The Birth of Jesus

Dr. David Harris

December 2016 Issue

The birth of Jesus Christ was the single most significant birth in all of history. There has never been another which can compare with His. There never will. 


The birth of Jesus was the long-awaited fulfillment of a promise which was made way back in the Garden of Eden when God promised that the “seed” of the woman would crush the head of the serpent (Satan). Adam and Eve’s transgression in the Garden plummeted the human race into the depths of depravity and severed man’s relationship with God. Adam’s disobedience brought both physical and spiritual death into the world. The only remedy was for an atoning and redeeming sacrifice to be made which could allow God’s justice to be served toward sin and, at the same time, allow God to meet man’s immediate need with mercy and grace. The “seed” of the woman was the answer. And that “seed” was Jesus. 


The birth of Jesus was the answer to what the patriarchs anticipated with anxious expectation. We know Abraham looked for Jesus because Jesus Himself said, “Your father Abraham rejoiced to see my day: and he saw it, and was glad” (John 8:56). Abraham saw it by faith when he recognized Isaac as his true heir and believed God’s promise regarding the covenant God made. Abraham’s son, Isaac, was himself a type of Christ in that he willingly submitted himself to his father when his father laid him on the altar of sacrifice. Jacob, the grandson of Abraham, expressed his faith in the coming of the Messiah when he blessed his sons in his dying days, saying to Judah, “The sceptre shall not depart from Judah, nor a lawgiver from between his feet, until Shiloh come; and unto him shall the gathering of the people be” (Genesis 49:10).


The birth of Jesus fulfilled the promise and prophecy made by Micah regarding the birthplace of the Messiah. Micah declared, “But thou, Bethlehem Ephratah, though thou be little among the thousands of Judah, yet out of thee shall he come forth unto me that is to be ruler in Israel; whose goings forth have been from of old, from everlasting” (Micah 5:2). The reason the priests knew where to tell the wise men from the east where to look for Jesus was because of this prophecy of Micah regarding the birthplace. Bethlehem was only about 5 miles south of the city of David, which was Jerusalem. 


The birth of Jesus also fulfilled the amazing prophecy of Isaiah who said, “Therefore the Lord himself shall give you a sign; Behold, a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel” (Isaiah 7:14). Matthew affirmed the prophecy of Isaiah and bore witness to the miraculous nature of Jesus’ birth when he said, “All this was done, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken of the Lord by the prophet” (Matthew 1:22). If Jesus had not been born of a virgin, He could not have been the Son of God and Savior of the world. Without the miracle of the virgin birth, Jesus would have been no different than any other man.


The reason Jesus came into the world in fulfillment of all the prophecies and in keeping with all the promises is sincerely and simply stated in John 3:16. “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.” Jesus, the eternal Son of God, was born into humanity in order that He might carry the sins of man to His cross, die a sacrificial death, and thereby provide the opportunity for each of us to receive His free gift of salvation by repenting of our sins and placing our faith in Him as our personal Savior. The birth of Jesus (and all that accompanies it) is both a gift and a means of a gift. The Father gave His Son as a gift to us in order that we might receive His free gift of eternal salvation by believing on Him. If you do not know this gift, please trust Jesus as Lord and Savior today. If you do, then please share Him this Christmas season with those who do not yet know.