The Old Testament books in the Bible were written between 1450 BC and 430 BC) containing hundreds of prophecies concerning an “anointed one” arriving upon the scene at some future point in history. Psalm 22 alone contains 11 exact prophecies written some 1000 years prior to the birth of Jesus Christ.
The Messiah...Born of a virgin
Isaiah 7:14 & Matthew 1:18-25
“Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign; Behold a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel.” Why born of a virgin? We know that although significant DNA is passed through the mother…the life giving attributes of embryos are in the father’s blood. The life of the baby child Jesus was not of this world…because his life’s blood was of divine origin, so that the sacrifice for humanity might be of God, not man. God could not prove his love for us through a sacrifice that was not fully his! He gave wholly of his own that humanity might know how much he loves them. He desires for us to acknowledge that love and allow him to become our Heavenly Father.
Great kings will pay homage to the Messiah
Psalm 72:10 & 11 - Matthew 2:1-11
In Psalms 72:5 David says concerning a king, “They shall fear you as long as the sun and moon endure…throughout all generations.” He cannot be speaking of himself as king, because David was not immortal. Of whom does he speak? He goes on to say, “The kings of Tarshish and the isles shall bring presents: the kings of Sheba and Seba shall offer gifts.” In Matthew 2:1 it says, “When Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea…there came wise men from the east to Jerusalem, saying where is he that is born King of the Jews?” The words “wise men” are translated from the Greek word “mago”. This is the same word that the ancient Babylonian & Persian kings called Daniel. Daniel was a high royal court official that endured throughout three separate kingdoms, kingdoms that dominated the known world of that time. He spoke to the people of these kingdoms throughout his life of a coming Messiah and wrote about these events in Daniel 2:44, Daniel 7:13, and Daniel 9:25. It would not be a far to speculate that these kings that came from the east were those who knew of Daniel’s prophecies and had been waiting and watching for their fulfillment. This further proves that Jesus was not just a Jewish or Christian promise, but a promise for the entire world.
The Messiah...Born in Bethlehem
Mich 5:2 - Matthew 2:1
Micah prophesies in 710 B.C. that Christ would be born in Bethlehem. Why was Jesus born in Bethlehem? There are many marvelous details about this prophecy that I would love to go into but there is not time to do in this article. However, the word Bethlehem is really two separate words. “Beth” means “house”. “Lehem” means “of bread”. Therefore the literal translation means house of bread. Bethlehem has for many centuries been a place of vast wheat fields that are a huge source of bread for the region. By Christ being born in Bethlehem, God has left a sign for all ages that his Son is a source of bread for the world. What kind of bread? Jesus himself gives us the answer to this very question in John 6:32-35 by saying, “I am the bread of Life.” He is the bread of incredible peace for the hungry yearning soul of mankind. Life is quickened and made new…when Jesus Christ and his truth gets inside of us!