Answering Christmas – Part 3:
What Led Up to Jesus’ Birth? - HOFC
Pastor Bruce A. Shields
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SERMON INTRODUCTION
Over
the next few weeks we will be discussing the truths and falsehoods of
Christmas, to gain a better understanding of the scripture, and how we can
joyfully celebrate the birth of our Lord and Savior without offense to God.
The
series will focus on what I consider to be “keys” to understanding.
As
Christians, we need have no fear of those who hate and despise the Word of God,
and we need not have any fear of those who cry “foul”, or in other ways try to
make a mockery of God.
The
series will answer important questions about WHEN Jesus was born, WHY
Jesus was born, WHAT led up to His
birth, WHO Jesus was born for, and the
most important key of all understanding, HOW
do you KNOW Jesus?
My
goal in this series is to answer once for all, all of the questions, doubts and
misconceptions about Christmas, Jesus’ birth, why we celebrate and return this
season to the former glory and celebration we remember from our youth!
Family,
love, peace, time together, and a celebration of the bond formed between Christ
our Lord and those who belong to Him!
SERMON SERIES
Part 1 - When was Jesus Born?
Part 2 - Why was Jesus Born?
Part 3 - What led up to Jesus’ Birth?
Part 4 - Who did Jesus Die For?
Part 5 - How do you Know Jesus?
TODAY’S SERMON
Part 3 - What Led Up to Jesus’ Birth?
SCRIPTURE READING
The Bible's first and oldest written prophecy,
given directly by God, is found in the opening chapters of Genesis. It alludes
to the miraculous birth of Jesus.
The Messiah is prophesied to oppose the devil,
overcome his attacks and ultimately seal his eternal fate. Genesis 3:15
states,
“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.”
between you and the woman,
and between your offspring and hers;
he will crush your head,
and you will strike his heel.”
The birth of man's Savior, more than two
thousand years ago, is one of the most pivotal events to have ever occurred in
the universe!
This appearance of Jesus, referred to as
the Incarnation, is an eternal
witness of perfect love.
It
shows that God's love is so profound that He was willing to make the greatest
sacrifice, through the birth of His Son, and take the greatest risk, in order
that His greatest creation could live forever with Him.
The following is a short timeline of the
events leading to the birth and early years of Jesus. The times given are approximates that most
scholars agree on, and simply help with the order of events, and do not in any
way try to serve as a specific date timeline.
I.
6 BC
a. The Gregorian Calendar
i.
We spoke in the first sermon of this series about the
errors that were miscalculated in the Gregorian calendar, and that the calendar
itself is wrong by approximately 4 years or so.
ii.
6 BC is another approximation for our timeline of
events
iii.
Probably around May or June
b. Zacharias
i.
A man named
Zacharias begins his work at Jerusalem's temple during the "course of
Abijah (Abia)" (Luke 1:5, 8 - 9)
ii.
While fulfilling his priestly duties, the archangel
Gabriel (likely on Pentecost) visits Zacharias. This powerful angelic being
informs him that his barren wife Elizabeth will miraculously bear him a son.
This son, to be named John, will be filled
with God's spirit from conception and will be raised under the Nazarite
vow (Luke
1:5 - 15).
iii.
Because Zacharias doubts the truth of what the angel
states, he is rendered unable to speak until the birth of John (Luke
1:18 - 20, 57 - 64). John the Baptist, in early June, is conceived (Luke
1:23 - 24).
c. Mary
i.
Gabriel, during Elizabeth's sixth month of
pregnancy, is sent to a young virgin named Mary in the city of Nazareth (Luke
1:26 - 27). She is betrothed to a man named Joseph. The archangel
informs her that she will miraculously conceive and give birth to (through the
power of God) the Savior of mankind (verses 28 - 37)!
ii.
Mary, though amazed at what she is told, accepts God's
will for her (verse 38) and Jesus is miraculously conceived in her womb. She then
leaves Nazareth to spend about three months (Luke 1:39 - 40, 56) with
her cousin Elizabeth.
II.
The Birth of John
the Baptist
a. Mary leaves Elizabeth
i.
Mary leaves
Elizabeth and travels back to Nazareth (Luke 1:56). Elizabeth then gives
birth to John between February 27 and March 11, six months before the arrival
of Jesus (Luke 1:26, 36).
ii.
