Why God Became Man
To Fulfill Old Testament Prophecy
Romans 1:1-4
2,000 years ago, in the little town of Bethlehem, God was born as a baby. God, the Creator of the Universe, who has always been, with no beginning, came to earth in the person of Jesus Christ, and was born as a baby. God became a man.
And so on these four Sundays before Christmas we are asking – why did God become man? We have seen that God became man so that he could humble himself to the point of death on the Cross for our sins. That God became man so we could see his glory here on the earth. And that God became man so our sins could be condemned in his flesh, so we can be forgiven for all our sins.
But you might be thinking – why should I believe this? Is there any evidence that this really happened? There is. Lots. And this morning I want to show you one piece of evidence. It’s that in the way God became man, he fulfilled Old Testament prophecy.
We have documents in the Old Testament which everyone agrees were written hundreds of years before Christ. And these documents contain prophecies about the birth of the Messiah, including where he would be born and how he would be born and what he would do. And hundreds of years after those documents were written, these prophecies were fulfilled -- in Jesus Christ.
To see this, let’s turn to Romans chapter one. If you need a Bible, go ahead and raise your hand and we will bring one to you. Romans one is on page 939 in the Bibles we are passing out.
Let’s read vv.1-4. And as we read, I want to focus on one particular question -- where did the Gospel about Jesus come from? That is, was the Gospel of Jesus something Jesus and his followers came up with on their own? Or had it been talked about before Christ came to earth? Look at what Paul says --
1 Paul, a servant of Christ Jesus, called to be an apostle, set apart for the gospel of God,
2 which he [God] promised beforehand through his prophets in the holy Scriptures,
3 concerning his Son, who was descended from David according to the flesh
4 and was declared to be the Son of God in power according to the Spirit of holiness by his resurrection from the dead, Jesus Christ our Lord …
So where did the Gospel about Jesus come from? Notice v.2 –
2 which [Gospel] he [God] promised beforehand through his prophets in the holy Scriptures, concerning his Son…
The holy Scriptures are the books of the Old Testament, written hundreds of years before Christ, by Old Testament prophets like Isaiah, Jeremiah, and Micah. And these prophets said the day would come when God would be born on earth as a baby – and this baby would be the long-awaited Messiah whose death would pay for our sins.
So the Gospel about Jesus was not a brand new idea that Jesus and his followers came up with. It had been prophesied in the Old Testament hundreds of years before Jesus was born.
So with that in mind, let’s raise this next question – where in the Old Testament do we find these prophecies?
Let’s start with Isaiah chapter seven (p.572). Isaiah was a prophet who wrote this book at around the year 700 BC. So these words were written 700 years before Christ was born. And look at what he says in v.14 –
Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign. Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel [Hebrew for “God with us”].
A virgin will conceive? Don’t stumble over this. Consider that if there is a God who has created everything, he can surely cause a virgin to miraculously conceive. And obviously this would be a sign that something supernatural is going on. But there’s more.
Look at what Isaiah says in chapter nine (p.573), vv.6-7 --
6 For to us a child is born, to us a son is given [so a baby boy will be born]; and the government shall be upon his shoulder, and his name shall be called Wonderful Counselor [he will teach what is true], Mighty God [he will be God with us -- fully God in the flesh], Everlasting Father [he will be like a perfect father to us], Prince of Peace [when we trust him we will have total peace].
7 Of the increase of his government and of peace there will be no end, on the throne of David and over his kingdom [he will be a king in the line of David], to establish it and to uphold it with justice and with righteousness from this time forth and forevermore. The zeal of the LORD of hosts will do this.
So, again, this was written 700 years before Christ. To put that into perspective with our time, that would be like the prophecies were written down 700 years ago, at around 1300 AD, way before our country was founded, well-before the Reformation, even before the Renaissance. That’s 700 years ago.
So 700 years before Christ, Isaiah prophesies that in the future –
A baby boy will be born of a virgin.
He will be fully God.
He will be born as a king in the line of David.
Then turn to Isaiah, chapter eleven (p.575). Here Isaiah continues talking about this baby boy. And look at what Isaiah prophesies in v.1 --
There shall come forth a shoot from the stump of Jesse, and a branch from his roots shall bear fruit.
So this baby will be born in the line of Jesse, who was David’s father. And then jump down to v.10 --
In that day the root of Jesse, who shall stand as a signal for the peoples--of him shall the nations inquire, and his resting place shall be glorious.
So his coming will not just be for Israel. It will be for all the peoples of the earth. So let’s add this prophecy to our list --
He will bring salvation to all the peoples.
Then turn to Isaiah, chapter 53 (p.614). Look at what Isaiah says about this baby in vv.4-6 – it’s shocking --
4 Surely he has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows; yet we esteemed him stricken, smitten by God, and afflicted.
