From the time of the fall of man, God’s plan for bringing a Savior to mankind was promised. Remember in the last post, He said Woman’s seed shall crush the head of Satan, and Satan shall bruise his heel. That was speaking of Jesus being bruised by the crucifixion, and crushing Satan in His resurrection.
There is a saying that the Old Testament is the New Testament concealed, and the New Testament is the Old Testament Revealed.
That is a true statement. There were many words written in the Old Testament which can only be understood when we look back on them. After Jesus came, walked the earth showing God’s way, died, rose from the dead, and sent His Holy Spirit to live in the hearts of believers, the actions and words of the Old Testament became clearer.
Now we are always finding more understanding. Often we say, Oh! So that’s what that meant!
When God called Abraham, he promised him that through His seed all the earth would be blessed. And we know that His seed would be Jesus.
Throughout the Old Testament, there are many prophecies about the Savior. We’ll just look at a few as they apply to Christmas: the birth of Jesus.
Isaiah 9:6
For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given, and the government shall be upon His shoulders.
And he will be called Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.
Of the greatness of His government there shall be no end.
He will reign on David’s throne and over his kingdom, Establishing and upholding it With justice and righteousness From that time on and forever.
So when we are talking about the Christmas story, this shows us several things.
- A child will be born. So there will be a special birth of this King.
- A son is given. God Himself will give His Son to us. To the earth – and to all of mankind.
- A new kingdom – on the foundation of David’s throne – will be established, and this King will reign forever.
Did this happen? Yes it did!
Let’s look at some more prophecies.
Jesus was born of a virgin.
Isaiah 7:14 A virgin will conceive and give birth to a son and will call Him Immanuel.
As we know, Mary was a virgin, and miraculously became pregnant with Jesus. He was indeed Immanuel, which means “God with us.” He was the Son of God.
Luke 1:26-38
This passage gives the account of Mary becoming pregnant as a virgin. The Holy Spirit overshadowed her, and she became pregnant with God’s Son.
A miracle birth. He was born of mankind, but He was the Son of God.
Jesus was born in Bethlehem.
Micah 5:2
But you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, though you are small among the clans of Judah,
Out of you will come for me one who will rule over Israel. Whose origins are from old, from ancient times.
Mary and Joseph lived in Nazareth, not Bethlehem. Yet the prophecy had said that a Savior would come out of Bethlehem.
Only God could know that there would be a census taken and Joseph and Mary would have to travel to Bethlehem – right at the time of Jesus’s birth. Yet prophecy was being fulfilled.
Another sign to those who knew God’s Word.
It doesn’t say he would live in Bethlehem. It says he would come out of there. Jesus grew up in Nazareth.
Later the Pharisees were thrown off because they said “No good thing was to come out of Nazareth.” There had never been a prophecy saying that Jesus would live in Nazareth. Prophecies had been silent about this.
But He was born in Bethlehem, just as the prophecy had foretold. He had indeed “come out of Bethlehem”
Often the Pharisees, who had studied scripture, would have ideas in mind about how God was going to accomplish His plans. Their hearts didn’t understand God’s ways.
We see this as Jesus sent out 70 disciples to go into the land and show them God’s power. They healed the sick and cast out demons.
Jesus, full of joy through the Holy Spirit, said, “I praise You, Father, Lord of Heaven and earth, because You have hidden these things from the wise and learned, and revealed them to little children. Yes, Father, for this was what You were pleased to do.” (Luke 10:21 NIV)
We’ll talk about this more in the next lesson. God revealed things to hearts that wanted to hear from Him – and not to those who were proud and haughty.
There are many other prophecies about the coming Messiah. The ones we have talked about are the ones that specifically speak of His birth.
Throughout the Old Testament, God spoke to the Israelites through the Prophets and showed them that there was a Messiah coming who would be their king.
The fulfillment of these prophecies provided certainty that Jesus was truly the Son of God. Certainty for those of that day. And certainty for us as we read His Word.
As you read each of these passages for yourself, you will be amazed at the accuracy of prophecies which were written hundreds of years before the birth of Jesus. Only God Himself could have revealed these accurate words.
