Today, we are looking at the last 2 “O Great” antiphons in our Advent liturgy. So far we have seen Jesus called Wisdom, Adonai, Root of Jesse, Key of David and Dayspring. So here are the last 2 and they are extremely important since they not only describe Jesus in the past tense, but also now and in the future.
O King of nations, the ruler they long for, the cornerstone uniting all people: Come and save us all, whom you formed out of clay.
O Emmanuel, our King and our Lord, the anointed for the nations and their Savior: Come and save us, O Lord our God.
The Old Testament passages where these come from are:
Zechariah 9:9-10 Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion! Shout in triumph, O daughter of Jerusalem! Behold, your king is coming to you; He is 1cjust and endowed with salvation, Humble, and mounted on a donkey, Even on a colt, the foal of a donkey. I will cut off the chariot from Ephraim And the horse from Jerusalem; And the bow of war will be cut off. And He will speak peace to the nations; And His dominion will be from sea to sea, And from the River to the ends of the earth.
1 Peter 2:4-6 And coming to Him as to a living stone which has been rejected by men, but is choice and precious in the sight of God, you also, as living stones, are being built up as a spiritual house for a holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ. For this is contained in Scripture: “BEHOLD, I LAY IN ZION A CHOICE STONE, A PRECIOUS CORNER stone, AND HE WHO BELIEVES IN HIM WILL NOT BE DISAPPOINTED.”
Isaiah 7:14-16 “Therefore the Lord Himself will give you a sign: Behold, a virgin will be with child and bear a son, and she will call His name Immanuel. “He will eat curds and honey at the time He knows enough to refuse evil and choose good. For before the boy will know enough to refuse evil and choose good,the land whose two kings you dread will be forsaken.
Matthew 1:18-23 Now the birth of Jesus Christ was as follows: when His mother Mary had been betrothed to Joseph, before they came together she was found to be with child by the Holy Spirit. And Joseph her husband, being a righteous man and not wanting to disgrace her, planned to send her away secretly. But when he had considered this, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying, “Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary as your wife; for the Child who has been conceived in her is of the Holy Spirit. “She will bear a Son; and you shall call His name Jesus, for He will save His people from their sins.” Now all this took place to fulfill what was spoken by the Lord through the prophet: “BEHOLD, THE VIRGIN SHALL BE WITH CHILD AND SHALL BEAR A SON, AND THEY SHALL CALL HIS NAME 1IMMANUEL,” which translated means, “GOD WITH US.”
One of the great themes all through these passages is that Jesus is the King and ruler of the nations. This had great significance in OT times since Israel and Judah were constantly being overrun and conquered by foreign nations. Today, just as in ancient times, people tend to look at circumstances as being beyond or out of the control of God. But as you read through the OT carefully, you will see that nothing happens in the world apart from the will and direction of God. Even when Jesus was born, Herod tried to have Him killed by slaughtering all the baby boys under 2 years old. Yet Joseph was warned and escaped with Mary and Jesus to Egypt. When Jesus was older, the Jewish leaders were constantly trying to kill him but they never could- until the time was right. Jesus Himself declared that He had the right to lay down His life and He also had the right to take it up again. He is the ultimate King of the nations, and nothing happens apart from His will because he is Adonai- Lord.
A second great theme in both of these antiphons is the idea that God is not a distant god playing a cosmic game of chess. He is intimately involved in His creation and His people. He is not just King of the nations; He is Emmanuel- God with us. The King did not come and build a great palace to rule from by proxy like the Roman emperor did. He did not have a standing army that he would send to do His will while He stayed in the palace. He came as a common man to rule by changing our hearts and desires. Ultimately, He came and fought our battle for us and died in our place. The only royal robes he wore were the ones that the soldiers put on Him to mock Him and the only crown He wore was a crown of thorns. To the world, He looked like a pathetic figure. But He was in complete control all the time. When God stepped into His creation, almost no one recognized Him. So it is today. For most people, Christmas is a holiday that celebrates the gifts and prosperity of man and not the unspeakable gift of God.
John 1:14 says: And the Word became flesh, and dwelt among us, and we saw His glory, glory as of the only begotten from the Father, full of grace and truth.
For those who have seen the light, Jesus is the amazing revelation of God. In Him we see the glory of God, the grace of God and the truth of God.
AW Tozer gives us some great perspective in this excerpt from “That Incredible Christian”.
It is a rare mind, I suppose, that is much concerned with the conduct of God in those distant realms that lie beyond human experience. But almost everyone has wondered how God would act if He were in our place. And we may have had moments when we felt that God could not possibly understand how hard it is for us to live right in such an evil world as this. And we may have wondered how He would act and what He would do if He were to live among us for a while. To wonder thus may be natural but it is wholly needless. We know how God would act if He were in our place–He has been in our place. It is the mystery of godliness that God was manifest in human flesh. They called His name Emmanuel, which being interpreted is God with us. When Jesus walked on earth He was a man acting like God; but equally wonderful is it that He was also God acting like Himself in man and in a man. We know how God acts in heaven because we saw Him act on earth. “He that hath seen me hath seen he Father; and how sayest thou then, Show us the Father?” (John 14:9). As glorious as this is, it does not end there. God is still walking in men, and wherever He walks He acts like Himself. This is not poetry but plain, hard fact capable of being tested in the laboratory of life.
The two greatest gifts that we have been given are grace and truth. Without God’s grace, we would all get what we deserve- certain judgment and certain hell. But in Christ Jesus, we are given grace and mercy. To anyone who calls out “Come and save me” there is mercy. We are saved by grace irrespective of who we are or what we have accomplished. He is the King, and compared to Him, we are all nothing.
Not only do we see the perfect picture of grace in Jesus, but we also see Him as final and ultimate truth. To know and see and comprehend truth is an astounding gift. Truth means different things to different people. Some people don’t even believe that there is such a thing as absolute and ultimate truth. But when the Holy Spirit opens your eyes to see Jesus for who He really is, you can comprehend truth in ever increasing depth. His life and His words ring true and you fall on your knees and say with Thomas “My Lord and my God”.
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