Christmas in the Prophets
Christmas through the Old Testament • Sermon • Submitted • Presented
0 ratings
· 13 viewsLooking through the prophetic words of the Old Testament we can see clearly the person of Jesus as the Messianic promise.
Notes
Transcript
Introduction
Introduction
Good morning! Welcome to CHCC. I hope you all had a wonderful week. We were blessed to hear from our friend Latino last week as he shared some testimony on his ministry and his current needs. (Share how much we were able to help him as a church)
Hard to believe we are less than a couple of weeks away from Christmas, but here we are. This morning we begin a 2.5 part series on Christmas and one of the challenges each year as a pastor is to consider how to approach the Christmas message. We can certainly enter into Luke 2 as that is the central passage. But I like the challenge of approaching the Christmas message from different perspectives. Last year we looked through the lens of three groups/people around the birth of Jesus. Years prior we’ve considered the evidence of Christ as a means to defend our faith. And this year we will look at Christmas through the lens of the Prophets, the Psalms, and the Gospel.
In our study of Luke, Jesus mentions that everything written about Him must be fulfilled—from the Law, the prophets, and the psalms.
Then he said to them, “These are my words that I spoke to you while I was still with you, that everything written about me in the Law of Moses and the Prophets and the Psalms must be fulfilled.”
While there isn’t any explicit mention of Christmas in the Law, what we see through the Law, however, is that we are in dire need of a Savior. The Law reveals to us the reality of our sinfulness and Paul mentions this in his letters.
For by works of the law no human being will be justified in his sight, since through the law comes knowledge of sin.
What then shall we say? That the law is sin? By no means! Yet if it had not been for the law, I would not have known sin. For I would not have known what it is to covet if the law had not said, “You shall not covet.”
The Law serves as a mirror; we see the sin in ourselves and thus realize we need forgiveness and we need saving.
The prophets, as we will see this morning, point us to this Savior; a Messiah who would come to bring salvation.
Similarly, the psalms also call us to a future hope.
And the gospels give us the tangible person and work of Jesus Christ as this One who was prophesied.
So as we begin this series, we will take a journey through the Old Testament prophets; what words of hope did God give them? What were the signs that we are to look for in this coming Messiah? Where would He come from? How would He appear? These are all the signs that God gave His people to look for and ultimately see in Jesus Christ.
Before we jump into the Word this morning, let us open with a word of prayer.
PRAY
It is interesting that still today there are Jews who are waiting for the Messiah. And so it begs the question: are they right? Do we have it wrong with Jesus? So to answer that we must first look at the objections the Jews have to Jesus; for them, Jesus did not fulfill some of the most important Messianic prophecies—namely the prophecies of victory and conquering and vindication of the Jewish nation. Then add to it that shortly after Jesus, the temple again was destroyed in 70 AD.
So here is just a simple list of what they see that Jesus didn’t fulfill.
Jesus did not build the third temple (Ezekiel 37:26-28)
I will make a covenant of peace with them. It shall be an everlasting covenant with them. And I will set them in their land and multiply them, and will set my sanctuary in their midst forevermore. My dwelling place shall be with them, and I will be their God, and they shall be my people. Then the nations will know that I am the Lord who sanctifies Israel, when my sanctuary is in their midst forevermore.”
Jesus did not gather all the Jews back into Israel (Isaiah 43:5-6)
Fear not, for I am with you;
I will bring your offspring from the east,
and from the west I will gather you.
I will say to the north, Give up,
and to the south, Do not withhold;
bring my sons from afar
and my daughters from the end of the earth,
Jesus did not usher in world peace (Isaiah 2:4)
He shall judge between the nations,
and shall decide disputes for many peoples;
and they shall beat their swords into plowshares,
and their spears into pruning hooks;
nation shall not lift up sword against nation,
neither shall they learn war anymore.
Jesus did not unite all of humanity (Zechariah 14:9)
And the Lord will be king over all the earth. On that day the Lord will be one and his name one.
So we may look at those and perhaps we think, “Maybe they have a point…” Humanity isn’t united, there certainly isn’t world peace, the temple in Jerusalem still isn’t rebuilt, and Jews are still dispersed throughout the world. So how do we then look at these prophecies and make a defense for the Messianic title given to Jesus?
