The Prophectic Birth of Jesus
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How could one person fulfill hundreds of prophecies that had been specifically and precisely told about Him long before His birth? For the typical person, that would be completely impossible. But for someone who is the Son of God sent to earth to live as a human being, that is entirely possible.
In fact, Jesus Himself said, “I am telling you now before it happens, so that when it does happen you will believe that I am who I am. Very truly I tell you, whoever accepts anyone I send accepts me; and whoever accepts me accepts the one who sent me” John 13:19–20
19 Now I tell you before it comes, that when it does come to pass, you may believe that I am He.
20 Most assuredly, I say to you, he who receives whomever I send receives Me; and he who receives Me receives Him who sent Me.”
It’s no wonder that Jesus referred to ancient prophecies, provided prophecies of His own, and completed numerous prophecies about Himself. What we are going to look at this morning is just a sample of the prophecies fulfilled by Christ.
Jesus as the Son of David
Jesus as the Son of David
5 “Behold, the days are coming,” says the Lord, “That I will raise to David a Branch of righteousness; A King shall reign and prosper, And execute judgment and righteousness in the earth.
6 In His days Judah will be saved, And Israel will dwell safely; Now this is His name by which He will be called: THE LORD OUR RIGHTEOUSNESS
Now in the NT, Matthew 1:1–17 traces back the lineage of Jesus to Abraham and David. The genealogy ends with Joseph, the husband of Mary. Matthew made clear that Jesus was not the son of Joseph but that Mary was His mother (Matt. 1:16).
By contrast, the genealogy of Mary is given in Luke 3:23–38, assuring that Christ is a genuine descendant of David.
The genealogy of Matthew supports the concept that Jesus is the legitimate heir to the throne of David through Joseph His father.
Even though Joseph was not the human father of Jesus, the right of the royal throne was nevertheless passed through Joseph to Jesus. Therefore, Jesus fulfilled the Old Testament expectation that a son of David would reign on the throne of David forever, as Gabriel had announced to Mary (Luke 1:32–33)
This brings us to the Messiahs Birth
THE BIRTH OF JESUS
THE BIRTH OF JESUS
You will conceive and give birth to a son, and you are to call him Jesus. He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his father David, and he will reign over Jacob’s descendants forever; his kingdom will never end. (Luke 1:31–33
31 And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bring forth a Son, and shall call His name Jesus.
32 He will be great, and will be called the Son of the Highest; and the Lord God will give Him the throne of His father David.
33 And He will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of His kingdom there will be no end.”
In Luke 1:26–38 we see that just as the angel Gabriel had appeared to Zechariah, six months later he appeared to Mary, described as “a virgin pledged to be married to a man named Joseph, a descendant of David” (v. 27).
The angel greeted her: “Greetings, you who are highly favored! The Lord is with you” (v. 28).
Because Mary was troubled by this greeting, Scripture records the angel’s announcement to her: Luke 1:30–33
30 Then the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God.
31 And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bring forth a Son, and shall call His name Jesus.
32 He will be great, and will be called the Son of the Highest; and the Lord God will give Him the throne of His father David.
33 And He will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of His kingdom there will be no end.”
The prophecy was too extensive for her to grasp immediately. She probably could not comprehend why He should be called Jesus, which means “savior.”
He also was to be “Son of the Most High” (v. 32), meaning that He would be the Son of God.
Though Mary was acquainted with the hope of Israel for a messiah and a redeemer, it is undoubtedly true that she did not comprehend completely the fact that her son would have the throne of His father David, that He would reign over this kingdom forever, and that His kingdom would never end (Ps. 89:36; Jer. 23:5–8).
As we have already from Jer. 23:5-8
She was concerned, however, with the question as to how she would have a child when she was not yet married. Not surprisingly, Mary asked the angel, “How will this be … since I am a virgin?” (Luke 1:34).
The angel responded, Luke 1:35–37
35 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.
36 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.
37 For with God nothing will be impossible.”
Mary’s simple response was, “I am the Lord’s servant … May your word to me be fulfilled” (v. 38).
Most of the prophecies itemized by Gabriel were fulfilled in the lifetime of Christ. The prophecy concerning Christ’s reign on the throne of David is related eschatologically to the second coming of Christ when the Davidic kingdom will be revived and will continue in some form forever.
This announcement established the hope of the revival of the Davidic kingdom as a New Testament prophecy and gave a basis for a belief in the Christ second coming and at his return,Christ would set up His millennial kingdom and the Davidic kingdom.
ELIZABETH’S PROPHECY CONCERNING JESUS
ELIZABETH’S PROPHECY CONCERNING JESUS
In Luke 1:39–45, when Mary realized she was pregnant, she left Nazareth to visit Zechariah’s wife. Upon her arrival in Zechariah’s home, further confirmation of the angel’s message to Mary was recorded: Luke 1:41-42
41 And it happened, when Elizabeth heard the greeting of Mary, that the babe leaped in her womb; and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit.
42 Then she spoke out with a loud voice and said, “Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb!
Elizabeth continued, “But why am I so favored, that the mother of my Lord should come to me? As soon as the sound of your greeting reached my ears, the baby in my womb leaped for joy. Blessed is she who has believed that the Lord would fulfill his promises to her!” (vv. 43–45).
