Isaiah 9:6

For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given, and the government shall be upon his shoulder. His name shall be called Wonderful Counselor, the Mighty God, the Everlasting Father, the Prince of Peace. Of the increase of his government and peace, there shall be no end. Upon the throne of David and upon his kingdom, he will order it and establish it with judgment and justice. From henceforth, even forever, the zeal of the Lord of hosts will perform this.

Father, we thank you for your word, your word which is truth, your word which is able to sanctify and cleanse us, wash us clean. As we consider this and many other prophetic passages this morning, I pray that you would speak to us. In the same way that you spoke to your people, your prophets of old, would you speak to us, your people, today? For we ask it in Jesus' name, and all God's people agreed, saying, Amen. You can be seated.

There are scores of books written about great historic figures like Abraham Lincoln, Martin Luther, and Julius Caesar. However, all such works were written after they had passed, to preserve a record of the accomplishments they had brought. The one whose birth marks the pivotal point of all human history was foretold by dozens of authors, hundreds of years before his birth.

Of all that ever lived or ever will live, there is only one of whom explicit details were written about his birth, his life, his death, and even his resurrection. Centuries before he came, one writer asked, who could draw a picture of a man not yet born? Nobody knew over 500 years ago that Shakespeare was going to be born, and over 250 years ago that Napoleon was to be born. Yet here in the...

In the Bible, we have the most striking and unmistakable likeness of a man portrayed not by one, but by 20 or 25 artists, none of whom had ever seen the man they were painting. The Bible, with unparalleled clarity, prefigures the advent of the Messiah, of this man, Jesus. Unlike every other book that has ever been written, the Bible was given by inspiration of God. The Apostle Paul wrote in 2 Timothy chapter 3 that all scripture is God-breathed, given by inspiration of God. This awesome miracle of the inspired word, these predictive writings, proves this miracle to be a fact. Nothing but divine prescience could have foreseen the coming of the Messiah, and nothing but divine power could have accomplished it.

The Apostle Peter, in 2 Peter chapter 1, said that holy men of God spoke as they were moved by the Holy Spirit. I think that's awesome—that the Holy Spirit moved these prophets. The prophets themselves may not have understood the full import of the predictions they gave. They may not have fully comprehended the picture they were beforehand giving of the expected Messiah. Yet the language they used could not refer to anyone else in history but Jesus.

God told the prophet Jeremiah in Jeremiah chapter 1 that He watches over His word to perform it. How awesome is that? God watches over His word to perform it. We see here in Isaiah chapter 9, verse 7, at the end of the verse, that the zeal of the Lord of hosts will perform this word, this promised word: that unto us a child would be born, unto us a son given. The government would be upon His shoulder. His name would be called Wonderful Counselor, the Mighty God, the Everlasting Father, and the Prince of Peace. God would perform that word.

In Genesis chapter 3, we read the first of hundreds of messianic prophecies. In fact, if you turn to Genesis chapter 3, you will find there a predictive promise. Adam and Eve had sinned by eating of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, and the curse was now being given. God, in Genesis chapter 3, verse 15, is addressing the tempter, the devil, the serpent, when He says to him: "And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed."

Bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel. I will put enmity between your seed and her seed, He says. Here, in this first messianic prophecy of the Bible, we're given four interesting points about the Messiah, thousands of years before He would come.

The first thing we see in Genesis chapter 3, verse 15, is that the Messiah would come by the seed of a woman. Now, that's very important, and we'll delve into that a little bit more in just a moment. Secondly, we find in Genesis 3, verse 15, that the Messiah would be a man. Third, the Messiah would destroy the tempter and his work. And fourth, the Messiah would be wounded while doing so.

So, first, we see that He would come by the seed of a woman. Second, that He would be a man. Third, that He would destroy the work of the devil and the devil himself. And in destroying the devil, He would also be wounded. The forecast of this coming one is given here in Genesis chapter 3, verse 15. It's fulfilled and shown fulfilled in many places in the New Testament.

We're going to be flipping all through the Scriptures today, so you may want to take out your pens and your bulletins and write down some of these verse references, because some of them you won't have time to jump to. In Genesis chapter 3, verse 15, we see it begin to be fulfilled in Matthew chapter 1, verse 18, where we're told at the end of the verse that she, Mary, was found with child by the Holy Spirit.

