When you look at the life of Jesus, He fulfills all 322 of the prophecies in the Old Testament about the coming of the Messiah. The odds of just 8 of the major prophecies being fulfilled by one person is 1 in 10 to the 17th power, or 1,000,000,000,000,000,000. And this is only 8 of them! To help illustrate the odds of this, it would be like taking 10 to the 17th power of silver dollars and laying them on the surface of Texas. They would cover all of the state two feet deep. Now mark one of these silver dollars and stir the whole mass thoroughly, all over the state. Blindfold a man and tell him that he can go anywhere he wants, but he must pick up one silver dollar and say that this is the right one. What chance would he have of getting the right one? The same chance that the prophets would have had of writing these eight prophecies and having them all come true in any one man.
Can you imagine what the odds would be for all 322 prophecies being fulfilled by one man? It would be astronomical.
A King will be born in Bethlehem
Micah 5:1-5
Tonight we are going to look at three prophecies regarding the birth of Christ. The first can be found in Micah 5:1-5 “A Promised Ruler From Bethlehem.”
5 Marshal your troops, O city of troops,a for a siege is laid against us. They will strike Israel’s ruler on the cheek with a rod.
2 “But you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, though you are small among the clansb of Judah, out of you will come for me one who will be ruler over Israel, whose originsc are from of old, from ancient times.d”
3 Therefore Israel will be abandoned until the time when she who is in labor gives birth and the rest of his brothers return to join the Israelites.
4 He will stand and shepherd his flock in the strength of the Lord,
in the majesty of the name of the Lord his God. And they will live securely, for then his greatness will reach to the ends of the earth.
5 And he will be their peace.
1. verse 1 is a prophecy for what is to come in the near future. It is the prophecy that King Nebuchadnezzar was going to attack Jerusalem and that King Zedekiah would be struck on the cheek with a rod. This came to pass and Zedekiah was taken captive and tortured resulting in Zedekiah being blinded.
This initial verse describes a large city that is under siege and will be defeated and a weak king that will be taken captive, dethroned, tortured and defeated. A picture of strife, defeat and hopelessness is painted. The following verses are a contrasting picture of the first verse as the Prophet Micah transitions in verse 2 to a prophecy for the distant future. Micah quotes the Lord who states that He will send a king with the following characteristics:
a. He will have humble beginnings. He will be born in Bethlehem, a town approximately 5 miles south-southwest from Jerusalem. Compared to Jerusalem which was a large city with majestic buildings Bethlehem was small. It was small in size but it was a town that was small in stature and was actually an insignificant town. When people ask me where I grew up I tell them Toledo, Ohio. Most people have heard of Toledo, Ohio. But I actually grew up in Walbridge, Ohio which is a small town one mile outside of Toledo. Nobody knows about Walbridge. They would have no point of reference for where that is. It is a small town that is one square mile in size and is relatively insignificant. Out of something small and weak God brings significance and strength.
b. Out of Bethlehem, this insignificant little town would come the Messiah, the King of Kings who was in the beginning and forever will be. He will shepherd His flock. He will provide for their physical and spiritual needs. He will care for them, lead them, and protect them, unlike the earthly kings that look only to their own interests and well being. He will rule by the strength of the Lord not the strength of engineering, technology or reason. His scope of authority will not be limited to Jerusalem or Israel but will stretch to the ends of the earth. He will have complete authority over every tribe, every kingdom and every nation. Because his flock can never be out of His reach or authority He will be their peace. Through the Christ-child born in Bethlehem we have eternal security knowing that He has conquered Satan, death and the grave and provides an eternal home for each one of us. That is a peace that cannot be shaken if we live our lives according to our faith.
The Sign of Immanuel
Isaiah 7:10-16
The second prophecy we will look at regarding the birth of Christ is in Isaiah 7:10-16 and it is “The Sign of Immanuel.”
10 Again the Lord spoke to Ahaz, 11 “Ask the Lord your God for a sign, whether in the deepest depths or in the highest heights.”
12 But Ahaz said, “I will not ask; I will not put the Lord to the test.”
13 Then Isaiah said, “Hear now, you house of David! Is it not enough to try the patience of men? Will you try the patience of my God also? 14 Therefore the Lord himself will give youc a sign: The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, andd will call him Immanuel.e
2. Ahaz was the King of Judah which at the time (approx 700 BC) was under threat of attack from both Syria and Israel who made an alliance together. God sent Isaiah to Ahaz to give him the message to not lose heart but instead be calm, quiet and do not be afraid. The Lord was telling him that he did not need to look to Egypt or any other earthly nation for armies of flesh because God was going to provide. He even tells Ahaz that “if you do not stand firm in your faith you will not stand at all. That message applies to us as well. Our faith is not something that should be worn as a medal but should dictate how we live our lives. Ahaz must not have heeded God’s previous message because it says that “God again spoke to Ahaz.” This time God even tells Ahaz to ask for a sign from him that what He says is true. Is it OK to ask God for a sign? It depends on the motivation of the heart. During Jesus’ earthly life the Pharisees asked for a sign but would not have believed because their only motivation was to trick Jesus. Gideon asked for a sign to make sure that he was going to do God’s will and when he received the sign he obeyed the Lord’s direction in faith. The sign emboldened him to obey. That is what God offered Ahaz but Ahaz in his pride and arrogance responded with a spiritual cliché and said “I will not ask. I will not put the Lord to the test.” The truth is Ahaz did not believe, he did not have faith and he did not want to hear anything contrary to what he already planned.
