Twenty five days from today we will be celebrating Christmas. Most likely, children everywhere will be anticipating this day for weeks. Didn’t you when you were a child? I know I sure did. Sometimes the anticipation was more than I could bear and I would find a way to carefully sneak a peek (please don’t tell my mother!). Interestingly, Jesus’ coming at his incarnation was likewise with a sense of great anticipation. This is demonstrated by Luke in the introduction to his gospel account.

Ironically Luke’s gospel account begins with Jesus’ cousin, John. You may know him as John the Baptist. We are first introduced to John through his parents, Zechariah and Elizabeth. They were faithful Israelites who, even in their old age, were childless. However one day, while fulfilling his priestly duties, Zechariah was visited by the angel Gabriel who told him that God had heard their prayers and was giving them a son. Gabriel explained that John’s role in God’s plan would be to “Go as forerunner before the Lord… to make ready for the Lord a people prepared for him.” (Luke 1:17) In other words, John’s role was preparatory for the coming of the Lord to the world he created.

The Lord did indeed come, in Jesus. Luke makes that clear in the next section of his introduction where we are introduced to a virtuous young woman named Mary. Six months after his visit with Zechariah, Gabriel now visits Mary to tell her that she would bear the Son of God through a miraculous conception. Gabriel explained that “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. He will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and his kingdom will never end.” (Luke 1:32-33) This is he for whom John would serve as a forerunner.

This is made clear when, after John’s birth, Zechariah prophesies that God has raised up a horn of salvation for us in the house of his servant David, as he spoke through the mouth of his holy prophets from long ago, that we should be saved from our enemies, and from the hand of all who hate us. (Luke 1:69-71)

Now the interesting thing is we do not presently see Jesus reigning over the house of Jacob (Israel). The culmination of his coming at his incarnation was his sacrificial death for the forgiveness of our sin, followed by his resurrection and return to heaven, after which God’s Spirit was sent to dwell within and among those who believe in Jesus. So for now, we wait. We wait for the return of Jesus to exercise that reign over the house of Jacob, and indeed over all his creation. His reign will be with perfect justice in total righteousness.

This anticipation of Jesus’ second coming, his coming again, is captured in a well-known hymn sung at Christmas, even though it was not written as a Christmas hymn.

Joy to the world! the Lord is come; Let Earth receive her King; Let every heart prepare him room, And heaven and nature sing,

And heaven and nature sing, And heaven, and heaven, and nature sing.

That is something to anticipate!

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Finding Faith is written by area pastors. This week’s column comes from Pastor Doug Packard of First Baptist Church, Lock Haven.