Amelia Church of Christ - Christian Church in Amelia, OH near Cincinnati in Clermont County

Week #2 of our Taking Back Christmas series…and I’m pumped up! This series has already blown my mind. We are cutting through all the cultural and traditional clutter that surrounds Christmas and we’re getting to the truth.

Christmas has been hijacked by our culture and by religious tradition. But Christmas is ultimately about Christ, and as His people, we’re taking it back.

Last week, we took back the Christmas story. The story of Jesus’ birth has been so romanticized in songs and poems and pageants that it is hard to see the truth. But last week, we cut through all the fog that surrounds the Christmas story and we explored the truth. If you weren’t here, you need to check out that message on our website. God will rock your world through that message.

Now, let’s get cooking on our message today. Last week, we took back the story of Christmas. This week, we take back the proof of Christmas.

Some of you were here last week and you heard the truth about the Christmas story. And you thought, “Ok, I get it. The truth about this story is different from a lot of our traditions. But so what? Even if we get the story wrong, it doesn’t matter to me because I don’t buy all this Jesus stuff anyway.”

I’m so glad you’re here today. I love you. I love your doubts. I love your honest questions. And I absolutely believe that God is going to move in your life today.

I want to give you a little disclaimer right upfront. This message is going to be different from my normal style of preaching. I’m not afraid to go deep when I preach, but this is going to be super deep. Deep enough that you might need scuba gear. But if you track with me, God’s going to do something in your life.

Let’s pray, and then we’ll jump into week #2 of Taking Back Christmas.

Christmas wasn’t an accident. It was carefully choreographed by God, who had it all planned from the beginning of time.

As the centuries unfolded, God revealed more and more of His plan. He gave more and more details about the One who was to come. The one who would be the Messiah, the Anointed One. He gave a clearer and clearer picture of His plan to redeem mankind. All of these details came through people known as the prophets.

There are over 70 messianic prophecies in the Old Testament. In other words, there are more than 70 predictions about the Messiah, the Son of God, the one who would be the Savior of the world. And there are hundreds more passages in the Old Testament that reference His coming.

Some of the messianic prophecies are very general in nature. But some are incredibly specific. When you look at some of the specific details in these prophecies, and then see how Jesus fulfilled them exactly hundreds, sometimes thousands of years later, it will blow your mind.

Jesus said, “Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them.” (Matthew 5:17, NIV)

Jesus told us, “If you doubt who I am, look at the prophets. Listen to what they said about me thousands of years ago. Look at the mountain of evidence that points directly to me.”

Why talk about this at Christmas? It doesn’t feel very “Christmasy.” That’s the problem right there. This time of year, we focus way too much on feelings that surround a holiday.

Christmas isn’t just about feelings. Christmas about a baby who was the culmination of a divine plan thousands of years in the making. This baby was the apex, the pinnacle of God’s plan…everything in human history had been leading up to this moment.

Christmas is about Christ. Some of you have significant doubts about Jesus. You’ve never been convinced that Jesus is really the Son of God. Christmas, and Christianity, rings a little hollow with you because of these nagging doubts.

The only thing I’m asking from you today is for you to consider the evidence. Honestly evaluate what you hear from the Bible. Christmas, and Christ, might come to mean something totally new to you today.

Josh McDowell calls the Old Testament prophecies “Jesus’ address.” He wrote, “You’ve probably never realized how important the details of your name and address are—and yet these details set you apart from the four billion other people who also inhabit this planet.

With even greater detail, God wrote an ‘address’ in history to single out his Son, the Messiah, the Savior of mankind, from anyone who has ever lived in history—past, present, and future.” (More Than a Carpenter, 102-103)

There have been around 40 people who have made major claims that they are the Christ, the Son of God. Out of the 40, only one fulfilled all of the Old Testament prophecies concerning the Messiah: Jesus Christ.

