Christmas Spirit

Can you imagine living at the time that Jesus was born and lived on Earth? You’ve been hearing stories of a Messiah who is coming someday. You’ve learned the prophecies since you were old enough to remember. Your grandparents told you what they learned from their grandparents, who learned it from their grandparents: someday, the Messiah would come.

You know the Messiah will come eventually, but you don’t let it bother you much. He hasn’t come yet, so why should you let it disrupt your life?

But then, you hear rumors of a Prophet/miracle-worker who can do amazing things--and some say this man is the Christ.

Can you imagine how exciting that would be!?

I know that I would be skeptical. I’m a black and white person, and it’s not in my nature to just accept something because others say it’s so.

But Jesus fulfilled every prophecy told about the Messiah in the Old Testament. One scholar found about 574 verses in the Old Testament that somehow reference the coming Messiah. Another found 456 Old Testament verses referring to the Messiah or the times of Christ. Conservatively, Jesus fulfilled at least 300 prophecies in His earthly ministry. Here is a sampling of them:

Isaiah and Malachi both prophesy a messenger who would come ahead of the Messiah. Matthew, Mark, and Luke identify John the Baptist as that messenger.

God promised a Son who would be called Emmanuel, “God with us.” Both Matthew and Luke highlight Jesus as Emmanuel.

In Isaiah 7, God promised that a virgin would conceive and bear a son. Luke highlights Mary’s virginity and pregnancy with Jesus.

Micah tells us that the ruler of Israel would come from the City of David -- Bethlehem. Jesus was born in Bethlehem.

Solomon asks God in Psalm 72 for foreign kings to bring him gifts and honor. The three wise men did so for Jesus in Matthew 2.

Jeremiah also mentions that there would be great mourning in Bethlehem as a woman weeps for her dead children. Herod’s wicked decree to kill all male children caused that great mourning.

Hosea states that God will call His child from Egypt. Because of Herod’s desire to kill Jesus, Mary and Joseph fled to Egypt, then came back to Israel. So, Jesus did come out of Egypt.

According to Psalm 2, God would tell someone that He is their Father. This was fulfilled when God told the crowd at Jesus’ baptism that He was Jesus’ Father.

Many places in Isaiah tell of a time that the deaf would hear, the mute would speak, the blind would see, and the lame would walk. Jesus accomplished all of this through His many miracles.

Isaiah 50 says the Messiah will not be rebellious or turn away from His Father’s will. Jesus obeyed God all the way to the cross, according to Matthew 26.

Isaiah also talks about the Messiah carrying the abuse mankind deserves for our sins. Jesus was beaten, whipped, cursed, and mocked as he carried the punishment for your sins and mine.

Gabriel told Daniel in chapter 9 when the “Anointed One” would be cut off. This is the exact time, according to Matthew 27, when Jesus was crucified.

Hosea states that the Messiah would be raised up on the Third Day. Jesus rose from the dead on the third day after His crucifixion, according to all four gospels.

According to Psalm 68, The Lord ascends on high, bringing captives with Him. Jesus ascended to Heaven according to Luke and Acts, and believers will go to Heaven.

Again, these prophecies only scratch the surface of all that was said about the Messiah.

We can see how Jesus Christ fulfilled every single promise God made about the Messiah -- His birth, His life and ministry, His death, and His resurrection.

We don’t live back in Bible times, but we can understand some of the Jews’ anticipation of the Messiah’s coming. In fact, we are, in a way, waiting for the return of the Messiah. We have the promises written down. We know that God has kept His promises up to this point.

And that should give us so much hope!