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“Then Jesus began to explain everything that had been written about himself in the Scriptures. He started with Moses, and then he talked about what all the prophets had said about him.”—Luke 24:27 (ICB)

What is a prophecy? It’s something that is announced and explained before it happens. It reveals beforehand the mind, plans, and purposes of God. While some identify prophecy with fortune telling or predictions, it’s way more than that! You see, all Bible prophecy is truth that had not yet happened; truth that has been announced ahead of time.

Did you know the Bible contains 44 prophecies about the birth, life, work, death, resurrection, and ascension of Jesus? And of those, a great many concern His birth. Let’s check out some of them.

• The Messiah would be born of a woman (Genesis 3:15) who was a virgin (Isaiah 7:14) and occurred to fulfill God’s prophecy (Matthew 1:22–23; Luke 1:26–31).
• The Messiah would be born in Bethlehem (Micah 5:2; Matthew 2:1; Luke 2:4–6).
• The Messiah would come from the line of Abraham (Genesis 12:3, 22:18; Matthew 1:1; Romans 9:5), Isaac (Genesis 17:19, 21:12; Luke 3:34) Jacob (Numbers 24:17; Matthew 1:2), and Judah (Genesis 49:10; Luke 3:33; Hebrews 7:14).
• The Messiah would sit on the throne of King David (2 Samuel 7:12–13; Isaiah 9:7; Luke 1:32–33; Romans 1:3), and His throne would be anointed and eternal (Psalm 45:6–7; Daniel 2:44; Luke 1:33; Hebrews 1:8–12).
• The Messiah would be called Immanuel (Isaiah 7:14; Matthew 1:23).
• The Messiah would spend a season in Egypt (Hosea 11:1; Matthew 2:14–15).
• A massacre of children would happen at the Messiah’s birthplace (Jeremiah 31:15; Matthew 2:14–15).
• A messenger would prepare the way for the Messiah (Isaiah 40:3-5; Luke 3:3–6) in the spirit of Elijah (Malachi 4:5–6; Luke 1:5–25; Matthew 11:13–14).
• The Messiah would be declared the Son of God (Psalm 2:7; Luke 1:31–32; Matthew 3:16–17) and would be called King (Psalm 2:6; Zechariah 9:9; Matthew 2:2).

Now, here’s the amazing part: These prophecies begin about 8,000 years ago in the days of Adam and Eve and cover 6,000 years leading up to Jesus’ birth 2,000 years ago! Literally, from the beginning God announced the gospel!

• From Genesis 3, 4,000 years beforehand, God’s plan to cover our shame and restore us into right relationship with Him was declared.

• From Genesis 22, 2,000 years beforehand, the manner in which He would carry out His plan previewed on Mt. Moriah.

• From 2 Samuel 7, 1,000 years beforehand, the kingship of Messiah was established and His birthplace locked in 735 years before He was born.

I hope you understand the power of what we’re seeing here! All of history, every story, every moment, every commandment, and every prophecy leads to the moment when God would send His only Son in order to bring light, truth, love, and life back into our hearts.

As we approach Christmas, it’s important to remember that the Christmas story doesn’t begin in Matthew 1 when the angel appears to Mary to tell her that she would have a Son who would be the Savior. Instead, it’s actually a story that was thousands of years in the making, all because of God’s great love for us!

LET THE LIGHT IN

“The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; for that reason also the holy Child will be called the Son of God.”—Luke 1:35 (NASB)

Why is it an important detail that Jesus was born of a virgin?

Here are two big reasons:

1. Because He is fully God. He isn’t like Hercules, half-god and half-human; and He didn’t become a god. He is, always has been, and always will be fully God. He wasn’t made by a dad and mom. Instead, He was grown in Mary’s belly by the Holy Spirit.
2. Because He is a sinless and perfect man. Every person who’s ever been born is a child of Adam and Eve—and with that comes sin. But Jesus wasn’t made by a dad and mom, but by the Holy Spirit. So, He didn’t have sin in Him. He was born perfect.