Tuesday: Jesus - prophecy; Isaiah 9:6-7;
symbol - baby Jesus
Prophecies about Jesus fill the Bible. Isaiah, especially, speaks much of the coming Messiah. Today's devotion will highlight some of the prophecies concerning his birth and their fulfillment in the life of Jesus.
What is a prophecy?
A prophecy is the future told in advance, by God, through a prophet.
"I foretold the former things long ago, my mouth announced them and I made them known; then suddenly I acted, and they came to pass. For I knew how stubborn you were; the sinews of your neck were iron, your forehead was bronze. Therefore I told you these things long ago; before they happened I announced them to you so that you could not say, `My idols did them; my wooden image and metal god ordained them.'"
Isaiah 48:2-5
Prophecy, according to God Himself, is not just
a guess or luck or coincidence.
"And we have the word of the prophets made more certain, and you will do well to pay attention to it, as to a light shining in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star rises in your hearts. Above all, you must understand that no prophecy of Scripture came about by the prophet's own interpretation. For prophecy never had its origin in the will of man, but men spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit."
2 Peter 1:19-21
The Old Testament contains about FOUR HUNDRED AND TWENTY-FIVE prophecies about the Messiah. Here are some of the prophecies that deal with the birth of Christ:
GOD WOULD COME TO EARTH AND
BE BORN AS A HUMAN MALE
"For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. Of the increase of his government and peace there will be no end. He will reign on David's throne and over his kingdom, establishing and upholding it with justice and righteousness from that time on and forever."
Isaiah 9:6-7
All of Isaiah's prophecies were given around 700 B.C.
Mark 1:1 The beginning of the gospel about Jesus Christ, the Son of God.
John 1:1-3, 14 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning. Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made...The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the One and Only, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.
BORN OF A VIRGIN
"Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign: The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and will call him Immanuel."
Isaiah 7:14
Matthew 1:20-23 But after he had considered this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, "Joseph son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary home as your wife, because what is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins." All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had said through the prophet: "The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel" --which means, "God with us."
FROM THE HOUSE OF JUDAH
"Once more a remnant of the house of Judah will take root below and bear fruit above."
Isaiah 37:31
Matthew 1:1-2, 16 A record of the genealogy of Jesus Christ the son [descendant] of David, the son of Abraham: Abraham was the father of Isaac, Isaac the father of Jacob, Jacob the father of Judah and his brothers...and [a later] Jacob the father of Joseph, the husband of Mary, of whom was born Jesus, who is called Christ.
FROM THE ROOT AND STUMP OF JESSE
"In that day the Root of Jesse will stand as a banner for the peoples; the nations will rally to him, and his place of rest will be glorious."
Isaiah 11:10
"A shoot will come up from the stump of Jesse; from his roots a Branch will bear fruit. The Spirit of the LORD will rest on him-- the Spirit of wisdom and of understanding, the Spirit of counsel and of power, the Spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the LORD-- and he will delight in the fear of the LORD. He will not judge by what he sees with his eyes, or decide by what he hears with his ears; but with righteousness he will judge the needy, with justice he will give decisions for the poor of the earth. He will strike the earth with the rod of his mouth; with the breath of his lips he will slay the wicked. Righteousness will be his belt and faithfulness the sash around his waist."
Isaiah 11:1-5
Romans 15:12 And again, Isaiah says, "The Root of Jesse will spring up, one who will arise to rule over the nations; the Gentiles will hope in him."
Matthew 1:1-2a, 5-6, 16 A record of the genealogy of Jesus Christ the son of David, the son of Abraham: Abraham was the father of Isaac ... Obed the father of Jesse, and Jesse the father of King David...and Jacob the father of Joseph, the husband of Mary, of whom was born Jesus, who is called Christ.
FROM THE HOUSE OF DAVID
"In love a throne will be established; in faithfulness a man will sit on it--one from the house of David--one who in judging seeks justice and speeds the cause of righteousness."
Isaiah 16:5
Matthew 1:1-2A, 6, 16 A record of the genealogy of Jesus Christ the son of David, the son of Abraham: Abraham was the father of Isaac, ...and Jesse the father of King David...and Jacob the father of Joseph, the husband of Mary, of whom was born Jesus, who is called Christ.
BORN IN BETHLEHEM EPHRATHAH
"But you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, though you are small among the clans of Judah, out of you will come for me one who will be ruler over Israel, whose origins are from of old, from ancient times."
Micah 5:2
Matthew 2:1 After Jesus was born in Bethlehem in Judea, during the time of King Herod, Magi from the east came to Jerusalem
BE FROM NAZARETH OF GALILEE
"Nevertheless, there will be no more gloom for those who were in distress. In the past he humbled the land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali, but in the future he will honor Galilee of the Gentiles, by the way of the sea, along the Jordan -- The people walking in darkness have seen a great light; on those living in the land of the shadow of death a light has dawned."
Isaiah 9:1-2
Matthew 2:22-23 But when he heard that Archelaus was reigning in Judea in place of his father Herod, he was afraid to go there. Having been warned in a dream, he withdrew to the district of Galilee, and he went and lived in a town called Nazareth. So was fulfilled what was said through the prophets: "He will be called a Nazarene."
Matthew 4:13-16 Leaving Nazareth, he [Jesus] went and lived in Capernaum, which was by the lake in the area of Zebulun and Naphtali-- to fulfill what was said through the prophet Isaiah: "Land of Zebulun and land of Naphtali, the way to the sea, along the Jordan, Galilee of the Gentiles -- the people living in darkness have seen a great light; on those living in the land of the shadow of death a light has dawned."
HIS BIRTH WOULD TRIGGER A MASSACRE OF INFANT BOYS
"This is what the LORD says: 'A voice is heard in Ramah, mourning and great weeping, Rachel weeping for her children and refusing to be comforted, because her children are no more.'"
Jeremiah 31:15 This prophecy was given around
625 B.C.
Matthew 2:16-18 When Herod realized that he had been outwitted by the Magi, he was furious, and he gave orders to kill all the boys in Bethlehem and its vicinity who were two years old and under, in accordance with the time he had learned from the Magi. Then what was said through the prophet Jeremiah was fulfilled: "A voice is heard in Ramah, weeping and great mourning, Rachel weeping for her children and refusing to be comforted, because they are no more."
The above commentary on Isaiah and Jeremiah is part of a 4-week Advent Reflection for the Jesse Tree. The Jesse Tree is similar to an advent calendar. Every day you will read a Bible passage to your child(ren), discuss what it means to them in personal terms and color an ornament to hang on your Jesse Tree. A fuller description of this can be found at The Jesse Tree
When you are finished today, you might want to discuss how Christmas is about giving much more than getting. One way that your family can give is through their daily prayers. This might be a good time to pray for a specific country or for a group of people who do not know about Jesus. Today, over 2 billion people, 1/3 of the earth's population, have never heard the Gospel message. They are worshipping false gods, with no knowledge of the one, true God. We need to pray that they will hear about Jesus and follow Him before He returns.
Two great websites to help you do this are:
Operation World go to Featured Nation and click on Country Profile
Some of the churches in Charleston that are using a Jesse Tree as part of their Advent celebration are: Charleston Sanctuary
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