Zacharias, on the day his son is circumcised, is able
to again speak after he writes down that his name should be John (Luke
1:59 - 64).
iii.
Joseph soon discovers that his espoused wife Mary
is three months pregnant (Matthew 1:18). Although he believes
she has committed adultery (punishable by death, see Leviticus 20:10), he
considers saving her through a private divorce (Matthew 1:19).
iv.
An angel appears to Joseph in a dream and
tells him the child in Mary's womb was miraculously created by God. Joseph
believes the angel and decides to stay married to Mary. He also chooses not to “be
with” Mary until after the birth of Jesus (verses 20 - 25).
b. The Small City of Bethlehem
i.
When Mary and Joseph arrive in order to pay
Roman taxes and be counted for Census, the city is flooded with people (Luke
2:1 - 3). The couple, since all available lodging in the city is taken,
must stay in a stable. Jesus is born in this location and laid in a manger
(verse 7).
ii.
The Lord's birth occurs between August 27 and September
9, with it highly likely occurring (due to its symbolism) on Saturday,
September 2. This Saturday is special, in that it is Tishri 1, or the first day
of Hebrew civil year 3757. It is also the Biblical holy day known as the Feast
of Trumpets (Rosh Hashanah).
c. An Angel Proclaims to the Shepherds
i.
An angel
proclaims to shepherds tending their flocks that man's Savior has been born (Luke
2:8 - 11)! He also tells them that the unique location of his birth,
along with what he is wrapped in, will be the sign that they have the right
child (verse 12).
ii.
The shepherds, after countless angels appear in the sky
to praise God, travel into Bethlehem to look for Jesus (Luke 2:13 - 16). Jesus,
on the eighth day after his birth, is circumcised in obedience to God's law (Leviticus
12:3, Luke 2:21).
iii.
The Magi arrive in Jerusalem. The size of their
caravan, which includes armed soldiers, alarms both Herod and the city (Matthew
2:1 - 3). Herod immediately sets out to gather all the city's chief
priests and scribes (verse 4).
iv.
After Mary's
forty days of impurity after Jesus' birth are completed (Leviticus 12:1 - 4), she
and Joseph travel to Jerusalem so that Jesus can be presented to God in the
temple (Luke 2:22 - 24). While at the temple Simeon blesses the family
and gives several prophecies (verses 25 - 35). A prophetess named Anna
recognizes the Savior and tells others concerning him (verses 36 -
38). The family heads back to Bethlehem.
III.
The last we know of
Jesus’ childhood
a. Herod demands
i.
Herod tersely demands the priests and
scribes tell him where the Messiah's birth is to take place (Matthew
2:4). They quote to him Micah 5:2 where it states he will
come out of Bethlehem (verses 5 - 6). He then arranges a secret
meeting with the Magi and finds out the star they originally saw in the sky
appeared two years ago.
ii.
Herod reveals to the Magi that the King they are
seeking (Jesus) is in Bethlehem. He requests that after they find exactly where
the child is located they come back to Jerusalem to tell him (Matthew
2:7 - 8).
b. The Star
i.
The star the Magi saw, which had
disappeared, appears again when they leave Jerusalem! It shines and moves
before them such that it leads them directly to a home (not a stable!) where
they find Mary and Jesus (Matthew 2:9 - 11). They present
their gifts to the family.
ii.
The Magi, although they had planned to return to
Jerusalem and report what they found to Herod, are warned in a dream not to do
so. They take another route back home that bypasses Jerusalem (Matthew
2:12).
c. Joseph and his dream
i.
Joseph,
right after the Magi leave, is warned in a dream to flee to Egypt until Herod
dies (Matthew 2:13 - 15). This is done because Herod will soon seek to murder
the Christ child.
ii.
Herod, falsely believing that the Magi are
mocking him by not coming back to Jerusalem after they worship Jesus' birth,
flies into a rage. Remembering that they told him they first saw the star two
years ago, he orders all male children in Bethlehem (AND the surrounding
areas!) two years old or younger murdered (Matthew 2:16 - 18). This impulsive
and murderous act fulfills prophecy (Jeremiah 31:15).
CONCLUSION
The time we read of
Jesus is when Joseph and Mary take him to Jerusalem and Jesus goes to the
Temple without them and teaches the teachers.
After which, we do
not read anything until just before the beginning of His ministry.
