THE PROVIDENTIAL PLAN OF GOD PREPARING US FOR HIS DIVINE SON.

THE PROVIDENTIAL PLAN OF GOD PREPARING US FOR HIS DIVINE SON 

Father Voigt

Following up from the last sermon we enter more deeply into the mysterious

background of St. John the Baptist. He is the summation of all that God has

done to prepare us for the eternal moment of the divine invasion: the

Incarnation. This plan comes in these stages:

1^st, the presentation of the 18 patriarchs who give us a quality of the

messiah by the example of their lives.

2^Nd, the presentation of the prophets offering us over sixty marks of the

messiah.

3^Rd, the history of the Israelite nation itself

4^th, the Wisdom literature and testimony of holy individuals like Job

5^th, the Maccabees

We cannot go into every aspect of the plan of God that relates to our Lord

but we do want to answer the pre-anouncement issue by exposing the prophet and his contribution to the recognition of the Messiah. We present the prophets in order according to the time-line of their lives.

1. David (1000 B.C.) - the messiah will be disowned by the Jews, He would convert the Gentiles; He would be betrayed by a disciple; His enemies would spit in His face; He would be mocked in His agony; they would pierce His hands and His feet; they would cast lots for his garments and they would give Him vinegar to drink.

2. Isaias (720 B.C.) - The Messiah would convert the nations; He would be born of a virgin; He would be adored by kings as a babe; He would have a precursor; the precursor would prepare the people for Him; He would be mildness itself; He would cure the sick; He would be a man of sorrows; He would die between two thieves; He would never complain; He would give His life to expiate for our sins; He is a suffering servant; He would reign over the world; His sepulcher would be glorious; and His Church, His spouse, would give Him a multitude of children.

3. Osee (600 B.C.) - The Messiah would be taken to Egypt as a babe; He would return by order of His Father; He would convert the nations; and the Jews would be scattered throughout the world because they denied Him.
4. Micheas (600 B.C.) - The Messiah would be born in Bethlehem; He would be both God and Man; He would convert the nations; He would reign eternally; and He would be our reconciliation.
5. Joel (600 B.C.) - The Messiah would send the Holy Ghost upon His Church; the faithful would prophesy; the Messiah will come to judge the world in Power.
6. Jeremias (600 B.C.) - The Messiah's birth would be known by the slaughter of the innocent children; Mothers would weep for their children; He would convert the nations; He would establish a new covenant with the people more perfect than the first.
7. Ezechiel (580 B.C.) - The Messiah would be of the race of David; He would be a pastor uniting the Jews and the Gentiles into one fold; He would establish a new law which would remain.
8. Daniel (500 B.C.) - The Messiah would come in 490 years; He would re-establish the reign of virtue; He would be denied by the Jew; He would be put to death; the temple and the city, Jerusalem, would be destroyed; the Jews would be in a state of desolation until the end of time.++
9. Aggeus – The Messiah would be a means of reconciliation between God and Man; the Messiah would cleanse the temple.
   Zacharias – The Messiah would bring justice, mildness, and humility; He would enter Jerusalem on an ass followed by a foal amidst the acclaim of the people; He would be sold for 30 pieces of silver; the money would be returned to the temple; it would be used to purchase Potter's field; His hands would be pierced; He would draw all nations to Himself.
10. Malachias – The old sacrifices would give way to the new and eternal sacrifice; one, holy sacrifice offered throughout the world; a precursor in the spirit of Elias would prepare His way; He would prepare the people and return them to the faith of their fathers.

Thus far the testimony of the prophets. No one can doubt that the voice crying in the wilderness prepared the way for the one true Son of God to enter His world and to seek to save those souls who would listen and learn from the

prophets of old. John says it all when he stated:

“Look, the Lamb of God Who shall take away the sins of the world.”

May you prepare well for the coming of our Lord and rejoice for He is coming again not as a humble child but as the supreme King of kings and He will judge with power and might.  Prepare ye the way of the Lord.

In the hearts of Jesus, Mary and Joseph,

Fr. Richard Voigt