So we understand and believe that all these prophecies we just looked at will be fulfilled by Jesus at a later time. Jesus is coming again. His first advent—His first arrival—His purpose was not to coming as a conquering King. Rather, He came as Isaiah 53 presents, as a suffering servant. When He returns, then He comes as the conquering King. And we will touch on that a bit this morning.
Another argument made against Jesus comes about through His lineage. They argue that if Jesus was born of the virgin Mary and thus was not blood related to Joseph, how can He be a descendant of David? And we will come back to this argument a bit later, but there is a very clear answer to that.
Lastly, they argue that Jesus did not fulfill the Law; in fact, they state, He actually broke it. Multiple times we see Him heal and eat on the Sabbath. They also state He contradicted the Torah in His sermon on the mount where He says, “You have heard it said…but I say to you…”
But we come to understand that Jesus did not break the Sabbath, nor did He contradict the Torah. What He really did was reveal the false doctrines that the religious leaders had brought about through their addendums to the Law and their strict, literal interpretation of it. Jesus brought the heart of the Law into the forefront; revealing that literal obedience does not always mean your heart is where God wants it.
As one pastor put it: “Sure, he defied the laws of men, but He magnified the Law of God.”
John MacArthur explains how the prophetic promises in Ezekiel point to Jesus, not in His first coming, but in His return. He writes:
This is the New Covenant in full force. Israel has never yet been in a state of perpetual salvation peace; this awaits fulfillment in the future kingdom of the Messiah who is the “Prince of Peace.” The everlasting nature of the Abrahamic, Davidic, and New Covenants are joined together in the redeemed who experience the millennial kingdom “forever” (used 4 times in vv. 25–28).
So this morning, as we move through the Old Testament we will see all kinds of prophetic promises pointing to the Messiah. And, like pieces to a puzzle, as we put them together, the profile of Jesus comes into view. So let us begin with the Messiah’s birth.
PART I: BIRTH
PART I: BIRTH
BORN OF A VIRGIN
Perhaps two of the most used, most beautiful, and most well known Old Testament passages read during the Christmas season comes to us in Isaiah; chapters 7 and 9.
Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign. Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel.
A couple of clues given here; first, the Messiah would be born and His birth would come through that of a virgin. The second clue here is the name: Immanuel. This means “God with us.” God coming down to dwell among His people.
The gospel of Matthew points this out in Jesus.
“Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son,
and they shall call his name Immanuel”
(which means, God with us).
The other passage we often hear during Christmas is in Isaiah 9.
For to us a child is born,
to us a son is given;
and the government shall be upon his shoulder,
and his name shall be called
Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God,
Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.
Of the increase of his government and of peace
there will be no end,
on the throne of David and over his kingdom,
to establish it and to uphold it
with justice and with righteousness
from this time forth and forevermore.
The zeal of the Lord of hosts will do this.
This prophecy also has a similar hint as the first: If you are looking for a Messiah, you must start with looking for a child. But what is more, He will simultaneously be a child and a Wonderful Counselor, a Mighty God, and Everlasting Father, and the Prince of Peace.
A UNIQUE BIRTH ANNOUNCEMENT
1. BIRTH ANNOUNCEMENT MADE (VERY) EARLY
Have you ever received a birth announcement from a friend or family member? Does anyone here remember the old Geico commercial with the birth announcement? The guy uses a payphone (remember those) at a hospital to call his father.
He says, “Operator, I’d like to make a collect call, please. First name: Bob. Last name: Wehadababyitsaboy.” So the operator calls the number requested, and says, “You have a phone call from Bob Wehadababyitsaboy.”
“Sorry, wrong number.” The wife asks, “Who was that?” It was Bob. He had a baby. It’s a boy.
But the birth announcement for the Messiah is very unique to other birth announcements. For one, it comes really early. Isaiah’s prophetic birth announcement comes 700 years before the birth. Typically birth announcements come after the birth.
2. A ROYAL ANNOUNCEMENT
Second, Isaiah’s announcement is one of royalty. It tells us this: “The government shall be upon his shoulder…of the increase of his government and of peace there will be no end, on the throne of David and over his kingdom…” And then the angel Gabriel gives the same foretelling to Mary in Luke’s gospel.
He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. And the Lord God will give to him the throne of his father David, and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of his kingdom there will be no end.”
3. FOUR NAMES
What is more, this birth announcement from Isaiah gives us four Messianic titles. Typically, when a baby is born they announce just one name. But Isaiah’s prophecy gives us four.
Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. This child will be so remarkable that one name wasn’t sufficient enough. Imagine having a birth announcement telling everyone what your child would accomplish. “Valedictorian, Accomplished musician, Owner of their own company, sub-par joke teller…”
But, understandably, birth announcements don’t list accomplishments because nothing has been accomplished apart from newborn baby antics. “Excellent (or terrible) sleeper, thumb sucker, crybaby”
But this Messiah promises to be something amazing! “Wonderful Counselor.” This indicates supernatural wisdom—wonderful news for us who need guidance and direction.
“Mighty God.” This indicates supernatural power. Again, wonderful news for those of us who are weak.
“Everlasting Father.” A beautiful indicator that this Messiah will care for His people, as a good father would care for his children. Great news for those who feel alone and unappreciated.
“Prince of Peace.” This title indicates that the Messiah will bring restored relationships. Again, wonderful news for us who lack peace with one another and with God.
4. A GODLY CONNECTION
Lastly, this birth announcement is unique because every name Isaiah lists is associated with God in the book of Isaiah.
First, wonderful counselor. In chapter 28, this is what Isaiah says of God.
This also comes from the Lord of hosts;
he is wonderful in counsel
and excellent in wisdom.
Mighty God; this is the same title God uses for himself just one chapter later.
A remnant will return, the remnant of Jacob, to the mighty God.
Everlasting Father. Father is a title given of God throughout Scripture.
For you are our Father,
though Abraham does not know us,
and Israel does not acknowledge us;
you, O Lord, are our Father,
our Redeemer from of old is your name.
And only God is everlasting. And Prince of Peace. It is God who announces peace.
Peace, peace, to the far and to the near,” says the Lord,
“and I will heal him.
This is quite a remarkable birth announcement that gives us a lot of insight into the Messiah. Let us take a look at some other prophecies into the Messiah’s birth.
BORN IN BETHLEHEM
The prophecy found in the book of Micah would give clear indication as to where this Messiah would be born.
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.
In Matthew’s gospel, which we must keep in mind, was initially written to a Jewish audience, this passage is quoted. King Herod is visited by the wise men from the east and they tell him they are looking for this newborn “king of the Jews.” This, of course, concerns king Herod; worried he would lose his throne. And so he gathers all the chief priests and scribes to determine where this king would be born and they remind him of Micah’s prophecy.
They told him, “In Bethlehem of Judea, for so it is written by the prophet:
“ ‘And you, O Bethlehem, in the land of Judah,
are by no means least among the rulers of Judah;
for from you shall come a ruler
who will shepherd my people Israel.’ ”
Later on in Jesus’ ministry, John brings up a debate among the people. Some are claiming he is “The Prophet.” Others are saying He is “the Christ” (Greek translation of the Hebrew word Messiah). But some were questioning if this was right.
Others said, “This is the Christ.” But some said, “Is the Christ to come from Galilee? Has not the Scripture said that the Christ comes from the offspring of David, and comes from Bethlehem, the village where David was?”
They were right, the Christ comes from Bethlehem. However, Jesus was born in Bethlehem because of the census and later resided in Nazareth of Galilee.
A STAR
Another prophecy in the Old Testament comes to us out of the book of Numbers. When Israel was in their wandering period in the wilderness they came across a king who became their enemy. His name was Balaak. And while the Israelites made camp in the valley that rested near his kingdom, Balaak sought out someone to put a curse on the Israelites. So he brings in Balaam.
Balaam is a very interesting character. He is a prophet of God but he isn’t always faithful. But God only allows Balaam to speak to Balaak the words God has chosen. So, essentially, Balaam becomes the mouthpiece of God to Balaak.
So Balaak asks for Balaam to speak curses over the Israelites but what comes out is prophetic words and blessings. Each time Balaak demanded a curse, a blessing came forth instead. And it was in the third blessing (or oracle) that we receive this prophecy.
I see him, but not now;
I behold him, but not near:
a star shall come out of Jacob,
and a scepter shall rise out of Israel;
it shall crush the forehead of Moab
and break down all the sons of Sheth.
And it would seem that it was these words that the wise men of the east came across. Some suggest that perhaps they had gotten ahold of some of the Hebrew scriptures that Daniel had brought into the royal libraries during his time in Babylon/Persia when he was counselor to the king. However they came across the words, this is what they most likely saw. And it was so interesting to them they found themselves on a long journey to see this new king.
