Prophecies of Christmas
Notes
Transcript
Handout
Intro:
We have been making our way through the book of Daniel and before we left on vacation, we finished the historical section of the Book, as we closed Chapter 6… Chapter 7 of Daniel starts the Prophetic section of the book and I am excited to study and share it with you...
However… For the next few weeks (leading up to Christmas), I want go through a mini series that I have entitled “Prophecies of Christmas” and then, after the New Year, we will get back into our study through the Book of Daniel.
When we talk about prophecies, we are talking about predictions that someone has made about a future event that has yet to take place… And when I say the word Christmas, I am talking about the birth of our Lord, Jesus Christ.
With that in mind, as we look at the “Prophecies of Christmas”, we are going to be looking at predictions that were made about the birth of Jesus Christ.
Making accurate predictions can prove too be difficult… just ask any Meteorologist that tries to give an accurate prediction of Michigan weather…
A noted physicist once commented on this frustrating principle and said, "Prediction is a very difficult art...especially when it involves the future."
Now, making accurate predictions may be difficult for even the smartest human being, but it is effortless for an omniscient (ALL-knowing) God… And intertwined throughout the whole Old Testament is over 300 prophecies or predictions regarding Israel’s future Messiah… and Jesus fulfills them ALL.
A study was done, by people much smarter than I, looking at the probability of just 8 of these prophecies being fulfilled by one man… The study concluded that it would be utterly impossible for one person to fulfill just 8 of these predictions and yet… Jesus fulfills all 300+.
When we say that nothing is impossible with God… we mean it… …
I don't know about you, but for me that goes a long way toward helping me to know that the Bible is completely trustworthy.
We are not going to go through all 300+ prophecies in this short series, but we will look at a few of them over the course of this month.
The first of which we will find in the very first book of the Bible… Genesis. … Now it’s not surprising that the first mention of Jesus’ arrival is in the first book of the Bible… but exactly where it is mentioned… now that is the interesting part…
It’s not during creation, its not right after creation, God didn’t work for 6 days, rest on the 7th and then get up on the 8th day and tell Adam “Oh by the way… I am going to send Jesus as your Savior”… at that point, Adam didn’t need a Savior…
Meat:
Turn with me to Genesis Chapter 3… … Genesis chapter 3 is where we are introduced to our need of a Savior…
Verses 1-7: Adam and Eve are in the Garden of Eden, the serpent tempts Eve to eat fruit from the forbidden tree of knowledge of good and evil. Eve gives in to the temptation and eats the fruit, and she also gives it to Adam, who also eats. As a result, their eyes are opened, and they realize they are naked. Feeling shameful, they sew fig leaves in order to cover themselves.
Verses 8-13: go on… After eating the forbidden fruit, Adam and Eve hear the sound of God walking in the garden. Filled with guilt and shame, they hide from God among the trees. God calls out to them, questioning their actions. Adam admits to eating the forbidden fruit and blames Eve, while Eve acknowledges eating the fruit but blames the serpent.
This is where we will start reading… (Stand if you are able) (Read vv. 14-24)
Now, this is a little different format than how I usually preach… and there is so much that can be mentioned throughout this entire chapter. But in regards to our topic today, Prophecies of Christmas, we are going to look at some facts about…
The Promised Savior:
Why do we need a Savior?… because of sin… sin separates us from God…
Ever since Genesis chapter 3, and up until the time when Satan is finally bound for all eternity and cast into the lake of fire… sin will continue to be a problem.
Eve succumbs to the temptation from the devil and eats of the fruit. Adam also falls for the lie and eats as well.
• In an instant, everything changes!
• They are no longer innocent and pure
• they have become sinners…
• They have become fallen beings.
Immediately, they are aware that everything has changed…
And In the midst of this tragedy
• God comes into the Garden to fellowship with Adam/Eve.
• He calls out to them because they have hidden themselves from Him…
• God knows what they have done and finally gets a confession from Adam.
• Then the blame game begins.
• Adam blames Eve and God…
Genesis 3:12 “12 Then the man said, “The woman whom You gave to be with me, she gave me of the tree, and I ate.””
• Eve blames the serpent…
Genesis 3:13 “13 And the Lord God said to the woman, “What is this you have done?” The woman said, “The serpent deceived me, and I ate.””
God immediately pronounces judgment on Adam, Eve, the serpent, and then God casts them out of the Garden of Eden.
Yet, right in the middle of this time of disobedience and the punishment for it… there is a flicker of hope…
One verse, one sentence, giving us a promise that shines out of this... darkness… like a great beacon, illuminating the amazing grace of God.
God says to Satan in v.15…
Genesis 3:15 “15 And I will put enmity Between you and the woman, And between your seed and her Seed; He shall bruise your head, And you shall bruise His heel.””
This verse has been called the “First Gospel.”
Here, for the first time…
• We see a glimpse of the Savior who will later give Himself on Calvary’s cross to redeem a lost and dying world… We can see the first stitch in the scarlet thread of redemption that courses its way through the entire Word of God.
This amazing and precious verse gives us the very first promise in the Word of God regarding the birth of Jesus.
The first fact that we can see about Jesus, our promised Savior… is that He…
1. Has a Unique Origin
1. Has a Unique Origin
Throughout all of creation, man, animal, or plant… in order to have offspring, there needs to be a male and a female… and yet, right here in the midst of v.15, God says that the promised Savior will come from a woman without the involvement of any man.
