“18 This is how the birth of Jesus the Messiah came about: His mother Mary was pledged to be married to Joseph, but before they came together, she was found to be pregnant through the Holy Spirit.) ~ Matthew 1:18
The birth of Jesus is a miracle because of the many events which led to his birth and all the preceding miracles which followed. The greatest of these miracles was that of love which allowed Mary to say yes to the Arc-Angel Gabriel when she accepted God’s will. It was love which allowed Joseph to finally look past the laws of man and comply with God.
“19 Because Joseph her husband was faithful to the law, and yet did not want to expose her to public disgrace, he had in mind to divorce her quietly.” ~Matthew 1:19
The story however really begins with the prophet Jeremiah who states;
“5 “Behold, the days are coming,” declares the Lord, “When I will raise up for David a righteous Branch; And He will reign as king and act wisely And do justice and righteousness in the land. 6 “In His days Judah will be saved, And Israel will dwell securely; And this is His name by which He will be called, ‘The Lord our righteousness.” ~ Jeremiah 23: 5-6.
Jeremiah lived some six centuries before Jesus. In fact there are more than 300 prophecies which talk about the messiah.
“6 For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. 7 Of the greatness of his government and peace there will be no end. He will reign on David’s throne and over his kingdom, establishing and upholding it with justice and righteousness from that time on and forever. The zeal of the LORD Almighty will accomplish this.” ~ Isaiah 9:6-7
Isaiah consequently was even further removed on the timeline living some 700 years before Jesus.
According to the prophet Daniel who provided a chronology of events that included the revelation that the Messiah would be rejected before the destruction of the second Temple in Jerusalem. His prophetic prophecy was extremely clear as it relates to the Romans who destroyed the Temple in 70 AD, some 40 years after Jesus was crucified, all of which is found in the Book of Daniel,
“25 Know and understand this: From the time the word goes out to restore and rebuild Jerusalem until the Anointed One, the ruler, comes, there will be seven ‘sevens,’ and sixty-two ‘sevens.’ It will be rebuilt with streets and a trench, but in times of trouble. 26 After the sixty-two ‘sevens,’ the Anointed One will be put to death and will have nothing. The people of the ruler who will come will destroy the city and the sanctuary. The end will come like a flood: War will continue until the end, and desolations have been decreed.” ~ Daniel 9: 25-26.
Daniel lived some 500 years before Jesus.
This list goes on and on, as it relates to those who talked about the future and for those prophetic prophecies which came true with the birth of Jesus, all leading to the idea that they indeed came come from God. But despite this basic evidence we also have the events of why Mary and Joseph traveled to Bethlehem in the first place. In fact one could argue the taking of a sinus was inspired by God so that the prophecy would be fulfilled. Never the less on the night Jesus was born Angels from God came down to announce his birth to the shepherds in near by fields as found in Luke,
“8 And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night. 9An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. 10 But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid. I bring you good news that will cause great joy for all the people. 11 Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is the Messiah, the Lord. 12 This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.”13 Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God and saying,14 “Glory to God in the highest heaven, and on earth peace to those on whom his favor rests.” 15 When the angels had left them and gone into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, “Let’s go to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has told us about.” 16 So they hurried off and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby, who was lying in the manger. 17When they had seen him, they spread the word concerning what had been told them about this child,18 and all who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds said to them. 19 But Mary treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart. 20 The shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things they had heard and seen, which were just as they had been told.” ~ Luke 2:8-20.
As all these events where taking place the star shined high in the sky and reportedly grew in intensity as the night wore on. It was this star that led the Three Wise Men to Jesus as found in Luke who writes,
” 9 After they had heard the king, they went on their way, and the star they had seen when it rose went ahead of them until it stopped over the place where the child was. 10 When they saw the star, they were overjoyed. 11 On coming to the house, they saw the child with his mother Mary, and they bowed down and worshiped him. Then they opened their treasures and presented him with gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh. 12 And having been warned in a dream not to go back to Herod, they returned to their country by another route.” ~ Luke 2:9-12.
In researching all these events everything as it is written is inspired from start to finish by God. Each person who was involved was affected in a deep and personal why most of them being touched by Angels in dreams. In the fabric of the birth of Jesus is miracles guiding the way. Miracles are the only way to explain Jesus from the start of his life to the end, but He at birth fulfilled every major prophecy and it cannot be denied that Jesus is the son of God. It is for these reasons and hundreds of which I did not mention that we celebrate His birth, and celebrate this miracle babe.
Amen,
Merry Christmas 2011