This devotional series will cover the two advents of Christ. The first will show the lead up to the first advent. The second will cover what was accomplished in the first advent and what that means for us. The third will cover what will be accomplished in the second advent and what that means for us. The final part will look at what we need to do to prepare for Jesus’ second advent. The goal is to create a growing appreciation for Christ’s work in His two advents, and to challenge and inspire the reader to have a wise response to those advents. I trust that as you read this series that you will find yourself edified, and that you will learn things that you never thought of before, which will grow your appreciation for Christ and your place with Him.
“Advent” refers to the coming of Christ. There are two advents: Jesus coming to earth as a child, and Jesus’ return to judge the living and the dead. Originally, the Jews were very much anticipating the first coming of the Messiah, who would usher them into a new age. Most (if not all) of them thought that the events of the first and the second coming were going to happen at once, which would include an overthrow of their Roman oppressors. Many Jews did not anticipate that the Messiah would die on their behalf, or that He would die for the sins of the world, and this despite much biblical prophecy, such as the Suffering Servant of Isaiah 53 as just one example.
In order to understand the true significance of Jesus’ first advent, we need to go back to the beginning—to the Garden of Eden—and work our way to the Messiah’s coming. When humanity was first created in the Garden of Eden, he was created perfect and without sin. Adam and Eve were able to enjoy unhindered communion with God. God “walked” with them in the garden and talked with them as His friends. There was no shame, corruption, disease, suffering, or death. However, with the coming of sin, death—and all that accompanies it—was brought into God’s creation. For the first time, humanity felt shame in the presence of God. Humanity could no longer have communion with God, because sin had become a wedge between them. Everything became corrupted, and every imaginable evil was open for practice. Yet, despite this, God promised a Seed of the woman who would crush Satan’s head. This is the first prophecy of the coming of Christ, and it was promised by God shortly after Adam and Eve sinned. This promise was a promise to reverse the damage done by sin by eradicating it.
The next leg, moving to fulfill the original promise, was Abraham. Abraham was chosen by God to have the promised Seed. Through this Seed, Abraham would become the father of many nations—nations not principally from his physical descendants (although that was a part), but spiritual descendants according to the promise. This is why, for instance, Isaac was called the “child of promise,” and not Ishmael or Abraham’s other sons. The promised Seed was then traced through the tribe of Judah, then through the lineage of David, and finally promised to Joseph and Mary by an angel. This whole process took thousands of years, with each iteration becoming more and more specific. You see, the plan was never to deliver one nation—the nation of Israel. Israel was simply God’s conduit for bringing about the promised Messiah, who would reverse the curse and restore humanity’s status before God. That was the promise.
Even in the Old Testament, what made a person a part of “Israel” in God’s eyes was not one’s ethnic pedigree, but one’s faithfulness to God. All who had faith in God were reckoned as being children of Abraham according to the promise. So, there is a very real sense in which the promise given to Abraham included some in Israel here, but not some there. Remember also, that whenever Israel broke their covenant with Moses, that God would call them “your people” and not “my people.” God threatened twice to wipe out the nation of Israel (according to the flesh), and remake the nation through Moses. There were also times when God had Himself removed from the midst of the camp of Israel—showing His rejection of their sin and them as His people. However, God always provided an intercessor, and always kept a remanent of faithful Israel until the coming of Christ. The line that was promised to have the Messiah was likewise divinely preserved. David’s line, for instance, was at one point brought down to only one person. To add to this, David’s line included different nationalities, such as Moabite (Ruth) and a Canaanite prostitute (Rahab). When the promised Seed did come, He made faithfulness to Himself the mark of whether or not a person was a true Israelite (see John 8:31-59).
Finally, after Pentecost, when the new believers started receiving fierce persecution, they were dispersed all around the world. The Holy Spirit personally quickened believers to preach and spread the gospel, and to live in light of its truth—holding forward many faithful witnesses who were willing to travel the world as missionaries sent by local churches. The Pax Romana (the “Roman peace”) made it so the dispersion and spread of the gospel would happen rapidly. The Jewish anticipation of the Messiah also made many Jews receptive to the message of the gospel. And the fact of the Jewish dispersion (called the Diaspora) all around the known world meant that there were many around the world who were familiar with the Scriptures, who could then be converted and thus aid in the spread of the Faith to non-Jews. In other words, God created the perfect storm for the rapid and effective spread of the gospel into all the world, for all peoples, tribes, and nations. The whole world was the scope and goal of Jesus’ first coming.
As I mentioned earlier, many Jews lost sight of the bigger picture of God’s plan. They instead thought in worldly terms—that those born Jews will be given power over their enemies, and that the Messiah will help them to continue on having material prosperity. Jesus resisted those who were trying to force Him to be king, and He even called His disciple Peter “Satan” for trying to prevent Jesus’ death on the cross. If the Jews had their way, then humanity would never be reconciled with God, and the curse would persist forever. The most that humanity would have would be some sort of temporal gain from one segment of humanity. So, ironically, if it had been up to humanity, the promised Seed would have never come. Jesus thus had to fight against humanistic expectations to bring about God’s promises.
Despite the popular expectation for a humanistic messiah who would be for mere human gain, those who were faithful to God were longing for the Messiah’s coming for the proper reasons—although they only understood in part. For instance, many of the prophets saw His coming from afar. There were also people like Simeon and Anna in Luke 2. Those who were faithful to God longed for being made perfect and to take part in the Resurrection.
We can hardly understand a time when the Holy Spirit came and left, when God’s presence would come and leave, and when so many rites, ceremonies, and feasts would be required for faithfulness—and still, those things being mere shadows. God still saved by faith back then, since there is no other way that a person can be saved. Christ was the substantiation of that faith, meaning that all saved even before His coming were saved by faith in Him. Given all of this, we still so often take it for granted that we have the Holy Spirit, that we have been given new hearts, and that God promises to never leave or forsake us. These were not promises given to believers in the Old Covenant. So, what we have now in Christ could have hardly been imaginable back then, just as we can hardly imagine what life will be like when Christ returns. As we contemplate what life must have been like before Christ came, and the tremendous gifts bestowed at His first coming, may we respond to Him in great thanksgiving that He never let us have our own ways. He strove against the wickedness of our own hearts and, even as we rebelled and spat in His face, He chose to save us for Himself—endeavouring to make us holy and pure like Him.
Next time we will be looking more at what the first advent of Christ brought for us, and at the period called “the now but not yet,” which is where we currently find ourselves.