Prophecy
For if we have been united with him in a death like his, we will certainly be united with him in a resurrection like his.
Romans 6:5
The righteous one, my servant, shall make many righteous,
and he shall bear their iniquities.
Therefore I will allot him a portion with the great,
and he shall divide the spoil with the strong,
because he poured out himself to death
and was numbered with the transgressorsIsaiah 53:11–12
Guided by the Spirit, Simeon came into the temple, and when the parents brought in the child Jesus to do for him what was customary under the law, Simeon took him in his arms and praised God, saying,
“Master, now you are dismissing your servant in peace,
according to your word,
for my eyes have seen your salvation,
which you have prepared in the presence of all peoples,
a light for revelation to the gentiles
and for glory to your people Israel.”And the child’s father and mother were amazed at what was being said about him. Then Simeon blessed them and said to his mother Mary, “This child is destined for the falling and the rising of many in Israel and to be a sign that will be opposed so that the inner thoughts of many will be revealed—and a sword will pierce your own soul, too.”
Luke 2:27–35
Destiny
The young mother must have wondered what this aged stranger meant. She, like Joseph and every Jewish person of her day, indeed of most everyone in the ancient near east, awaited with hope and anticipated joy for a powerful king who would redeem Israel and bring peace and prosperity to the whole region. It was to this fulfillment of God’s ancient promise to Abraham, to all the patriarchs, and most notably to King David, that she had lifted her face to answer God’s call.
But what was this mysterious pain to be, so sharp it would pierce straight through her heart and into her soul? What destiny could God be speaking over God’s Son and her own that would include the sword?
Mary and Joseph held in their arms a child destined to die. One day, Jesus would live into—and die into—the prophecy spoken over him.
“What Child Is This?”
Why lies He in such mean estate,
Where ox and ass are feeding?
Good Christian, fear: for sinners here
The silent Word is pleading.This, this is Christ, the King,
Whom shepherds guard and angels sing:
Haste, haste to bring Him laud,
The Babe, the Son of Mary!William Chatterton Dix (1865)
Prayer: O Lord, sometimes I am afraid I will not be able to handle what lies ahead, that it will be too painful, too overwhelming, too undoing. Thank You for walking ahead of me as well as behind me on my journey, preparing me for my destiny and preparing my destiny for me. (From Deuteronomy 31:8; Isaiah 30:21)
Self-Sanctioning Sacrifice
In 1999, the parents of a six-year-old girl learned that their child had a deadly genetic disorder, which could only be treated by giving the patient a transplant of compatible bone marrow or stem cells. Normally, this kind of news would spark a desperate search for a compatible donor. However, in this case, the girl’s parents chose a different, much more ethically dubious route: they conceived a new child through IVF, selecting a fetus before it could even gestate so that stem cells could be extracted from his umbilical cord and given to his dying sister. These parents were the first to have what we now call a “savior sibling”: a child born specifically to serve as a medical donor to an older sibling.
In families where one child is chronically ill or disabled, other children in the home may experience “glass child syndrome”—feeling as though their own needs are unimportant to their parents because their sibling’s needs are so intensive. Learning that they were conceived as a savior sibling only exacerbates that painful feeling. However, advocates of this practice argue that the benefit of saving a dying child’s life outweighs the psychological weight of being a savior sibling, especially since serving as a donor does not result in lasting physical harm.
For people living in the ancient world, this kind of medical saviorism would not have even been imaginable. However, they might have recognized the motivations of prospective parents. While the practice was denounced by their enemies the Greeks, Romans, and the ancient Hebrews, there is evidence that Phoenician peoples practiced votive infant sacrifice. A parent would promise their next child to Ba’al-Hammon, their chief god, and upon giving birth would sacrifice the infant by fire. People at this time would also view that child as a “savior,” since this kind of sacrifice was only performed in times of direst need.
Even in the case of modern savior siblings, the ethical issue always comes down to the problem of consent. Our legal system has a strict rule that nobody can be forced to give up part of their own body or risk injury and even death, unless as punishment for a crime. All blood, organ, and tissue donors must give consent, along with anybody undertaking a risky or deadly maneuver. Normally, a human being cannot consent to anything before they become an adult, much less before they are even conceived. But
Jesus was not a normal human baby. Unlike other human beings, Jesus chose to come into the world, even though he knew his purpose would be to suffer and die as a sacrifice.
Though Jesus existed in the form of God,
he did not regard equality with God
as something to be grasped,
but emptied himself,
taking the form of a slave,
assuming human likeness.
And being found in appearance as a human,
he humbled himself
and became obedient to the point of death—
even death on a cross.Philippians 2:6–8 (modifications by author)
The story of Christmas honors those who know they will soon die.
Throughout Jesus’s ministry, he made it clear that his death could not be averted. It was a fixed aspect of his purpose on Earth. As a baby, he could not tell his parents this directly; instead, the prophet Simeon met them once Jesus had been taken to the Temple to be circumcised. Simeon’s prophecy describes what we sometimes call “the shadow of the Cross.”
During his ministry, Jesus was obviously aware of what was lying ahead for him. He warned his disciples about it many times, although they did not fully understand what he meant until after Jesus’s resurrection. But just because Jesus knew and accepted that his death was necessary, that did not mean that the prospect did not grieve and frighten him. In the garden of Gethsemane, just hours before his torture would begin, Jesus was so distressed that he began to sweat blood, begging God the Father to allow this trial to pass.
And yet, for our sake, Jesus willingly entered into the chaos of undoing in order to make a way for all who would receive him to be reconciled and recreated to life eternal with God.
To order your copy of Advent for the Broken-Hearted, click on the image.
