Bottom line up front: The Unfolding Plan: God keeps His Word

Historical context: “The silent years,” that’s what they’re called when we refer to the historical period between the closing of the Old Testament and the opening of the New Testament. They’re called the silent years because God did not inspire any biblical texts during that period. Malachi is the last book of the Old Testament, and he wrote at the same time as the books Ezra and Nehemiah encompass(400s B.C.). That period from the 400s B.C. to the incarnation of Christ is called “the silent years” and our calendars reflect B.C. (before Christ) and A.D. (Anno Domini, “in the year of our Lord”) to this day. But those so-called silent years were pregnant with meaning. Why? God has determined to save His people from their sins (Matthew 1:21), and He is faithful to His covenant promises to adopt a people in the Beloved (Ephesians 1:6). During those years where no Scripture was inspired, God was still at work.

More context: When Matthew’s gospel opens, the main theme he emphasizes for 28 Christ-saturated chapters, is that God’s promises are fulfilled in Christ. Christ is the promised Redeemer. He’s the One to whom all the Old Testament types and shadows pointed. He is the true and final prophet, priest, and king. He is the sacrifice that is acceptable and pleasing to God. That’s why Matthew opens his gospel the way he does–namely, with the genealogy to show that Christ is the promised Immanuel, “God with us.” To borrow Francis Schaeffer’s language, God is there, and He is not silent.

Gabriel’s announcement of Christ’s mission: “She [Mary] will bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins” (Mt 1:21, ESV). The 39 Old Testament books (Genesis-Malachi) promised the Redeemer. And the 27 New Testament books reveal that Redeemer as Christ the Lord. Promise and fulfillment. Shadows and then the substance. Promises made, promises kept.

Encouragement/takeaway: This is one of the most encouraging aspects of the Christian worldview. It’s the coherence of Scripture. The fact that Scripture has one overarching storyline, written by multiple authors, but inspired by the one God, composed over centuries and myriad cultures, but with one consistent storyline of the redeeming God.

I’m entering Matthew 21 next Sunday with the saints from class, and Matthew 21 is the beginning of Holy Week/Passion Week in church history. It’s where Christ enters Jerusalem and the crowds sing out, Hosanna! (Mt 21:9), but then they will soon be demanding his crucifixion.

Again, it was all laid out in the Old Testament—that this promised Redeemer would be born in Bethlehem, of the house of David and tribe of Judah, be rejected by sinners, pierced for their transgressions, and crushed for their iniquities, be crucified, buried, and raised again on the third day.

And just like “the silent years” were not to lead people to think that God was absent but rather to give us yet another day to see that God is executing His mission in precise detailed fulfillment. Our duty is to trust Him and to be found faithful.