December 7, 2003
Malachi 3:1-4; Luke 1:68-79 3:1-6; Philippians 1:3-11
Judaism is built on the foundation of a belief in the relationship of God and a special group of people. (The Hebrews, aka the Jews) Furthermore it is built on a belief in the relationship of God and certain specific human beings through whom God could speak and/or provide leadership. At the heart of Judaism from early times was the embracing of a moral code, which through interpretation along the way, was expanded to a point of responding to all human situations. The philosophy that doing good in the eyes of God would result in reaping blessings from God was very much part of the theology. Abraham, Moses and spiritual leaders known as prophets believed God had a special land in which the Hebrews were to live. By the 8th century B.C., however, the Prophets were dealing with the problem history. The land been snatched from "God's chosen people" (The Hebrews) and prominent leaders were in Babylonian captivity. A reasonable explanation of "why?" was necessary. The explanation was that the people had strayed from the moral code and God therefore permitted their demise. Only a return of faithfulness to the code, i.e. God, would result in their land being returned to them along with the favor of God. Inasmuch as Hebrew history is built on God selecting specific leadership there developed the idea that God would send a special leader, i.e. The Messiah, who in the spirit of ancient leaders would lead the people back to lives of faithfulness and a place of respect in the eyes of the world. They needed this greatly, for after all, "the Chosen People" had experienced humiliation at the hands of the Babylonians, Assyrians, Persians, Greeks, and eventually the Romans.
The importance of a belief system which nurtured faith in the future should be noted. The Hebrews were a people of faith in better days ahead. This faith which produced hope that God would provide a leader who would lead them from their distress and to an experience joy, power, and influence, just God had done in previous history. Not only did this belief system provide a faith which nurtured hope and expectancy, but it included a plan--God's plan. Malachi says a messenger would come to prepare the way for this "Leader", both of whom would be filled with the spirit of God. The messenger was to prepare the way in a manner which would facilitate the work of the "Leader", i.e. "The Messiah", i.e. Jesus. The prophets predicted that the people would be cleansed and refined. They would thus return to a quality of living by the "code" that would be pleasing to God, just as it was in the former years. What a hope for a people in bondage and psychological depression!
It should be remembered that the Gospels were written several years "after the fact". The story of Jesus was therefore easily inserted into the "hope" that had been part of the Hebrew tradition. John the Baptist was the messenger and Jesus was the Messiah! The Gospels lay a foundation for the "Jesus story" as they tell how God affirmed this by the introduction of angels who gave the message to the mothers of both children. John called the people to repentance as the voice of one "crying in the wilderness". "Prepare the way of the Lord, make his paths straight....and all flesh shall see the salvation of God" he cried. The stage is set for prophetic fulfillment! The Messiah could thus be recognized by the fulfillment of a variety of prophetic utterances, some of which occurred centuries before.
The message was clear. The hope that the Hebrews had clung to for so long was soon to be fulfilled. God was acting in history and the Hebrews were primary instruments in the fulfillment of God's plan!
It is commonly believed that the letter to the Philippians was written by the Apostle Paul. This specific scripture is important for at least two reasons. First it is a response of a person who was a Jew and who had become convinced that Jesus was indeed the fulfillment of Messianic prophecy. Second, it indicates the manner in which the early church responded to the profound disappointment experienced in the death of Jesus. On the surface it appeared that something had gone wrong with the theory that Jesus was the Messiah. Paul was a testimony, however, to the fact that nothing had really gone wrong but that the prophecy was simply being fulfilled in a manner different from what had been expected. No doubt about it. Jesus had been killed. No doubt about it, Jesus was no longer with them in the flesh. The wonderful aspect of how everything was unfolding was that the Messianic hope was being fulfilled in a spiritual, rather than physical way. Paul was telling his fellow Christians that the spiritual values which had been observed in Jesus were very real and represented a fulfillment of prophecy in part. He was about to tell them that he knew this because he and Jesus had shared in a spiritual meeting and that Jesus was very much alive in spirit. It was for this reason that Paul was now very much a disciple of Jesus because of the affirmation he experienced in his spiritual meeting with the Messiah, i.e. Jesus.