Christmas and the Long Anticipation of the Messiah

Christmas is not merely a moment of joy—it is the culmination of four thousand years of anticipation. Long before angels sang over Bethlehem, God’s people lived in hope, waiting for a promise made in the garden to finally come to pass. To understand the celebration of Christmas, we must first observe the longing that filled the Old Testament.

There are roughly 4,000 years between Genesis 3:15—the first promise of a coming Savior—and the birth of the Christ child. For four millennia, the people of God lived not in fulfillment, but in expectation. The Old Testament is not merely a record of history; it is a book of hope, steadily building anticipation for the coming Redeemer.

The first note of that anticipation is heard immediately after the fall.

God’s response to sin in the garden was not silence, nor abandonment, but promise:

• Evil would not win.
• The future “seed of the woman” would crush the head of the serpent—Satan.
• And this victory would come through suffering.

I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and her offspring; he shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise his heel.” (Genesis 3:15, ESV)

From that single verse in Genesis, humanity was taught by God to anticipate—to look forward, to wait with eagerness—for the coming Redeemer.

The Patriarchs: Living by Anticipation

As we move forward in this building anticipation, we find that the Patriarchs lived by faith, not fulfillment.

Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob never saw the promise completed. They lived toward something they did not yet possess.

• Abraham was promised that through his offspring all nations would be blessed (Genesis 12:3).
• Jacob spoke prophetically of a future ruler from the tribe of Judah (Genesis 49:8-12).
• And Scripture tells us in Hebrews that they “These all died in faith, not having received the promises, but having seen them afar off...”

Their lives testify that faith often means anticipating what God has promised, even when fulfillment lies beyond our lifetime.

Israel’s Institutions: Built to Anticipate

As the Old Testament story unfolds, Israel’s very institutions were designed to create expectation for a greater Redeemer.

• The sacrificial system continually cried out, “This is not enough.” Every offering pointed forward to a final, sufficient sacrifice.
• The monarchy illustrated the same longing. Saul failed. David sinned. Solomon fell. The kingdom divided. Each king left Israel waiting for a better King.
• The prophets spoke repeatedly of a final Word from God—one who would not merely speak God’s truth, but embody it.

Everything in Israel’s life said, “Something better is coming.”

The Psalms: Songs of Anticipation

Even Israel’s worship echoed this longing.

The Psalms are filled with:

• Laments that anticipate deliverance
• Royal psalms that point beyond earthly kings
• Psalms of suffering that await vindication

David, often writing beyond his own experience, prophetically describes:

• A righteous sufferer
• A king rejected by the nations
• A reign that would be universal and eternal

Israel sang its hope long before it saw it fulfilled.

The Prophets: Anticipation Intensified

Then the Psalms give way to the Prophets, whose message sharpens Messianic anticipation even further.

They speak of:

• A coming Branch
• A Spirit-anointed Servant
• A righteous King
• A suffering Redeemer
• A new covenant
• A restored creation

And tension increases.

Some prophets speak of a glorious Messiah. Others describe one who is humble. Many speak of one who will suffer. And still others speak of one who is divine.

The Silence: Anticipation Unresolved

The Old Testament ends not with fulfillment, but with unresolved anticipation.

Malachi speaks of:

• A coming messenger
• A coming day of the LORD
• A future healing

Yet at the close of the Old Testament:

• There is no king on David’s throne
• No glory in the Temple
• And 400 years of prophetic silence are ahead

Four thousand years of anticipation stand poised, ready to break.

The Fullness of Time

As we enter the New Testament, anticipation fills the air.

• Simeon is “waiting for the consolation of Israel.”
• Anna speaks to those “waiting for redemption.”
• John the Baptist is asked, “Are you the one?”
• The crowds wonder, “Could this be the Christ?”

This is the backdrop to Paul’s words:

But when the fullness of time had come, God sent forth his Son, born of woman, born under the law, to redeem those who were under the law, so that we might receive adoption as sons. (Galatians 4:4–5, ESV)

And that pent-up anticipation finally bursts forth—not among the religious elite, but in the heavens above Bethlehem.

Christmas: Anticipation Becomes Celebration

The angels announce it to the shepherds:

“Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy... For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord.”

Heaven erupts in praise. The wait is over!

And yet, as time goes on, we discover that the Messiah’s reception on earth would not mirror heaven’s celebration.

• “Isn’t this the carpenter’s son?”
• “Wasn’t he conceived out of wedlock?”
• “He casts out demons by the power of demons.”

John tells us plainly: “He came to his own, and his own did not receive him.” Those who knew the Scriptures best missed the Savior they proclaimed—because Jesus did not fit their expectations.

Anticipation, Celebration, Expectation

And it is on these three words that I want to leave us with three questions:

• Have you been anticipating Christmas? For 4,000 years, the Old Testament never tired of waiting for a Redeemer.
• Are you celebrating what the heavenly host announced to the shepherds—and to us?
• Or has your expectation of Christmas been disappointed, because it didn’t arrive this year the way you imagined?

As Christians, we do not merely look forward in hopeful anticipation. We look back—in celebration!

Christmas is the celebration of the entire Old Testament’s longing finally fulfilled.

• God became man.
• Unto us a child was born.
• He is the Wonderful Counselor.
• The Mighty God.
• The Prince of Peace.
• The Saviour who came to save His people from their sins.

Christmas is not a nostalgic tradition.

It is not short-term happiness wrapped in commercial gloss.

It is the celebration that the promise kept waiting for 4,000 years has come!