The Power of His Coming

At the birth of Jesus or better yet the Advent of The Christ (The One who through His birth, death and resurrection and by His Holy Spirit and power indwells believers and molds their Being in conformity to His likeness and his will: Emmanuel); there was little or no attention paid to His arrival except for some notable acts. He was born a Jew, in Bethlehem of Judea. First Angels appeared to some Shepherds while they were in the fields and gave them the good news. They then went to visit the Savior confirming all that the Angels reported. After seeing Him they returned glorifying God. When he was about eight days old He was taken to the Temple at Jerusalem for His Dedication. At the Temple Simeon and Anna blessed Him and prophesied concerning Him (Luke 2: 6-38), but there seemed to be no cause for anyone to be alarmed, worried or concerned then. Some only marveled at what they heard.

Now Herod the Great, a Jew and an Edomite was King over all Judea, at the time of the birth of Jesus. He was considered to be an enterprising keen intellectual and a builder of the temple. He came from a position of Governor in Syria to be king over Judea. He was ruthless, cruel and bloodthirsty. He seemed not to have known anything about the arrival of Christ or the significance of His coming until some Gentiles; wise men whom it is believed were Persians, came to Jerusalem from the east, following a star enquired where Christ was; asking: where is he that is born King of the Jews? They had come to worship him (Matthew 2). Herod and all Jerusalem were then gripped with fear on hearing that the King was there. Herod was the crowned king but now present among them was He that had no need that anyone should crown him king for he was born a King. Suddenly they must have remembered the scripture: “The scepter shall not depart from Judah, nor a lawgiver from between his feet, until Shiloh come; and unto him shall the gathering of the people be” (Genesis 49:10). Shiloh had come and the Scepter had departed. They had to take desperate measures to get rid of him, they wanted him dead. But God is His own protector. It was necessary for Herod to know of the King’s arrival and that is all he would know then.

When Herod’s plan to find Jesus failed, he was very angry. He took out his anger on all the children two years and under, who were in Jerusalem and all its coasts. He sent and slew them all hoping that the baby Jesus would be among the dead. The weeping and wailing must have been very great for the many innocent lives that were lost. Oh what pain and agony those parents must have felt. Consider the dread that was over the land because the King had come. Great were the loss and the pain. Christ came bringing life for many; and at the same time His coming brought fear for some and death to many. They felt the Power of His Coming and were all afraid. But all Herod did to destroy Him was in vain, for Christ the King; the Redeemer liveth.

The Shepherds and the Wise Men did not visit the Lord in order to set the precedence for Gift giving. The Shepherd came to bear witness of The Savior who is Christ the Lord. The wise men came to worship He who is born King of the Jews. Their gifts of Gold, Frankincense and Myrrh were part of their act of worship. It was also necessary for them to let Herod and all Jerusalem know that Shiloh had come. These early witnesses all worshipped the King. Today we celebrate baby Jesus, Christmas and happy holidays. How did we miss The Savior who is Christ the Lord; Emanuel: God who clothed Himself in frail humanity. How did we miss the Power of His Coming?

 Never before or ever since has any one’s birth caused so much fear and brought death to so many. Or the death of one, give birth to so many. Yes a baby was born but it is God who came with great power. If He had not come, we would not be. His coming guaranteed Abundant Life for many. Said He, “I am come that they might have Life and that they might have it more abundantly” (John10:10).

May we be ever so careful not to be so focus on the birth of the baby and miss the “POWER OF HIS COMING”

W. Bennett