Today, we’re going to walk through just a few of these incredible prophecies about the Messiah. And we’re going to see how they were fulfilled in Jesus. Some were fulfilled on that first Christmas night when Jesus was born in Bethlehem. Some were fulfilled throughout His life. And some found their fulfillment in His death and resurrection.

We’re going to start in the first book of the Bible. In Genesis 3:15, God says, “And I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and hers; he will crush your head, and you will strike his heel." (Genesis 3:15, NIV)

I know that at first glance, this verse probably seems like it has nothing to do with nothing. But actually, this is the first messianic prophecy in the Bible. This is the first prophecy about Jesus in the Bible. It is found in the first book of the Bible, and it would be at least 2000 years before the next prophecy about the Messiah would be written.

This verse is God speaking to directly to Satan right after Adam and Eve sinned in the Garden of Eden. The first prophecy about Jesus is directed to Satan, not us. Satan is told right up front what his fate would be.

God told Satan that he would strike the heel of the Messiah, but the Messiah would crush his head. This is a prophecy of the cross. Through the cross, Satan would inflict great harm and pain on the Messiah. But what seemed like his greatest victory would turn into his ultimate defeat. Through His death and resurrection, Jesus would crush Satan.

Think about the setting for this first prophecy. Sin has just made its entrance into the world. The perfection of God’s creation had just been completely destroyed through the sin of Adam and Eve. And in that setting, God reveals His plan. His plan to crush Satan. His plan to pay the price for sin. His plan to love us and rescue us.

The early church fathers referred to this passage as the protevangelium, or the “first gospel.” This was the first glimpse of God’s plan to save us.

Adam and Eve disobeyed God. They ate the fruit that He commanded them to stay away from. It was the first sin. And it sent our world on a downward spiral that is still happening today. But in the midst of the chaos, in the midst of this disastrous disobedience, God revealed His plan.

And as the Old Testament unfolded, the plan got more and more specific. The Bible gave specific details about Jesus’ birth, hundreds of years before He was born.

For the first birth prophecy, let’s go to the Old Testament book of Micah. Probably not a book you read very often, if you are a Christian. But Micah 5:2 is an amazing prophecy about the birth of Jesus.

“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, NIV)

God promised that the Messiah would come from Bethlehem. Do you realize how specific this is? This prophecy stated that God’s Son would come from a town that probably had less than 200 people. Of all the cities in the ancient world, the prophet claimed that the Messiah would come from Bethlehem. Not Athens. Not Rome. The tiny little insignificant town of Bethlehem. It’s incredibly specific, especially when you consider that this prophecy was written at least 700 years before Jesus was born. God pointed out the tiny town of Bethlehem as the birth place of His Son 700 years ahead of time.

But it doesn’t stop there. Not only does the Old Testament single out a small town, but it gets even more specific….the Bible narrows it down to a single family.

For that prophecy, let’s go to the book of Jeremiah. “For the time is coming,” says the LORD, “when I will raise up a righteous descendant from King David’s line. He will be a King who rules with wisdom. He will do what is just and right throughout the land.” (Jeremiah 23:5, NLT)

Jeremiah specifically states that the Messiah would come from the line of David. Think about how specific this is. Out of all the cities and towns in all of history, the prophets pinpoint the small town of Bethlehem as the birthplace of the Messiah. And out of the families of this town, the prophets pinpoint one: the family of David. The Messiah would come from this specific family. And this was prophesied by Jeremiah at least 600 years before Christ…and we’re not done yet. The Bible also gives us a specific timeframe when the Messiah would be born.

In the book of Malachi, the Bible says, “See, I will send my messenger, who will prepare the way before me. Then suddenly the Lord you are seeking will come to his temple; the messenger of the covenant, whom you desire, will come," says the LORD Almighty.” (Malachi 3:1, NIV)

Not only did the prophets tell us the town and even the family that the Messiah would come from, but Malachi tells us when the Messiah would come. Malachi said that “the Lord you are seeking will come to his temple.” So for this prophecy to be true, the Messiah would have to come while the temple was still standing.

