If there is one known fact that we can be sure it happened, it would be the birth, life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ. Archeological discoveries, ancient writings, and the Scriptures’ prophecies tell the story of Jesus, the Son of God! The Bible is the only Holy Book that has prophecies. To prove the existence of Jesus’ birth, we need to see what the Bible has to say about the birth and death of Jesus. If all of the predictions about Jesus came to fruition, then we can know for sure that Jesus is God’s son who came into this world as a baby and grew to be a man who died for the sins of all humanity. There are 48 uniquely different prophecies about Jesus. What are the probabilities of Jesus fulfilling just 8 of them?
1. The Messiah would be born of a woman. Genesis 3:15.1446 BC
Fulfilled: Matthew 1:20
2. The Messiah would be born in Bethlehem. Micah 5:2 750 BC
Fulfilled: Matthew 2:1
3. The Messiah would be born of a virgin. Isaiah 7:14. 740 BC
Fulfilled: Luke 1:26-31
4. The Messiah would come from the tribe of Judah. Genesis 49:10. 1446 BC
Fulfilled: Luke 3:33
5. A messenger would prepare the way for the Messiah. Isaiah 40:3-5. 740 BC.
Fulfilled: Luke 3:3-6
6. The Messiah would be falsely accused. Psalm 35:11. 1440 BC
Fulfilled: Mark 14:57-58
7. The Messiah would be crucified with criminals. Isaiah 53:12. 740BC
Fulfilled: Matthew 27:38
8. The Messiah’s hands and feet would be pierced. Psalm 22:16. 1440BC
Fulfilled: John 20:25-27
The probability of 8 of the 48 prophecies being fulfilled is 1 in 1017. If you take 1017 silver dollars and lay them on the face of Texas, they will cover all of the state two feet deep. Now mark one of these silver dollars and stir the whole mass thoroughly all over the state. Blindfold a man and tell him he can travel as far as he wishes, but he must pick up one silver dollar and say this is right. What chance would he have of getting the right one? Just the same chance the prophets would have had of writing these eight prophecies and having them all come true in any one man. Only God could orchestrate the details of the coming of His Son through these prophecies.
These prophecies prove that Jesus Christ is God’s Son, the Savior of humankind and that the Bible is absolute truth.
There is One prophecy that stands out at this time of year. It comes from the prophet Micah, who lived in Bethlehem. He prophesied 750 years before the birth of Christ that He would be born in his city.
Micah 5:2, “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.”
Why did God choose Bethlehem to be the birthplace of His Son?
Bethlehem was not an important town, yet God is known for making the weak things of the world great to shame the strong. (1 Corinthians 1:27).
Bethlehem is also known as the City of David. The city was David’s family home (1 Samuel 16:1; 17:12). David was a humble shepherd boy who was the youngest of his family. Nobody had thought David would become anything; however, he grew up to become a man after God’s heart (1 Samuel 13:14). It was in Bethlehem that David was anointed, becoming the second king of Israel (2 King 5:1-5).
Bethlehem was not an important city at the time Jesus was born. The previous glory of King David had already washed away, and Bethlehem was seen as an insignificant city.
What is significant about Bethlehem is the meaning of its name. Bethlehem means “house of bread”.
.Bread is a staple food because a person can survive a long time on only bread and water. Bread is such an essential food item that it becomes synonymous with food. Bread was important to the Jews when they were wandering in the desert. For 40 years, God rained down “bread from heaven” to sustain the nation (Exodus 16:4). Without God’s gift of bread, the Jewish nation would have starved to death.
In John 6:15, Jesus tried to escape the crowds following Him. After some time, Jesus inquires Philip how they will feed the crowd because they do not have the money to feed all of them. Jesus took the five small loaves of bread and two fish from a boy, blessed them, and multiplied what they had to feed 5000 with much food to spare.
So, the Jews asked Jesus for a sign that He was from God. They tell Jesus that God gave them manna during the desert wandering. Jesus responds by telling them they need to ask for the true bread from heaven that gives life. When they ask Jesus for this bread, Jesus startles them by saying, “I am the bread of life; whoever comes to me shall not hunger, and whoever believes in me shall never thirst” (John 6:35).
“For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God” (2 Corinthians 5:21).
When Christ died on the cross, He took the sins of humankind on Himself and died on the cross and rose again for the redemption of all who believe. He is our Hope and Sustainer. He is our Bread of Life!
“Surely God is my help; the Lord is the one who sustains me” (Psalm 54:4).
“But as for me, I watch in hope for the LORD, I wait for God my Savior; my God will hear me” (Micah 7:7).