They said to him, “In Bethlehem of Judea, for thus it has been written through the prophet: ’And you, Bethlehem, land of Judah, are by no means least among the rulers of Judah; since from you shall come a ruler, who is to shepherd my people Israel.’”
(Matthew 2:5-6)
The Old Testament prophecy about the Messiah emphasized most of all that he would bring freedom. This meant a great deal to a people that had known exile, enslavement – to a people that often lived from hand to mouth trying to eke out a living from arid soil to which they must have felt enslaved.
And when the Messiah came, the early Christians did experience freedom. They were free from the treadmill of the law and now were born into a new life.
Observers remarked about the early Christians that they were a people with a sense of freedom – there was a certain peace and joy and fresh air about them.
If the Messiah has brought freedom, and the Messiah has come, I should experience this freedom. Here. Now.
And I can. I don’t have to be God. I don’t have to be the Messiah. I don’t have to be God toward myself, toward my family, toward my friends, toward the world. All I have to do is my best, and to pray and know that God loves us and we are his children.
I can let God be God…and rejoice.
