June 26

The Hope of the World
Micah 5:2-4 "But you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, though you are small among the clans of Judah,
out of you will come for me one who will be ruler over Israel, whose origins are from of old,
from ancient times.... and he will be their peace."

The bad news first: the nation is going to be destroyed and they are going to be in exile in Babylon. You can’t get any more bad news than that!!! The good news: a deliverer is coming and he will bring peace to the world. He will bring a standard of righteousness that will allow him to judge all peoples of the world. There will come a time of universal peace when swords will be beaten into plowshares. The time is coming when men will be able to sit under their own fig tree (this fig tree will not be owned by the government) and everyone will worship the Lord. There is coming a time when terror will disappear, a time when we will not fear North Korea missiles, the craziness of Iran or the Taliban anymore.

How is this going to happen? Is the UN going to finally get its act together? Is President Obama going to be able to talk world leaders into a peace proposal? The hope of the world lies in a promised, coming king. As the prophet looked down the corridor of history, he saw a hero arising from an obscure town of Bethlehem. God’s plan for world peace centers on ONE person. When the Wise Men came looking for the King of the Jews…. This verse was given to explain his birth location. Everyone knew Messiah would be born in Bethlehem, a small town of about 300 at the time of Christ’s birth. Do you know how many other Messiahs have claimed to have been born in Bethlehem? ZERO. Yet the world continues to overlook him.

A few facts about these verses:
1. He will come “for” God…. Sent on a mission by God the father.
2. He will rule over Israel…. He will have a throne.
3. He is eternal God… for his origins are from old, from ancient times. From the days of eternity.
Jesus stepped out of eternity into human history. Sent by the Father to die for the sins of the world. But he is also truly man, for he is born as a human child. We have here the miracle of the incarnation.
4. He will shepherd his flock… he will care for us.
5. He is the answer to the world’s problems. He will be their peace.

When considering world peace the “beauty pageant girls” always have some answer that includes big plans and some famous political figure. Who would have ever considered that the hope of the planet rests on a small baby born in the tiny village of Bethlehem.

Tolkien used this same theme in Lord of The Rings. The basic story line flows out of the idea that an evil, dark lord seeks to gain absolute power over the world at any cost. And despite his seemingly all-seeing “eye,” a true hero slips in under the radar, raised in the small, backwater region of the Shire. There, Frodo
Baggins would grow up, little knowing that he would become a hero of mythic proportions. For he would carry the instrument of the evil one’s destruction, a ring of power, right into the very heart of darkness in order to destroy it. And this one, who is least likely to accomplish such a feat, would win the victory for all in a virtuous and heroic fashion. Frodo… the hero is physically the frailest.
Jesus wasn’t born in the Shire… he was born in the backwater of Bethlehem. Jesus is the hope of the world…. He would set his face toward Jerusalem, be falsely accused, tried, and found guilty. And when nailed to a Roman cross, He would then surrender his life as a perfect sacrifice. His life would not be taken from Him! He would give it freely so that we might discover how we too might experience peace.