The Birth of Christ

Introduction

Well, I don’t have to tell you guys, but Christmas is 5 days away…

I bet your kids… your grandkids… maybe your wife has been bugging you about it since Halloween ended.

Kids are getting anxious and want to open their gifts now!

When you ask most kids, not all, but a majority, “What does Christmas mean/stand for?”

Usually it’s about gifts!

It’s about Santa!

It’s about cookies and milk!

However, we know that this isn’t the case… Christmas is about the birth of Jesus Christ...

Now, was Jesus actually born on December 25th, most likely not… but who cares, if God wanted us to know the exact date, you think the Holy Spirit would’ve instructed the authors to put it in?

People get so caught up on the date? Who cares…

Christmas represents the birth of Jesus Christ...

The birth of Hope

The birth of Peace

The birth of a Savior

And the birth of Jesus Christ was prophesied from times of Old...

Today will be a little different… Since we are so close to Christmas, I thought it would be cool to look at all the OT verses that prophesied about the coming Savior…

You guys cool with that?

First Prophecy

Genesis 22:18 NKJV

In your seed all the nations of the earth shall be blessed, because you have obeyed My voice.”

Here, we see God talking to Abraham… He’s telling Abraham about He will bless him and that he would have numerous generations ...

We believe that Jesus is the fulfillment of this prophecy… Why would the gentiles be blessed by the jews? Only because Jesus Christ was born… Because of Jesus, the veil has been torn… Because of Jesus, Gentiles are able to worship the True Living God… If it weren’t for Jesus, this wouldn’t have been possible…

All the way in Genesis, Jesus was prophesied about… You know how amazing that is??? Almost 2000 years from Abraham to Jesus…

Second Prophecy...

Numbers 24:17 NKJV

“I see Him, but not now; I behold Him, but not near; A Star shall come out of Jacob; A Scepter shall rise out of Israel, And batter the brow of Moab, And destroy all the sons of tumult.

The star and scepter are symbols of a glorious and powerful kingdom that would subdue the enemies of Israel…

Now, David fulfilled this prophecy by defeating both Moab and Edom...

However, the Israelite kings kept on failing to obey God’s instructions… and oppressions and exile followed...

Scholars believe that this passage would be interpreted messianically to refer to the coming glorious king..

Jesus Christ was the ultimate fulfillment of this verse.

He is the model of a JUST and RIGHTEOUS King.

Today… People are looking for justice… They are looking for someone to be just! However, everyone is looking at the wrong people...

Oh, Biden will bring Justice...

Oh, Trump will bring Justice...

Oh, you name it, will bring justice...

There will be no true justice until God brings on the judgment period…

Everyone wants justice, but they don’t want Jesus...

Everyone wants to be righteous, but only through Jesus are we made righteous..

Amen...

Third Prophecy

Isaiah 11:1 ESV

There shall come forth a shoot from the stump of Jesse, and a branch from his roots shall bear fruit.

Stump signifies the Davidic line was cut down, but there was still life...

The branch will shoot forth, showing that there is new life.

the CSB commentary says, “ The association of the stump with Jesse rather than David indicates that there is a new beginning here, a going back to origins, and a distancing from the later corrupt kings of Judah. The continuation of the Davidic line is an indication of the grace of God based on the covenant of kingship with David: “Your house and kingdom will endure before me forever, and your throne will be established forever” (2Sm 7:16). As redemptive history progressed, the new Davidic dynasty was not realized in later Davidic descendants like Zerubbabel (Ezr 3; Zch 4), but in Jesus Christ.”

Longman, T., III. (2017). Isaiah. In E. A. Blum & T. Wax (Eds.), CSB Study Bible: Notes (p. 1059). Nashville, TN: Holman Bible Publishers.

4th Prophecy

Isaiah 7:14 NKJV

Therefore the Lord Himself will give you a sign: Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a Son, and shall call His name Immanuel.

This was fulfilled in Luke 1:35

Luke 1:34–38 NKJV

Then Mary said to the angel, “How can this be, since I do not know a man?” And the angel answered and said to her, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Highest will overshadow you; therefore, also, that Holy One who is to be born will be called the Son of God. Now indeed, Elizabeth your relative has also conceived a son in her old age; and this is now the sixth month for her who was called barren. For with God nothing will be impossible.” Then Mary said, “Behold the maidservant of the Lord! Let it be to me according to your word.” And the angel departed from her.

Luke 1:35 NKJV

And the angel answered and said to her, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Highest will overshadow you; therefore, also, that Holy One who is to be born will be called the Son of God.

Could you imagine being Mary??

Gabriel, this mighty angel just appears out of nowhere, then he’s like… Hey… Guess what.. You’re pregnant!

Overshadow You...

This here speaks of “Covering with a cloud.”

Kinda the same idea as the Shekinah Glory in Exodus or like on the Mount of Transfiguration.

Exodus 16:10 NKJV

Now it came to pass, as Aaron spoke to the whole congregation of the children of Israel, that they looked toward the wilderness, and behold, the glory of the Lord appeared in the cloud.

Exodus 19:9 NKJV

And the Lord said to Moses, “Behold, I come to you in the thick cloud, that the people may hear when I speak with you, and believe you forever.” So Moses told the words of the people to the Lord.

