This FIRST Christmas …
“For unto us a Child is born,
Unto us a Son is given;
And the government will be upon His shoulder.
And His name will be called
Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God,
Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.” Isaiah 9:6
About 2,000 years ago, Jesus came to earth in a very humble manner. The Saviour of the world and God of all creation put on humanity to deal with our sin by dying in our place and conquer death when He rose from the dead, giving the hope of salvation to all who turn from their sin and believe on Him and be saved from the eternal torment for our rebellion against the infinitely holy Creator God. One day, He will return in judgment, and He will not appear as a seemingly helpless baby, but as the risen, glorified, sovereign Lord and Judge.
The events associated with the birth of Jesus fulfilled numerous Old Testament prophecies given centuries before the events they described.
Let’s take a look at some of these ancient proclamations – Biblical prophecies fulfilled by Jesus’ birth:
1. The virgin birth of Jesus.
Biblical Old Testament record of Jesus’ birth by Prophet Isaiah about 700 BC (Before Christ)
Isaiah 7:14 “Therefore the Lord Himself will give you a sign: Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a Son, and shall call His name Immanuel.”
“But while he thought about these things, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying, “Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take to you Mary your wife, for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Spirit. And she will bring forth a Son, and you shall call His name Jesus, for He will save His people from their sins.”
So all this was done that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the Lord through the prophet, saying: “Behold, the virgin shall be with child, and bear a Son, and they shall call His name Immanuel,” which is translated, “God with us.” Matthew 1:20-23
2. The Coming Messiah would be born in Bethlehem
Micah 5:2 (written sometime around 8th – 7th century BC)
After Christ’s birth the magi arrived in Jerusalem. Herod gathered the chief priests and scribes and asked them where the Messiah was going to be born (Matthew 2:3). They responded by citing an Old Testament prophecy pinpointing Bethlehem as the birthplace of the Christ:
“But you, Bethlehem Ephrathah,
Though you are little among the thousands of Judah,
Yet out of you shall come forth to Me
The One to be Ruler in Israel,
Whose goings forth are from of old,
From everlasting.”
Herod’s murderous response of slaughtering the young boys of Bethlehem led to the fulfillment of three more prophecies. First, this tragic massacre fulfilled the words of Jeremiah 31:15.
Thus says the Lord:
“A voice was heard in Ramah,
Lamentation and bitter weeping,
Rachel weeping for her children,
Refusing to be comforted for her children,
Because they are no more.”
The second fulfilled prophecy resulting from Herod’s paranoiac rage took place after Joseph took Mary and Jesus to Egypt [see Matthew 2:15 ‘and was there until the death of Herod, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the Lord through the prophet, saying, “Out of Egypt I called My Son.”]. Upon their return, God’s words to Hosea were fulfilled in Hosea 11:1 (written around 8th – 7th century BC.
“When Israel was a child, I loved him,
And out of Egypt I called My son.
The third prophecy discussed by Matthew pertaining to events in the early years of Jesus has to do with his boyhood home.
God warned Joseph in a dream not to go back to Judea, so instead he took Mary and Jesus to Nazareth in Galilee, “that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophets, ‘He shall be called a Nazarene’” (Matthew 2:23)
Nazareth was looked upon with disparagement. Even Nathanael asked, “Can anything good come out of Nazareth?” (John 1:46)
Matthew 2:5 ”So they said to him, “In Bethlehem of Judea, for thus it is written by the prophet:”
3. The Messiah would come from the tribe of Judah
Genesis 49:10 (Written between 18th to 14th century BC)
“The scepter shall not depart from Judah,
Nor a lawgiver from between his feet,
Until Shiloh comes;
And to Him shall be the obedience of the people.”
4. The Messiah would be a descendant of King David
Jeremiah 23:5 (Written sometime between 7th to 6th century BC)
“Behold, the days are coming,” says the Lord,
“That I will raise to David a Branch of righteousness;
A King shall reign and prosper,
And execute judgment and righteousness in the earth.
Luke 1:32-33 ..He will be great, and will be called the Son of the Highest; and the Lord God will give Him the throne of His father David. And He will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of His kingdom there will be no end.”
5. He would enter Jerusalem on a donkey’s colt (Matthew 21:4–10)
Zechariah 9:9 (Written around 6th century BC)
“Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion!
Shout, O daughter of Jerusalem!
Behold, your King is coming to you;
He is just and having salvation,
Lowly and riding on a donkey,
A colt, the foal of a donkey.
6. The betrayal would be for 30 pieces of silver (Matthew 26:14–16)
“…So they weighed out for my wages thirty pieces of silver.” Zechariah 11:12
7. The money would be used to purchase the potter’s field (Matthew 27:3–10).
‘…“Throw it to the potter”—that princely price they set on me. So I took the thirty pieces of silver and threw them into the house of the Lord for the potter.’ Zechariah 11:13
8. The Messiah would die a sacrificial death for us (Matthew 27:50; 2 Corinthians 5:21)
Isaiah 53:4-8.
“Surely He has borne our griefs
And carried our sorrows;
Yet we esteemed Him stricken,
Smitten by God, and afflicted.
