A friend’s condo in Hartville, Ohio
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, Counselor, The Mighty God, The Everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace. ~ Isaiah 9:6
Have you ever stopped to consider how many things had to line up for the birth of Jesus Christ? First there were the prophecies. Veering a little off the birth to present all the prophecies about Jesus; there are more than 300 in the Old Testament, covering a writing period of just under 2,000 years before Jesus was even born. I found the following astonishing information on jesusfilm.org:
Some scholars believe there are more than 300 prophecies about Jesus in the Old Testament. These prophecies are specific enough that the mathematical probability of Jesus fulfilling even a handful of them, let alone all of them, is staggeringly improbable—if not impossible.
Peter Stoner, Chairman of the Departments of Mathematics and Astronomy at Pasadena College, was passionate about biblical prophecies. With 600 students from the InterVarsity Christian Fellowship, Stoner looked at eight specific prophecies about Jesus. They came up with extremely conservative probabilities for each one being fulfilled, and then considered the likelihood of Jesus fulfilling all eight of those prophecies.
The conclusion to his research was staggering. The prospect that anyone would satisfy those eight prophecies was just 1 in 1017. In Science Speaks, he described it like this:
“Let us try to visualize this chance. If you mark one of ten tickets, and place all of the tickets in a hat, and thoroughly stir them, and then ask a blindfolded man to draw one, his chance of getting the right ticket is one in ten. Suppose that we take 1017 silver dollars and lay them on the face of Texas. They will cover all of the state two feet deep. Now mark one of these silver dollars and stir the whole mass thoroughly, all over the state.
“Blindfold a man and tell him that he can travel as far as he wishes, but he must pick up one silver dollar and say that this is the right one. What chance would he have of getting the right one? Just the same chance that the prophets would have had of writing these eight prophecies and having them all come true in any one man, from their day to the present time, providing they wrote using their own wisdom.” ~ jesusfilm.org
Personally, I’m almost as astounded that someone could come up with this analogy. 😊
The following (incomplete) list of prophecies and fulfillment came via crosswalk.com, and focusonthefamily.org:
1. He will be from the line of Judah
The scepter will not depart from Judah, nor the ruler’s staff from between his feet, until he to whom it belongs shall come and the obedience of the nations shall be his. (Genesis 49:10; compare to Luke 3:33) ….the son of Amminadab, the son of Ram, the son of Hezron, the son of Perez, the son of Judah.
2. His Entire Lineage Would be Confirmed Through Scripture
Jesus was from the line of Abraham (Genesis 12:3), Isaac (Genesis 17:21 and 26:4), Jacob (Genesis 28:14), Judah (Genesis 49:8-12), Jesse (Isaiah 11:1), and David (Isaiah 9:7, Jeremiah 23:5)
We see the entire fulfillment of Christ’s line of genealogy in Matthew 1:1-17 (Joseph’s side), and Luke 3:23-37 (Mary’s side from after David). Matthew traces his from Abraham to Joseph, while Luke’s list traces in reverse from Mary all the way to Adam and ends with “the son of God”.
3. Abraham and his offspring
And Mary said, “My soul magnifies the Lord, and my spirit rejoices in God my Saviour . . . He has helped his servant Israel, in remembrance of his mercy, as he spoke to our fathers, to Abraham and to his offspring forever.” (Luke 1:46-47; 54-55; compare Genesis 12:3; 17:4-5; 22:18)
Mary responds to the prospect of bearing God’s Son with her exuberant Magnificat, brimming with allusions to Old Testament themes, most notably the song of Hannah. She concludes her poem by recalling God’s promises to Abraham and to his offspring that are scattered throughout the book of Genesis. By connecting the birth of her child with the Abrahamic covenant, Mary becomes the first person in the New Testament to identify Abraham’s offspring with the Messiah, the One to whom the promises were made and through whom the nations would be blessed.
4. The spirit and power of Elijah
“And he will turn many of the children of Israel to the Lord their God, and he will go before him in the spirit and power of Elijah, to turn the hearts of the fathers to the children, and the disobedient to the wisdom of the just, to make ready for the Lord a people prepared.” (Luke 1:16-17; compare Malachi 4:5-6)
In contrast to Matthew, Luke wrote with a Hellenistic gentile audience in mind, assembling for them an orderly account of the life of Jesus. Rather than inserting prophetic quotes editorially, he allows them to speak through the voices of the men, women and angels in his narrative. He begins with the announcement of the birth of John the Baptist, in which the angel Gabriel paraphrases the final words in the book of the prophet Malachi – which were in fact the final prophetic words recorded in the Old Testament. In so doing, the angel bridges the 400-year gap in prophecy with an emphatic declaration: the messianic forerunner was about to arrive, and the Messiah himself would not be far behind.
