Friday, December 23, 2022

 

Friday, December 23, 2022


Psalms 123; 130

Isaiah 28:1-13

Mark 13:14-47


Observance: Fourth Friday in Advent


Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will not pass away.


While our Sunday readings take us onwards to the manger holding the baby incarnate God, our daily morning readings are taking us to the cross where that same incarnate God bore the sins of the world. But before we get to either the cross or the manger, we need to recognise one of the main sources that prove the claim that Jesus is who He says He is.


This claim relies on fulfilled prophecy. The Old Testament is filled with prophecy predicting the coming of Christ, and Christ Himself makes many prophecies while walking this earth. As the letter to the Hebrews states explicitly, Jesus holds (amongst other titles) the office of prophet.


This particular passage we have come across this morning was used by the first Christians to prove to the world that Jesus held this office of prophet. Jesus is exercising that office by warning His followers about the destruction of Jerusalem, which did come true in 70 AD. He is also prophesying about His return in glory. As well as this, He is affirming the book of Daniel (from which He quotes) as true, reliable, supernaturally-inspired prophecy.


These are wild, high-level concepts for us to think about. Something that happened in the past; something that will happen at some unknown point in the future. But Jesus draws our attention to the central message we need to take away from all this: His words are reliable. Heaven and earth will pass away, but His words will always stay true.


And what are these words? Look at the words at the end of Psalm 130. The words of Jesus, that are reliable and true, that are confirmed by six thousand years of scriptural testimony across different authors in different countries at different times in history, is this: with the LORD there is steadfast love, and with Him is great power to redeem.



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