Now after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of Herod the king, behold, wise men from the east came to Jerusalem, saying, “Where is he who has been born king of the Jews? For we saw his star when it rose and have come to worship him.”
WEEPING FOR CHILDREN
The next prophecy we will look at is an interesting one. It is one about mourning the death of children. It comes to us from the prophet Jeremiah.
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.”
Ramah is the place where Jacob’s wife, Rachel, is buried. This verse gives us a visual of Rachel weeping for her children. Now, at the time of this prophecy, Rachel has been dead for hundreds and hundreds of years.
And the context of this verse is a promise to restore God’s people. It talks about God’s people coming back to Jerusalem and God telling them He has loved them with an everlasting love.
the Lord appeared to him from far away.
I have loved you with an everlasting love;
therefore I have continued my faithfulness to you.
This passage in Jeremiah also talks about how the women would dance and the men would be joyful with God saying they will be satisfied with his goodness.
my people shall be satisfied with my goodness,
declares the Lord.”
What does all this have to do with Rachel weeping? Well, at Jesus’ birth there were the shepherds celebrating and spreading word throughout Bethlehem. There were the wise men who came to visit. And it was this and the rumblings of rumors that gets king Herod all worked up.
Remember how the wise men visiting him made him uneasy? So he is so insecure in his throne that Herod sends out a decree to kill all the baby boys in Bethlehem, which of course, causes much mourning and weeping as was foretold in Jeremiah.
Then Herod, when he saw that he had been tricked by the wise men, became furious, and he sent and killed all the male children in Bethlehem and in all that region who were two years old or under, according to the time that he had ascertained from the wise men. Then was fulfilled what was spoken by the prophet Jeremiah:
“A voice was heard in Ramah,
weeping and loud lamentation,
Rachel weeping for her children;
she refused to be comforted, because they are no more.”
And it was this whole ordeal which leads us into our next prophecy.
OUT OF EGYPT
We know Jesus was not numbered among those poor children. How did He avoid this massacre? By word of an angel Jesus and His parents would flee the land.
And he rose and took the child and his mother by night and departed to Egypt and remained there until the death of Herod. This was to fulfill what the Lord had spoken by the prophet, “Out of Egypt I called my son.”
What prophet? Hosea.
When Israel was a child, I loved him,
and out of Egypt I called my son.
Again, Matthew does a lot of the heavy lifting for us by pinpointing these prophecies for us.
THE BRANCH — A NAZARENE?
The next prophecy we look at is a very obscure one. Matthew has helped us out tremendously in a few of these prophecies, but this one he leaves us with a little homework to do.
And he went and lived in a city called Nazareth, so that what was spoken by the prophets might be fulfilled, that he would be called a Nazarene.
So why I say he leaves us with a little work to do is because this particular prophecy is found nowhere in the Old Testament. So what is Matthew referring to here?
There is no clear prophecy indicating that the Messiah would live in Nazareth. However, there is something really interesting about the language here. There is a connection to Isaiah.
There shall come forth a shoot from the stump of Jesse,
and a branch from his roots shall bear fruit.
The term “branch” was a common one to refer to the Messiah. The word in Hebrew is pronounced nester and when written (Hebrew has only consonants and no vowels), it is spelled out NZR which is the same exact consonants as Nazareth.
In fact, in Aramaic, the common language of Jesus’ day, the word for “Nazareth” and the Hebrew word for “branch” sounded very much alike. Matthew’s point could be that Jesus was “sprouting up” from an obscure village in Galilee; Jesus was the Branch predicted by the prophets, and the name of the town He grew up in happens to sound just like the prophets’ word for “branch.”
LINE OF DAVID
Perhaps the biggest and most common prophecy we come across for the Messiah is that He would come from the line of king David. This begins with God’s covenant with David.
He shall build a house for my name, and I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever.
And your house and your kingdom shall be made sure forever before me. Your throne shall be established forever.’ ”
We also have prophecies in Isaiah was looked at earlier. As well as Jeremiah.
“Behold, the days are coming, declares the Lord, when I will raise up for David a righteous Branch, and he shall reign as king and deal wisely, and shall execute justice and righteousness in the land.
And so this is where the Jewish people knew where to look. He must come from the line of David. So two Gospel accounts give us a lineage of Jesus to account for His heritage, that He is the Son of David.
But what is interesting is that the names listed in them are different save for a few. In fact, the only similar names between the two are Shealtiel and Zerubbabel. So how does that work?
