Advent 23: The Real Tabernacle
This Has Always Been the Plan
When Jesus created mankind in the garden, we had fellowship with him. This is what God intended. God made mankind in his own image for a relationship with him. Unfortunately, you know what happened; man sinned, and our relationship with God was damaged.
But this isn’t the end of the story.
God already had a plan to restore our relationship with him. And the rest of the Bible tells us the story of how God made a way for us to have fellowship with him again. We get glimpses of it in the Old Testament, but we see the fullness of it in Jesus Christ.
One really cool thing we need to point out in this passage has to do with the word “dwell.” As you may remember, the New Testament was written in the Greek language, and this Greek word is really interesting. It normally isn’t translated as “dwell.” The Greeks have other words for that. This word is usually translated as something like “to live in a tent” and is the same word that the Greek translation of the Old Testament uses for the Tabernacle.If we translated this literally, we would say, “The word became flesh and tabernacled with us.” How awesome is that?! Remember that during the sojourn of God’s people between Egypt and the Promised Land, God did not leave his people alone, but he was with them… in the Tabernacle. God’s glory would rest on the Tabernacle, and he would meet with his people there. I think this is exactly what John is referring to here. Look at the next verse. John continues by saying, “We have seen his glory.” In this little introduction to John’s Gospel, he intentionally makes it clear that Jesus created the world and he tabernacled with his people.
Cover to Cover
While we are on the subject of the restoration of our relationship with God, I can’t help but jump to the end of the story. Remember when I said that this was a unique Greek word? Well, it turns out that it is only used five times in the New Testament, and all of them are by John. Let’s look at one more place where we see it, and this time it is just as glorious.
Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and the sea was no more. And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man. He will dwell with them, and they will be his people, and God himself will be with them as their God. He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away.”
Revelation 21:1-4
Reflection
As we think about Jesus coming to Earth as a baby, we need to remember that this is exactly what God wanted. This is the central component of his plan to restore us in relationship with him. The Creator of the universe actually became a human baby boy in order to save us. He became one of us.
The incarnation of Jesus provides a hinge for all of human history. In one sense, we can see this as the end of the story. After all, look at all of the Old Testament prophecies that find their “end” in him. But in another sense, Jesus coming in the flesh is only the beginning of the story, and the end will happen when he comes again and tabernacles with us forever. Let us marvel at his grace and goodness as we live our lives in the light of the first Advent and the shadow of the second.
Let’s talk about it:
- Why is it important that God wants to dwell with us?
- What keeps us from dwelling with God the way that he intended?
- What did Jesus do to make this possible?
- What is it going to look like when the prophecy from Revelation 21 is fulfilled?
- Are you living like this is going to be a reality?
Free Advent Bible Study
Let’s stand back and marvel at God’s grace and sovereignty, and focus on God this Christmas. May we join with the angels singing, “Glory to God in the highest” (Luke 2:14).
Join this 25-day Advent journey as we worship Christ and celebrate his coming.
Zach Mabry is the worship pastor and one of the main teachers at Snowbird. He also directs our year-round Snowbird Institute program. He has a Master of Divinity from The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary and serves as an adjunct professor for Liberty University. Zach is a teaching pastor at Red Oak Church, a local church in the Andrews area.