Here is a tale of two Advents, or of two Kingdoms:
- Augustus was the adopted son of Julius Caesar. He was originally named Octavian but was lated called Augustus meaning "revered" or "exalted one."
- He was the first, and considered by many, the greatest emperor of the Roman empire.
- He established the Pax Romana (Roman Peace) which lasted approximately 200 years.
- Augustus did not consider himself to be divine, but did believe his father Julius Caesar to be divine, thus making him "son of God."
- He was often referred to as "Savior of the World." A popular saying in his day was, "there is no name in heaven or on earth by which we are saved then by Caesar."
- He was also called “King” and “Lord” and was worshipped himself as a god
- At one point Augustus set up in the midst of a Roman forum a statue of himself that stood eleven times the size of a normal man
- In those days when announcements needed to be made, people would be appointed as “heralds” to go from town to town announcing whatever pertinent news the Empire had (crowning of a new Emperor, a new decree, victory in battle). These heralds were called “evangelists” and whatever announcement they made was called “good news” or “gospel.”
- If the Emperor were coming to town they would refer to it as "Advent"
Augustus’ kingdom is one marked by greed, excess, power and wealth, and yet Luke mentions Augustus, the powerful king with a powerful kingdom, to set up the story of another kingdom that was now at hand...
- A baby named Jesus is born into a poor, unknown and insignificant family and will be referred to as Messiah/anointed one, Son of God, Lord, and Savior of the world.
- Jesus is later referred to as the Prince of Peace who brought with him a deeper peace on earth, a "shalom" or wholeness that will never end.
- Jesus used shepherds, fishermen, prostitutes and tax collectors to go and be heralds of his good news.
- Instead of raising a 66 foot statue of himself to be raised up and worshipped. Jesus was raised up himself on a cross drawing all people to himself.
- For over 2,000 years the church around the world has celebrated the "Advent" of Jesus
Augustus’ kingdom was self-serving, all about power, force, money and status. Jesus’ kingdom is about serving others, all about love, sacrifice, grace and peace.
“The birth of this little boy is the beginning of a confrontation between the kingdom of God-in all its apparent weakness, insignificance and vulnerability- and the kingdoms of the world. Augustus never heard of Jesus of Nazareth. But within a century or so his successors in Rome had not only heard of him; they were taking steps to obliterate his followers. Within just over three centuries the Emperor himself became a Christian. When you see a manger on a card or in a church, don’t stop at the crib. See what it’s pointing to. It is pointing to the explosive truth that the baby lying there is already being spoken of as the true king of the world.” - NT Wright
The story of Jesus’ birth is the story of two competing kingdoms: one of darkness and one of light, and that the kingdom of light will overcome darkness.
The question for us is: Which kingdom offers hope to a broken world? How do we respond to these kingdoms? How do we respond to Jesus?
