Holy Anticipation

I cannot speak for you, but I sometimes have a hard time waiting – especially for things I am excited about. I am one of those people who buys something in the store and has it opened before I get to the car.

Some things we do not have to wait very long for: a birthday, anniversary, Christmas!

Other things we might be excited for but they seem a long way off, like getting out of the army or retirement. I know some people who count the days … starting 5 years out!

Most of the things we wait for have a specific date when we anticipate them, or at least close to it: delivery date for a baby, retirement, Christmas.

At Christians, we also have some things that we anticipate, prepare for that we do not have a specific time for. We even sing morbid songs about looking forward to dying like, “When we all get to heaven” because we look forward to being even more united with Jesus.

The Bible started with a perfect situation, and fell into chaos. This was not a surprise to God, and he didn’t have to go to plan “B”. God made a promise back in the very beginning that someday the chaos would be removed. The plan was already in place.

When man and woman sinned in the garden, God passed judgement on them. He also passed judgement on the serpent. To the serpent he said,

Genesis 3:15 NASB95

15 And I will put enmity Between you and the woman, And between your seed and her seed; He shall bruise you on the head, And you shall bruise him on the heel.”

That “seed of the woman” was a promise that a descendant of a human, born of natural birth, would some day crush the serpent and undo the effects of his deceit.

Adam and Even were not given an exact date, but I am sure they were expecting it to be in their lifetime on earth. But it wasn’t. It wasn’t in Noah’s lifetime, nor Abraham’s, nor Moses’ lifetimes either. It did not happen in David’s lifetime either. Though, to each one of them, God created a covenant and reminded them that the promised seed would come some day.

Each generation waited for the promise to be fulfilled, anticipating it.

Last week, David read from Isaiah 9. Let’s go back there:

Isaiah 9:6–7 CSB

6 For a child will be born for us, a son will be given to us, and the government will be on his shoulders. He will be named Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Eternal Father, Prince of Peace. 7 The dominion will be vast, and its prosperity will never end. He will reign on the throne of David and over his kingdom, to establish and sustain it with justice and righteousness from now on and forever. The zeal of the Lord of Armies will accomplish this.

Did you notice how many times the word “will” is used? The NASB and CSB are very similar on this. Other translations may phrase it differently, but these are future tense.

Isaiah 9:6–7 CSB

6 For a child will be born for us, a son will be given to us, and the government will be on his shoulders. He will be named Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Eternal Father, Prince of Peace. The dominion will be vast, and its prosperity will never end. He will reign on the throne of David and over his kingdom, to establish and sustain it with justice and righteousness from now on and forever. The zeal of the Lord of Armies will accomplish this.

Isaiah was speaking of a child who would be born. This would be the ONE who was the promised seed of the woman from Genesis 3. This SON will not only be the serpent-crusher, he will be a ruler of an everlasting kingdom. And he will rule with justice and righteousness.

Isaiah talked about this promised child in several other messages he shared. In Isaiah 9 it is a child being born. In Isaiah 11 this person is a branch that grows from the root of a tree.

Isaiah 11:1 CSB

1 Then a shoot will grow from the stump of Jesse, and a branch from his roots will bear fruit.

Jesse was the Father of King David. A stump would symbolize a time when the fruit of that person’s life is past. So, some time after the life of Jesse, and also after his immediate fruit (seed) such as David and his “seed” Solomon, a branch will grow from the roots – there will be a descendant from that family line that will grow and bear fruit. To bear fruit is to create more seeds after it’s own image.

What will this branch do? Let’s read about it, but before we do, let me ask a question:

Have you have heard the passage, “The lion will lay down with the lamb?” Can anyone tell me where that is mentioned in scripture? Well, it isn’t! 😏

Let’s read our passage and see what will lie down with the lamb as we discover what the branch will do:

Isaiah 11:2–10 CSB

2 The Spirit of the Lord will rest on him—

a Spirit of wisdom and understanding,

a Spirit of counsel and strength,

a Spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the Lord.

3 His delight will be in the fear of the Lord.

He will not judge

by what he sees with his eyes,

he will not execute justice

by what he hears with his ears,

4 but he will judge the poor righteously

and execute justice for the oppressed of the land.

He will strike the land

with a scepter from his mouth,

and he will kill the wicked

with a command from his lips.

5 Righteousness will be a belt around his hips;

faithfulness will be a belt around his waist.

6 The wolf will dwell with the lamb,

and the leopard will lie down with the goat.

The calf, the young lion, and the fattened calf will be together,

and a child will lead them.

