Have you heard the sound of a new baby’s cries? It’s unmistakable. Loud, piercing, alerting. Their cry beckons all those around to pay attention to him or her. The cry of a newborn baby is the long awaited sound for parents who have been waiting for 9 long months to meet this child. This is how our God chose to herald that He was declaring war against sin and darkness. The long awaited Messiah, the one who would save His people, entered this world as a baby. A baby, born of a virgin, to a couple accused of pre-marital sex, in a cleared out manger that held food for the animals just minutes before (Luke 2:1-4). This is how the Savior of the world would enter the stage. The cry of the baby was hope breaking through.
The long awaited Messiah was supposed to come with sword and hellfire to vanquish Israel’s enemies. He was supposed to bring victory and military power back to His people. To say that Jesus was the unexpected Savior would be an understatement. But why? Why send Jesus into the world as a baby in a small town of Bethlehem? For Israel, their biggest problem was Rome. Rome was the oppressive empire that had taken over Israel, among other nations. The people of Israel still couldn’t see that their biggest problem wasn’t Rome or man, but instead, the sin in their hearts (Ecclesiastes 9:3). The people were blind to their sin and their wickedness and only cared for their safety, their possessions, and their land. How familiar this is for us, as well. How often do we treat Jesus as a genie in bottle, to come forth in our time of need, to vanquish our trials and enemies? How often do we fail to see that our biggest problem isn’t the one staring us in the face (i.e. school, job security, money, a relationship), but is actually the sin hiding in our hearts, whispering to us, “you’re a good person, you deserve this.”
Advent is a season, each year, that the Church is able to reflect and celebrate the long awaited Messiah, Jesus. This year has brought unique challenges and trials for many. Let this season of Advent be a time to reflect on what Jesus accomplished by coming to Earth in the form of a servant (Philippians 2:6-7). Jesus’ death brought the reconciliation to God that had been broken since Adam (Genesis 3:8-24) for those who would believe in Him. We now have access to God because of Jesus (1 Timothy 2:5-6), and this all started with the cry of a baby.
This baby’s cry was the sound of hope breaking through. It signaled that God had come to rescue us from ourselves and sin. The perfect prophet, judge, mediator, and king had arrived. His name is Immanuel, God with us (Isaiah 7:14, Matthew 1:23).
