Christmas and Prophecy
This morning we got up early and made a trip to Lakewood to be with Christian and Bridget and the grandchildren for an early Christmas. Since we leave on Christmas day to fly to Atlanta, this was our best opportunity to connected with our Lakewood family. My mom joined us and Debbie brought the cinnamon rolls, we would have some of the traditional trappings of our Summers’ Christmas gatherings. One of our more “unique” gifts were picture puzzles of our three families.
BIBLE VERSE FOR TODAY… “Joseph stayed in Egypt until Herod died. This gave full meaning to what the Lord said through the prophet: ‘I called my son to come out of Egypt.’” Matthew 2:15 ERV
When we examine the biblical accounts of the birth of Jesus, we see the fulfillment prophecy is a dominant theme. Matthew’s gospel written for a Jewish audience consistently states how various events took place to fulfill prophecy. What took place was not by happenstance. The events were part of God’s plan being unfolded at the proper time.
Consider the following:
“All this happened to make clear the full meaning of what the Lord said through the prophet: “The virgin will be pregnant and will give birth to a son. They will name him Immanuel.” (Immanuel means “God with us.”)” (Matt. 1:22,23 ERV)
“…just as the prophet wrote: ‘Bethlehem, in the land of Judah, you are important among the rulers of Judah. Yes, a ruler will come from you, and that ruler will lead Israel, my people.’”(Matt. 2:5,6 ERV)
“This gave full meaning to what the Lord said through the prophet: ‘I called my son to come out of Egypt.’” (Matt. 2:15 ERV)
“This gave full meaning to what God said through the prophet Jeremiah: ‘A sound was heard in Ramah—bitter crying and great sadness. Rachel cries for her children, and she cannot be comforted, because her children are gone.’”(Matt. 2:17,18 ERV)
“He went to a town called Nazareth and lived there. This gave full meaning to what God said through the prophets. God said the Messiah would be called a Nazarene.” (Matt. 2:23 ERV)
We see the Lord is faithful to what He has promised. What He has decreed to take place, will take place and we see that confirmed in the account of the birth of Jesus and the events that took place after His birth. These prophecies about the Messiah being born in Bethlehem, coming out of Egypt, being known as a Nazarene, I’m sure were the topic of some conjecture and confusion. I’m sure there were those who didn’t know how one man could fulfill all of these. The same can be seen in Bible prophecies yet to be fulfilled. Just because in our minds and rational thinking we don’t see how certain events can take place, doesn’t mean they won’t have a fulfillment in God’s way and time.
Why prophecy? Why does God “let us in” on His plans? We see that the Lord throughout history has worked and has been willing to reveal Himself to His people. He does so to let us know that He is working out His plan of redemption for all people and nations. He has a purpose for the this world and its people We are called to trust Him and to live our lives in a way that anticipates the culmination of God is doing and to be available to be a part of bringing His plan to fulfillment.
For prophecy to be fulfilled, Mary needed to make herself available and be submissive to God’s plan. For prophecy to be fulfilled Joseph needed to heed the word of instruction and the warnings given by the angels and through dreams. We find the discovery of prophecy fulfilled as the wise men inquired of the scribes concerning the birth place of the Messiah. And even Herod’s horrific acts were foretold long before they took place.
The words of the “Easy to Read” version of the Bible state that what took place, “gave full meaning” to the words of the prophets. This is of interest because the words of prophecy when they were spoken could have been and were in many cases applied to events that took place in closer proximity to when they were spoken. But we see that this “double reference” or meaning is a characteristic of Old Testament prophecy. The words of prophecy had a meaning for the more immediate future, but they found their “full meaning” at a later time in God’s plan.
All the prophecies of the Bible have not taken place in their “full meaning.” Just as those before the birth of Christ looked forward to His birth with anticipation, we can look forward to the return of Christ with anticipation. That day will bring to fulfillment many words of biblical prophecy yet to be fulfilled. And just as many words of the prophets were fulfilled a way that could not have been anticipated when Jesus was born, I believe the same will take place as prophecies are fulfilled that relate to Christ’s return.
We are still part of God’s plan that He is working out in the world.