5. Prepare the way of the Lord
“And you, child, will be called the prophet of the Most High; for you will go before the Lord to prepare his ways, to give knowledge of salvation to his people in the forgiveness of their sins, because of the tender mercy of our God, whereby the sunrise shall visit us from on high to give light to those who sit in darkness and in the shadow of death, to guide our feet into the way of peace.” (Luke 1:76-79; compare Malachi 3:1; 4:2; Isaiah 9:1-2; 40:3-5)
At the birth of John the Baptist, his father Zechariah utters a messianic poem of his own, drawing as Mary had on a variety of Old Testament themes, including the covenant with Abraham and the redeemer from the line of David. Regarding his own son, Zechariah alludes to the prophecies of Malachi as well as Isaiah. John would be the forerunner, the messenger, the voice crying in the wilderness to prepare the way of the Lord. In his wake would arise the Christ, the sun of righteousness who brings light to those living in darkness and under the shadow of death.
6. The virgin shall conceive
“She will bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins.” All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had spoken by the prophet: “Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and they shall call his name Immanuel” (which means, God with us). (Matthew 1:21-23; compare Isaiah 7:14)
Writing for a Jewish audience, Matthew appeals to Old Testament prophecies early and often, to show his readers that Jesus was their long-awaited Messiah, the descendant of David and Abraham. He begins by citing this message from Isaiah to the Judean king Ahaz, 700 years earlier, which was fulfilled in the virgin birth of Christ. Matthew parallels the name Jesus (“God is salvation”) with the title Immanuel (“God with us”) as they both describe Mary’s child, the incarnate Son of God who would save his people from their sins.
7. The Son of the Most High
“And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus. He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. And the Lord God will give to him 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.” (Luke 1:31-33; compare 2 Samuel 7:12-16; Isaiah 9:6-7)
Luke then records the angel Gabriel making a similar announcement to Mary regarding the miraculous birth of her own son, Jesus. Once more, the angel references several prophecies that would’ve been familiar to Mary. These include God’s promise to King David via Nathan the prophet, that one of David’s descendants would sit on his throne and rule an everlasting kingdom. They also include Isaiah’s more explicit messianic prophecy, in which the prophet describes the future Davidic sovereign as “Wonderful Counsellor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.”
8. Born in Bethlehem of Judea
He inquired of them where the Christ was to be born. They told him, “In Bethlehem of Judea, for so it is written by the prophet: “‘And you, O Bethlehem, in the land of Judah, are by no means least among the rulers of Judah; for from you shall come a ruler who will shepherd my people Israel.’” (Matthew 2:4-6; compare Micah 5:2-5)
Matthew’s next batch of prophetic quotes is tied to the relationship between Herod, the Roman client king of Judea, and the Messiah who would be the true king of Israel. Perturbed at the idea of being supplanted, Herod wanted to know where this Messiah would be born. The location, Bethlehem, was an open secret, having been predicted by the prophet Micah, a contemporary of Isaiah. But Micah offered further details that should’ve given Herod pause. The Messiah had existed since before ancient times and would be king and shepherd to his people, ruling the whole earth in the name and majesty of God.
9. Rachel weeping for her children
Then was fulfilled what was spoken by the prophet Jeremiah: “A voice was heard in Ramah, weeping and loud lamentation, Rachel weeping for her children; she refused to be comforted, because they are no more.” (Matthew 2:17-18; compare Jeremiah 31:15)
Not all prophecies are pleasant, not even all messianic prophecies. Herod, furious at being thwarted by the Magi and intent on killing the newborn king, orders the slaughter of every male child under the age of two in and around Bethlehem. The words of Jeremiah – aptly known as the weeping prophet – not only provide a fitting epitaph to this dreadful episode. They also illustrate the darkness that’s present in the world, against which the light of the coming Saviour shines that much brighter.