MARY’S SONG OF PRAISE
MARY’S SONG OF PRAISE
In Luke 1:46–56 , Mary was greatly reassured by the greeting of Elizabeth, which at once confirmed the prophecies concerning John and the prophecies concerning Jesus. In reply, Mary delivered a prophetic poem, often called the “Magnificat”:
46 And Mary said: “My soul magnifies the Lord,
47 And my spirit has rejoiced in God my Savior.
48 For He has regarded the lowly state of His maidservant; For behold, henceforth all generations will call me blessed.
49 For He who is mighty has done great things for me, And holy is His name.
50 And His mercy is on those who fear Him From generation to generation.
51 He has shown strength with His arm; He has scattered the proud in the imagination of their hearts.
52 He has put down the mighty from their thrones, And exalted the lowly.
53 He has filled the hungry with good things, And the rich He has sent away empty.
54 He has helped His servant Israel, In remembrance of His mercy,
55 As He spoke to our fathers, To Abraham and to his seed forever.”
56 And Mary remained with her about three months, and returned to her house.
Mary’s declaration was no doubt inspired by the Holy Spirit, but it also revealed an amazing spiritual maturity for a young woman and an intelligent faith in God.
Mary stayed with Elizabeth until just before the birth of John and then returned to Nazareth.
THE CONCEPTION AND BIRTH OF JESUS
THE CONCEPTION AND BIRTH OF JESUS
What is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins. (Matt. 1:20–21)
In Matthew 1:18–25, when Mary returned from her visit to Elizabeth, she apparently was three months pregnant, and this became evident to Joseph. Not willing to make a public example (and spectacle) of Mary, he had in mind to divorce her quietly.
Matthew explained, however, that God communicated to Joseph the facts in the case, declaring,
20 But while he thought about these things, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying, “Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take to you Mary your wife, for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Spirit.
21 And she will bring forth a Son, and you shall call His name Jesus, for He will save His people from their sins.”
Matthew stated that this was in fulfillment of the prophecy of Isaiah 7:14 : “All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had said through the prophet: ‘The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel’ (which means, ‘God with us’)” (Matt. 1:22–23).
22 So all this was done that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the Lord through the prophet, saying:
23 “Behold, the virgin shall be with child, and bear a Son, and they shall call His name Immanuel,” which is translated, “God with us.”
Having received this instruction from God, however, Joseph “did what the angel of the Lord had commanded him and took Mary home as his wife. But he did not consummate their marriage until she gave birth to a son. And he gave him the name Jesus” (vv. 24–25).
No doubt, both Joseph and Mary suffered malicious gossip concerning this whole matter and were unable to proclaim the truth.
THE VISIT OF THE MAGI
THE VISIT OF THE MAGI
In Matthew 2:1–18, the final immediate confirmation of the birth of Jesus as the future King of the Jews came from the visit of the magi, who traveled all the way from Persia to find Jesus.
The magi were known as people who studied the stars, and it was possible that they saw the light attending the glorious announcement of the angels. They were not without some information about the Messiah, as there had been frequent contact between Jews and Persians in the years before the birth of Christ, and the idea that Israel was looking forward to a Messiah was apparently widely known.
There is no indication that the number of magi was limited to three, nor that they were kings, though this is often the way they are referred to traditionally.
They probably were a larger company. They had apparently sensed what had happened when Christ was born, and it took some months for them to organize and come to Israel to find the baby Jesus. Because Jerusalem was the center of Jewish religion, the magi came asking, “Where is the one who has been born king of the Jews? We saw his star when it rose and have come to worship him” (v. 2).
2 saying, “Where is He who has been born King of the Jews? For we have seen His star in the East and have come to worship Him.”
King Herod was much disturbed by this announcement, as he saw the birth of a child destined to be king of the Jews as competition for his own rule.
Accordingly, he called the leaders of Israel together to find out where Christ was to be born (vv. 3–4).
They replied that He would be born in Bethlehem of Judea and quoted Micah 5:2 in support of their conclusion (Matt. 2:5–6).
5 So they said to him, “In Bethlehem of Judea, for thus it is written by the prophet:
6 ‘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.’ ”
King Herod then attempted to discover when the star appeared to determine the time of the child’s birth. He told the magi to report to him when they found the child (vv. 7–8).
As the magi journeyed to Bethlehem, the star reappeared and led them to the place where the child was. This time it was not a manger but a house, and it is apparent, taking the whole narrative into consideration, that some weeks, if not months, had passed since the birth of Christ.
The magi were overjoyed when they saw Mary and the child and worshipped Him (vv. 9–11).
In recognition of the honored child, they brought gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh (v. 11).
Though they likely were not conscious of the meaning of the gifts, the gold represented the deity of Christ; frankincense, the fragrance of His life; and myrrh, His sacrifice and death. The magi were warned in a dream not to return to Herod (v. 12).
The Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream and told him to take the child and Mary to Egypt because of Herod’s plot to kill Jesus (vv. 13–14).
Matthew noted that this was a fulfillment of prophecy: “Out of Egypt I called my son” (v. 15; Hosea 11:1).
15 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.”
Like the nation as a whole, Christ came out of Egypt to come back to the Promised Land.
When Herod realized that the magi were not going to report to him, he was very angry and ordered that all boys two years old and under in the Bethlehem area be killed.
This resulted in the fulfillment of Jeremiah’s prophecy: “A voice is heard in Ramah, weeping and great mourning, Rachel weeping for her children and refusing to be comforted, because they are no more” (v. 18; Jer. 31:15).
18 “A voice was heard in Ramah, Lamentation, weeping, and great mourning, Rachel weeping for her children, Refusing to be comforted, Because they are no more.”