But when the fullness of time had come, God sent forth his Son, born of woman, born under the law, to redeem those who were under the law, so that we might receive adoption as sons.
Galatians 4:4-5
After centuries of Old Testament prophecy promising a coming Savior – the Messiah, the Light of the World – the time came for Mary to give birth. The time for which all time had been created.
We often think the Christmas story begins with the birth of Jesus, but Paul tells us in Ephesians 1:4-5 that it began before God created the world, man, and time.
For he chose us in him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight. In love he predestined us for adoption to sonship through Jesus Christ, in accordance with his pleasure and will…
This verse is the first prediction of a Savior in the Bible, and it contains the first and second
messianic prophecies. There are over 300 messianic prophecies in the Old Testament and Jesus fulfilled them all.
The Gospel of Matthew focuses on the Old Testament and the prophecies concerning the coming of the Messiah. Matthew was a Jew and he wrote in particular to other Jews to help them connect the dots of God’s promises in the Hebrew Scriptures to bring salvation to his people, Israel, and the whole world through Jesus.
Matthew knew it was important to point out to his readers that many of the events he described fulfilled specific prophecies. In at least a dozen passages, he wrote, “So all this was done that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the Lord through the prophet.”
The first use of the fulfillment phrase introduces one of the best known prophecies in the Bible.
“Behold, the virgin shall be with child, and bear a Son, and they shall call His name Immanuel,”
which is translated, “God with us.” (Matt 1:23)
Matthew cited a specific prophecy from Isaiah made more than 700 years earlier.
Therefore the Lord Himself will give you a sign: Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a
Son, and shall call His name Immanuel. (Isaiah 7:14)
In just the first two chapters of Matthew, we see that God foretold and fulfilled:
Jesus would be born in Bethlehem. (Micah 5:2)
Jesus would spend his infancy in Egypt. (Hosea 11:1)
Jesus would be the target of infanticide. (Jeremiah 31:15)
Jesus would be despised and rejected. (Isaiah 53:3)
Jesus was sent to save us from sin. (Isaiah 53:10)
The probability of Jesus fulfilling all, or even a few, of the Old Testament prophecies is
considered to be mathematically impossible.
For no matter how many promises God has made, they are “Yes” in Christ. And so through him the “Amen” is spoken by us to the glory of God. (2 Corinthians 1:20)
At a particularly dark point in history, after Israel was conquered by the Assyrians, in the midst of their anguish and gloom, God gave this promise through the prophet Isaiah:
The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light; those who dwelt in a land of deep
darkness, on them has light shone… For to us a child is born, to us a son is given; and the
government shall be upon his shoulder, and his name shall be called Wonderful Counselor,
Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. (Isaiah 9:2,6)
For to us a child is born, to us a son is given. In Jesus, God’s promises are fulfilled. Israel is blessed and becomes a people gathered from the nations of the world.
On that first Christmas morning, in the fullness of time, Mary delivered the one who would
deliver the world. He came as the light, shining in the darkness providing redemption to a
dark and sinful world. God fulfilled his promises and gave us the gift of light and hope through Jesus.
“I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will
have the light of life.” (John 8:12)
Christmas is the celebration of all God’s promises – from the manger, back to when God chose to adopt us as His own, and forward into eternity.
And this is what he promised us—eternal life. (1 John 2:25)
Comments