By: Kathy Wilford
Date: 12/22/2023
About 1000 years before Jesus’ birth, Nathan the prophet came to King David and delivered an amazing promise from the Lord:
“I will make for you a great name, like the name of the great ones of the earth . . .
Your house and your kingdom shall be made sure forever before me.
Your throne shall be established forever.” (II Samuel 7:9, 16)
Overwhelmed, David “sat before the Lord” (II Samuel 7: 18) and thanked him for this promise: an unbroken line of great kings, stretching out forever.
But it didn’t take long for the promise to falter, seemingly. The northern tribes rejected David’s grandson Rehoboam and set up a separate kingdom. David’s line continued in Judah, but many of his descendants did evil in God’s sight. So much evil, that God allowed the Babylonians to conquer and enslave his people. The last Davidic king was Zedekiah, whose children were slaughtered by Nebuchadnezzar before his eyes (Jeremiah 39).
By the time the young virgin Mary was engaged to Joseph, the Jewish people may have wondered if God had forgotten his promise to David. Or maybe they considered the promise an old, irrelevant story. Joseph was “of the house of David” (Luke 1:27), but the kingly line seemed to have petered out.
Then, in Luke chapter 1, we read of God breaking 400 years of silence, re-lighting the candle of promise. The angel Gabriel appears to Mary and foretells a miraculous son. Gabriel says,
“The Lord God will give to him the throne of his father David,
and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever,
and of his kingdom there will be no end.” (Luke 1:32-33)
The great promise, fulfilled in Jesus! A new king from the line of David who will reign forever. Not his descendants, but King Jesus himself. Not an earthly kingdom, but a spiritual one.
One thing strikes me about this new Davidic promise. Matthew’s gospel connects Jesus to David through the line of Joseph, even though he was not Jesus’ biological father. (Luke’s genealogy probably traces Mary’s line, naming Joseph as “supposed” father. Luke 3:23) By tracing the genealogy of Jesus through his adoptive father, the Scriptures are calling Joseph a “real” parent. As an adoptive parent myself, I’m grateful that Joseph’s parental role receives this honor.
Like Joseph’s relationship to Jesus, our relationship to God is not dependent on heredity or biology. It doesn’t matter who our parents are; we become children of God through faith. When we receive the “Son of David” as our king, we become citizens of the kingdom of heaven, as God rules in our hearts.
In the last chapter of Revelation, Jesus gives us another promise:
“I am the root and descendant of David, the bright morning star . . .
Surely I am coming soon.” (Revelation 22: 16, 20)
Jesus, who is both the root (father-creator) and descendant of David, will return one day soon. King Jesus will establish a righteous kingdom, a New Jerusalem, the fulfillment of the kingdom of heaven.
Maybe, like God’s people two thousand years ago, we feel that day is long delayed. Maybe we wonder if it will ever arrive. But we know that God keeps his promises! As we celebrate the arrival of the baby born to Mary, may the Lord re-light the candle of anticipation in our hearts. “Amen. Come, Lord Jesus!” (Revelation 22:20)
About the Author: Kathy Wilford serves in the Children’s Ministry and the Missions Team at MBC. She’s an instructor in the Writing Program at Rutgers University and the author of Cabby Potts, Duchess of Dirt, a middle-grade novel. Kathy and her husband Paul have been attending MBC for more than 40 years. They have two sons, two daughters-in-law, and two grandkids.
