And the LORD said unto me, They have well spoken that which they have spoken. I will raise them up a Prophet from among their brethren, like unto thee, and will put my words in his mouth; and he shall speak unto them all that I shall command him. And it shall come to pass, that whosoever will not hearken unto my words which he shall speak in my name, I will require it of him.
Deuteronomy 18:17-19
There are prophecies all through the Old Testament about the coming of Jesus. The Spirit of God inspired men like David, Daniel, Isaiah, Micah, and others to foretell the time, place, and manner of His arrival. But the first prophecies of the coming Messiah come to us from the writer of the first five books of the Bible, Moses, who gave the people the promise that God had given to him—that a Prophet was coming who would speak God’s words to the people and give them the truth of salvation. Jesus declared that He was the fulfillment of that promise. He told the Pharisees, “For had ye believed Moses, ye would have believed me: for he wrote of me” (John 5:46).
The promise of Christmas is far more than the promise of the birth of a baby in Bethlehem. All of those prophecies came true exactly as they were written, for everything God says comes to pass. But Jesus’ birth in Bethlehem was merely the beginning. The purpose of Jesus coming into the world was not to be born, but to die. He knew this before the world was formed, yet He made the world. He knew this before He left Heaven, but He came to be our Savior despite knowing what it would cost Him. “Pilate therefore said unto him, Art thou a king? Jesus answered, Thou sayest that I am a king. To this end was I born, and for this cause came I into the world, that I should bear witness unto the truth. Every one that is of the truth heareth my voice” (John 18:37).
