Truths to Follow from God's 'Christmas Plan' Every Day

Lemon Orchard in the Galilee./Wikipedia: David Shankbone

Long before Jesus was born, it was prophesied that a messenger would precede the Messiah, and that He would bring light to those who walked in darkness. These promises from God were part of His eternal Christmas plan, and they are a perfect way to conclude this study. Embedded within them are truths we can follow every day, long after the Christmas merrymaking ends. But before discussing those truths, let’ s review the two prophecies:

The voice of one crying in the wilderness: “Prepare the way of the Lord; Make straight in the desert a highway for our God. Every valley shall be exalted and every mountain and hill brought low; the crooked places shall be made straight and the rough places smooth; the glory of the Lord shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together; for the mouth of the Lord has spoken” (Isaiah 40:3-5).

Nevertheless the gloom will not be upon her who is distressed, as when at first He lightly esteemed the land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali, and afterward more heavily oppressed her, by the way of the sea, beyond the Jordan, in Galilee of the Gentiles. The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light; those who dwelt in the land of the shadow of death, upon them a light has shined (Isaiah 9:1-2).

John the Baptist fulfilled the first prophecy by announcing the coming of Christ. He was Jesus’ cousin, but John also was the messenger proclaimed in Isaiah 40. John stood apart from the crowd as he fearlessly announced a revolutionary message about the coming Messiah. 

During our lifetime, we will have opportunities to be a forerunner for heavenly objectives God may want to fulfill through us. God may give us large or small assignments. Sometimes we will be part of a company of people. Sometimes we will fulfill God’s purposes alone. Whatever the case, we must be as bold and forthright as God calls us to be. John knew his God, and was praised by Jesus Himself. We should seek to follow God faithfully as well; for “but the people that do know their God shall be strong and do exploits” (Dan. 11:32, KJV).

Map of Galilee/Photo: Wikipedia

The second prophecy was fulfilled in the location of Jesus’ early life and ministry. The Galilee region was within the ancient tribal boundaries of Zebulun and Naphtali. Jesus grew up in one of its cities, Nazareth, which was mocked by Nathaniel. When Philip invited Nathaniel to come and see Jesus, Nathanielquipped: “Can anything good come out of Nazareth?” 

Jesus also ministered in other cities like Capernaum and Bethsaida. Scholars disagree on how Jewish and/or pagan the Galilee region actually was during Jesus’ day, but we can take evangelistic cues from His social interactions. He ministered openly among the various people groups in Galilee, the revered and the downcast, the cherished and the hated. The Travelujah, a faith-based site specializing in Holy Land tours, sums up Jesus’ Galilean ministry this way:

Galilee also was the home of our Lord during at least thirty years of his life. The first three Gospels are chiefly taken up with our Lord’s public ministry in this province. The entire province is encircled with a halo of holy associations connected with the life, works, and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth. It is noteworthy that of his thirty-two beautiful parables, no less than nineteen were spoken in Galilee. And it is no less remarkable that of his entire thirty-three great miracles, twenty-five were wrought in this province.

With grace and truth, Jesus brought light to the region with His proclamations about the abundant love and intentions of God. The light imagery Isaiah uses in his prophecy describe the transformational nature of Jesus’ ministry and carries spiritual footnotes we shouldn’t overlook. First, Jesus declared Himself  the Light of the world. He lived and ministered in a region that Isaiah described as a place where “the people walked in darkness.”

Secondly, in biblical thought, the day starts in the evening. If the creation passages, the days of creation were calculated evening to morning, not morning to evening (See Genesis 1:5). Is this a picture of God’s way of doing things? It’s worth meditating on the possibility. 

We can observe through Jesus’ ministry how He interrupted and trampled darkness through miracles, signs and wonders.  As the beloved Son of the Father, He introduced a region of spiritual gloom – Galilee – to His eternally majestic Light. Amazingly, for those of us who have received Him as the Savior and Lord, He expects us to light up the world, too. He said of those who believe in Him: “You are the light of the world. A city that is set on a hill cannot be hidden” (Matthew 5:14).

Wow. Christmas Day may be over, but the Christmas lights within us are far from dim.