still happening – the Good News of Jesus Christ is something we should celebrate and share with others

‘There shall come forth a Rod from the stem of Jesse…’ (Isa. 11:1)

The opening chapter of Matthew’s Gospel traces the genealogy of Jesus back to Abraham and if we look closely at that we find Jesse, the Father of King David. In that knowledge, as we read through Isaiah chapter 11 we clearly see that these verses look forward to the coming Messiah – to Jesus Christ Himself – and that should bring great comfort to us, knowing that in His Son God has fulfilled the promise he made through these prophecies all those years ago. So take time today to give thanks to our Lord for all the promises He has made to us and for all the blessings we have received through them, particularly so in the gift of His One and only Son, some to redeem us and to reconcile us to our Father in Heaven.

Tell out, my soul, the greatness of the Lord…’

This much loved hymn, based on the Magnificat, is one that we sing at this time every and is one of the most joyous hymns in any hymn book. But I wonder just how often, if at all, we have taken time just to read through the words of it. Do so now – read of the power, dominion and majesty of God – and then give thanks for all those unnumbered blessings that He pours upon us every day and for the fulfilment of His promise to us through His Son.

‘Behold my servant whom I uphold…’ (Isa. 41:1)

The first portion of Isaiah 42 is often referred to as the Servant Song, one of four found in Isaiah, and point to the Messiah coming to fulfil God’s promise to reconcile Himself to us, and of course we look to Jesus as the fulfilment of that promise. In all He said and did throughout His earthly ministry, and through His death and Resurrection, Jesus would not only fulfil this task, but also reveal God to the world. As we continue through Advent we not only look the celebrate His birth but also look forward to His coming again to establish His Kingdom once and for all. In the meantime we are called to emulate our Lord in humility and service and to play our part in revealing God’s Kingdom to all. So let’s pray for the courage, strength and faith to play our part in doing so and let’s pray for the Church of Jesus Christ at this time, that all who would claim to be His Disciples would do likewise that more people may come to know Jesus this Christmas time.

Background Information

The date for this prophecy is around 734 and the city of Jerusalem is about to come under siege from the Kings of Israel, the Northern Kingdom, and Aram. So Ahaz, the King of Judah, found himself in a desperate predicament, yet still he found it difficult to trust in God, preferring instead to offer tribute to Tiglath Pileser, the King of Assyria, the same King who around ten years after this situation, in 722 BC, overthrew the Northern Kingdom of Israel. In response to this behaviour from Ahaz, God offers the words of this prophecy that we now all know so well. However, when we look at it as a whole, on first reading it doesn’t really sound like such good news – so what then are we to make of this.

Read Isaiah 7:10-17

As we look at these verses we find some verses that have given rise to much theological debate over the years. Who was the young woman and who was Immanuel?

• The young woman symbolised Judah or Jerusalem and that Immanuel symbolised the Assyrian King who was to be God’s instrument of justice at that time. Possible, But unlikely!
• Isaiah’s own wife and son. Unlikely!
• The wife of Ahaz and a Royal Heir from the House of David as of yet unborn, namely Hezekiah. Very Possible!
• Mary and Jesus.

Whatever the answer, it was clearly taken by the early Christians to refer directly to the Birth of Christ, one of the most famous Messianic Prophecies and Matthew’s Gospel in particular appears to endorse that belief. But could it have had more than one meaning? Did Hezekiah fulfil this prophecy in his own way some 30 years later when he surrender to Sennacherib thus saving Jerusalem from destruction at that time? And what was Isaiah thinking at that time?

But at a personal level there is something else we need to consider here.

• Ahaz, for whatever reason, seemed reluctant to trust in God.
• Yet even when prompted to do so, as a means of providing ‘evidence’ that God can be trusted, still Ahaz refuses to ask for a sign from God.
• There is little doubt Ahaz believes in God yet still he wants to ‘hedge his bets’ and form an allegiance with others – just in case??
• What then does this say about his relationship with God?

And what can we learn from this?

What does it mean to be a loyal and faithful believer in God?

How does our trust compare to that of Ahaz?

Do we ever ‘hedge our bets’ in others – just in case?

And when God does send us a ‘sign’ how do we respond to it?