Continuing to speak about this seed that would come, in Galatians chapter 3, the Apostle Paul tells us in verse 16 that this seed is Christ, and in verse 19, that this seed was the promise that would come. The Messiah would come by a miraculous birth. He would come from the seed of a woman in Genesis chapter 3, verse 15.

But we also find in Genesis chapter 12, as further information is given, that the Messiah would come by the seed or the line of Abraham. So we know that this Messiah would come to destroy the work of the tempter and destroy the tempter himself. He would come as a human being by the seed of a woman into humanity. He would come as a man. But we're told in Genesis chapter 12...

He would come through the seed of Abraham by the family of Abraham. The Apostle Paul, in Galatians chapter 3, verse 16, states, "Now to Abraham and his seed were the promises made." He clarifies that it was not to seeds as of many, but as of one, and to thy seed, which is Christ. Thus, Jesus, the Messiah, would first enter humanity through the seed of a woman and second, into the family of Abraham by the seed of Abraham.

Furthermore, we find in 2 Samuel chapter 7 a prophecy indicating that the Messiah would come by the seed of David. There, God speaks a great prophetic promise to King David, telling him that the Messiah would come through David's seed. The Apostle Paul, in Romans chapter 1, speaks about the gospel of God and states in verse 3, "Concerning his Son, Jesus Christ our Lord, which was made of the seed of David according to the flesh."

We are told in Genesis chapter 3, verse 15, that Jesus would come by the seed of a woman, meaning he would enter humanity as a man. In Genesis chapter 12, we learn that he would come into the family of Abraham, among the children of Israel. Additionally, he would come in the line of David. All of this is seen as fulfilled in the Gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. In Romans chapter 1 and Galatians chapter 3, we see the fulfillments presented in the New Testament. God foretold in Genesis that the Messiah would come one day and that he would enter the world by miraculous means.

The prophecy is further developed in the book of Isaiah. If you would turn in your Bibles to Isaiah chapter 7, we began this morning in Isaiah chapter 9. Turn back to the book of Isaiah, Isaiah chapter 7. I love the way that the Lord works. We actually just happen to be, by coincidence, in Isaiah chapter 7 this Wednesday night, if you come out to our Wednesday night study. I didn't plan it; it just worked out that way.

In Isaiah chapter 7, verse 14, we find a verse that you may have seen during this holiday season on Christmas cards sent to you. I think I've received seven or eight different Christmas cards that have had this exact verse: "Therefore the Lord himself shall give you a sign. Behold, a virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and you shall call his name Emmanuel." In Genesis chapter 3, verse 15, we were told that her seed would one day come as the anointed Messiah.

Now that phrase, "her seed," is found nowhere else in the Bible. However, the idea of the seed in procreation is mentioned hundreds of times. We read of the seed or seeds, but in every other case, the seed is always referenced to that of a man. Yet, in Genesis chapter 3, it speaks of her seed. This is a unique concept found in Genesis chapter 3, and it can only be interpreted as a prediction of the virgin birth, which is further discussed in Isaiah chapter 7.

As with just about every passage of Scripture, there are always those who seem to want to contradict or complain about it. Throughout the years, some liberal theologians have argued that the Hebrew word used for "virgin" in Isaiah 7:14 is "Alma," which means "young maiden." They suggest it may not mean a true virgin. However, the translators of the Hebrew Bible into the Greek Septuagint used the Greek word "Parthenos," which clearly speaks of a virgin. We see the fulfillment of this in the New Testament.

The question arises: why is the virgin birth important? Had the Messiah been born through natural conception and procreation, with a human father and a human mother, then He would not have been what He needed to be. As Hebrews chapter 7, verse 26 states, Jesus, when He came, was holy, harmless, undefiled, and separate from sinners. Therefore, the virgin birth is extremely important in Jesus' coming.

I also believe that God chose to use the word "Alma," the Hebrew word for "young maiden," in Isaiah chapter 7 because the passage has a dual fulfillment. We will discuss this further this Wednesday night, so come on out if you'd like to study what the near fulfillment was. We know what the far fulfillment is because we read of it in the Gospels.

