Promises of Christmas

Many today are turning to the gospels to see the birth of our Savior Jesus Christ. While this is a wonderful thing to do, did you know that the New Testament is not the only place that discusses the birth of the Son of God? Today, I want to take a moment to go over some of the Old Testament verses that point to the birth of the Messiah.

If you have been following along in our study of Genesis, you should not be surprised to see that the Messiah was predicted all the way at the beginning of the Bible. Recently we had discussed how the Messiah would come from a descendant of Shem, but even before that we had discussed God’s word to Eve and the serpent after the fall. “15 And I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and hers; he will crush your head, and you will strike his heel.” Genesis 3:15. This verse shows that the savior of the world would be born of a virgin. Basic biology shows that woman does not have seed, this aspect for life must come from a man. So by stating that God will put enmity between the serpent and the seed of woman we are already being shown the virgin birth described in Luke 1:34-35, “34 “How will this be,” Mary asked the angel, “since I am a virgin?” 35 The angel answered, “The Holy Spirit will come on you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. So the holy one to be born will be called the Son of God.”

The Old Testament also declares that the Messiah would come from the line of David, “16 Your house and your kingdom will endure forever before me; your throne will be established forever.’” 2 Samuel 7:16. The linage of Jesus shows this to be true in Matthew 1:1-17.

The Old Testament also shows that the Messiah would be born in 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.” Micah 5:2. This was answered in Luke 2:1-7 “In those days Caesar Augustus issued a decree that a census should be taken of the entire Roman world. 2 (This was the first census that took place while Quirinius was governor of Syria.) 3 And everyone went to their own town to register. 4 So Joseph also went up from the town of Nazareth in Galilee to Judea, to Bethlehem the town of David, because he belonged to the house and line of David. 5 He went there to register with Mary, who was pledged to be married to him and was expecting a child. 6 While they were there, the time came for the baby to be born, 7 and she gave birth to her firstborn, a son. She wrapped him in cloths and placed him in a manger, because there was no guest room available for them.”

However, today I don’t want to just show how God’s word is truthful in showing that Jesus Christ is the Messiah, but also to remind all who follow Him that His promises are not done. We see from the Old Testament to the New Testament that God’s word is 100% accurate, if the promises regarding the birth of the Messiah can be held as true then so can the promises that He will come again for those who place their faith in Him.

“16 For the Lord himself will come down from heaven, with a loud command, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet call of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. 17 After that, we who are still alive and are left will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so we will be with the Lord forever.” 1 Thessalonians 4:16-17.

“Look, he is coming with the clouds,” and “every eye will see him, even those who pierced him”; and all peoples on earth “will mourn because of him.” So shall it be! Amen.” Revelation 1:7

“27 Just as people are destined to die once, and after that to face judgment, 28 so Christ was sacrificed once to take away the sins of many; and he will appear a second time, not to bear sin, but to bring salvation to those who are waiting for him.” Hebrews 9:27-28

These verses are just a sample of those found to show that God’s Word is true not only in the birth of Jesus but also in the promises to come.

Merry Christmas,

Alex