At Christmas time, songs of joy and peace are in the air as we think of gifts, friends, and guests. Isn’t this a reflection of the events heralding the arrival of the Messiah some 2000 years ago? The angels proclaimed that Christ was born in the city of David and sang of “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, goodwill toward men!” (Luke 2:14). With the birth of the Messiah, God’s glory from the highest heaven come down to earth to bring humankind peace so that the goodwill and blessings of God might rest upon us all.
That night the angels spoke, and heaven touched the earth. They announced that the long-awaited Messiah, the Christ, had come – God’s greatest gift to us all. The Christ Child was anointed by His heavenly Father to save us from our sins (Matthew 1:21). The angels proclaimed that the Child was born as our Savior and as Christ the Lord in the city of David (Luke 2:10-14). God Himself was entering into human history to bring us peace through His only Son, whose name was to be called Jesus. This fulfilled the wonderful prophecy of Isaiah 9:6-7, that a child would be given to us who was called “Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace!” God’s Son would reign on the throne of David and establish an everlasting spiritual kingdom.
Centuries prior to the birth of Jesus, God had made known the signs of the Messiah’s coming, that there should be no mistake in identifying Christ as Lord and Messiah. What an amazing Savior who with His coming would fulfill some 100 Old Testament prophecies! Such incredible predictions we read of in no other religious book of a prophet or teacher to come – none! For example, the prophet Micah writes some 700 years prior to the event that the Messiah to come would be born in the small town of Bethlehem in Judah (Micah 5:2). In no other city or village of the many in Judah could He be born. God so guided the events of history that because of Caesar’s census requiring all in his empire to be registered, Mary and Joseph left their home in Nazareth to travel to the place of their birth in Bethlehem. Soon after they arrived there, Jesus was born, and the prophecy of old was fulfilled (Luke 2:1-7)!
For the first and last time in history, it was prophesied that a virgin would conceive and bear a child. Isaiah the prophet writes some seven centuries earlier that the Messiah would be a descendant of the House of David and be born of a virgin (Isaiah 7:13-14; 9:7). In the New Testament, this is fulfilled in Jesus as Matthew (Matthew 1:18-25) writes of Mary the virgin conceiving a child by the Holy Spirit and bearing a Son whose name is given by Isaiah as Immanuel or “God with us.”
Later, the wise men from the East would come bearing gifts fit for a king. They would fall down before the Child and worship Him as Lord (Matthew 2:1-12). This would fulfill the prophecies of Psalm 72:10 and Isaiah 60:6. King Herod was jealous of the birth of another king and planned to destroy the child. Warned by an angel, Joseph took Mary and Jesus and fled to Egypt (Matthew 2:13-15) so that the prophecy would be fulfilled, “Out of Egypt I called my Son” (Hosea 11:1). The enraged King Herod proceeded to kill all the male children two years and younger in Bethlehem and the surrounding area (Matthew 2:16-18), sadly fulfilling the prophecy of Jeremiah 31:15.
Immanuel, God with us, was God’s gift of saving grace to us! Jesus was the Anointed One, anointed to heal the sick, save the lost, proclaim the good news of salvation, die for our sins on the cross, and rise again on the third day triumphant! All of these events are anchored in the prophecies of the old covenant and are fulfilled to the last detail in the New Testament. Not a single one of these Old Testament prophecies could be missed or Jesus would not be the Messiah!
During Jesus’ brief life of some 33 years, He lived as Messiah and perfectly fulfilled every prophecy spoken by the prophets of old. The four cornerstones of these prophecies were, firstly, His incarnation or birth as mentioned above; secondly, His anointed ministry of healing as foretold in Isaiah 61:1-2. This was fulfilled by His life of countless miracles as Jesus claimed, “Today this Scripture is fulfilled in your hearing” (see Luke 4:16-21). Thirdly, Jesus was anointed as the Lamb of God and would die as our sin offering. Over 30 prophecies describe the death of the Messiah in detail. Many of these prophecies are fulfilled at the cross and vividly described in Psalm 22 and Isaiah 53. The final cornerstone of the Messiah is His triumphant resurrection from the dead. David promises in Psalm 16:8-11 that the Holy One would not see corruption. As Jesus promised, He would rise from the dead on the third day. All four Gospels attest to this glorious cornerstone of our faith in the Messiah, who is Jesus the Christ!
As we ponder these prophecies of old, we stand in awe of God’s Son who fulfilled them. We realize that the Messiah has truly come, and His blessings are available to all. This gift of God’s grace is offered freely to all who seek Him with a repentant and humble heart. Have you allowed Christ to anoint your life with His blessings of forgiveness and a new spiritual life? Jesus, full of grace and truth, wishes to become your personal Savior. If in faith you accept this amazing gift of grace, it will bring Christmas into your heart. Jesus will become your Messiah, and your heart will join in with the melody of old, rejoicing in those glad tidings of joy and peace. Truly then – Christmas has come!
Harry Klinger
Winnipeg, Manitoba
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