“Do not think that I came to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I did not come to abolish, but to fulfil” – Matt 5:17

The church is in deep sleep. We are doing what we wouldn’t do if we are awake. There is silence divorce between the Advent season and the reason behind it and rather than reminding the world the reason for the season, the season is dictating the reason hence, we loose the impact. Advent calls for the restoration of the purpose of Jesus’ birth. In a culture that is pleasure-ridden, the commercialisation and hype around Christmas is making the church to lose sight of the purpose of the birth of Jesus Christ. I have asked people what is the reason for the season and many different answers I am getting ranges from “it is a time for family,” to “it is a special time to give and receive gifts,” to “it is a special time for the children.” Just as Jesus asked the disciples whom do men think he is? The Advent question is why did Jesus have to come to fulfil the Law and why would the Law need to be fulfilled?

The Bible explained that, ‘before faith came, we were kept under the law.’ In essence, ‘the law did not teach a living, saving knowledge; but, by its rites and ceremonies, especially by its sacrifices, it pointed to Christ, that they might be justified by faith (Gal 3:23-25) In Hebrew 9, we read how the blood of Jesus Christ cleanse our consciences from acts that lead to death ‘so that we may serve the living God! For this reason Christ is the mediator of a new covenant, that those who are called may receive the promised eternal inheritance—now that he has died as a ransom to set them free from the sins committed under the first covenant’ (vs14-15)

The purpose and focus of the Law was to lead you and l to Jesus Christ because we cannot get to heaven on our own power and good deeds. The reason for the Advent season is to be completed by the death and Resurrection of Jesus Christ. The Law teaches us the need for salvation. God’s grace in Jesus Christ gives us the salvation hence, without Jesus fulfilling the Law, there would be no salvation by grace.

Without the blood of Jesus, there would be no true forgiveness of sins, no hope, no joy and no love. Robert Charles Sproul, the author of ‘Holiness of God,’ and a theologian of the Presbyterian Church in America aptly summarised the reason for this season. According to him, among all the world religion leaders, “… none of these men was qualified to offer atonement for the sins of the world. Jesus alone is qualified.” The reason for this season is about Jesus Who came to redeem us from the yoke of sin and eternal damnation. The hope, joy love, peace and reason for this season is a paraphrase of John 3:16-18, “For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son, that whoever trusts in Him shall not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through Him. Whoever trust in Him is not condemned, but whoever does not trust stands condemned already because He has not trusted in the sufficiency of God’s one and only Son.”

Prayer: O Lord, let there be a revival of the reason for this season in relation to the redemption of human soul