In Isaiah chapter 7, verse 14, we read four more things about the Messiah. First, the Messiah's birth will be the work of God. Notice that Isaiah said, "Therefore the Lord Himself shall give you a sign." The birth of the Messiah would be a miracle of God. Secondly, the Messiah would be conceived in the womb of a virgin. Third, the Messiah would be a man, as she would bear a son, as we are told.

And fourth, the Messiah will be God. Not a mere man, but He will be Emmanuel, which we're told in the Gospel of Matthew means "God with us." God incarnate. The forecast of Jesus' virgin birth and His coming is found in Isaiah chapter 7. We read about it more in Isaiah chapter 9: "For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given."

In the Gospels, we read in Luke chapter 1, verse 31, "And behold, you shall conceive in thy womb, and bring forth a son, and you shall call His name Jesus." A few verses later, in verse 34, Mary said unto the angel, "How shall this be, seeing that I have not known a man?" The angel answered and said unto her, "The Holy Spirit shall come upon thee, and the power of the highest shall overshadow thee. Therefore, this holy thing which shall be born of thee shall be called the Son of God."

In Matthew chapter 1, verse 18, we read, "Now the birth of Jesus Christ was on this wise: when His mother Mary was espoused to Joseph, before they came together, she was found with child of the Holy Spirit." In verse 22, it continues, "Now all this was done, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken of the Lord by the prophet, saying, 'Behold, a virgin shall be with child, and shall bring forth a son, and they shall call His name Emmanuel,' which is to be interpreted 'God with us.'"

It's further interesting that in the Old Testament, whenever the birth of the Messiah is spoken of prophetically, reference is always made to His mother or to the womb, but never to a human father, because Jesus did not have a human father biologically. In Isaiah chapter 49, verse 1, God, speaking through the prophet, says, "Listen, O isles, unto me, and hearken ye people from afar. The Lord has called me from the womb. From the bowels of my mother, He made mention of my name."

Then, down in verse 5, it states, "And now saith the Lord, that formed me from the womb." Again, no father is mentioned, just the mother. The prophet Jeremiah speaks similarly in Jeremiah chapter 31, verse 22, where we read, "How long will you go about, O backsliding daughter?"

For the Lord has created a new thing in the earth: a woman shall encompass a man. In that great prophetic psalm, Psalm 22, verse 9, we read, "But thou art he that took me out of the womb. Thou didst make me hope when I was upon my mother's breast." This is the Messiah speaking in Psalm 22.

Again, a human father is not mentioned. A virgin shall bring forth a child, shall conceive and bear a son, and you shall call his name Emmanuel. From Genesis chapter 3, verse 15, and Isaiah chapter 7, verse 14, we find that the Messiah would come and that he would be born of a virgin. He would come to destroy the work of the devil. However, there is so much more in the Old Testament. We are told hundreds of years before he came about his coming.

One of the most awesome things we see is that the Bible repeatedly gives us his name in the Old Testament. Before we look at this, it's important for us to recognize that a name in Scripture is synonymous with that person's character and nature. Secondly, we should acknowledge that Jesus was given several different names or spoken of with several different names in the Old Testament before his birth.

The primary name that we know him by, seen 522 times in the New Testament, is the name Jesus. This name appears in the very first verse of the New Testament, in Matthew chapter 1, verse 1, and in the very last verse of the New Testament, in Revelation chapter 22, verse 21. That awesome name, Jesus, is often defined as "salvation of Jehovah" or "Jehovah is salvation."

When Mary and Joseph were told in an angelic vision in the Gospels to name their son Jesus, they were literally told to name him Salvation, to name him Yeshua. Yeshua means salvation, and Jesus is salvation. You see, salvation is not just a thing; it's not just an object or something that God offers to mankind. God is salvation. Salvation is not something but someone. Jesus does not save people because he likes to do it.

Jesus saves people because He is the Savior. That's who He is; that is His nature. The name Jesus is actually hidden in the Old Testament nearly a hundred times. That name, Yeshua, is significant. Arthur E. Glass said that every time the Old Testament uses the word salvation, especially with the Hebrew suffix meaning my, thy, or his, it is identically the same word as Yeshua or Jesus. This is what the angel said to Joseph: "You shall call His name Yeshua. You shall call His name salvation."