10. Out of Egypt I called my son
And he rose and took the child and his mother by night and departed to Egypt and remained there until the death of Herod. This was to fulfill what the Lord had spoken by the prophet, “Out of Egypt I called my son.” (Matthew 2:14-15; compare Hosea 11:1)
Having been warned of Herod’s murderous plot, Joseph fled with his family to Egypt, thus fulfilling the words of the prophet Hosea. On the surface the connection appears tenuous, as Hosea’s statement in context refers to God bringing Israel out of Egypt at the Exodus. But Matthew was calling to mind the Old Testament portrait of Messiah as representative of Israel, as the perfect Israelite who identifies with his people in their sin so that he might deliver them. From that perspective, the Exodus is a picture of God calling and redeeming his people via his true Son, Jesus.
11. He would be called a Nazarene
And he went and lived in a city called Nazareth, so that what was spoken by the prophets might be fulfilled, that he would be called a Nazarene. (Matthew 2:23; compare Isaiah 11:1-5; 53:3)
In this case, Matthew isn’t quoting a direct prophecy. In fact, the words “Nazareth” and “Nazarene” don’t appear anywhere in the Old Testament. Matthew is, however, alluding to a general strain in the prophets, of whom he speaks collectively here. Isaiah, among others, describes the Messiah as a Branch, using a Hebrew word, netser, which sounds similar to Nazarene in the original language. Moreover, people from Nazareth were held in low regard at the time of Jesus, and Isaiah wrote that the Christ would be despised and rejected. While these allusions may appear vague to modern readers, they would have been clear – and compelling – for Matthew’s original Jewish audience.
12. A light for the Gentiles
He took him up in his arms and blessed God and said, “Lord, now you are letting your servant depart in peace, according to your word; for my eyes have seen your salvation that you have prepared in the presence of all peoples, a light for revelation to the Gentiles, and for glory to your people Israel.” (Luke 2:28-32; compare Isaiah 9:1-2; 42:1-7; 49:5-6)
Luke continues the theme of messianic light via the words of Simeon, an old man who witnesses the presentation of Jesus at the temple in Jerusalem. Simeon recognizes the child as the Messiah who would bring light and salvation to both Jews and gentiles, echoing several prophecies found in Isaiah. One of those prophecies speaks of the Jewish tribes of Zebulun and Naphtali as Galilee of the gentiles, the land where Jesus would begin his ministry. It’s no coincidence that Luke inserts Anna the prophetess here, noting that she was from Asher, the one tribe even farther removed from Jerusalem, both geographically and spiritually, than Zebulun or Naphtali. The message is unmistakable: Messiah has come with salvation not only to Israel, but to the remotest parts of the earth.
So consider that each of these prophecies had to be fulfilled, at exactly the right time. Since the time of Abraham. The promise went from Abraham, to Isaac, to Jacob (skipping over the customary firstborn). Then to Judah (skipping over three sons to the fourth). God used an unholy alliance to continue the line. Jumping ahead a thousand years or so to the actual birth date, we find many things that had to come about, after 400 years of silence by God. The Levitical priest living in Hebron, Zechariah, was told his barren, elderly wife would give birth to Jesus’s forerunner, John the Baptist. And they did. And John became “the voice of one crying out in the wilderness, ‘Prepare the way of the LORD! Make straight a highway for our God.’” (Isaiah 40:3) and the ‘Elijah’ who was to come before Christ. (Malachi 4:5, Matthew 11:11-14)
Mary, a very poor young girl living in Nazareth, a nothing town, is told by an angel that she was going to give birth to the Savior of the world. But she had no husband, and Nazareth is 90 difficult miles from the prophesied birthplace in Bethlehem. How was she supposed to give birth there?
Joseph, who’d proposed to Mary, but had never had relations with her, is told in a dream that he should marry her anyway, and believe that the child is wrought of God Himself. In fact, IS God Himself. How was he supposed to believe such an outrageous thing? And yet he did. Being a man of God, I’m certain he also knew the prophecy about Bethlehem, so how to get there?
At just the right time, Caesar Augustus decides to take a census and have all the men return to the home of their ancestors – regardless of the difficulty or inconvenience. Guess what? Joseph is from the line of David (according to prophecy). And by the way, so is Mary. And Joseph must now, regardless of any circumstances, go to Bethlehem to be counted. And he takes Mary with him. She wasn’t required by Caesar’s decree to go there, but she went anyway.
And Jesus is born. In the exact right place. At the exact right time. To the exact right couple. And the fulfilled prophecies, and perfect timing, continue to multiply following His birth.
Glory to God in the highest! And on earth, Peace on whom His favor rests! ~ Luke 2:14