# Be Ready - Monday, 2025.12.22 Today in the city of David a Savior has been born to you. He is Christ the Lord! {Luke 2.11 (BSB)} Over several millennium, the scriptures pointed to a coming savior. But what kind of savior would he be? Because of the Roman oppression at the time of Jesus' birth, many thought he would rescue them from Roman rule. Certainly, there are passages that imply conquering ruler. Here are but a few of the many: - The scepter will not depart from Judah, nor the staff from between his feet, until Shiloh comes and the allegiance of the nations is his. {Genesis 49.10} - I see him, but not now; I behold him, but not near. A star will come forth from Jacob, and a scepter will arise from Israel. He will crush the skulls of Moab and strike down all the sons of Sheth. Edom will become a possession, as will Seir, his enemy; but Israel will perform with valor. A ruler will come from Jacob and destroy the survivors of the city.” {Numbers 24.17-19 (BSB)} - I will proclaim the decree spoken to Me by the LORD: “You are My Son; today I have become Your Father. Ask Me, and I will make the nations Your inheritance, the ends of the earth Your possession. You will break them with an iron scepter; You will shatter them like pottery.” {Psalm 2.7-9 (BSB)} - The Lord is at Your right hand; He will crush kings in the day of His wrath. He will judge the nations, heaping up the dead; He will crush the leaders far and wide. He will drink from the brook by the road; therefore He will lift up His head. {Psalm 110.5-7 (BSB)} On the other hand, there are many passages implying a savior that is a suffering servant: - Therefore the Lord Himself will give you a sign: Behold, the virgin will be with child and give birth to a son, and will call Him Immanuel. {Isaiah 7.14 (BSB)} - Then a shoot will spring up from the stump of Jesse, and a Branch from his roots will bear fruit. The Spirit of the LORD will rest on Him— the Spirit of wisdom and understanding, the Spirit of counsel and strength, the Spirit of knowledge and fear of the LORD. And He will delight in the fear of the LORD. He will not judge by what His eyes see, and He will not decide by what His ears hear, but with righteousness He will judge the poor, and with equity He will decide for the lowly of the earth. He will strike the earth with the rod of His mouth and slay the wicked with the breath of His lips. Righteousness will be the belt around His hips, and faithfulness the sash around His waist. The wolf will live with the lamb, and the leopard will lie down with the goat; the calf and young lion and fatling will be together, and a little child will lead them. The cow will graze with the bear, their young will lie down together, and the lion will eat straw like the ox. The infant will play by the cobra’s den, and the toddler will reach into the viper’s nest. They will neither harm nor destroy on all My holy mountain, for the earth will be full of the knowledge of the LORD as the sea is full of water. {Isaiah 11.1-9 (BSB)} - Behold, My Servant will prosper; He will be raised and lifted up and highly exalted. Just as many were appalled at Him — His appearance was disfigured beyond that of any man, and His form was marred beyond human likeness — so He will sprinkle many nations. Kings will shut their mouths because of Him. For they will see what they have not been told, and they will understand what they have not heard. Who has believed our message? And to whom has the arm of the LORD been revealed? He grew up before Him like a tender shoot, and like a root out of dry ground. He had no stately form or majesty to attract us, no beauty that we should desire Him. He was despised and rejected by men, a man of sorrows, acquainted with grief. Like one from whom men hide their faces, He was despised, and we esteemed Him not. Surely He took up our infirmities and carried our sorrows; yet we considered Him stricken, struck down by God, and afflicted. But He was pierced for our transgressions, He was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was upon Him, and by His stripes we are healed. We all like sheep have gone astray, each one has turned to his own way; and the LORD has laid upon Him the iniquity of us all. He was oppressed and afflicted, yet He did not open His mouth. He was led like a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before her shearers is silent, so He did not open His mouth. By oppression and judgment He was taken away, and who can recount His descendants? For He was cut off from the land of the living; He was stricken for the transgression of My people. {Isaiah 52.13-53.8 (BSB)} ## Question - Which Jesus is your savior?