As I was searching through the Scriptures this last week and looking at this very thing, I found it interesting that Yeshua, or salvation, is used 77 times from Genesis to Habakkuk. I don't think that number is an accident. Seventy-seven times. I want to look at some of these instances, and one that really stands out to me is in the book of Isaiah.

Turn in your Bibles to Isaiah chapter 12. Because the word salvation is actually the Hebrew word Yeshua, which is the name Jesus, we are going to substitute Jesus in place of salvation in the passages we will examine. Look at Isaiah chapter 12, and we will pick it up at verse 1.

In that day, you shall say, "O Lord, I will praise Thee. Though Thou wast angry with me, Thine anger is turned away, and You comfort me. Behold, God is my Jesus. I will trust and not be afraid. For the Lord Jehovah is my strength and my song. He also has become my Jesus." Therefore, with joy shall you draw water out of the wells of what? Jesus.

Now, I want you to think about that in the context of what Jesus said in John chapter 7 when He came to the Temple Mount on that great day of the feast. He cried out during this solemn assembly, when everybody was quiet, "If any man thirst, let him come unto what? Me." Here, Isaiah says, "Therefore, with joy shall you draw water."

Out of the wells of salvation, which is Yeshua, which is Jesus. With joy shall you draw water out of the wells of Jesus.

I want you to look at the first use of Yeshua in the Bible. Turn your Bibles to the first book of the Bible, Genesis. You can turn to Genesis like you're an authority on Scripture. Genesis chapter 49, the second to last chapter of the book of Genesis, is a powerful prophetic passage. We'll take some time another day to study through it.

In Genesis chapter 49, we find the first use of Yeshua, or Jesus, in the Scriptures. Verse 18 states, "I have waited for thy Jesus, O Lord. I have waited for thy salvation, for thy Yeshua, O Lord." There is nothing greater to wait on or wait for than to wait for Jesus. Write this verse down: Exodus chapter 15, verse 2. We read, "The Lord is my strength and song." In Exodus 15:2, it continues, "He has become my Jesus, my salvation. He is my God, and I will prepare Him a habitation, my Father's God, and I will exalt Him."

In 1 Samuel chapter 2, verse 1, we read the prayer of Hannah, Samuel's mother, before Samuel was born. Hannah prayed and said, "My heart rejoices in the Lord. My horn is exalted in the Lord. My mouth is enlarged over mine enemies because I rejoice in thy Jesus and thy salvation."

Furthermore, we read in the Psalms. Turn in your Bibles to Psalm 9. Psalm 9, a Psalm of David, contains in verse 14, "That I may show forth all thy praise in the gates of the daughter of Zion. I will rejoice in thy Jesus. I will rejoice in thy salvation." A few chapters later, in Psalm 13, verse 5, we find more expressions of this theme.

The psalmist, again, David, says, "But I have trusted in thy mercy. My heart shall rejoice in thy Yeshua, in thy Jesus." One psalm later, in Psalm 14, verse 7, it states, "Oh, that Jesus of Israel would come out of Zion! When the Lord brings back the captivity of his people, Jacob shall rejoice and shall be glad." What a great call we see there from the psalmist!

Over in Psalm 35, verse 9, it says, "And my soul shall be joyful in the Lord. It shall rejoice in his Yeshua, in his Jesus." Psalm 62, verses 2 and 6 are exactly the same: "He only is my rock and my Jesus. He is my defense. I shall not greatly be moved." Listen, if Jesus is your rock, if you trust him as your defense, you will not be moved.

In Psalm 69, verse 29, it reads, "But I am poor and sorrowful. Let thy salvation, or thy Jesus, O God, set me up on high." In a crowd this large, on any given day, there are many people who are probably here today who are sorrowful, who are downcast. The world looks to so many different things to exalt one's countenance, to lift them up. Perhaps it's just joy, mirth, partying, and pleasure. Perhaps it's alcohol or some other drug. But all of those things are temporary. Only Jesus is the one who can set us up on high.

