In The Fulness of Time – Jesus’ Birth
Jesus birth was timed to perfection. Stephen points us to some prophetic verses that show us that the coming of the Messiah was inevitable.
The Birth of Jesus
Welcome back to the third, and final, part of our series looking at the birth of Jesus and how everything was right for God’s plan to come to fruition. In our previous episodes, we looked at the involvement of Joseph and Mary, and this time, we will direct our focus on the Lord Jesus himself.
When we looked at Joseph, we briefly talked of the genealogy that is found in Matthew’s gospel, and how it traced Jesus’s ancestry back through David, Judah, Jacob and Abraham. We did not go into detail then, but there are several passages in the Old Testament, that identify the coming Saviour to be from these lines.
The Son of David
Let’s start with Matthew’s first statement, that Jesus Christ was the son of David. Jeremiah 23:5-6 gives us one of the more direct prophesies concerning the Messiah being of David’s lineage. There it reads,
“Behold the days are coming, declares the Lord, when I will raise up for David a righteous Branch, and he shall reign as king and deal wisely, and shall execute justice and righteousness in the land. In his days Judah will be saved, and Israel shall dwell securely. And this is the name by which he will be called: The Lord our Righteousness.”
Now, this message was given after the reign of King Josiah, and while there were still four other kings of Judah after that, all of the line of David, none of them were ever described as righteous, nor did any come even remotely close to doing anything that could even be interpreted as fulfilling the prophesy of Jeremiah.
Jesus Christ was announced to Joseph before his birth as being the one who would “save his people from their sins”, he was heralded by the visiting Magi as “the one who has been born King of the Jews”. Mary was told that Jesus would be given “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.”
The King Has Come
The physical kingdom being spoken of here has not yet been established, that comes later on after what we refer to as the great tribulation in the end times, but the King has come, it was the baby born in Bethlehem to Mary and Joseph, the Lord Jesus. The Bible does promise Jesus will return, and with him He will bring a long peace, where He will reign over Israel, here on Earth, until the eternal kingdom is brought in.
Matthew also said that Jesus was the son of Abraham, and again, this meets the prophetic requirement of Genesis 22:18 when God tells Abraham
“and in your offspring shall all the nations of the earth be blessed, because you have obeyed my voice.”
The Line of Abraham
Here we have an ancestral requirement that the Christ must be of the line of Abraham, and so Matthew’s genealogical record confirms that for us too. Incidentally, this passage in Genesis also serves as a reminder that the salvation Jesus brought, the freedom from sin and death is not just for Israel, or the Jews, but for all nations.
For whosoever believes in Jesus shall not perish but shall have everlasting life. Indeed, in Jesus all people, in every country of the world, have this great blessing available to them. Later in Genesis 49, Jacob blesses his children, and the blessing of the ruler of the people was told to come from the tribe of Judah, which is also included in the genealogy of Christ.
A Prophecy From Isaiah
Moving on from Christ’s family heritage, I’d like to now turn our attention to another passage that we find in Isaiah, chapter nine verse six. This is another one of those Christmassy passages, which reads:
“For unto 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.”
This verse again identifies the coming Saviour, and once more we have a quick reference to the nature of Christ’s coming. A child is born, a Son is given. Later on in John 3:16, that wonderful gospel verse, this thought is restated when it says
“For God so loved the world that He gave His only Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but shall have everlasting life.”
Jesus was born as a child, that was his humanity, His identity, his true personality as the Son of God, was not born, but rather was given to mankind. In a way, this is another reference to the significance of the virgin birth of Jesus.
The Visit of the Magi
There is another element of the birth of Christ, that while a significant part of the nativity story, often goes overlooked from a prophetic standpoint. In Matthew chapter 2 we can read about the visit of the Magi. In this, part of the story, some wise men from a foreign land follow a star that they understood to be the sign of the one who was to be born king of the Jews. For this, I’d like to point out two passages in the Old Testament. The first is found in Isaiah 11:10 where it talks about the Saviour as the branch that comes from the stump of Jesse. It says,
“In that day the root of Jesse, who shall stand as a signal for the peoples – of Him shall the nations inquire, and His resting place shall be glorious.”
That statement “of Him shall the nations inquire,” is also translated as the other nations will rally to him, or they will resort to Him. Now we go to Psalm 72, again speaking of the anointed one, it says this in verses 8-11;
“May he have dominion from sea to sea, and from the river to the ends of the earth! May desert tribes bow down before him, and his enemies lick the dust! May the kings of Tarshish and of the coastlands render him tribute; may the kings of Sheba and Seba bring gifts! May all kings fall down before him, and all nations serve him.”
When Jesus Returns
Now these prophesies again have a more complete fulfillment in the future, in that coming day when Jesus returns and will truly reign over all the Earth, that day that Paul writes about in Philippians when he says that
“at the name of Jesus every knee shall bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord to the glory of God the Father.”
That’s who Jesus is, and that’s who the baby that was wrapped in swaddling clothes 2000 years go in Bethlehem was. The visit of the Magi, their adoration of Christ as people from a foreign nation recognizing Jesus true identity, was a reminder of these prophesies. It was a sign that this was the one.
King of Kings
What was happening on a very small scale through these wise men, would continue throughout the years to come until now, as more people throughout the world recognize Jesus as the son of God, and bow down to worship him. It will continue until that day when He comes again, and these prophesies are fulfilled as all who remain will worship and adore the King of Kings, Jesus, who saved us from our sins.
“But when the fullness of time had come, God sent forth His Son, born of a woman, born under the law, to redeem those who were under the law, so that we might receive adoption as sons.”
That night in Bethlehem, all the pieces were in place, the timing was perfect, and so God sent the good news, announced by the angels, that unto us that day in the city of David, was born a Saviour, who is Jesus Christ, the Lord.
Do you believe that Jesus fulfils the Old Testament prophecies? We would love to hear from you. Comment below or contact us at HopeStreamRadio.
Stephen March
Stephen March is the President of FBH International and HopeStreamRadio. He graduated from the Broadcasting Program at Niagara College in 2001, and has previously worked in television production and post-production.
Stephen lives in St. Catharines, Ontario, with his wife Corinne and their four children.
Read and hear more from Stephen March on his contributor’s page. Stephen currently has 5 Programs on HopeStreamRadio:
- Please Forgive Me
- Isolation Chronicles
- Faith By Hearing – The Twelve
- Bibles and Baseball
- Bible Tech Talk
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Why Did Jesus Say “I Am the Bread of Life
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The Birth of Jesus –FreeBibleImages; LUMO project
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