Greetings for the Blessed Season of Advent!

This month’s article is a bit different from past articles. Have you ever said: “I wish I had a crystal ball to see what the future holds.”? Did you know that the birth of Jesus was prophesied well before the actual event happened?

Let us take a look at just a few of the prophecies concerning the birth of Jesus.

We know Jesus was of Jewish descent and therefore was the seed of Abraham. In Genesis 22:18 we are told that through Abraham’s offspring “all nations on earth will be blessed.” Christians believe Jesus is the fulfillment of this promise.

We also know that He is from the line of Jacob, Abraham’s grandson. Numbers 24:17: “I see him, but not now; I behold him, but not near. A star will come out of Jacob; a scepter will rise out of Israel.”

From Isaiah 11:1 we know He is from the line of Jesse, the father of King David: “A shoot will come up from the stump of Jesse; from his roots a branch will bear fruit. The spirit of the Lord will rest on Him.”

From Jeremiah 23:5-6 we know He is from the line of King David: “The days are coming, declares the Lord, when I will raise up for David a righteous Branch, a King who will reign wisely and do what is just and right in the land … This is the name by which he will be called: the Lord our righteous savior.”

Reaffirming that Jesus is from the line of King David, we have this prophecy from 2 Samuel 7:12-13, which was actually spoken by Samuel to King David: “When your days are over and you rest with your fathers, I will raise up your offspring to succeed you, who will come from your own body, and I will establish his kingdom. He is the one who will build a house for my Name, and I will establish the throne of His kingdom forever.”

From the prophecy of Micah, 5:2 we know He was born into the tribe of Judah in the region of Ephrathah, in the town of Bethlehem: “But you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, though you are small among the clans of Judah, out of you will come for me one who will be ruler over Israel, whose origins are from of old, from ancient times.”

From Isaiah 7:14 we know that He was born from a virgin: “Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign: The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and you will call him Immanuel.” The name Immanuel means “God with us” and indicates the divinity of Jesus.

That Jesus would be worshipped by shepherds from the desert, and that foreign kings would present gifts to Him is revealed in Psalm 72:9,10: “May the desert tribes bow before Him and His enemies lick the dust. May the Kings of Tarshish and of distant shores bring tribute to Him. May the Kings of Sheba and Seba present Him gifts. May all Kings bow down to Him and all nations serve Him.”

When Jesus was born, King Herod slaughtered a number of children in an attempt to kill Him. This is predicted in Jeremiah 31:15: “A voice is heard in Ramah, mourning and great weeping, Rachel weeping for her children and refusing to be comforted, because they are no more.”

In response to this attempt on the life of Jesus, Joseph is warned in a dream to take Jesus to Egypt, where they stayed until Herod died. This is told in Hosea 11:1: “When Israel was a child, I loved Him, and out of Egypt I called my Son.”

As we look at these prophecies collectively they are astonishing because of their accuracy alone. Yet, they become all the more astonishing when we consider the unlikelihood of all of these prophecies being fulfilled … but they were! This is just one of the reasons we begin each Sunday worship by saying: “God is Faithful, all the time!”

Merry Christmas, Pastor Greg