So, I am poor and sorrowful. Let thy Jesus, O God, set me up on high. Then, in Isaiah chapter 25, I love this one. Isaiah 25, verse 9 states, "And it shall be said in that day..."

Lo, this is our God, and we have waited for Him. He will save us. This is the Lord, and we have waited for Him. We will be glad and rejoice in His Jesus. Seventy-seven times from Genesis to Habakkuk in the Old Testament, we read the word salvation, the word Yeshua, the name Jesus repeated. These are just some of those verses. We could spend the entire hour just looking at these verses, and every single one of them is powerful. Every single one of them speaks of how great Yeshua, Jesus, our salvation is. It's not just something He is or does; Jesus is salvation. He Himself is precious.

However, He is not only called Jesus, although that's the name most used of Him, both in our culture and in the Bible. We also see in both the Old Testament and the New Testament that He is called Christ. In the Old Testament, He is referred to as Messiah, coming from the Hebrew word Mashiach. In the New Testament, He is called Christos, or Christ, which means the Anointed One. Jesus is the Anointed One, prophesied and promised in the book of Genesis. Throughout the entire Old Testament, we see words spoken about Him hundreds of years before He came, thousands of years before He came.

When we gather together as a church body or as families within the month of December, we recognize that Jesus was not actually born on December 25th, but we take the time to remember and celebrate that the word of the Lord was fulfilled when He came. He is called Christ. Second only to Jesus, the title given to Him most in the New Testament, besides Jesus, is the title Lord. Jesus is used 522 times in the New Testament, while Lord is used in reference to Him over 140 times. He is Lord. He is master. He is ruler.

In the book of Acts, we read that God made Him Christ and Lord. He can only be your salvation, my salvation, if we recognize Him as Lord. He is able to bring and give salvation to all humanity that ever has lived or ever will live, but He is only the trust.

The confidence and salvation of those who make Him their Lord and follow Him as Master are profound. Not only is He Jesus, not only is He salvation, the Anointed One, the Master, and the Lord, but we are told in Isaiah chapter 7 that He is Emmanuel. He is God with us, God come down.

In Isaiah chapter 9, verse 6, we read, "For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given, and the government shall be upon His shoulder. His name shall be called Wonderful Counselor, the Mighty God." He is the Mighty God who became a man. Not only is He Christ and Lord Emmanuel, but the Scriptures also foretell that He would be born King.

In the Gospel of Luke, when the angel appeared to the shepherds in Bethlehem, he said, "Unto you this day, Christ the King is born in Bethlehem." He was born King; He did not become King. Most individuals in a royal line are born as a prince and ultimately ascend to the throne as King when the reigning King dies. However, Jesus was born as King.

This infuriated the King of the day, King Herod. Remember, when the wise men of the East came to him, they asked, "Where is He that is born King of the Jews?" Herod was upset. "What do you mean, born King? I'm King!" But in Bethlehem was born the King of kings and the Lord of lords.

Jesus is born King, but He is also called Governor in the Scriptures. Not the Governator, but the Governor. In Isaiah chapter 9, we read that He is the head, the governor, the ruler, and of the increase of His government, there shall be no end. Every human government has an end. Every great civilization has come to an end at some point. Our earthly kingdom here in the United States is not an eternal kingdom. The government of this kingdom will one day come to nothing. Some people think it will happen sooner rather than later, but there is a day coming when it will fall. However, of the increase of His government, there shall be no end.

There shall be no end. It will never fade away. If you today are a follower of Christ, if He is your Lord and ruler, then you are under His government and you follow what He says over what any other human government will ever say. He is the governor, and of the increase of His government, there shall be no end. On into eternity, His government shall stand.

He is Jesus, He is Christ, He is Lord, He is Emmanuel, He is King, and He is governor. The Scriptures also foretell that He is the Son. Unto us a child is born, unto us a Son is given. We need to recognize that when we see in the Scriptures that Jesus is the Son of God, most specifically in the Gospel of John, it does not mean that He is the procreation of God. He is the Son of Man and the Son of God, which means that He has the nature, the character, and the attributes of a man. He has humanity, but He also has the nature of God. No other has that but Jesus.