Why is that important? Because the temple was destroyed in 70 AD and has never been rebuilt. If anyone claims to be the Son of God after 70 AD, you can immediately write them off as a fraud because they can’t fulfill this prophecy.

At least 400 years before the birth of Jesus, Malachi prophesied that the Son of God would be born before the destruction of the temple.

God pointed out the specific town, the specific family, and the specific timeframe for the Messiah hundreds of years before Jesus was born. But now, watch this. The specificity is going to go to a whole new level.

In the book of Isaiah, the Bible says, “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.” (Isaiah 7:14, NIV)

That’s pretty specific. It’s hard to have a more precise description than this: the child’s mom will be a virgin. No other person who has claimed to be the Christ has fulfilled this prophecy. Every one of them can be debunked on this prophecy alone. For every other person who claimed to be the Messiah, you can point to an earthly father. Only Jesus Christ fulfills this prophecy. And we’re going to go a lot more in depth on the virgin birth next week. Stay tuned.

Think about what we’ve seen so far today. The Messiah would be born in Bethlehem. He would come from the family of David. He would be born while the temple was still standing. His mother would be a virgin. All of these prophecies were written hundreds of years before Christ. Jesus Christ is the only person in history to fulfill every one of these prophecies.

But we’re not done yet. You think the prophecies of Jesus’ birth were specific? Wait until you see the prophecies about His death. This stuff will blow you away.

Let’s start with the prophet Zechariah. In Zechariah 11:12-13, the Bible says, “I told them, "If you think it best, give me my pay; but if not, keep it." So they paid me thirty pieces of silver. And the LORD said to me, "Throw it to the potter"-the handsome price at which they priced me!

So I took the thirty pieces of silver and threw them into the house of the LORD to the potter.” (Zechariah 11:12-13, NIV)

At first, this prophecy might not make a lot of sense. What is this stuff about thirty pieces of silver? And what’s up with the potter? This sounds weird; almost cryptic…until you go to the book of Matthew in the New Testament. When you read what Matthew wrote in his gospel, it all makes sense.

In Matthew 27, the Bible says, “Early in the morning, all the chief priests and the elders of the people came to the decision to put Jesus to death. They bound him, led him away and handed him over to Pilate, the governor.

When Judas, who had betrayed him, saw that Jesus was condemned, he was seized with remorse and returned the thirty silver coins to the chief priests and the elders. [The exact price that Zechariah prophesied.] "I have sinned," he said, "for I have betrayed innocent blood."

"What is that to us?" they replied. "That's your responsibility."

So Judas threw the money into the temple and left. [Zechariah prophesied that the money would be thrown into the house of the Lord.] Then he went away and hanged himself.

The chief priests picked up the coins and said, "It is against the law to put this into the treasury, since it is blood money." So they decided to use the money to buy the potter's field as a burial place for foreigners. [exactly as Zechariah said they would do]" (Matthew 27:1-7, NIV)

In a book that was written 500-600 years before Christ, Zechariah told us that the Messiah would be betrayed for 30 silver coins…the exact price that Judas accepted to betray Jesus. He predicted that money would be thrown into the house of God, which happened when Judas threw it into the temple. And he told us that the money would be given to a potter, which happened with the purchase of the potter’s field.

Does this not blow your mind? Some people claim that the Old Testament prophecies about the Messiah are so general that hundreds of people could have fulfilled them. This is not general. This prophecy is amazingly precise. And it is pointing like a laser at Jesus.

Now, check out this prophecy from Psalm 22. “Dogs have surrounded me; a band of evil men has encircled me, they have pierced my hands and my feet. I can count all my bones; people stare and gloat over me. They divide my garments among them and cast lots for my clothing.” (Psalm 22:16-18, NIV)

This prophecy was written by David. It gives amazing details about the crucifixion of the Messiah. It’s easy to miss this because we know the story of Jesus’ death on a cross. But when David wrote the words, “they have pierced my hands and feet,” we have to remember that David had never seen a crucifixion. Never even heard of it. This was written 800 years before the Romans began using crucifixion as a means of execution.

