Throughout the Old Testament, we find prophecies about the coming Messiah. How the Jews missed that Jesus is the fulfillment of these prophecies is beyond me. It only shows that we can be deceived by our own ideas. We can not understand scripture apart from the Holy Spirit. We need that indwelling to guide and open our eyes. The Jews did not have the indwelling of the Holy Spirit, they did have the history of their ancestor’s faith of the coming Messiah, but most of all they had God’s word spoken by the Prophets to give them the message from God. However, they took one truth and ran with it: the fact that he would be a King. Their pride would not allow them to believe a baby born in a stable could be their Messiah. They were waiting for an earthly King to be the long-awaited Messiah. Someone who would overcome their enemies and set up a kingdom here on this earth. Someone who would show them to be superior to all other nations and people.
In Genesis 3:15, we are told he would be born of a woman, and Satan will be defeated. We know the ultimate fulfillment was the cross. The “bruising of the heel” is repeated and fulfilled in Romans 16:20. Galatians 4:4 fulfills that he was born of a woman.
Genesis 3:15 “And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel.”
Romans 16:20 “And the God of peace shall bruise Satan under your feet shortly. The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you. Amen.”
Galatians 4:4 “But when the fulness of the time was come, God sent forth his Son, made of a woman, made under the law,”
God did not leave any details out. He even told us the place of His birth. The Messiah would be born in Bethlehem.
Micah 5:2 “But thou, Bethlehem Ephratah, though thou be little among the thousands of Judah, yet out of thee shall he come forth unto me that is to be ruler in Israel; whose goings forth have been from of old, from everlasting.”
Matthew 2:2-5 “Saying, Where is he that is born King of the Jews? for we have seen his star in the east, and are come to worship him. When Herod the king had heard these things, he was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him. And when he had gathered all the chief priests and scribes of the people together, he demanded of them where Christ should be born. And they said unto him, In Bethlehem of Judaea: for thus it is written by the prophet,”
God intended for His Son to come through His chosen people. Even though they would reject Him, He still ushered in the Messiah through them. If they only would have believed, the history of the Jews would have been so different. The Messiah would be the descendant of Abraham through whom all nations would be blessed.
Genesis 12:3 “And I will bless them that bless thee, and curse him that curseth thee: and in thee shall all families of the earth be blessed.”
Matthew 1:1 “The book of the generation of Jesus Christ, the son of David, the son of Abraham.”
Through the Messiah, all would be blessed, but it was through this one that was born of a woman, God’s only begotten Son, that we would be given the opportunity to escape eternal Hell, and gain the blessing of Heaven.
John 3:16 For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.”
The Messiah would be born of a virgin, and His name would be Immanuel, which means “God with us.”
Isaiah 7:14 “Therefore the Lord himself shall give you a sign; Behold, a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel.”
Matthew 1:22 “Now all this was done, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken of the Lord by the prophet, saying,”
Matthew 1:23 “Behold, a virgin shall be with child, and shall bring forth a son, and they shall call his name Emmanuel, which being interpreted is, God with us.”
The Bible is full of prophecies about Jesus from His birth to His ascension. His chosen people, the Jewish nation, missed the connection. They are still looking for the Messiah. Unless they wake up and place their faith in the Son of God who has already come and paid the price for their sins, they will be eternally lost. We read this and think, “How sad,” they missed the truth. Yet, millions will celebrate Christmas this year, buying gifts, singing carols, going to church, and still miss the truth! You can have a head knowledge of who Jesus is, but still, miss Him because you have failed to accept Him by God’s plan.
God’s plan is that you realize you are a sinner, doomed to Hell, with no way to gain entrance to Heaven on your own. We must admit we have sinned. No sin can enter into Heaven because God is holy.
Romans 3:23 “For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God;”
Romans 6:23 teaches us that the payment for our sins is death in Hell.
Romans 6:23 “For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.”
Even though we deserve Hell, God loved us so much that he made a way for our sins to be forgiven. The debt was paid by the perfect one, Jesus. The word “commendeth” means he demonstrated.
Romans 5:8 “But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.”
Romans 10:9-10 “That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation”
When we believe with all our heart, and place our faith in Jesus, we are forgiven! It is not something we can earn, it is a gift from God.
Ephesians 2:8-9 “For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast.”
If we have not accepted Jesus by simple faith, and chosen to follow Him as our Lord and Master, then we are no different than those Jews who missed Jesus. Have you taken the road to the cross, or are you still in Bethlehem waiting for the Messiah?
