Over the centuries the prophets spoke of the coming Christ, and the fulfillment of prophecy unfolded. When "the fullness of time" came (Gal 4:4), the promised Saviour entered into the world. He is "the Son of God" (Lke 1:35) who took upon himself our human nature and became one of us (Php 2:5-8).

In John chapter one the fact of the coming of the Son of God is stated most emphatically:

• "The Word became flesh, and lived awhile among us, and we saw his splendour, the splendour of the Unique One, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth" (Jhn 1:14)

The angel who spoke to Mary was also emphatic:

• "And behold you shall conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall call him Jesus. He will be great, and will be called the Son of the Most High God. And the Lord will give him the throne of his father David, and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and his kingdom will have no end." (Luke 1:26-33)

The angel’s statement is made from the very perspective of the Times of Israel that we have been following. The promised king --the Messiah or Christ-- was to reign over Israel in an endless kingdom.

The Main Point

God had sworn to Abraham and to David that the Christ would be born The prophets indicated that Christ would be born in Bethlehem, of a virgin, while the Romans were in power. This came true when Jesus was born to Mary and God’s Son became a human being.

In this lesson we read the story of Jesus’s birth and early childhood, and notice how the prophets spoke of those days.

Bible Summary (The Gospels)

• Existence before became flesh (Jhn 1:1-5, 9-13)
• Human ancestry (Mtt 1:1-17 Lke 3:23-38)
• Angel speaks to Mary (Lke 1:26-38)
• Mary’s visit to Elizabeth (Lke 1:39-56)
• Angel speaks to Joseph (Mtt 1:18-25)
• Birth of Jesus (Lke 2:1-7 Jhn 1:14)
• Angels speak to shepherds (Lke 2:8-20)
• Circumcision and naming (Lke 2:21 Mtt 1:25)
• Presentation at the temple (Lke 2:22-39)
• Visit of the wise men (Mtt 2:1-12)
• Flight to Egypt (Mtt 2:13-18)
• Return to Nazareth (Mtt 2:19-23)
• As a child (Lke 2:40)
• Visit to Jerusalem (Lke 2:41-51)
• As a youth (Lke 2:52)

[The above events took place from 5 BC to AD 8]

Prophecy Fulfilled

A more comprehensive list of prophecies fulfilled is available

The Virgin Birth

The word "virgin"

In some translations the word "almah" in Hebrew is rendered "maiden" or "young woman" rather than "virgin" (Isa 7:14). However, the Holy Spirit’s translation (Mtt 1:23) is the Greek word for "virgin" showing that the Holy Spirit approves of using the word "virgin" (or its equivalent in the language of translation) to render the Isaiah passage.

In addition to this, not using the word "virgin" makes the Isaiah passage meaningless. How could it be a "sign" for a young woman to get pregnant and to give birth if she were not a virgin? [More on this]

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