Podcast: Play in new window | Download
Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Amazon Music | Podcast Index | RSS
By now, you’ve probably heard of Baby Yoda, the cute, small and non-verbal star of the Disney+ show The Mandolorian. In case you haven’t seen this yet, I will just share this part of the story: the remnant of the evil Empire wants to kill this small creature because it has the potential to affect the entire galaxy.
Sound familiar? I thought so. A little over 2,000 years ago, a troubled Roman governor sought the life of a small child because of an old prophecy that the child would become king of the Jews. But, the chief priests and scribes that Herod queried left something out. That prophecy in Micah contained a much more powerful (and if you were Herod) terrifying claim: this child wasn’t just the King of the Jews. He was the high King of the universe come to inaugurate his redemptive and revolutionary reign.
So, Disney+, thanks for the reminder.
Because of the busyness of the season, I often find it easy to gloss over the glory and profundity of the Christmas story. This year, because I have been doing a good bit of study on government, etc., Christ’s kingship and kingdom stood out to me in a new way. And, I wanted to share that with you. Here’s a recent sermon on that topic titled “The Monarch in The Manger.”
Outline
- Christmas
- Kingdom
- Calling
Key Takeaways
- Christmas isn’t a solitary event. Rather, it was the continuation of the Biblical meta-narrative begun at Eden and the fulfillment of a promise made to Abraham.
- The Jews waited numerous centuries and endured several conquests prior to the birth of Christ. By the time Christ was born, they were about 60 years into Roman domination. We get impatient when God doesn’t work in a few days or months. The Jews waited centuries.
- The word kingdom appears approximately 117 times in the New Testament, but do we really know what it means?
- What we miss about the end of the Christmas (and Christian) story.
- Summary: This Christmas, don’t dream of a snow. Pray for a Reign.