The Coming King

When Jesus came, He often quoted from the Old Testament. So did others around Him. Many people knew the Old Testament’s promises and predictions. That was the setting when Jesus began to give His message.

Jesus came into Galilee, proclaiming the gospel of God, and saying, “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel (Mark 1:14-15).

For centuries God had spoken through His messengers, the prophets. God had promised the coming of the special King, also called the “Messiah” or “Christ.” This King would rule over the wonderful “kingdom of God.” Then Jesus arrived and said, in effect, “The long wait is over. The time has arrived for God to fulfill those Old Testament promises about His kingdom!”

Jesus calls His message “the Good News” (or “Gospel”). Do you sense the excitement? God is breaking through! Good News is cutting into the world’s bad news! Yes, God also has a story. His story meets our story in the person named Jesus.

The Old Testament spoke several hundred times about the coming King. For example, the prophet Micah wrote 500 years before the birth of Jesus. Micah made this astounding prophecy:

But you, O Bethlehem Ephrathah, who are too little to be among the clans of Judah, from you shall come forth for me one who is to be ruler in Israel, whose coming forth is from of old, from ancient days (Micah 5:2).

Bethlehem is a little village near Jerusalem. Centuries earlier, it was the hometown of David, king of Israel and descendent of Judah. Micah, however, was not looking back. As God’s messenger, Micah was looking forward to Israel’s future Ruler, and targeting Bethlehem as the starting place.

Think about it. Did you choose your parents or birthplace? How could anyone predict such details far in advance? Yet Jesus the King was born in Bethlehem, the exact place marked by Micah 500 years before. Micah shot the arrow forward… and it hit the target! The same is true of the other Old Testament prophecies. They tell of the family line that would lead to the greatest King of all. They tell of His birth, His work, His teaching, His death, and more.

Hit And Miss

Each time the Bible has released the arrow of prophecy, it has hit its target. Of course, many people have tried to predict the future. Sometimes they even have successes. The problem is that they also miss, which proves they were making lucky guesses. The eternal, ever-present God never guesses. He knows every detail about the past, the present and the future. He alone can guide the prediction to its fulfillment. Indeed, the Bible gives the fulfillment of prophecy as a way for us to recognize God’s work (Deuteronomy 18:21-22; Isaiah 41:21-26; 44:6-7).

Watch where the Bible’s prophecies point: God is a person, and He points to a person. He is not distant or disinterested. He comes close and reaches out with true friendship. There are good reasons for God’s story to be called Good News.