We look back on the birth of Jesus and his life, death and resurrection as an almost inevitable event in the process of biblical history. The coming of the messiah was promised from the beginning in Genesis and repeatedly foretold by the prophets. Then it happened, just as God said it would.
But that's from our perspective, looking back. What did people make of the promise when they were being marched into exile in Babylon? How did it look to those in the time between Israel’s return from exile and the actual event of Christ’s birth, when nothing seemed to be happening? It's easy to see God's faithfulness in hindsight, much harder when his promises are yet to be fulfilled or prayers are yet to be answered.
No wonder Simeon responded with such awe and gratitude when he held the infant Jesus in his arms (Luke 2:25-32). Here at last was the vindication of those who had continued to believe that the promise would be fulfilled.
Recognising this gives us a new perspective on the promised second coming of Christ and the resurrection of the dead. We live in that time between the promise and the event, and sometimes it seems that nothing is happening. Life goes on pretty much as it always has. At times we forget that God has said it will happen and we become absorbed in our day to day life. We might even doubt the validity of the whole idea. But one day it will happen. And then it will seem just as inevitable as Christ's first coming.
