DECEMBER 15
MATTHEW 1:18–25

In Jesus, God has fulfilled the greatest promise of
all: his promise that a Messiah was coming.

 

The book of Matthew provides us with one of the most familiar
accounts in the Bible of the birth and infancy of Jesus:
Now after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of
Herod the king, behold, wise men from the east came to Jerusalem,
saying, “Where is he who has been born king of the Jews? For we
saw his star when it rose and have come to worship him.” When
Herod the king heard this, he was troubled, and all Jerusalem with
him; and assembling all the chief priests and scribes of the people,
he inquired of them where the Christ was to be born. They told
him, “In Bethlehem of Judea, for so it is written by the prophet:
‘And you, O Bethlehem, in the land of Judah,
are by no means least among the rulers of Judah;
for from you shall come a ruler
who will shepherd my people Israel.’” (Matt. 2:1–6)
Don’t let the familiarity of this account cause you to rush over its
hope-giving glory. When Herod went to Old Testament scholars
to inquire where the promised Messiah was to be born, they had
no problem answering. They immediately quoted Micah 5:2. Now,
pause and think about this for a moment. It’s not just that the
Messiah’s birth was promised in a general, nonspecific way. The

promise of God, made through the prophet Micah many gener-
ations before, was specific—down to the exact town in which he

would be born. The King of kings wouldn’t have a regal birth in a

royal palace in Jerusalem, with an adoring court at his cradle. No,
the hope of the world would be born in the town of Bethlehem
to a mother and father who were far from the royalty of that day.
Every detail of Jesus’s birth was part of God’s plan before the
foundations of the earth were set in place. So the promises and
prophecies of his birth were detailed and specific. God is not like
a fortune teller, delivering a safe, generic prediction. No, these
promises were made by the Lord of heaven and earth, who rules
everything, everywhere, all of the time. You see, the promises of
God are only as good as the extent of his sovereignty, because he
can guarantee the delivery of his promises only in situations over
which he has rule. Because he rules everything, everywhere, all of
the time, however, his promises are specific and rock-solid.
The specificity of God’s promise about where the Messiah would
be born is a picture of how infinitely confident God is in his own
ability to do whatever he has said he will do, wherever he said he
will do it, and whenever he knows the time is right. You can bank
on and build your life upon the promises of God. He has the
power, willingness, and authority to do everything he has promised
to do. It is so good to know today that you can absolutely trust that
he will do what he has said he will do.
 

Prayer

Indeed, O God, how good it is to know that you are absolutely
trustworthy! You have promised in your word that you will do
marvelous things—and I know that you will do what you have said
you will do! Thank you for sending your Son at just the right time
in order to accomplish your perfect sovereign will for this world that
you have made. Thank you for claiming me as his own, as your

own. In his name I come, amen.

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