Friday, December 9, 2011

Defending Christ's Birthday

Going in fashion with my last few posts, I am going to stay in the Christmas spirit of things. This time of year has always been, and always will be my favorite time of year. Mainly because we set aside time to celebrate the birth of our Savior, Jesus Christ. Now there are those who try to argue that we should not do this. They say that Christ really was not born this time of year, or that He is really not the Messiah. So I am going to devote this page to give some proof that He fulfilled all of what the Old Testament said about how the Messiah would be born. Now many Christians can tell you that He fulfilled those prophecies, but cannot tell exactly which verses in the old testament contain them. So here are a few that I have found, and the scripture in the new testament where they are fulfilled.

Prophecy Concerning Jesus' Birth
1)Virgin Birth

Isaiah 7:14 - "Therefore the Lord Himself will give you a sign: Behold, a virgin will be with child and bear a son, and she will call His name Immanuel."

In this verse the prophet Isaiah tells us that the Messiah will be born of a virgin, and His name shall be called Immanuel which means "God with us." We see the prophecy fulfilled around 700 years later, when Mary, who was a virgin, gave birth to Jesus.

Matthew 1:18 - "Now the birth of Jesus Christ was as follows: when His mother Mary had been betrothed to Joseph, before they came together she was found to be with child by the Holy Spirit."

Matthew 1:25 - "but kept her a virgin until she gave birth to a Son; and he called His name Jesus."

2)Messiah 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 be ruler over Israel, whose origins are from of old, from ancient times."

Micah prophesied around the same time as Isaiah. In this prophecy he named a specific city to which the Messiah would be born. This rules out anyone saying that the Messiah would come from a region or country. The prophecy was fulfilled later in Bethlehem when Mary gave birth to Jesus in Bethlehem.

Luke 2:4-7 - "Joseph also went up from Galilee, from the city of Nazareth, to Judea, to the city of David which is called Bethlehem, because he was of the house and family of David, in order to register along with Mary, who was engaged to him, and was with child. While they were there, the days were completed for her to give birth. And she gave birth to her firstborn son; and she wrapped Him in cloths, and laid Him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn."

Matthew 2:1-2 - "Now after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of Herod the king, magi from the east arrived in Jerusalem, saying, “Where is He who has been born King of the Jews? For we saw His star in the east and have come to worship Him."

3)The Messiah would be from the Tribe of Judah

Genesis 49:10 - "The scepter shall not depart from Judah, Nor the ruler’s staff from between his feet, Until Shiloh comes, And to him shall be the obedience of the peoples."

In this set of verses, Jacob is blessing his 12 sons. Here we see a blessing with a promise to Judah. The promise was that many of his descendents would be rulers, including a supreme one that all people would become obedient to. The bible teaches us that the Christ's Kingdom has no end, and that everyone would recognize Him as Lord.

Psalm 45:6 - "Your throne, O God, is forever and ever; A scepter of uprightness is the scepter of Your kingdom."

Romans 14:11-12 - "For it is written, “AS I LIVE, SAYS THE LORD, EVERY KNEE SHALL BOW TO ME, AND EVERY TONGUE SHALL GIVE PRAISE TO GOD.” So then each one of us will give an account of himself to God."

Now Jesus was born around 2000 years after the death of Jacob. However, Jesus' lineage is traced back to Judah in Luke 3:23-34 and Matthew 1:1-16. I will not write these out because of their length but feel free to look it up and check to make sure that I am telling the truth.

4)The Messiah would be a descendant of King David
Jeremiah 23:5 - "Behold, the days are coming,” declares the LORD,
“When I will raise up for David a righteous Branch; And He will reign as king and act wisely and do justice and righteousness in the land."


Now Jeremiah lived in the 600-500BC range. He affirmed in this prophecy that Jesus would be a descendant of King David. We can trace this lineage through Luke 3:23-35 and Matthew 1:1-16. Just as we did tracing Him back to Judah. You can find King David's name in that list of family members.

I hope this has been a helpful way to actually see the prophecy recorded, and where it was fulfilled. Now I am sure there are many other prophecies about this, but I just picked out the main ones that drive it home for me.

Thanks for reading, God Bless you all this week, and Merry Christmas!

2 comments:

  1. Thanks for this. I was wondering how to describe how Jesus was in the lineage of David. I appreciate it. : ) God bless!

    ReplyDelete