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Coming of Christ
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Prophecy Fulfilled!
The Birth of Jesus Christ By Patricia Chamberlain
“For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon His shoulder: and His name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace.”
Isaiah 9:6
This is the prophecy of the birth of Jesus in the Old Testament. Through the prophet Micah comes the revealed knowledge of where the Messiah’s birth will take place. “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). This whole process of showing just who Jesus is narrows down to the simple truth of Him being born in Bethlehem. This little town of Bethlehem is now an Arab town, about two miles south of Jerusalem. This is the place where Jesus was to be born. He was born there. His birth was to be very unusual. He was to be born of a virgin. God had given His covenant to David, promising a son of his would sit on the throne and rule over Jerusalem. A further study into genealogy will show the connection of Joseph and Mary to the House of David. This covenant was to be accompanied by a “sign.” The sign would reveal that God had fulfilled His covenant. “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, which means ‘God with us’” (Isaiah 7:14). It is interesting to note, Jewish scholars say the scriptures refer to Messiah 456 times, but they reject Isaiah 7:14, saying it does not refer to Christ Jesus the Messiah. God sent the angel Gabriel to Nazareth, a town in Galilee to a virgin pledged to be married to a man named Joseph a descendant of David. The virgins name was Mary and said, “Greetings you who are highly favored! The Lord is with you.” It was made very clear to Mary in the New Testament as recorded by Luke just how she would conceive and give birth to Jesus (Luke 1:31-35). Verse 35 declares, “the holy one to be born will be called the Son of God.” The Virgin birth was important to make possible the “incarnation,” meaning God became flesh and dwelt among us (John 1:14). It is important to understand the purpose of the incarnation. Mary would give birth to a Son and name Him Jesus. He will save His people from their sins. Jesus was born to accomplish salvation for us. He was the One in which both full divinity and full humanity was present, distinct and unique. Joseph, Mary’s husband to be, was encouraged by the angle of the Lord (Matthew 1:18-23). “This is how the birth of Jesus Christ came about. His mother Mary was pledged to be married to Joseph, but before they came together, she was found to be with child through the Holy Spirit. Because Joseph her husband was a righteous man and did not want to expose her to public disgrace, he had in mind to divorce her quietly. 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’” (Isaiah 7:14). The sinlessness of Jesus was not because of the virgin birth, it was because of His eternal relationship with the Father, He was eternally sinless, being supernaturally conceived and born of a virgin. God the Son voluntarily entered Mary’s womb and egg in a miraculous and supernatural way under the ministry of the Holy Spirit. Luke locates for us the exact time period of the birth of Jesus. His gospel is the only one to name a Roman emperor, Caesar Augustus, emperor of Rome from 30 B.C. to A.D. 14, he issued an imperial decree everyone must register for the purposes of taxation (Luke 2:1-3). And so it was the Savior was born in Bethlehem. Joseph had to go to Bethlehem, the town of David to register for taxation because he belonged to the House and line of David. The lodging places were all filled, so Joseph had to find accommodations in a stable that was probably part of an inn (Luke 2:4-7). From the manger, Luke moved to the fields outside the village. It was night. Shepherds were there, guarding their flocks of sheep. An angel of the Lord appeared among them, and the radiance of the Lord’s glory surrounded them. The angel gave them the “good news,” a child has just been born in Bethlehem. The child is “The Savior Christ the Lord” (Luke 2:8-12). After the angels gave the shepherds the “good news” they wanted to see this wonderful thing that had happened. They hurried into the village of Bethlehem to find the baby. The shepherds told everyone what happened and what the angel had said. Surely the shepherds told Mary and Joseph what the angels had said. Mary quietly treasured these things in her heart. The shepherds returned back to there fields and flocks glorifying and praising God (Luke 2:13-20). Arrival of the Magi It was during the reign of King Herod that Jesus was born in Bethlehem. About that time some wise men from eastern lands arrived in Jerusalem asking, ““Where is the one who has been born king of the Jews? We saw his star in the east and have come to worship him” (Matthew 2:1-2). Herod was troubled and secretly called the wise men, to ascertain from them the time the star appeared. Herod also asked to be informed where Jesus was when the wise men located Him. Jesus was probably one or two years old when the wise men found Him. “They came into the house and saw the Child with Mary His mother; and they fell down and worshipped Him; and opening their treasures they presented to Him gifts of gold and frankincense and myrrh. And having been warned by God in a dream not to return to Herod, they departed for their own country by another way” (Matthew 2:11-12). The gifts the wise men brought were; gold (gold is for kings), frankincense (only used by priests in the Temple) and myrh (used for embalming, representing death). The wise men may have been looking into the future to the sacrifice of Jesus Christ. All these things came about as God had decreed: 1. Unto us a child is born—Virgin Birth 2. Unto us a Son is given— God gave his son by adoption to Joseph and to us on the cross. 3. The Angelic hosts are sons of God by creation; Believers are sons of God by adoption (Sonship). 4. Jesus Christ is the Son of God by His eternal relationship to God The Father. i
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