“I will put enmity Between you and the woman, And between your seed and her Seed;”
This verse is the first prophecy regarding the Savior being...
1.1 Born of a Virgin
1.1 Born of a Virgin
I am not sure if Satan fully understood what God meant, and I am quite certain that Adam and Eve did not understand it… But God indicates that He will send a Savior, into the world, through a woman, without the involvement of a man!
This is not the only place that this is prophesied…
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 question is, why is this so important??? … Other than to show that God is capable of anything, even to the point of having a virgin give birth,… why is the virgin birth so important?
The answer to that question is found in Romans…
12 Therefore, just as through one man sin entered into the world, and death through sin, and so death spread to all men, because all sinned—
Right here… The Bible clearly teaches that sin and sin nature are handed down through the man.
Every person who has entered the world, through the regular method, of a union between a man and a woman… has inherited a sin nature, and is a sinner at birth.
That is why Scripture tells us…
Romans 3:23 “23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,”
The birth of Jesus was very different… Since He came into this world without a human father, He was born without being tainted by sin!… He was born pure and sinless… and that is why He was the only One qualified to die for the sins of humanity.
18 So then as through one transgression there resulted condemnation to all men, even so through one act of righteousness there resulted justification of life to all men.
This is why the virgin birth is so important!…
The 2nd fact that we can see about Jesus, our promised Savior… is that He…
2. Has a Unique Mission
2. Has a Unique Mission
Back to Genesis 3:15 God says to Satan, “… He shall bruise your head… ””
This refers to a fatal injury… The Savior was coming to show men a better way to live, He was not coming to show them how to improve their environment, He was not coming show them how to improve their social status… He was coming…
2.1 To Defeat Evil
2.1 To Defeat Evil
The Savior was coming into the world to do battle with the forces of evil… That was His sole mission…
14 Therefore, since the children share in flesh and blood, He Himself likewise also partook of the same, that through death He might render powerless him who had the power of death, that is, the devil,
God had promised to send a Savior who could (and would) deliver humanity from the sin into which it had just fallen… Something that we, as sinful humans, could never do for ourselves.
And by defeating Evil, our Savior was able…
2.2 To Save us From Sin
2.2 To Save us From Sin
Romans 6:23 “23 For the wages of sin is death (Separation from God… which is what we deserve...), but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.”… …
A couple of minutes ago I mentioned that I wasn’t sure if Satan understood the message that God was giving through the statements in v.15… But at some point it clicked and Satan realized that he was in trouble…
And from the moment that he understood, he did whatever he could to try and stop the birth of Jesus…
He worked through Cain to kill Abel, Gen. 4.
• He sought to corrupt the human blood line through evil marriages, Gen. 6.
• He tried to kill the people of Israel in Egypt, Ex. 1&2.
• He tried to bring about their destruction by leading them into gross idolatry during the kingdom years of Israel… but there was always a remnant…
Then, as soon as Jesus was born… Satan tried to destroy Him as an infant, Matt. 2.
• Matt. 4, Satan tried to tempt Him to sin
• John 6, he tried to get Jesus to claim the crown w/o going to the cross.
• Luke 22, he tried to kill Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane.
And, surely Satan thought he had won the victory when Jesus died on the cross… oh, how mistaken he was…
You see… The Promised Savior would be…
3. Bruised but not Defeated
3. Bruised but not Defeated
Again, back to Genesis 3:15 “ He shall bruise your head, And you shall bruise His heel.””
The word “bruise” has the idea of “crushing or striking.”… and so, bruising of the head refers to a fatal wound, while the Bruising of the heel refers to an injury that is not fatal.
The serpent might strike the heel of the coming Savior, but the Savior would crush the head of the serpent.
Both of which were fulfilled at the cross…
Isaiah also made this prediction…
5 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.
6 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.
Jesus took the punishment for our sin… He was separated from God so that we wouldn’t have to be…
The Promised Savior endured death… for us!
That was the bruise on His heel…
But He was just bruised… not defeated… death could not hold Him… and on the third day, He rose again… and as soon as He proved that He had power over sin and death, the serpent’s head wash crushed… and that mortal wound will ultimately end with Satan and his Demons, along with everything that is evil, being cast into an eternal Lake of Fire…
Revelation 20:10 “10 The devil, who deceived them, was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone where the beast and the false prophet are. And they will be tormented day and night forever and ever.”
Genesis 3:15 “15 And I will put enmity Between you and the woman, And between your seed and her Seed; He shall bruise your head, And you shall bruise His heel.””
Closing:
There is a lot packed into that one verse…
and the fact of the matter is… You and I were born into this world with a desperate sin problem.
I am so thankful that God saw our need and instead of just destroying us and saying “well, I gave them a chance and they blew it… ”… He promised to send a Savior, One who could pay for the sins of the world, One who could defeat the power of death… One who would be called… Wonderful, Counselor, Prince of Peace… … Jesus.
He’s more than…
a baby in a manger…
A story in a book
someone we only talk to on Sundays
He is the Promised Savior of Genesis 3:15.
We are all sinners-hopelessly lost-but because Jesus came, we don't have to stay that way.
It's our choice.
We can choose to live as victims of our depravity or we can live as victors through the power of Christ.
All we need to do is repent of our sin and accept God's free Christmas gift to us by inviting Jesus Christ into our lives as Savior and Lord.
If you've never made this choice, I encourage you to do so today!… If you have any questions, feel free to talk with me after the service, or if someone invited you here today, a friend or family member, I am certain they would love to chat with you about it as well.
Prayer