Christmas Prophecy 1

Christmas is a time to celebrate Jesus (yes, I know He wasn't really born on December 25th and there is no where in the Bible that tells us to celebrate His birth, but I think any time we stop and focus on Him, God is pleased).

But was Jesus really the Son of God? Was He really the Messiah?

I've decided to do a countdown to Christmas and post, every day, one prophecy concerning Jesus and show the fulfillment. What are the odds that one man could fulfill all these prophecies? Could He have engineered it Himself, just made His life fit each prophecy? Or was it coincidence that He just happened to fit all these prophesies? Or what about the context of the prophecies themselves, are we taking them out of context and trying to make them fit the life of Jesus? Stay tuned and I will answer these questions throughout and at the end of the series.

The first prophecy I want to focus on is that the Messiah had to be born of a virgin.

Prophecy -

Isaiah 7:14

Therefore the Lord Himself will give you a sign: Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a Son, and shall call His name Immanuel. [Immanuel means God with us.]

You can also see Genesis 3:15. It refers to the seed of the woman. Women don't have seed, only men do. This also implies a virgin birth.

Fulfillment -

Luke 1:26-35

Now in the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent by God to a city of Galilee named Nazareth, to a virgin betrothed to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David. The virgin’s name was Mary. And having come in, the angel said to her, “Rejoice, highly favored one, the Lord is with you; blessed are you among women!”

But when she saw him, she was troubled at his saying, and considered what manner of greeting this was.

Then the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bring forth a Son, and shall call His name JESUS. He will be great, and will be called the Son of the Highest; and the Lord God will give Him the throne of His father David. And He will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of His kingdom there will be no end.”

Then Mary said to the angel, “How can this be, since I do not know a man?”

And the angel answered and said to her, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Highest will overshadow you; therefore, also, that Holy One who is to be born will be called the Son of God.

Matthew 1:18, 24, 25

Now the birth of Jesus Christ was as follows: After His mother Mary was betrothed to Joseph, before they came together [referring to marital relations], she was found with child of the Holy Spirit...Then Joseph, being aroused from sleep, did as the angel of the Lord commanded him and took to him his wife, and did not know her [again, referring to marital relations] till she had brought forth her firstborn Son. And he called His name JESUS.