The second Sunday of Advent: Declaration

(This is the second in a four-part series that seeks to help Christians observe Advent, that season celebrating the coming of our Savior and leading to Christmas. This series is designed for use on each Sunday of Advent, but it can be used at any point up to and including Christmas Day.)

God not only makes promises and provides foreshadowings in many ways to build expectation for the coming of the Savior. He also declares His Son's incarnation when it is time for the expectation to become reality. He makes declarations to two human beings who are waiting expectantly for the Messiah but who have no expectation of how dramatically His coming will affect their lives.

To a young Jewish maiden who is betrothed but not officially married, He sends an angel, who declares:

Do not be afraid, Mary; for you have found favor with God. And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall name Him Jesus. He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High; and the Lord God will give Him the throne of His father David; and He will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and His kingdom will have no end. (Luke 1:30b-33)

To a Jewish man who is burdened by the pregnancy of his betrothed one, He sends in a dream an angel, who declares:

Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary as your wife; for the Child who has been conceived in her is of the Holy Spirit. She will bear a Son; and you shall call His name Jesus, for He will save His people from their sins. (Matt. 1:20b-21)

Centuries of expectation are at an end. The hopes of the people in the promises of God are fulfilled. They are met in a divine embryo. The Savior of the world miraculously resides in a virgin's womb.

A poor Jewish couple awaits not only the delivery of a first-born son but the appearance of the only One who can deliver them. The world, largely unsuspecting, awaits the greatest moment in human history -- God will appear as a man. The baby now hidden will soon emerge the way others do, but He will come forth as "the Son of the Most High" to "save His people from their sins."

Joseph, Mary and the world await His first coming. We await His second coming.

Advent is a time for remembering the declarations of God regarding the coming of the Savior in His humble state long ago. It also is a time of remembering the declarations of God regarding the coming of the Savior in His glorious state over a kingdom that "will have no end."