Advent: The Road From Rebellion to Redemption

The season of Advent is meant to cause reflection on two equally important parts of Christmas--the waiting and the arrival. It is also a reminder of how God redeemed us from our rebellion against him.

Welcome to the second week of Advent as we celebrate the arrival of Jesus! We’re using a passage from the book of Jeremiah to walk through this season:

“Although our sins testify against us,
    do something, Lord, for the sake of your name.
For we have often rebelled;
    we have sinned against you.
You who are the hope of Israel,
    its Savior in times of distress,
why are you like a stranger in the land,
    like a traveler who stays only a night?
Why are you like a man taken by surprise,
    like a warrior powerless to save?
You are among us, Lord,
    and we bear your name;
    do not forsake us!” 
-Jeremiah 14:7-9

Let me momentarily comment on the connection between a few obscure Old Testament verses and the Christmas story. The story of Advent has two parts (four, actually): the waiting and the arrival.

Photo by JESHOOTS.COM on Unsplash

The Old Testament, in part, is a story of waiting on God, and the New Testament is a story of Jesus’ arrival. However, a new bit of waiting enters the picture when Jesus ascends to heaven. Once again, we wait for Jesus' arrival to set everything right, so the Old Testament helps us frame the waiting and understand the depth of joy in Jesus’ return (the third and fourth parts of Advent). 

So, we celebrate Jesus’ birth thousands of years ago, but we also remember he is coming again. Last week, we reflected on how, collectively, the people of Israel waited for thousands of years for the Messiah; this week, we see how Jesus did indeed come! To do this, we turn to one woman in the Old Testament and another in the New Testament, each representing a phrase from Jeremiah’s writing.

The Rebellion of Humanity

Eve (along with her husband, Adam) introduced sin into the world. At the beginning of time, standing in a Garden, an innocent and virtuous Eve was presented with a choice.¹ Thank God, He always gives you a choice. You can either obey him or walk your own path. God never forces you to do anything against your will, and Eve was no different.

As Jeremiah wrote:

Eve, visited by an “angel,” was tempted to eat of the forbidden tree.² This temptation wasn’t about fruit, but it was a choice of whether to rebel against God or not. Questioning the goodness of God, Eve ate the fruit and introduced sin to the world.

Choices always carry consequences. If your choice is good, it produces good things in your life, but if it is bad, it will lead to bad things. This is a fundamental principle in how God designed the world. 

Eve’s choice led to the worst consequences — a chaotic, sinful world. So, now, you and I also claim Jeremiah’s statement: we have rebelled and sinned against God.

A Picture of Redemption

Eve’s choice necessitated a Savior, but God waited. He initiated his plan, but its fruition took thousands of years until another angel suddenly visited a different, innocent, virtuous woman—Mary, the mother of Jesus.

God also gave Mary a choice. The angel, Gabriel, told her that she, like a tree in the Garden of God, would bear the fruit of God himself. He let her know she had been chosen to give birth to the Son of God. This visitation began the fulfillment of what Jeremiah declared about the nature of God:

With a heart full of faith, Mary declared: “I am the Lord’s servant. May everything you have said about me come true.”³ Mary’s obedient act of faith introduced us to the one who broke the curse of sin. This means the sin that seems to have a hold on you can be broken because of Jesus’ perfect life, death, and resurrection.

Thank God, we don’t have to wait — the Messiah came, and God is no longer silent!

This Advent season, remember why we celebrate. The Savior of the world has come! 

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1. Genesis 3

2. Paul wrote in 1 Corinthians 11:14 that Satan often masquerades as an “angel of light.”

3. Luke 1:38