Jesus - The Star of the Show
Notes
Transcript
Introduction - There is a baby born. The forerunner has already come into the world, the parents have been anxiously awaiting this day and the witnesses have come and will leave telling everyone of the birth of a king. But who is this baby and what will He become.
As the video said Prophets have been speaking of Him for centuries. Finally He has arrived. The light shining in the darkness. The prophets spoke of Him in bits and pieces - their words were veiled in mystery. With Jesus’ birth, life, death and resurrection the mystery has been revealed. Let’s take a look at some of those prophecies and see just how they were fulfilled during His birth.
The first prophet was King Solomon who ascended to the throne after his father King David died.
King Solomon who reigned over the unified nation of Israel in Jerusalem between 970-931 B.C. He wrote many things including proverbs, poetry and a Psalm or two. He wrote Psalm 72 which has been titled The Reign of the Righteous King in the New American Standard Bible. The Reign of the Righteous King speaks about a Righteous King that will come and rule over Israel. Most of the 20 verses are a prophecy of how the Righteous King would reign over the people and the things He would do. However, verse 10 specifically speaks a prophecy which was fulfilled shortly after Jesus’ birth.
10 Let the kings of Tarshish and of the islands bring presents; The kings of Sheba and Seba offer gifts.
The Magi which travelled from the East to worship this Righteous King brought presents and offered Him gifts. The Magi were from distant lands, gentiles just like the kings of Tarshish, Sheba and Seba would have been. Their actions and presence in the story fulfilled a prophecy about 940 years old.
The next prophet of the Lord that pointed to the coming of the Messiah, the long awaited Son of God was Isaiah. He was the most prolific Messianic prophet. He has prophecies about the coming of the Messiah scattered all through his book. The Chapters with the most are; 42 which is full of prophecies of the coming Messiah, 52 which is partly prophecy about the coming Messiah, and 53 which is all about Jesus, The Suffering Servant.
A couple prophecies which speak directly about His birth are:
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.
As Matthew points out in his gospel in Matthew 1:23 this prophecy was fulfilled when The virgin Mary gave birth to a Son that was conceived by the Holy Spirit.
Another prophecy that was fulfilled was:
2 The people who walk in darkness Will see a great light; Those who live in a dark land, The light will shine on them.
The people who took the time to look would have seen a great light. They lived in the Spiritual darkness of their souls and the Christ had now come to open the eyes of the blind.
Another prophecy that was fulfilled was not about Jesus, but about the one who would go before Him in the power and spirit of Elijah.
3 A voice is calling, “Clear the way for the Lord in the wilderness; Make smooth in the desert a highway for our God.
4 “Let every valley be lifted up, And every mountain and hill be made low; And let the rough ground become a plain, And the rugged terrain a broad valley;
John the Baptist was the fulfillment of this particular prophecy. Jesus Himself in Matthew 11 recognized John as Elijah, as the one who went before Him.
The last prophecy of Isaiah I want to mention is:
6 “I am the Lord, I have called You in righteousness, I will also hold You by the hand and watch over You, And I will appoint You as a covenant to the people, As a light to the nations,
7 To open blind eyes, To bring out prisoners from the dungeon And those who dwell in darkness from the prison.
Jesus established a new covenant with the Children of God. He established it in His own blood. And while He was here on earth he opened blind eyes, led captives to freedom and provided light for the world so those who believe would no longer walk in darkness.
Another Old Testament prophet that pointed to the birth of Christ Jesus was Micah. He was a prophet of the Lord from about 740 - 700 B.C. If you listened and remember the time frame Isaiah was a prophet you should notice that they were prophets at the same time and to the same Kings. However, there focus was different.
Micah’s book was very small compared to Isaiah’s, however Micah had one very pertinent prophecy that was very critical in the completion of the story.
2 “But as for you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, Too little to be among the clans of Judah, From you One will go forth for Me to be ruler in Israel. His goings forth are from long ago, From the days of eternity.”
Micah pointed to the little town of Bethlehem, 8 or 9 miles south of Jerusalem and said you are the one, you are where the Christ child will be born. This prophecy was used to point the Magi in the correct direction. Matthew quotes the prophecy when he tells the story of the coming of the Magi in chapter 2 of his gospel.
The next Prophet of the Lord that had a part in the Christmas story was Jeremiah. Jeremiah was a prophet from about 627-586 B.C. Jeremiah was there at the end. He was there when Jerusalem fell and the people were carried off to Persia. His part was small but a part none the less.
15 Thus says the Lord, “A voice is heard in Ramah, Lamentation and bitter weeping. Rachel is weeping for her children; She refuses to be comforted for her children, Because they are no more.”
Matthew quotes this prophecy as fulfilled when King Herod sent soldiers to Bethlehem and the surrounding area to slaughter all the baby boys up to the age of 2. He was trying to ensure the new born King mentioned by the Magi would never threaten his reign. He missed.
The last Prophet involved in the Christmas story is Malachi. Malachi was a prophet for the Lord from 470-460 B.C. He spoke for the Lord after the exiled people had returned to Jerusalem to rebuild the Temple and the city. This prophecy from Malachi provided hope for the people that the Messiah was coming:
1 “Behold, I am going to send My messenger, and he will clear the way before Me. And the Lord, whom you seek, will suddenly come to His temple; and the messenger of the covenant, in whom you delight, behold, He is coming,” says the Lord of hosts.
They were seeking the Lord, the messenger of the covenant, they were seeking Jesus, the Son of God. Jesus brought the message of reconciliation, Jesus shined the light of God in the darkness and Jesus established a new covenant in His blood.
Malachi is the last recorded prophet. He is the last man to pronounce the word of the Lord. When he falls silent the Lights go out. For 460 years there would be no more prophecy. Just centuries of silence as the Jewish people called out to God and watched for the promised Messiah. The next prophet will be the one who fulfills one of the first prophecies - John the baptist, the one calling out in the wilderness, clearing the way for the Lord.
Many other prophecies were fulfilled by Jesus as He dwelt with us and among us. Some of the other ones may have pointed to His birth, but many were fulfilled as He ministered to the people and taught those who believed in Him how to walk with God and how to be a child of God.
All of the prophecies were made in the dark. Christ Jesus though present through the entire bible was a mystery to those before He was born into this world. But now the answers to the riddles of thousands of years have been given to us. They point to the Christ child as the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world for all those who believe. He is the reason we celebrate this season.
If you do not believe in Jesus as Lord and Savior, now is a perfect day and time to begin. The alter is always available for those wishing to call upon the Lord.
Now let’s talk about the baby Jesus and what He means to us.