But He was wounded for our transgressions,
He was bruised for our iniquities;
The chastisement for our peace was upon Him,
And by His stripes we are healed.
All we like sheep have gone astray;
We have turned, every one, to his own way;
And the Lord has laid on Him the iniquity of us all.
He was oppressed and He was afflicted,
Yet He opened not His mouth;
He was led as a lamb to the slaughter,
And as a sheep before its shearers is silent,
So He opened not His mouth.
He was taken from prison and from judgment,
And who will declare His generation?
For He was cut off from the land of the living;
For the transgressions of My people He was stricken.”
9. He would die with criminals but His burial would be with the wealthy (Matthew 27:57–60; Luke 23:33
Isaiah 53:9
“And they made His grave with the wicked—
But with the rich at His death,
Because He had done no violence,
Nor was any deceit in His mouth.”
10. He would rise from the dead (Matthew 28:6)
Psalm 16:8–11
“I have set the Lord always before me;
Because He is at my right hand I shall not be moved.
Therefore my heart is glad, and my glory rejoices;
My flesh also will rest in hope.
For You will not leave my soul in Sheol,
Nor will You allow Your Holy One to see corruption.
You will show me the path of life;
In Your presence is fullness of joy;
At Your right hand are pleasures forevermore.”
11. He would be mocked, and people would gamble for His clothes.
‘And those who passed by blasphemed Him, wagging their heads and saying, “Aha! You who destroy the temple and build it in three days, save Yourself, and come down from the cross!” Likewise the chief priests also, mocking among themselves with the scribes, said, “He saved others; Himself He cannot save. Let the Christ, the King of Israel, descend now from the cross, that we may see and believe.” Even those who were crucified with Him reviled Him.‘ Matthew 27:29-32
‘Then they crucified Him, and divided His garments, casting lots, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophet: “They divided My garments among them,
And for My clothing they cast lots.” ‘Matthew 27:35
“He trusted in the Lord, let Him rescue Him;
Let Him deliver Him, since He delights in Him!” Psalms 22:8
“They divide My garments among them,
And for My clothing they cast lots.” Psalms 22:18
12. ‘With Him they also crucified two robbers, one on His right and the other on His left. So the Scripture was fulfilled which says, “And He was numbered with the transgressors.” ‘ Mark 15:27-28
“Therefore I will divide Him a portion with the great,
And He shall divide the spoil with the strong,
Because He poured out His soul unto death,
And He was numbered with the transgressors,
And He bore the sin of many,
And made intercession for the transgressors.” Isaiah 53:12
John 19:33-38 But when they came to Jesus and saw that He was already dead, they did not break His legs. But one of the soldiers pierced His side with a spear, and immediately blood and water came out. And he who has seen has testified, and his testimony is true; and he knows that he is telling the truth, so that you may believe. For these things were done that the Scripture should be fulfilled, “Not one of His bones shall be broken.” And again another Scripture says, “They shall look on Him whom they pierced.” “…The congregation of the wicked has enclosed Me.They pierced My hands and My feet; I can count all My bones. They look and stare at Me.” Psalms 22: 16- 17 (Many psalms through the inspiration of God, were written by King David – who lived from about 1037BC to 967 BC.)
There are many other prophecies in the Bible that were perfectly fulfilled in the life of Jesus Christ. These were not chance guesstimates made by fraudulent soothsayers; but were precise prophecies or predictions made by the omniscient or all-knowing God of the Bible who repeatedly revealed that He has perfect knowledge of all past, present, and future events.
Accordingly, we can be totally assured that He will always make good on His promises and that those future events He has foretold will certainly come to pass.
Anyone rejecting God’s gracious offer of salvation, will face The Great White Throne Judgment of the holy and righteous God.
“Then I saw a great white throne and Him who sat on it, from whose face the earth and the heaven fled away. And there was found no place for them. And I saw the dead, small and great, standing before God, and books were opened. And another book was opened, which is the Book of Life. And the dead were judged according to their works, by the things which were written in the books. The sea gave up the dead who were in it, and Death and Hades delivered up the dead who were in them. And they were judged, each one according to his works. Then Death and Hades were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death. And anyone not found written in the Book of Life was cast into the lake of fire.” Revelation 20:11–15
Proverbs 3:34 “Surely He scorns the scornful,
But gives grace to the humble.”
Proverbs 14:6 “A scoffer seeks wisdom and does not find it,
But knowledge is easy to him who understands.”
God will respond to every seeking heart, but the Lord scoffs at the scoffers. God scoffs those who insist on denying obvious truth and remaining scoffers. They will bear the results of their unbelief in the end, so those who trust in the LORD do not need to let their hearts be troubled at the hatred and scoffing of unbelievers. As God’s children face this world of unbelief, He gives grace to all His dear children, who are afflicted with mockery and hateful attacks. No one will escape God’s judgment and He alone will be the final Judge of all people.
Let us wisely look at all the evidences of God’s salvation in Jesus Christ, as found in His word. It is a very blessed thing to humbly accept God’s truth and grace. God gives grace to His beloved here on earth and forever in heaven.
