We've been working through a mini-series on the advent of the Lord Jesus Christ. So far, we have considered the "Foretelling of the Christ," where we went back to the beginning and looked at the first prophetic text, which told of Christ's coming, given in Genesis, Chapter 3. And then, last Sunday, we considered the actual "Coming of the Christ," where we pondered the chants of praise, proclaimed by the angelic beings, to God, in the presence of the shepherds. This was found in Luke, Chapter 2, which we read again, in our first Scripture reading.
This morning then, we move into the third part of our Advent series, where we will fix our attention on the most critical aspect of the Christ's coming, centered upon His death and resurrection. Sadly, for many, the whole concept of Christmas, begins and ends with a cute little infant, born in a manger, with hardly an understanding of the central glory of this Christ's incarnation. God became man for a significant reason. And if the whole emphasis of Christmas leaves us in Bethlehem, and doesn't take us to Mount Golgotha; if we remain gazing in the face of a smooth-skinned, bright eyed baby, and not in the face of a marred, bloodied, beaten, abused,
and hardly recognizable Savior, then we have truly missed the boat. And so, this morning, we cast our eyes into the dark and pitiful scene of the Christ's crucifixion. But, we won't stay there. We will conclude by making our way to His empty tomb, on that calm and peaceful Sunday morning, three days after His death. |