Not only that, but David wrote that the executioners divided the Messiah’s clothes by casting lots.

In Matthew 27, the Bible tells us, “When they had crucified him, they divided up his clothes by casting lots.” (Matthew 27:35, NIV)

It was prophesied 800 years prior. It was fulfilled exactly when Jesus was crucified. This is mind-blowing stuff, isn’t it?

One of the longest, and most amazing, prophecies about Jesus’ suffering and death is in Isaiah. We’ll pick it up in Isaiah 52:13, and we’ll stop at different points to note how Jesus specifically fulfilled this prophecy.

“See, my servant will act wisely; he will be raised and lifted up and highly exalted. Just as there were many who were appalled at him—his appearance was so disfigured beyond that of any man and his form marred beyond human likeness—[This prophecy said that the Messiah would be beaten so mercilessly that he would be beyond human recognition. He wouldn’t even look like a man anymore.]

so will he sprinkle many nations, and kings will shut their mouths because of him. For what they were not told, they will see, and what they have not heard, they will understand.

Who has believed our message and to whom has the arm of the LORD been revealed? He grew up before him like a tender shoot, and like a root out of dry ground. [The Messiah would have very humble beginnings. He wouldn’t be born in opulence, but in obscurity. Jesus was born in a stable or a cave. He was laid in a manger, which is a feeding trough for animals. He grew up in a poor family in the middle of nowhere.]

He had no beauty or majesty to attract us to him, nothing in his appearance that we should desire him. [The Messiah would be very plain and ordinary in appearance. Not a handsome man. Not a guy that all the girls would fawn over. Nothing that would attract anyone to him.]

He was despised and rejected by men, a man of sorrows, and familiar with suffering.

Like one from whom men hide their faces he was despised, and we esteemed him not.

Surely he took up our infirmities and carried our sorrows, yet we considered him stricken by God, smitten by him, and afflicted.

But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was upon him, and by his wounds we are healed. [Jesus’ hands, feet, and side were all pierced on the cross. Keep in mind, Isaiah had never seen a crucifixion. Jesus was punished and crushed for our sins. And in an irony that only God could write, “by his wounds we are healed.”]

We all, like sheep, have gone astray, each of us has turned to his own way; and the LORD has laid on him the iniquity of us all. He was oppressed and afflicted, yet he did not open his mouth;

he was led like a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before her shearers is silent, so he did not open his mouth. [Isaiah predicted that the Messiah would remain silent before his accusers. When we read the New Testament account of Jesus’ trial, we see him standing silently. Not answering those who were condemning him to die.]

By oppression and judgment he was taken away. And who can speak of his descendants?

For he was cut off from the land of the living; for the transgression of my people he was stricken.

He was assigned a grave with the wicked, and with the rich in his death, [Jesus was buried in the tomb of a rich man named Joseph of Arimathea.]

though he had done no violence, nor was any deceit in his mouth. [The Messiah would live a perfect, sinless life. That disqualifies every person to ever claim to be the Messiah except Jesus.]

Yet it was the LORD's will to crush him and cause him to suffer, and though the LORD makes his life a guilt offering,

he will see his offspring and prolong his days, and the will of the LORD will prosper in his hand.