I won’t read all the lineage here but I do encourage you to take time to read them yourself this week. Matthew 1 and Luke 3:22-28. But I will explain why they are different and maybe you’ll be as excited as I am about this!
So, in short, Matthew’s account takes us from Jesus to Abraham. Luke’s account takes us from Jesus to Adam. But it is pretty clear they are tracing two different lines altogether.
From the very beginning, Matthew’s account tells us Joseph’s (Jesus’ earthly father) father is Jacob. In Luke’s account it lists Joseph’s father as Heli. Matthew’s lineage traces through David’s son Solomon; Luke traces through David’s son Nathan.
So this is where God has all the bases covered. Because some would argue, “If Jesus was born of a virgin, how is he related to Joseph?” Fair point.
These two accounts are taking different approaches. Matthew’s account takes from Joseph’s line while Luke takes from Mary’s line. There was no word in the Greek for “Father-in-Law.” By marriage, then, one would be listed as a relative—a father, son type relationship.
So Joseph is called the “son of Heli” by marriage. Heli was Mary’s father. Jacob was Joseph’s father. And they both take us back to king David. Remarkable! You could say Jesus is the Son of David by blood and by adoption!
PART II: MINISTRY
PART II: MINISTRY
We’ve unpacked a lot of prophecies into Jesus’ birth and early life. But real quickly, I want to walk through a few Messianic prophecies into His ministry.
Let’s just rapid fire them and then we can close.
Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion!
Shout aloud, O daughter of Jerusalem!
Behold, your king is coming to you;
righteous and having salvation is he,
humble and mounted on a donkey,
on a colt, the foal of a donkey.
Jesus would make His triumphal entrance into the city of Jerusalem a week before His crucifixion by riding into the city on the foal of a donkey.
Even my close friend in whom I trusted,
who ate my bread, has lifted his heel against me.
Jesus would be betrayed by one of His closest 12 friends—the disciple Judas. What is more, the prophecies tell us for how much he would be betrayed for.
Then I said to them, “If it seems good to you, give me my wages; but if not, keep them.” And they weighed out as my wages thirty pieces of silver.
And we know that Judas turned Jesus over for 30 pieces of silver.
He was despised and rejected by men,
a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief;
and as one from whom men hide their faces
he was despised, and we esteemed him not.
Jesus was ultimately despised and rejected by His own people as they sent Him to His death. Speaking of…
But he was pierced for our transgressions;
he was crushed for our iniquities;
upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace,
and with his wounds we are healed.
This speaks to Jesus’ death upon the cross.
He was oppressed, and he was afflicted,
yet he opened not his mouth;
like a lamb that is led to the slaughter,
and like a sheep that before its shearers is silent,
so he opened not his mouth.
The gospels tell us that Jesus remained silent before His accusers. What about the Messiah’s burial?
And they made his grave with the wicked
and with a rich man in his death,
although he had done no violence,
and there was no deceit in his mouth.
They killed Jesus with convicted criminals even though He Himself was sinless, but He was buried in the tomb of a wealthy man named Joseph from Arimathea.
Yet it was the will of the Lord to crush him;
he has put him to grief;
when his soul makes an offering for guilt,
he shall see his offspring; he shall prolong his days;
the will of the Lord shall prosper in his hand.
Death could not hold Jesus as we know three days later He rose again from the grave just as Isaiah prophesied.
The prophecies of the Old Testament paint a beautiful and clear picture of the Messiah that comes into full focus in the person and work of Jesus.
And the sheer number of fulfilled prophecies in Jesus is astounding. J. Barton Payne states there are as many as 574 verses in the Old Testament that point to the Messiah.
Alfred Edersheim states there are 456 Old Testament references. So why the discrepancy? It comes down to whether one determines a prophecy to be repetitive or Messianic in nature. Or was a prophecy solely Messianic in nature or did it have an earlier fulfillment?
But even if we take the most conservative approach, Jesus fulfilled more than 300 prophecies! The evidence is overwhelming. The Messiah came over 2000 years ago, born in Bethlehem, the city of David, as a Son of David. He died on the cross for you and for me, He rose again conquering sin and death and ushering in the gift of salvation to all who would believe and place their faith in Him.
And…He’s coming back again! So as we celebrate Christmas, we remember the birth of a king and we wait with joyful expectation to His coming again!
PRAY
