“In those days, a decree went out from Caesar Augustus that all the world should be registered.” – Luke 2:1
Scripture reading: Isaiah 9:1-7
“Good news! The Son of God has come. He has taken His rightful place as the chief priest of His people. He has ushered in a golden age of peace and prosperity.”
You might be excused for thinking these words describe Jesus Christ. Ironically, these words describe how ancient Rome viewed Caesar Augustus. Caesar Augustus assumed power in Rome in 27 BC. He ushered in the ‘Pax Romana’, a glorious new age of peace and prosperity in the Roman Empire.
When Jesus arrived in Bethlehem, Rome had its own ‘redemptive history,’ complete with a miraculous origin story, descent into darkness, and the climactic arrival of a divine son and savior who would lead Rome to her destiny and usher in heaven on earth.
Thus, the birth of God’s Son in Bethlehem ensured a clash of kingdoms. On the one hand, see the Kingdom of God with its true Son of God and Savior at the center of the true history of redemption, Who came to usher in the true heaven on earth. On the other hand, see the kingdom of this world with its counterfeit son of God and savior at the center of a counterfeit storyline who came to usher in a counterfeit heaven on earth
Today, too, we must discern where the storylines, value systems, doctrine of salvation and utopian visions of our culture clash with the gospel of Jesus Christ. We must proclaim “Christ is Lord” to our lost world. We must order our lives accordingly.
Suggestions for prayer
Thank God that He has revealed Jesus Christ His Son to us at the heart of redemptive history. Pray for grace to proclaim and embody the truth that Christ is Lord in a lost world.
Rev. Richard Zekveld is the pastor of Covenant Fellowship Church (PCA) in South Holland, Illinois, a Chicagoland suburb. Rev. Zekveld, his wife Nancy, and their five children have lived in the community of South Holland for seventeen years. Get this devotional delivered directly to your phone each day via our RP App. This devotional is made available by the Nearer To God Devotional team, who also make available in print, for purchase, at NTGDevotional.com.