So, What are the Odds?
Let’s
look at two of the specific prophecies about the Messiah in the Old Testament.
“You, O Bethlehem Ephrathah, are only a small village in Judah.
Yet a ruler of Israel will come from you, one whose origins are from the
distant past.” (Micah 5:2, NLT)
“The Lord himself will choose [a] sign. Look! The virgin will
conceive a child! She will give birth to a son and will call him Immanuel-‘God
is with us.'” (Isaiah 7:14, NLT)
Now,
before considering ALL the prophecies, you have to stop and ask yourself how
many people in the category of potential Messiah throughout history were born
of a virgin in the town of Bethlehem.
In
the case of hundreds of detailed prophecies being fulfilled by one person, we
are talking about virtually impossible odds.
When
forensic scientists discover a DNA profile match, the odds of having the wrong
person is frequently less than one in several billion. It would seem we are in
the same neighborhood of odds, and numbers of zeros, in considering a single individual fulfilling these
prophecies.
Professor
of mathematics Peter Stoner gave 600 students a math probability problem that
would determine the odds for one person fulfilling eight specific prophecies.
(This
is not the same as flipping a coin eight times in a row and getting heads each
time.) First the students calculated the odds of one person fulfilling all the
conditions of one specific prophecy, such as being betrayed by a friend for 30
pieces of silver. Then the students did their best to estimate the odds for all
of the eight prophecies combined.
The
students calculated that the odds against one
person fulfilling all eight prophecies are astronomical-one in ten to the 21st power (1021).
To
illustrate that number, Stoner gave the following example: “First, blanket the
entire Earth land mass with silver dollars 120 feet high. Second, specially
mark one of those dollars and randomly bury it. Third, ask a person to travel
the Earth and select the marked dollar, while blindfolded, from the trillions
of other dollars.”
It’s
important to note that Stoner’s work was reviewed by the American Scientific
Association, which stated, “The
mathematical analysis … is based upon principles of probability which are
thoroughly sound, and Professor Stoner has applied these principles in a proper
and convincing way.”
With
that as an introduction, let’s add six more predictions to the two we’ve
already considered, giving us a total of Professor Stoner’s eight:
|
Prophecy: The Messiah would
be from the lineage of King David.
Jeremiah 23:5 600 B.C. |
Fulfillment: “Jesus …
the son of David …”
Luke 3:23, 31 4 B.C. |
|
|
Prophecy: The Messiah would be
betrayed for 30 pieces of silver.
Zechariah 11:13 487 B.C. |
Fulfillment: “They gave him
thirty pieces of silver.”
Matthew 26:15 30 A.D. |
|
|
Prophecy: The Messiah would
have his hands and feet pierced.
Psalm 22:16 1000 B.C. |
Fulfillment: “They came to a
place called The Skull. All three were crucified there-Jesus on the center
cross, and the two criminals on either side.”
Luke 23:33 30 A.D. |
|
|
Prophecy: People would cast
lots for the Messiah’s clothing.
Psalm 22:18 1000 B.C. |
Fulfillment: “The
soldiers … took his robe, but it was seamless, woven in one piece from the
top. So they said, ‘Let’s not tear it but throw dice to see who gets it.’ ”
John 19:23-24 30 A.D. |
|
|
Prophecy: The Messiah would appear
riding on a donkey.
Zechariah 9:9 500 B.C. |
Fulfillment: “They brought the
animals to him and threw their garments over the colt, and he sat on it.”
Matthew 21:7 30 A,D. |
|
|
Prophecy: A messenger would
be sent to herald the Messiah.
Malachi 3:1 500 B.C. |
Fulfillment: John told them,
“I baptize with water, but right here in the crowd is someone you do not
know.”
John 1:26 27 A.D. |
The
eight prophecies we’ve reviewed about the Messiah were written by men from
different times and places between about 500 and 1,000 years before Jesus was
born. Thus there was no opportunity for collusion among them. Notice too, how
specific they are.
Bible
scholars tell us that nearly 300 references to these specific prophecies of the
Messiah were fulfilled by Jesus Christ.
The odds against one person
fulfilling that many prophecies
would be beyond all mathematical
possibility.
It
could never happen, no matter how much time was allotted. One mathematician’s
estimate of those impossible odds is “one chance in a trillion13.
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