Then, Jesus Came

 

The Lord your God will raise up for you a prophet

—Deuteronomy 18:15

The love of God for those He has chosen to belong to Himself plays out so clearly across the span of history. Notice this account described in Deuteronomy 18:15-18:

The Lord your God will raise up for you a prophet like me from among you, from your fellow Israelites. You must listen to him.

For this is what you asked of the Lord your God at Horeb on the day of the assembly when you said, “Let us not hear the voice of the Lord our God nor see this great fire anymore, or we will die.”

The Lord said to me: “What they say is good. I will raise up for them a prophet like you from among their fellow Israelites, and I will put my words in his mouth. He will tell them everything I command him.

So, from this time forward and for hundreds of years, God did exactly as the people asked. Because they were afraid to face God’s awesome power directly, He spoke to them through His prophets that He provided. But this did not last. Because, in a miracle of God’s mercy, grace, and love, He sent His one and only Son to earth in the form of a human baby—fully God and fully man. The birth of Jesus changed everything!

Now mankind would have a direct contact with God through His Son. Before this, humans needed to hear from God’s anointed prophet. Now, Jesus will serve forever as Prophet, Priest, and King.

Not only will Jesus live on this earth inside a human body, He will suffer and die in the place of humankind on the cruel cross of Calvary. He will be buried in a borrowed tomb. Then, on the third day, He will rise from the dead. Forty days later, He will ascend to heaven, and sit down at God’s right hand, where Jesus will make intercession on behalf of those humans whom God has chosen to belong to Himself.

Yes, everything was moving along the pathway of history. Then, Jesus came. And, nothing would ever be the same again.

In 1992, at the age of 83, George Beverly Shea sang a powerful gospel song at the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association’s Philadelphia Crusade. As we listen to Bev Shea sing, let’s allow a sense of thankfulness rise up in our hearts.

 

 

 

Based on a blog originally posted on Friday, December 4, 2015

_{Copyright © 2021 by Dean K. Wilson. All Rights Reserved.}

_{More info at www.DeanKWilson.com}