Matthew 17:5 NKJV

While he was still speaking, behold, a bright cloud overshadowed them; and suddenly a voice came out of the cloud, saying, “This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased. Hear Him!”

Mark 9:7 NKJV

And a cloud came and overshadowed them; and a voice came out of the cloud, saying, “This is My beloved Son. Hear Him!”

This cloud was a visible manifestation of the glory and presence of God; this means that the same power of God that was with Moses and others in the Old Testament was now going to do a unique work in the life of Mary. - David Guzik

This is a delicate and tenderly thing… There is no talk about a sexual encounter.. I don’t get where people come up with that…

Then, his name will be Immanuel…

Immanuel: With us is God / God with us

5th Prophecy

Hosea 11:1 NKJV

“When Israel was a child, I loved him, And out of Egypt I called My son.

This was a prophecy about the Messiah ending up in Egypt… and we know that this happened!

Matthew 2:14–15 NKJV

When he arose, he took the young Child and His mother by night and departed for Egypt, and was there until the death of Herod, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the Lord through the prophet, saying, “Out of Egypt I called My Son.”

6th Prophecy

That Christ would be born in Bethlehem

Micah 5:2 NKJV

“But you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, Though you are little among the thousands of Judah, Yet out of you shall come forth to Me The One to be Ruler in Israel, Whose goings forth are from of old, From everlasting.”

It was later fulfilled in Matthew 2:4-6

Matthew 2:4–6 NKJV

And when he had gathered all the chief priests and scribes of the people together, he inquired of them where the Christ was to be born. So they said to him, “In Bethlehem of Judea, for thus it is written by the prophet: ‘But you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah, Are not the least among the rulers of Judah; For out of you shall come a Ruler Who will shepherd My people Israel.’ ”

People think Jesus was born in Jerusalem… Not sure how they get that, but no… Bethlehem is 5 miles outside of Jerusalem.

What’s crazy is that Herod had these scribes tell him where Jesus would be born… They knew that the Christ would be born in bethlehem…

The crazy part is that they never went there…

The scribes never got up and went to see what was happening in little Bethlehem.

You could apply this to us today...

Many people know what God’s word says, but they don’t follow the word...

It’s not enough to just know… We have to do.

Jesus was born in a stable.. or a cave that was used as a stable…

He wasn’t born in this fancy place… He wasn’t born in a nice palace...

He was born broke, in a cave, and He is the God - Man… It’s mind-blowing what He did for you and I…

I think it’s cool to see how thousands of years of prophecy are fulfilled by the birth of Jesus...

God’s word never fails..

When God says something… He means it..

Anything is possible with God...

What does the birth of Jesus Christ bring us today?

The birth of Jesus gives us hope

Ephesians 2:12 NKJV

that at that time you were without Christ, being aliens from the commonwealth of Israel and strangers from the covenants of promise, having no hope and without God in the world.

There’s hope for salvation

There’s hope for the hurting

There’s hope for anxious

There’s hope when you know Jesus...

The birth of Jesus brought joy into the world.

During His ministry, whenever he would heal, cast out demons, or forgave sin, the immediate response was joy!

Through Jesus Christ, we now have joy.

As a believer, are you a joyful believer?

or are you the type of person like Eor..

Woe is me…

We can have joys in good times and in bad times..

We are able to have this joy because of Jesus.

The birth of Jesus brought peace

Now, this is not peace to the world… This is peace to those who believe in Christ Jesus...

When you come to salvation, and you believe that that Jesus Christ is Lord.... You are now at peace with God...

Before you’re saved, you are at war with God… You’re not a child of God…

But, once you’re saved… You are now a child of God, now you are able to come boldly to the thrown of God… because you are at peace with the Father.

CONCLUSION:

The Birth of Jesus gives us freedom:

Because of Christ’s birth and death… We are able to have the freedom that he brings, if we believe that He is Lord.

Paul David Tripp gives us 5 things that we are free from because of Christ’s brith.

We are able to free from:

Fear

Many of us are afraid of being known or afraid of honestly facing what's inside us. Here's the good news of the right here, right now benefits of the birth of Jesus. There's nothing that could ever be known, exposed, or revealed about you that isn't covered by the present grace that is yours because of the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus. 

Regret

Many are rendered timid or even paralyzed by choices, failures, and sins of the past, and when you are, you carry around a heavy load of guilt and you tend to hide in shame. The right here, right now, forgiveness of Jesus not only liberates you from the past but also welcomes you to fresh starts and new beginnings. 

Discouragements

Many of us are simply overwhelmed by what's on our plate. We feel unable, and we think we are doomed to failure. god's right here, right now grace assures us that God will never call us to a responsibility without also gifting us with what we need to do what he has called us to do.

Denial

Many of us are tempted to grab for peace by denying the dark things that are still inside us and the struggles that are outside us. But the right here, right now grace of Jesus frees us from having to play monkey games with the truth. Jesus' works assure us that whatever we're facing, we're not alone and we have help that is way beyond our limited personal resources. 

Desire for Control

Many of us wake up each morning wishing we had more control so we could free ourselves from what we find difficult. the right here, right now grace of Jesus assures us that the one who was born on Christmas now rules over all things for our sake. Our lives may be out of our control but they are always under his control.

As we spend our time with our families over this Christmas holiday, let’s not forget that Jesus is reason… Let’s glorify His name because He deserves all the glory and praise.