Day 283

The Promised One Arrives

Read: Matthew 1-3

New Testament means “new covenant.” The Old Testament is the story of the mutual commitment between God and Israel. But Israel failed to keep its commitment. So God made a new covenant with the church, and the story of that covenant is told in the New Testament.

The New Testament begins with four accounts of the life of Christ. They are called Gospels, which means “good news.” Here is the greatest news human beings ever heard. All the wonderful promises God made to his people in the Old Testament, that he would send them a great deliverer, are now beginning to be fulfilled in the arrival of his Son on earth.

The good news begins by describing the birth of a child, who turns out to be God in human flesh. He is born uniquely of a virgin. His human stepfather is told ahead of time that he will be called Emmanuel, which means “God with us.” Jesus is God with us. He is not far away. He has come down from heaven to visit us to save us from our sin. The name Jesus means “Yahweh is salvation.” We cannot rescue ourselves from the bondage of sin; salvation from sin is all of the Lord, all of grace.

The fact that Jesus comes to save not just the Jews but people from every nation is foreshadowed by the call of God to the wise men (magi in Greek) from a foreign land in the East to worship the King of the Jews. Wise men still seek him and worship him!

PRAYER
Father, thank you for the amazing plan for our salvation centered in your wonderful Son, Jesus. Amen.