During the Christmas season when my wife is driving the car on an errand, she will sometimes count the number of nativities she sees on people’s lawns. The count feels encouraging when the number is high and discouraging when the number is low. These nativities remind us of the importance of celebrating Jesus’ birth. But it makes us wonder whether people realize the true reason for Christmas.
Remembering and celebrating the miraculous birth of Christ should be as effortless as remembering where you live. It should form an integral part of our Christian lives, something we do every year as we make plans for Christmas.
Remembering vs. Foretelling the Birth of Jesus
Remembering the birth of Christ is a simple task. Open the Gospels of Matthew, Mark and Luke and there it is—the story of Jesus’ birth. But if we try to forecast the future our minds go blank. Who can tell us what will happen tomorrow, much less hundreds or thousands of years from now?
Thankfully the Bible has Jesus’ birth recorded as a historical event, but also provides verses that foretold His coming. I find it amazing that not only is the Messiah’s crucifixion foretold, but even His birth. Here are just three of the hundreds of verses foretelling the coming of Immanuel.
Three Prophecies Fulfilled in Jesus
Genesis 3:15 ~ “I will put enmity between you and the woman and between your offspring and her offspring; he shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise his heel.”
This was written some 1,500 years before Christ was born. Amazing! It points to some critical features about Christ’s birth, evident to us now, but maybe not so apparent to those foretelling.
- The Messiah will be born of a woman.
- He will be a male.
- The Messiah will be wounded but would deal a deadly blow to the serpent’s offspring.
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.”
The virgin birth was foretold 700 hundreds of years ahead of time. Wow!
Micah 5:2 ~ “But you, O Bethlehem Ephrathah, who are too little to be among the clans of Judah, from you shall come forth for me one who is to be ruler in Israel, whose coming forth is from of old, from ancient days.”
The location of the birth of the Messiah in Bethlehem was told some 800 years before Jesus’ birth.
Old Testament Scriptures also point out that he would be a Jew from the lines of Abraham, Isaac, Jacob and King David. He will be a prophet like Moses, and many other prophecies too. These scriptures point to a boy, miraculously born, fulfilling all these prophecies and given the name Jesus.
What do these prophecies mean to you?
For me, remembering the prophecies about Jesus’s birth grounds my faith in the Christmas story as told the Gospels. It also adds excitement and anticipation to our family Christmas celebrations.
Take some time with your family and friends to talk about these amazing predictions about Jesus’ birth. Then take some time to reflect on His love and sacrifice for you.
Thanking God for His Son and for your faithful partnership.
Merry Christmas from all of us at Bright Hope!
