The Christian Church is now in the Advent season – the 4-week prelude to Christmas.  The word “Advent” is derived from Latin and means “coming” … as in Jesus “coming” to this world – initially, on the first Christmas as Savior, but also on the Last Day as Lord over all.

Which makes Advent a season of anticipation.  Christians anticipate celebrating Jesus’ birth on earth.  They also anticipate celebrating Jesus’ return to earth on the Last Day.

The anticipation for Jesus began in the Garden of Eden after Adam and Eve had disobeyed God and brought the devastation of sin into the world, and into their lives.  Astoundingly, instead of sweeping them aside and starting over, the Lord promised to send One who would make things right again (Gen. 3:15).

From that moment on and through the rest of the first couple’s many hundreds of years of life, (Adam lived to be 930!), they must have eagerly anticipated the Lord fulfilling his promise.  With every new male born, they must have hoped this was the One.  But the Savior didn’t come in their lifetimes.

The anticipation continued with all the believers through the Old Testament.  The time passed and the waiting continued …  not just for decades, generations or centuries, but for millennia! 

A continual refrain of the Old Testament, and especially their worship songs (the psalms), was to “wait” on the Lord who is “faithful.”  The beating heart of this encouragement was the ongoing anticipation of God keeping his promise to send the Savior.

The long anticipation was heightened dramatically with Zechariah and Elizabeth … and Joseph and Mary … whose encounters with angels made it clear that the time had finally come!  The epiphanies shared with them led to miracle baby boys – John the Baptist born to a childless couple well past childbearing years, and Jesus born to a virgin. 

Even amidst the swirling questions and amongst the wonder … how their hearts must have yearned for the boys to be born!  What anticipation must have filled them for 10 months!  What joy they felt at being the Lord’s servants and at what the Lord was doing!  The Holy Spirit actually moved both Mary and Zechariah in their anticipatory joy to speak profound words of prophesy (Mary’s Song and Zechariah’s Song – Lk. 1).

Clearly the unnamed shepherds in Luke 2 were also believers who were among those longing for God’s promised Messiah to arrive.  So while the angels staggered them with their unexpected appearance while out in the fields, they were even more stunned by the angels’ message – the Promised One was born that very day! 

The shepherds’ lifetimes of anticipation were now compressed into a frantic search to find the Baby lying in a manger.  Imagine their excitement!  Their eagerness!  Their anticipation at personally meeting the One whom God’s people had been waiting for since the Garden Promise thousands of years before.

And imagine their wonder when they finally laid eyes on Baby Jesus.

It was similar with the Magi.  The promise had been passed down to them from Daniel, but they surely never expected to actually observe the announcing star in the sky.  But they did!  And when they did, they simply had to go see the newborn King.  Never mind the length and inconvenience of the journey; they set out for Judea.  It was an arduous journey.  Yet every day closer to their destination, their anticipation of meeting Jesus fueled them on. 

What did they feel … think … say … when finally fixing their gaze on the Baby fulfilling centuries old prophesies? 

Then there was Simeon and Anna in the temple in Jerusalem.  Simeon was “waiting for the consolation of Israel,” (Lk. 2:25), and the Holy Spirit had revealed to Simeon that he would meet the Messiah before he died.  How he must have anticipated this incredible privilege! 

When Joseph and Mary brought Jesus to the temple to present him, a firstborn son, to the Lord as the Lord had commanded in the Law, the Spirit moved Simeon to the temple courts.  There he met the new parents and the Newborn.  He swept Jesus into his arms and praised God in the words now known as the “Song of Simeon.”  Anticipation answered!

At that moment, Anna, an elderly prophetess who essentially lived at the temple worshiping and praying, arrived and began praising the Lord as well!  Her anticipation was also realized.  And from that moment on, she began telling all the other anticipating believers that the Lord had finally fulfilled his promise.

So many people; so much anticipation!  All fulfilled in a little Baby born in a barn in Bethlehem.

I can’t help but wonder how the Lord himself viewed Jesus’ transition to earth.  Of course, the Triune God is not a human, doesn’t think like a human (Is. 55:8), and doesn’t approach time as humans do (2 Pet. 3:8).  Consequently, he is utterly incomprehensible to humans, and to attempt to discern his perspective is impossible.

But still, as earth’s history unfolded was there an eagerness burning in the Lord’s heart to finally fulfill his many promises to send the Savior?  Did he experience his own holy anticipation to give the first and greatest Christmas Gift; to unveil the Promised One who would at last make the wrong right?

It almost seems that he must have!  I offer the incredible words from Hebrews 12:2 as a possible insight into the Lord’s mind and heart.  Referring to Jesus, the writer states, “For the joy set before him he endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.”

If Jesus viewed the horrors of the cross with joy, surely the Lord must have viewed his long-awaited arrival on earth with eagerness as well.  Astounding!  Wonderful!

Which brings us finally to you and me.  We are once again in the season of anticipation.  Soon we will celebrate anew the arrival of Immanuel – “God With Us.”  May we eagerly anticipate that celebration!  It is surely worth anticipating and celebrating!

And in the same way, may we also eagerly anticipate celebrating on the day that Jesus returns and ushers in eternity.  “[Jesus] … says, ‘Yes, I am coming soon’” (Rev. 22:20).

To which we echo John’s response, “Amen. Come, Lord Jesus!” (Rev. 22:20).

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Lamentations 3:22-26
Because of the Lord’s great love we are not consumed, for his compassions never fail.  They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness.  I say to myself, “The Lord is my portion; therefore I will wait for him.”

The Lord is good to those whose hope is in him, to the one who seeks him; it is good to wait quietly for the salvation of the Lord.

Psalm 130:5-8
I wait for the Lord, my whole being waits, and in his word I put my hope.  I wait for the Lord more than watchmen wait for the morning, more than watchmen wait for the morning.  Israel, put your hope in the Lord, for with the Lord is unfailing love and with him is full redemption.

He himself will redeem Israel from all their sins.

Galatians 4:4-5
But when the set time had fully come, God sent his Son, born of a woman, born under the law, to redeem those under the law, that we might receive adoption to sonship.

Luke 21:25-28
“There will be signs in the sun, moon and stars. On the earth, nations will be in anguish and perplexity at the roaring and tossing of the sea.  People will faint from terror, apprehensive of what is coming on the world, for the heavenly bodies will be shaken. At that time they will see the Son of Man coming in a cloud with power and great glory. 

When these things begin to take place, stand up and lift up your heads, because your redemption is drawing near.”