Jesus came to this hostile planet when people could be hard as their lives.
His birth broke 400 years of deafening silence when not a word from God to man was heard. It was a messy and dangerous world, much like it is today. But when Jesus showed up, hope came to life and peace became possible… for life and for eternity.
We celebrate Christmas because Christ came. But Bethlehem was just the beginning. Golgatha was the goal.
Billy Graham said, “The very purpose Jesus came into this world was to offer up His life as a sacrifice for the sins of men. Jesus came to die. This is the heart of Christmas.”
We know that Jesus came and that He died on a cross. It’s an historical fact. Yet people still struggle with what they will personally do with the fact that He came.
Perhaps knowing that Jesus fulfilled conservatively over 300 Scriptures may help some realize that He life, death and resurrection validates the truth of who He is.
Prophesies fulfilled like these, just to name a few…
Prophecies | Old Testament | New Testament |
Seed of a woman | Genesis 1:25 | Galatians 4:4 |
Descendant of Adam | Genesis 12:3 | Matthew 1:1 |
From the Tribe of Judah. | Genesis 49:10 | Luke 3:33 |
Born in Bethlehem | Micah 5:2 | Luke 2:4-7 |
Born of a Virgin | Isaiah 7:14 | Luke 1:26-31 |
Flight to Egypt | Jeremiah 31:15 | Matthew 2:16-18 |
Rejected by His Own People | Isaiah 53:3 | John 1:11, Luke 23:18 |
Betrayed by a Close Friend | Psalm 41:9 | Luke 22:47-48 |
Every prophesy about the Messiah was fulfilled by Jesus Christ.
We can trust Christ. He is the fulfillment of over 300 prophesies.
We can also trust that He will come again as each and every prophesy about His 2nd coming are taking place every day.
Just as Scripture prophesied His first coming and it happened exactly as God’s Word said it would…so too will His 2nd coming come, just as Scripture said it would.
We don’t know when Jesus is coming back, but He is. Prophesy is literally unfolding before our eyes. Paul spoke of living in the last days while he was alive. We’re so much closer now.
Maybe we feel like the last days are lasting a really long time. But the time will come when Jesus will return…not to die but to rule and reign.
So, on Christmas, we have hope and we have peace and we can rest knowing that this life is about so much more than this life ~ and that one day, God will right every wrong and make sense out of that which doesn’t make sense to us now.
For the truth of His Word, I am thankful.
For the hope of eternal life in Christ, I am thankful.
For a new life and a new heart and a new purpose, I am thankful.
For Jesus… I am thankful.
And that’s why we celebrate Christmas… because He came the first time to save us from our sins… and He will come again the 2nd time, just like Scripture says. And because of that…we are people of hope.