Jesus: The Hope of the World
“Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign: The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and will call him Immanuel.” - Isaiah 7:14
The Book of Isaiah is set during the reigns of Kings Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah of Judah and covers the times before and during the Babylonian exile.
During this time, Isaiah warns the corrupt leaders of Jerusalem and Judah to stop rebelling against God and that their continued disobedience would cost them greatly But in Isaiah’s prophecy, he wasn’t just delivering a warning to the leaders of his time; he was also bringing a message of hope that would be fulfilled centuries later. Even though the Jewish people continued to break their covenant with God, there would be a Messiah who would come to establish a new covenant between God and his people.
Seven hundred years later that’s the hope that the Jews clung to under Roman rule. And that’s when Jesus, the Hope of the World, was born. But the hope they were looking for didn’t come as a king or a great warrior, he came as a humble baby.
Between the Old and New Testaments, the Jews waited 400 years for God to send them a Messiah. They had no prophetic writings or direct revelations from God. There was complete silence. But during that time it didn’t mean that God didn’t care or that he wasn’t working. In the silence, he was preparing the world for Jesus, setting the stage culturally, politically, and historically for the Gospel to spread far and wide.
We’ll probably never fully understand why God allowed such a long period of silence, but many scholars believe that the Roman Empire's vast network of roads and common language helped make the quick spread of the Gospel possible.
“But when the set time had fully come, God sent his Son, born of a woman, born under the law…” (Galatians 4:4).
While we’re not under Roman rule waiting for a Messiah, many of us are waiting.
Maybe we’re waiting for a loved one to be healed, for guidance on what job to take, or wisdom on how to handle a relationship. Even in the silence and waiting, we can still have hope and trust that God’s timing is perfect and he is always working.
We have hope in Jesus not only because he came to establish a new covenant between God and his people, but he came to be with us. He is Immanuel, “God with us.” He understands our struggles. He understands our pain. He has felt our joy, grief, and suffering. And he is present, even in the quiet and uncertain moments.
Advent reminds us that Jesus is our living hope. He has already fulfilled God’s promises, and he will return. We don’t just look back and celebrate his birth, we also look to the future when he will return and bring final restoration and peace to the world. That is what we place our hope in.
As we celebrate this Advent season, let’s reflect on Jesus as our hope of the world—not just a hope of the past, but a living hope that we can still look to today.
Kali Gibson is the editor-in-chief for So We Speak and a copywriter for the Youversion Bible App.
