Devotional
Prophecy is an indispensable part of the Nativity story – with good reason. God has always spoken and acted in real history, through actual events and real human lives. He has made promises and kept them, and called people to record and remember them. He’s not an obscure deity of myth and legend, but the true God who has done wondrous things – none more so than the birth, life, death and resurrection of His Son.
The facts of Jesus’ life matter. The Christmas story isn’t just about having all the holiday feelings. It’s about a God who promised men and women long ago that he would send His Messiah for them, to save them and give them hope. And it’s about God delivering on those promises centuries later, at the place and moment of His choosing, through the birth of His son Jesus.
There are over 300 prophecies that point directly to the Messiah. Let’s start with eight that deal with the birth and early early years of Jesus’ life:
1. He would be born in Bethlehem (Micah 5:2).
2. He would be born of a virgin (Isaiah 7:14).
3. The Savior would come from the seed of a woman (Genesis 3:15).
4. He would be adored by Magi (Psalm 72:10,15; Isaiah 60: 3,6).
5. He would be called out of Egypt (Hosea 11:1; Matthew 2:14-15).
6. The Savior would come from the line of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob (Genesis 12:3; 17:19; Numbers 24:17), and the tribe of Judah (Genesis 49:10).
7. The Messiah would be an heir to King David’s throne and would reign for eternity (2 Samuel 7:12-13;16).
8. A messenger in the wilderness would prepare the way for the Messiah so that the glory of God would be revealed (Isaiah 40:3-5).
Mathematician Peter Stoner figured out the probability of one man fulfilling just eight of these prophecies and concluded that the chance of the prophesied Messiah fulfilling all eight is one in 100,000,000,000,000,000 (that’s 17 0s!). He illustrated that by saying if you took that many silver dollars and laid them on the face of Texas it would cover the state two feet deep. Then, blindfold a man and tell him he must pick up one specific silver dollar previously marked. What chance would he have of getting the right one? Stoner concludes, “Any man who rejects Christ as the Son of God is rejecting a fact proved perhaps more absolutely than any other fact in the world.”
Look Up – Connect with God
Read: It looks like a lot, but each of these verses is tied to one of the prophecies about Jesus’ birth: Micah 5:2; Isaiah 7:14; Genesis 3:15; Psalm 72:10, 15; Isaiah 60: 3, 6; Hosea 11:1; Matthew 2:14-16; Genesis 12:3; 17:19; Numbers 24:17; Genesis 49:10 ; 2 Samuel 7:12-13; Isaiah 40:3-5.
Key Verse: “Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign: The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and will call him Immanuel.” (Isaiah 7:14)
Pray: Father God, it is so humbling and amazing at the same time to see how science and fact prove the truth of your Word. May our faith be deepened and emboldened to know that there is scientific proof that Jesus is who He said He was – the Son of God and Savior of the world. You have given us more than enough for even the most skeptical among us to understand and accept. Thank you for sending Jesus to us. May we be forever grateful for Him.
Look In – Family Memories
Discuss: Talk about the probability of Jesus being the Messiah. Try to come up with other “proven” facts you just accept as true and compare their “proof” with that offered in this devotional. For example, when you walk into a room, you see a chair and you sit down. You assume it will be strong enough to hold your weight, but you have no proof that it will. Why is that easier to accept than Jesus being the Messiah talked about in Scripture for 1500 years before He was born?
Look Out – Connect with Others
Gather some kitchen staples needed for holiday dinners and donate them to a local food pantry.