Like Ahaz, many times we devise our own plans for the future and when God intervenes through the Holy Spirit and we sense that still, small voice telling us that we should pray or He gives us that uneasy feeling that what we are planning on doing is not what God wants us to do, many times we don’t want to hear it. We like our plan and it makes perfect sense to us. But the sign that God gives to Ahaz is the same sign that He gave to the whole world. Isaiah told Ahaz, “The Lord himself will give you a sign: The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and will call him Immanuel.” Immanuel means “God with us.” 700 years after this prophecy was made God gave all humanity this sign, the virgin Mary gave birth to a baby boy in the little town of Bethlehem and named him Jesus. For a time we had “God with us” in the flesh and after he was crucified, dead, buried for three days and rose again he sent His Holy Spirit to dwell within those who received him as Lord and Savior so now we have Christ in us.
To Us a Child is Born
Isaiah 9:1-7
The third prophecy we will look at regarding the birth of Christ is in Isaiah 9:1-7 “To Us a Child Is Born.”
9 Nevertheless, there will be no more gloom for those who were in distress. In the past he humbled the land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali, but in the future he will honor Galilee of the Gentiles, by the way of the sea, along the Jordan—
2 The people walking in darkness have seen a great light;
on those living in the land of the shadow of deatha a light has dawned.
3 You have enlarged the nation and increased their joy;
they rejoice before you as people rejoice at the harvest,
as men rejoice when dividing the plunder.
4 For as in the day of Midian’s defeat, you have shattered
the yoke that burdens them, the bar across their shoulders,
the rod of their oppressor.
5 Every warrior’s boot used in battle and every garment rolled in blood will be destined for burning, will be fuel for the fire.
6 For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders. And he will be called
Wonderful Counselor,b Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.
7 Of the increase of his government and peace there will be no end. He will reign on David’s throne and over his kingdom,
establishing and upholding it with justice and righteousness
from that time on and forever. The zeal of the Lord Almighty
will accomplish this.
3. This is incredible for you and I. We have reason to rejoice this year, every year and every single day because you and I have seen a great light and this great light has dawned on us. Jesus Christ, the Son of God has been given unto us in a spectacular way. Jesus refers to Himself as the Light of the World in John 8:12 when He says “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.” This light shines regardless of the circumstances in our life. It is the light that gives hope because it shines in a dark and dying world. It is Jesus Christ who calls out to us and says “come to me all who are weary and heavy laden and I will give you rest.” With Jesus we have hope, forgiveness of sin and eternal life.
This text tells us that the government will be on his shoulders meaning that he governs and has complete authority over God’s people and the whole world. He is our righteous judge.
Jesus Christ is our Wonderful Counselor meaning that his counsel is exceptional and right. He leads us in God’s way and teaches us God’s way. Jesus Christ is our supreme example of how to live. His words are right and true.
Jesus Christ is Mighty God for he is God in the flesh. As John puts it, “Behold, we have seen the One and Only begotten from the Father full of grace and truth.”
He is Everlasting Father meaning that He is eternal.
He is the Prince of Peace meaning that he ushers peace in our lives as we no longer struggle against God. But it has a larger meaning referring to his second coming when He will reign on the earth for a thousand years and then forever more at the end of that time.
All of this comes about because of God’s zeal. It was God’s zeal for you and me that caused Him to send His Son Jesus Christ to be born of a virgin in the little, insignificant town of Bethlehem so that God himself could take on flesh and walk among us, experience life just like you and I but without sin so that He could become our sacrifice paying the penalty for our sins. He was crucified, dead, buried, rose again on the third day and ascended to heaven where He purchased a place for you and me which He offers to us as a free gift. But that is not all, one day He is coming back because Jesus said in John 14:3 “And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am.”
We have proven that God’s Word is true and His prophecies will come to pass. This Christmas let’s celebrate his birth remembering what He did for us but let us go further than that and take heed to what Micah said to Ahaz in Isaiah 7:9, “If you do not stand firm in your faith you will not stand at all.”
Let’s live our lives according to what we believe so that others will truly understand the true meaning of Christmas and see that Great Light shining in the midst of darkness.