7 The cow and the bear will graze,

their young ones will lie down together,

and the lion will eat straw like cattle.

8 An infant will play beside the cobra’s pit,

and a toddler will put his hand into a snake’s den.

9 They will not harm or destroy each other

on my entire holy mountain,

for the land will be as full

of the knowledge of the Lord

as the sea is filled with water.

10 On that day the root of Jesse

will stand as a banner for the peoples.

The nations will look to him for guidance,

and his resting place will be glorious.

This branch will undo the curse and return the world back to the “Eden Ideal” and better! There will be justice, there will be peace, even among the animals like it was in the garden. But what makes it better is that “ the land will be as full of the knowledge of the Lord as the sea is filled with water.”

It was the tree of the knowledge of good and bad that Adam and Eve were not to eat. They did eat from it, because of the trickery of the serpent, and they were cast out. ON THAT DAY (future) there will be abundant knowledge of God. We will know him and follow him.

SO, from just after the beginning creation, each generation has been looking for:

• a child, born of a woman
• a descendant of Jesse from the line of David
• who will have God’s spirit on him
• and will rule in justice and righteousness for eternity
• he will free us from oppression and our enemy

Adam & Eve looked for him. Noah looked for him. Abraham looked for him. Moses looked for him. David looked for him. Isiah looked for him and I am confident he was hoping it would be during his lifetime!

How will people recognize this seed? Isaiah also gave some insight into that:

Isaiah 7:14 CSB

14 Therefore, the Lord himself will give you a sign: See, the virgin will conceive, have a son, and name him Immanuel.

So the list gets a little more filled out.

• a child, born of a woman who was a virgin
• a descendant of Jesse from the line of David
• who will have God’s spirit on him
• and will rule in justice and righteousness for eternity
• he will free us from oppression and our enemy
• he will be referred to as “Immanuel” which means “God with us”

There are many other passages that point to the coming seed, or the chosen seed, or the “Messiah” which means “Anointed One”. But for thousands of years people anticipated the coming seed.

ask: do you think it is possible that some people gave up waiting? I am sure some were discouraged because of the delay. But MANY were still looking!

After roughly 400 years of silence from any prophet of God, something happened. First, an old woman gets pregnant. During her pregnancy, another miraculous thing took place. This is part of the Christmas story that we revisit each year.

Luke 1:26–33 NLT

26 In the sixth month of Elizabeth’s pregnancy, God sent the angel Gabriel to Nazareth, a village in Galilee, 27 to a virgin named Mary. She was engaged to be married to a man named Joseph, a descendant of King David. 28 Gabriel appeared to her and said, “Greetings, favored woman! The Lord is with you!” 29 Confused and disturbed, Mary tried to think what the angel could mean. 30 “Don’t be afraid, Mary,” the angel told her, “for you have found favor with God! 31 You will conceive and give birth to a son, and you will name him Jesus. 32 He will be very great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his ancestor David. 33 And he will reign over Israel forever; his Kingdom will never end!”

Mary did become pregnant as a virgin, and not by her fiancé Joseph. As a matter of fact, he was going to divorce her, but he told by the angel of the lord:

Matthew 1:20–23 CSB

20 But after he had considered these things, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying, “Joseph, son of David, don’t be afraid to take Mary as your wife, because what has been conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. 21 She will give birth to a son, and you are to name him Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins.” 22 Now all this took place to fulfill what was spoken by the Lord through the prophet: 23 See, the virgin will become pregnant and give birth to a son, and they will name him Immanuel, which is translated “God is with us.”

The long awaited seed was finally coming! He was to be born to a virgin and of the line of David. What had been waited for and anticipated for thousands of years was finally about to arrive. An event like this should be celebrated with a huge festival, or parade, fireworks, a but production, right? Yet the fulfillment of an ancient promise, waited for by countless thousands, took place in a tremendously, anti-climactic way!

Luke 2:1–7 CSB

1 In those days a decree went out from Caesar Augustus that the whole empire should be registered. 2 This first registration took place while Quirinius was governing Syria. 3 So everyone went to be registered, each to his own town. 4 Joseph also went up from the town of Nazareth in Galilee, to Judea, to the city of David, which is called Bethlehem, because he was of the house and family line of David, 5 to be registered along with Mary, who was engaged to him and was pregnant. 6 While they were there, the time came for her to give birth. 7 Then she gave birth to her firstborn son, and she wrapped him tightly in cloth and laid him in a manger, because there was no guest room available for them.