It was foretold in the Old Testament by the prophets that the Son would be given. Within probably the next ten days or so, my wife will give birth. We believe it's a girl. When she is born, she will have the nature of humanity. She'll be the daughter of man. She'll have human nature. God created us that way; everything reproduces after its kind.

Now, evolution, macroevolution, has a small problem with that, but when Jesus came, He is the Son of Man and the Son of God—a man with two natures. Isaiah chapter 9, verse 6 tells us that when He comes, His name shall be called Wonderful. In the book of Judges, the parents of Samson, that great long-haired Fabio Judge, could not have children. Yet, God came to them and told them that they were going to have a son.

He was to be a Nazarite from his birth. When God gave this promise to Samson's mother, she had a hard time believing it. She went and got her husband, and they both struggled to believe that this was truly the word of the Lord. They decided to bring an offering to the angelic being that was speaking to them. They set the offering down on a rock, and he brought fire down from heaven, which consumed the sacrifice.

Right before he departed from them, they asked him, "Tell us your name." He replied, "Why do you ask my name, seeing that it is wonderful?" They were speaking to Jesus, the pre-incarnate Christ. He is called Wonderful; one of his attributes is that he is wonderful. He is full of wonder, which is why he inspires worship when we begin to look upon him.

When we gather together here on a Sunday morning, a Wednesday night, or whenever else we meet, we have a time of worship where music is played. Music, in and of itself, is not worship, but it has an incredible ability. God created it to move us. Music moves us. I've been having such a blast watching this very simple truth in my 14-month-old child. I've never taught him to dance, but every time a song comes on, whether it's on TV or elsewhere, he comes running into the room and starts to dance with a big grin on his face. He has some moves, much more than his dad.

In fact, one of the songs that keeps coming on is for a commercial for the Amazon Kindle. Every time this song plays, he comes running from wherever he is downstairs into the living room, stands there, and watches it while looking at me. It's so cute. God created music to move us at a soul level and to stir emotion. When we have music played, the lyrics of that music are very important because they direct our worship. As the lyrics begin to declare...

The attributes of God, the character, and the nature of God evoke deep emotions. The music wells up within us, stirring us to move, while the words remind us of how great our God is. It should bring our hearts into a place of worship, where we recognize that He is truly full of wonder and worthy of our worship because He is wonderful.

Furthermore, Jesus is our Counselor; He is the Wonderful Counselor. Every time I read this, I think about who we turn to for counsel. Is it Dr. Phil? Dr. Laura? Your great Aunt Sally? Who do you turn to when you need help? Who do you hope is available, not busy, and willing to listen? Who do you trust to give wise counsel? Jesus is wonderful, and He is the Wonderful Counselor. He is available at any time and desires that we would come to Him because He has all wisdom. Isaiah chapter 11 tells us that He has the spirit of wisdom and the spirit of counsel. He desires that we would come to Him because He is Counselor. It is not just what He does; He is Counselor.

He is also Mighty God, as Isaiah chapter 9 tells us. He is God Himself, the Creator of all things seen and unseen. He came and dwelt in the midst of man and desires that we would fellowship with Him and commune with Him. In Isaiah chapter 9, He is also called the Everlasting Father. Some people have a difficult time with this because we immediately think of the Trinity and the triune nature of God. We consider the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit as separate and distinct beings, yet they are all God. This leads us to wonder, how can Jesus be the Everlasting Father? Our brains start to spin, and we struggle with this concept.

However, Jesus is God. He was there at creation. In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth, which was without form and void. God said, "Let there be light," and the Word of God, another title given to Jesus, spoke things into existence. All things were created by Him and for Him. He was there at creation; He was there before creation. He is eternal, and so He can be clearly classified as the Everlasting Father. He is also called the Prince of Peace, the Prince of Peace.

He doesn't need a cool little medallion that says he's the Prince of Peace. He is the Prince of Peace, and although people give awards for peace and sign peace treaties, there will never be peace until Jesus comes the second time. The first time He came, He established peace between God and man, the availability of peace between God and man. The second time He comes, He will establish an enduring peace. That's why we read in Isaiah chapter 9, verse 7, "Of the increase of His government and peace there shall be no end."