After the suffering of his soul, he will see the light of life and be satisfied; [This a specific prophecy about the resurrection. If someone claims to be the Messiah, they must die and then be raised to life. Only one has ever done it: Jesus Christ.]

by his knowledge my righteous servant will justify many, and he will bear their iniquities. Therefore I will give him a portion among the great, and he will divide the spoils with the strong,

because he poured out his life unto death, and was numbered with the transgressors. [When you read the crucifixion story, you see that Jesus was crucified between two thieves. One on his right, one on his left. That’s what it means when it says he “was numbered with the transgressors.” He was treated like a criminal and he was executed with thieves.] For he bore the sin of many, and made intercession for the transgressors.” (Isaiah 52:13-53:12, NIV)

This passage is way, way longer than what I would normally use, but you just can’t condense this. We just read the equivalent of an entire chapter of the Bible, and at every turn, you see another prediction. Another prophecy about the Messiah. And Jesus fulfills every one of them perfectly.

This stuff rocks my world…and we’ve only had time to scratch the surface!

Jesus Christ is the thread that runs through the entire Bible. His life was prophesied in incredible detail in the Old Testament. And we see how He was the exact fulfillment of these prophecies in the New Testament.

No other religious book has this. No other faith has a Messiah that was the fulfillment of such extensive prophecy.

One scholar wrote, “The Bible is different from every other religious book. There is no other book upon which a religion has been founded which includes prophecy within it.” (J. Dwight Pentecost)

The Bible is unique in its prophecy and fulfillment. No other religious text in the world has this. And no other faith has a Messiah that fulfills the prophecies found in the Old Testament.

Peter W. Stoner gives the following analysis based on the principles of probability. Stoner calculated the odds of one person fulfilling just eight of the messianic prophecies in the Old Testament. Not 60. Not 30. Not even 20. Just eight. Coincidentally, we’ve talked about just eight of the messianic prophecies this morning. He calculates that the odds of one person fulfilling just eight of these prophecies is 10 to the 17th power. That’s a staggering number, but he goes on to help us visualize it.

Let’s say we cover the entire state of Texas with silver dollars. We blanket the every inch of the state with a layer of silver dollars that is two feet deep. Now, we mark one of those silver dollars with an “X,” and then we stir the whole thing.

Then we blindfold a guy, tell him he can walk anywhere he wants, as far as he wants, but he eventually has to stop and pick up one silver dollar…and it must be the one that we marked.

What are the odds that this guy would pick up the silver dollar marked with the “X?” The same odds as one man fulfilling just eight of the messianic prophecies. And yet Jesus is the perfect fulfillment of all 70.

There is a reason we celebrate Christmas. There is a reason for Christianity. The reason is that Jesus Christ is the Son of God. The proof in His favor is mind boggling.

It comes down to our choice. We can choose to accept Jesus or we can choose to reject Jesus. It’s a choice that God gives to every one of us. If you choose to reject Jesus, at least be honest about it. You can’t reject Him because you say, “Well, I really don’t believe He was the Son of God. I don’t believe He was the Messiah. I don’t see any evidence of that fact.”

Given everything we’ve seen today, can you honestly say that? Seriously? No you can’t. You can reject Jesus because you don’t want to obey Him. You want to live by your own rules. You don’t want to be told what to do. At least that’s honest.

But don’t try to say that there is no solid, intellectual evidence in favor of Jesus. We’ve destroyed that argument today. There is no other faith whose central figure is the fulfillment of this kind of extensive prophecy. Islam doesn’t have it. Hinduism doesn’t have it. Buddhism doesn’t have it. Christianity has cornered the market on this kind of extensive, fulfilled prophecy. Jesus is the only religious leader to ever live with this kind of historical, reliable evidence backing Him up.

Christmas is not just a holiday. It’s not really about anything that our culture claims that it’s about. It’s about a baby in a manger who was the fulfillment of a divine plan thousands of years in the making. It’s about a baby who grew up, lived a sinless life, was tried and convicted on a bunch of trumped up charges, was beaten without mercy, and was nailed to a cross where He died.

It’s about Jesus. The Messiah. The chosen one. The Savior that God promised would come. The one who forever changed the world, and the one who can change your life and your eternity.

Mike Edmisten

Tags: apologetics, Jesus, prophecy, Taking Back Christmas