The Messiah, the long awaited, promised serpent-crusher and eternal ruler was born in a barn. While the birth of the serpent-crusher went seemingly under the radar, the effects of the life, death and resurrection of the child-king have been seen and felt around the world for over 2000 years.

Advent reminds us of the anticipation that all mankind had leading up to the coming of Jesus. We celebrate that coming each year during the Christmas season. We are not celebrating the birth of Jesus, as his birth date is not exactly known, we are celebrating the fulfillment of the promise of God and the hope that it brings! It is truly good news that brings great joy!

Luke 2:8–14 CSB

8 In the same region, shepherds were staying out in the fields and keeping watch at night over their flock. 9 Then an angel of the Lord stood before them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. 10 But the angel said to them, “Don’t be afraid, for look, I proclaim to you good news of great joy that will be for all the people: 11 Today in the city of David a Savior was born for you, who is the Messiah, the Lord. 12 This will be the sign for you: You will find a baby wrapped tightly in cloth and lying in a manger.” 13 Suddenly there was a multitude of the heavenly host with the angel, praising God and saying: 14 Glory to God in the highest heaven, and peace on earth to people he favors!

You might be wondering, “If the anticipation of the seed of the woman was fulfilled when the first Christmas took place, why do we still talk about anticipation during the advent season?

The theme of anticipation not only connects to Christ as the fulfillment of Old Testament prophecies and promises, He is the awaited Messiah, and His coming not only changes history but offers hope for our future, reminding us to look forward to His second coming.

If God was faithful to keep his promise of sending the serpent-crusher, then he will also keep that promise of the serpent being totally crushed and our enemies totally destroyed and our knowledge of God made complete. That WILL happen in the future when Jesus returns.

Jesus said he would return:

John 14:1–3 CSB

1 “Don’t let your heart be troubled. Believe in God; believe also in me. 2 In my Father’s house are many rooms. If it were not so, would I have told you that I am going to prepare a place for you? 3 If I go away and prepare a place for you, I will come again and take you to myself, so that where I am you may be also.

Then Jesus told us what it would be like when he returns!

Mark 13:24–27 CSB

24 “But in those days, after that tribulation: The sun will be darkened, and the moon will not shed its light; 25 the stars will be falling from the sky, and the powers in the heavens will be shaken. 26 Then they will see the Son of Man coming in clouds with great power and glory. 27 He will send out the angels and gather his elect from the four winds, from the ends of the earth to the ends of heaven.

And then the Apostle John wrote the book of the revealing of the end time, when Christ will return and his conclusion:

Revelation 22:20 CSB

20 He who testifies about these things says, “Yes, I am coming soon.” Amen! Come, Lord Jesus!

Each Christmas season we look back at the beginning of the fulfilment of the promise made in Genesis 3:15. And that fulfilment fills us with even more anticipation for the work of redemption, for the renewal of all things to be completed when the Messiah comes for his second and permanent return to earth.

But, Jesus said he would return, “soon”, and that was about 2000 years ago. Did we miss it? Did he forget?

No way! As we have talked about anticipation, and have you have been anticipating the conclusion of this message 😏 let’s read one more passage together:

2 Peter 3:8–14 CSB

8 Dear friends, don’t overlook this one fact: With the Lord one day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years like one day. 9 The Lord does not delay his promise, as some understand delay, but is patient with you, not wanting any to perish but all to come to repentance.

10 But the day of the Lord will come like a thief; on that day the heavens will pass away with a loud noise, the elements will burn and be dissolved, and the earth and the works on it will be disclosed. 11 Since all these things are to be dissolved in this way, it is clear what sort of people you should be in holy conduct and godliness 12 as you wait for the day of God and hasten its coming. Because of that day, the heavens will be dissolved with fire and the elements will melt with heat. 13 But based on his promise, we wait for new heavens and a new earth, where righteousness dwells.

14 Therefore, dear friends, while you wait for these things, make every effort to be found without spot or blemish in his sight, at peace.

Looking back at the promise of God being fulfilled should motivate us to keep looking forward in anticipation to the next time we will see Jesus. Living in a season of anticipation requires us to embrace hope and live intentionally for the days to come. Let is live our lives “righteously” – right in God’s eyes, with no need to be ashamed, and doing our part to promote the peace that God brings.

Someday, the greatest gift ever given will be unwrapped before our eyes, and we will bow before our Savior in whom we hope and we shall see walk in the light of his glory. We will be like him, and we will see him face to face. There will be no more sorrow or pain, sadness or grief. Even so, come Lord Jesus!