He is Jesus, He is Christ, He is Lord, Emmanuel, King, Governor, the Son, Son of God, and Son of Man. He is the Wonderful Counselor, the Mighty God, the Everlasting Father, the Prince of Peace, and He is also called by the title the Word of God. He came of the seed of a woman as a man to destroy the tempter and his work. He came through a virgin birth, a work of God. God Himself became a man by miraculous means to accomplish His purpose and His plan.

Jesus came at the right time and the right place. If you study through the prophetic passages in the book of Daniel, there is a prophecy given about the first and second coming of the Messiah. It states that the Messiah would come 483 years after the Babylonian captivity, after the command and the decree to rebuild Jerusalem. Therefore, Jesus, the Messiah, had to come 483 years after the decree to rebuild Jerusalem, but He also had to come before the second temple was destroyed, which occurred in 70 AD. This gives Him a window of about 35 years in which Jesus, the Messiah, could come.

The prophet Micah tells us in chapter 5, verse 2, that the Messiah would be born in what city? Bethlehem. His virgin mother, Mary, grew up and lived in Nazareth, which is 80 miles to the north of Bethlehem. When I say 80 miles, some of you might say, "I commute more than that each day." They didn't. Why would she need to go down to Bethlehem? What would be the point? There is no reason for her to go to Bethlehem except for the fact that her espoused husband, Joseph, had been given a decree.

As all the Jews had in that day, they had to go to the place of their birth, the city of their birth, to be counted in the census so that they could pay taxes. So, he, with his pregnant wife, nine months pregnant, put her on a donkey and rode 80 miles down to Bethlehem. My wife would kill me! It just so happened that when they got there for that census, she went into labor and gave birth to Christ the child in Bethlehem, as it was foretold.

The Old Testament scriptures also say that he had to be called out of Egypt. Within the next couple of years after that point, Herod wanted to kill all the children in Bethlehem to try and get rid of this King of Kings. Inspired, divinely inspired in a dream, Joseph got his family together, and they went down to where? Egypt. So, he was called out of Egypt.

Isaiah chapter 9 tells us that most of his ministry would be done in Galilee of the Gentiles. The scriptures foretold that he would be called a Nazarene, which means that he would come from Nazareth. At a certain point in his life, he and his family went back to their hometown, back to Nazareth, and that's where he did the bulk of his ministry. The scriptures also foretold that he would minister within the temple. We see that Jesus did primarily minister in Galilee, but also in the temple.

He was born at the right time, in the right place, in the right way, fulfilling all the prophecies of his coming. Isaiah chapter 40 and Malachi, the last chapter of the Old Testament, tell us that before he would come, a forerunner would go before him, one to make straight the way. We see the fulfillment of that in John the Baptist. His names are all throughout the Old Testament, even his name Jesus, meaning salvation, mentioned 77 times from Genesis to Habakkuk.

We see the purpose of his coming clearly spoken of in Psalm 22 and Isaiah 53, that he would be the sin-bearing, suffering servant who would bear our iniquity there on the cross. By his stripes, we would be healed. All of it fulfilled in him. When we gather together to celebrate every single year, this season is not about...

Christmas trees or holiday trees—it's not about St. Nick. It's not even about presents. It's not about debt and credit cards. It's not about spending to make everybody's end-of-the-year market value look better. It's about Jesus, the Christ, the Lord, Emmanuel. The greatest gift that could ever be given, for God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.

Hundreds of years before He came, the prophets foretold His coming. No other in history has ever had that in such detail, with such power, with such accuracy and clarity, because He is not a mere man. History points to His life and His death as the pivotal turning point of humanity. May we be bold to say it, even though that fact, that truth, has become politically incorrect in our day. How insane is that? But isn't that how the tempter, the devil, works?

Don't be discouraged. Don't be dissuaded. Don't back down. It would not be a Merry Christmas if it were not for Christ.

Let's stand and pray. Father, I thank You for Your word. Give us boldness as Your body, the body of Christ, to speak with unbridled lips, to share the truth of Your word and of Your coming. Jesus, I thank You that You came and You will come again. We look forward to that day when You'll call us home. Come, Lord Jesus, quickly, we pray. In Jesus' name, Amen. Thank you.