Psalm 45│Nahum 1│Revelation1.1-8│Matthew 23.13-28
Psaumes 45|Nahum 1|Apocalypse 1.1-8 |Matthieu 23.13-28
King Messiah
The readings
for Christmas Eve can seem a bit puzzling. Contrary to expectation, we find no
baby in manger, no virgin mother, no watchful Joseph, no shepherds, no ox, no
ass, not even one little lamb. Instead, these readings are a series of
declarations of power and looming destruction.
It begins with
Nahum’s prophecy of doom over the Assyrian capital, Nineveh, the source of such
bitter cruelty and destruction to the Israelites. Nineveh will be destroyed, at
once, with complete destruction, never to rise again (1.8–9).
Then comes
Psalm 45, a vision of the conquering Messiah, of whom it is said, Your throne,
O God, is for ever and ever (v.6), who rides forth, girt with sword (v.3) to
destroy his enemies as his sharp arrows pierce their hearts (v.5).
Then, in
Matthew 23, that same Messiah, the Lord Jesus, now walking in the flesh in
Jerusalem, prophesies woes, rebuke, destruction, and Gehenna in the faces of
those hate him, that is, to the scribes and Pharisees of Jerusalem.
Finally, in
Revelation 1.1–8, we read of the same Messiah’s coming again on the clouds of
heaven, when ‘all peoples on earth will mourn because of him’.
So why these
four fierce readings for Christmas Eve? Why not something altogether more
Christmassy? Surely it is because the one who came forth in Bethlehem is none
other than the King Messiah, the mighty God, Jehovah of hosts, going forth to
conquer. He was not born a baby to remain a baby, but to be King of kings and
Lord of lords, to requite, by overwhelming force, the prince of evil and his
servants, to make them like a fiery furnace on the day of his appearing, when
he will come to take his righteous throne. The one born at Bethlehem was born
to conquer.
And it is your
majesty! Succeed! Ride forth for the sake of truth and humble justice, and let
your right hand teach you fearful deeds. (Ps. 45.4)
David Mitchell
Image: 'Messiah by Rubio Milan. From Art in the Christian Tradition, a project of the Vanderbilt Divinity Library, Nashville, TN. https://diglib.library.vanderbilt.edu/act-imagelink.pl?RC=58021 [retrieved December 4, 2021]. Original source: https://www.flickr.com/photos/rubio2d/27923652250.
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