THREE ANCIENT PROPHECIES ABOUT THE BIRTH OF JESUS by Adriel Sanchez for Core Christianity
Perhaps no other person in history has received more attention than Jesus of Nazareth. Scholars and historians are eager to uncover the mysteries of his life, death, and resurrection. More incredible than the volumes written on the life of Jesus after his birth, though, is what was written about him before he was born. Jesus claimed the Hebrew Scriptures were about him, going so far as to say that Moses himself wrote with him in mind (Luke 24:44; John 5:46)!
The writings about Jesus that came prior to his birth are known as prophecies. Sometimes people think of prophecies as vague, Nostradamus-type predictions about future events. But biblical prophecies are anything but vague, detailing everything from the place and manner of Jesus’ birth to the way he would die. These prophecies (often made thousands of years before Christ’s birth) demonstrate that the Bible isn’t merely the work of historians and poets. The Apostle Peter wrote,
And we have the prophetic word more fully confirmed, to which you will do well to pay attention as to a lamp shining in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star rises in your hearts, knowing this first of all, that no prophecy of Scripture comes from someone’s own interpretation. For no prophecy was ever produced by the will of man, but men spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit.
The biblical writers could describe future events in detail because they were carried along by the Holy Spirit, who knows the beginning from the end. It’s this heavenly knowledge passed onto the prophets and revealed in Scripture that confirms there is no God like the God of the Bible (see Isa 46:9-10). As Christmas approaches, here are three prophecies about Jesus’ birth for you to meditate on:
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1. The place of his birth.
But you, O Bethlehem Ephrathah, who are too little to be among the clans of Judah, from you shall come forth for me one who is to be ruler in Israel, whose coming forth is from of old, from ancient days.
700 years before Jesus’ birth, the prophet Micah spoke of a ruler who would come out of the town of Bethlehem, and whose coming forth would be from of old, even “from ancient days.” The last phrase there could be translated, “from the days of eternity.” Here Micah foresaw that this eternally existing one would be born in podunk Bethlehem.
Why Bethlehem? In Hebrew, Bethlehem means “bread house.” Bethlehem is where the bread comes from! Jesus identified himself as the bread of life (John 6:35). He alone can satisfy our deepest spiritual longings.
