Day 16 - Hope for a Prophet

Child of Hope: An Advent Devotional

Monday, December 15, 2008

Hope for a Prophet

See, I will send you the prophet Elijah before that great and dreadful day of the Lord comes.
Malachi 4:5

Have you ever set your heart on something, only to discover, much later, that you were hoping for the wrong thing? At the time, you longed for a particular outcome; you were disappointed when it didn’t happen, but not as disappointed as you would have been, later, if your wishes had come true.

There were some who thought that, in Jesus of Nazareth, God was fulfilling the promise made through the last prophet, Malachi. That promise, to which faithful Jews held through exile, war, and the repeated occupation of their homeland, was that God would send Elijah, the prophet. In looking for Elijah they were hoping for vindication from God, who would act in fulfillment of their hopes.

At first some, even among the disciples, believed that Jesus was the great prophet for whom the nation had been waiting (Matthew 21:11). As His popularity grew, some of those who witnessed Jesus’ miracles or listened to Him speak wondered whether He might not be the one (Mark 8:27-28). From Jesus, they heard the themes of the end of the age, just as Malachi had prophecied. Through Him, God seemed to speak, powerfully and personally. Yet, He was not the prophet.

The Old Testament hope was not really for one person, but for two. A prophet would return in “the spirit and power of Elijah,” (Luke 1:17) but this man would be a herald. He would prepare the way for the coming of God’s Anointed One, the Messiah. When the prophet came his name was not Jesus, but John: John the Baptist. For centuries the people of Israel had hoped for a prophet who would break the silence and usher in the Kingdom of God. John fulfilled that hope; but the greater hope would be fulfilled in Jesus, the Christ. Truly, the hopes and fears of all the years were met in Him.

Prayer for the Day
Lord Jesus,
forgive us, when we have been too ready
to force You into a mold of our own making,
when we have failed to listen.
Teach us never to make do with lesser dreams,
never to stop discovering more and more about You.
For Your love’s sake.
Amen.