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Detecting Christmas December 6 Devotional

by David Joynt on December 06, 2023


PSALM 23:1 | 1 The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want.

 

JOHN 10:11 | 11 I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep.

 

God is active in the sacred history of his relationships with his chosen people and his followers. The timing and meaning of Jesus’ birth made more sense because of Jewish antecedents. The arrival of the Messiah has meaning because of the expectation of the Messiah. The idea of the Lamb of God makes sense because of the Jewish system of sacrifice. There can be no final priest without the institution of the priesthood, no great prophet without a prophetic tradition, no Good Shepherd without Psalm 23. Every image Jesus appropriates to explain his identity or teach about God’s character has a history that preceded him. There had to be promises before fulfillment!

 

Jesus couldn't be the culmination of Jewish history without the history! Do you agree?

 

 

Gracious God,

Thank you for the rich history and ongoing value of Judaism. Help me to treasure the heritage of the faith. Amen.

 

About the Author
David Joynt

Dave Joynt began his service as a pastor at Valley Presbyterian Church in Paradise Valley, Arizona in September 2014. This meant a move away from the Northeast, where he has a long history, growing up in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania and then serving congregations in Delaware and New Jersey for a total of 23 years.

Dave was nurtured in a great church in Bethlehem where his parents, Anne and Carey, served as elders. He graduated in classics from Lehigh University where his Father taught, and then from Oxford, where he met his wife Julia. Ordained in 1988, he completed a Ph.D. from Princeton Theological Seminary in 1993.

He and Julia have a son, Tristan, and a daughter, Madeleine.

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