The imprisoned John the Baptist sent followers to confirm that Jesus was truly the Messiah the world had been waiting for. From Genesis 3:15 on, the world was waiting for a Saviour--the one who would defeat Satan. Prophets kept reminding us of this coming Messiah. Some 700 years before the birth of Jesus, the details became more and more specific--his birth, his ministry, and his universal impact.
In scripture we see a steady progression towards the arrival of the Messiah. In the documentary 'The Star of Bethlehem: Unlock the Mystery of the World's Most Famous Star', Rick Larson using computer software makes a case that Venus, Jupiter and the star Regulus intersected so that to the naked eye, they formed one bright star in about 2 B.C. He cites Astrology of the day that considered this to be the announcement that a king was born. At any rate, the bright star in the East brought a group of star gazers to Jerusalem looking for the new king. They journeyed on to Bethlehem where the star hovered over the house where toddler Jesus was living with his parents. See more on link below.
Many amazing events connected heaven and earth surrounding the birth of Jesus(a.k.a. Messiah). Joseph(Yusef) was assured in a dream that it was ok to take Mary(MaryAm) as his wife even though she was pregnant. And a prophet had written that one of the names of Jesus was going to be Immanel--God with us. The virgin Mary was visited by the angel Gabriel to announce her miraculous pregnancy. On the night of his birth an angel awoke the shepherds in the fields with "...I bring you good news that will bring great joy to all people. The Savior--yes, the Messiah, the Lord--has been born today in Bethlehem..." Previous to this, there were 400 'silent years' in which God didn't send any new revelation. The world was waiting.
The shepherds hurried off to Bethlehem to find baby Jesus tightly wrapped in cloth as was the custom, lying in an improvised bed--a feeding trough for cattle. From the very start, Jesus made a huge impact. Eight days after Jesus' birth, Simeon was led to the temple just when Joseph and Mary dedicated Jesus there as the law required. Simeon had waited a l-o-n-g time for the Messiah. The waiting was over! Anna, an old old widow who lived in the temple overheard the conversation. She told everyone that the Messiah had arrived. This is for real.
Our Jewish neighbors are waiting for the Messiah in spite of the undisputable signs of his coming. Millions of Muslims consider 'this Good News too good be true'. Committed followers of Jesus are still grappling with how the 'kingdom of heaven(God)' and 'kingdom of earth' are merging--like two big hoola hoops already overlapping partially in the present as our pastor aptly demonstrated!
Lord God, thank-you for your message of 'comfort and joy' for all mankind...for the weary world. And that when we follow you, you have our back. Open the hearts and eyes of all the skeptics and those just trying to keep you out. Amen.The Star of Bethlehem: Unlocking the Mystery of the World's Most Famous Star