5 But he was wounded for our transgressions; he was crushed for our iniquities; upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace, and with his stripes we are healed.
6 All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned--every one--to his own way; and the LORD has laid on him the iniquity of us all.
We have all turned astray from God and sinned. And because God is perfectly just – our sin must be punished. But God loves us. God cares about us. And so God has made a way for our sins to be punished, but not in us – so he could be just, and we could be forgiven. How? By punishing our sins in Jesus.
So let’s add this prophecy to our list --
He will be punished in our place for our sins.
And it’s not just Isaiah who gives these prophecies. They are given all through the Old Testament. But let me show you one more that adds a crucial piece to the puzzle.
Turn to Micah chapter five (p.779). Micah wrote this prophecy at around the year 750 BC. And look at what God says through him, in chapter five, verse two --
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.
So here we learn that the coming of the future ruler, the Messiah, has been planned from of old. And notice that he will come forth from Bethlehem Ephrathah.
Look at this map of Israel. Notice all the cities and towns. And here’s Bethlehem, a little tiny town about five miles south of Jerusalem. And 750 years before Jesus was born, God speaks through Micah and says that the Messiah will be born in this town -- the little town of Bethlehem.
So here’s what we’ve seen prophesied in the Old Testament --
A baby boy will be born of a virgin – and we can add – in Bethlehem.
He will be fully God.
He will be born as a king in the line of David.
And he will bring salvation to all the peoples.
He will be punished in our place for our sins.
So the next question is – did Jesus fulfill these prophecies? To answer that, let’s turn to Matthew chapter one (p.807). Matthew was a wealthy tax collector, who left his tax trade, followed Jesus, and became one of Jesus’ apostles.
And he wrote this book to tell us about Jesus. So let’s start reading with Matthew 1:1 –
The book of the genealogy of Jesus Christ, the son of David, the son of Abraham.
Then he proceeds to give a detailed genealogy showing that Jesus was born in the line of Abraham, but even more importantly, that he was born in the line of David. So Jesus fulfilled that prophecy -- Jesus was born in the line of David.
Then let’s jump down to v.18 and start reading –
18 Now the birth of Jesus Christ took place in this way. When his mother Mary had been betrothed to Joseph, before they came together she was found to be with child from the Holy Spirit.
19 And her husband Joseph, being a just man and unwilling to put her to shame, resolved to divorce her quietly.
20 But as he considered these things, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying, "Joseph, son of David, do not fear to take Mary as your wife, for that which is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit.
21 She will bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins."
So this baby’s name was to be “Jesus,” which in Hebrew means “Savior,” because he would save his people from their sins. And Jesus later explained that he would do this by dying on the Cross, by being punished in our place for our sins. And just as he said – that’s what happened. So Jesus fulfilled that prophecy – he will be punished in our place for our sins.
Keep reading in v.22 --
22 All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had spoken by the prophet:
23 "Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and they shall call his name Immanuel" (which means, God with us).
24 When Joseph woke from sleep, he did as the angel of the Lord commanded him: he took his wife,
25 but knew her not until she had given birth to a son. And he called his name Jesus.
So Jesus was a baby born of a virgin. So he was not just fully man. He was also fully God -- God with us.
But there are still three prophecies. Where was he born? Would he be a king? And would he bring salvation to all peoples? Look at the next verses – starting with Matthew 2:1 --
1 Now after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea [so he was born in Bethlehem] in the days of Herod the king, behold, wise men from the east came to Jerusalem, [So these wise men were not Jewish, they were from other people groups.]
2 saying, "Where is he who has been born king of the Jews? For we saw his star when it rose and have come to worship him." [So Jesus would be the king of the Jews. But their response shows that they also see him as their own king – king of all the peoples.]
The Old Testament prophesied that the Messiah would be born in Bethlehem; Jesus was born in Bethlehem. That he would be a king in the line of David; Jesus was a king in the line of David. And that Jesus would bring salvation to all the peoples; the wise men show that Jesus brought salvation to all the peoples.
These prophecies were written 700 years before Christ. And Jesus fulfilled them all.
Questions? (Let’s have the band come up.)
So what does this mean for us? This means you have all the evidence you need that Jesus Christ is the Messiah foretold in the Old Testament.
So this morning – turn from your sin and trust Jesus Christ to forgive you, change you, satisfy you.
Take all your worries and burdens and trust Jesus Christ to take care of them, to strengthen you, to comfort you.
Take your emptiness and sorrows and loneliness and trust Jesus Christ to love you, fill you, satisfy you.
And let’s join the wise men in worshiping him and offering our lives to him.
You can see that starting in v.9 –
9 After listening to the king, they went on their way. And behold, the star that they had seen when it rose went before them until it came to rest over the place where the child was.
10 When they saw the star, they rejoiced exceedingly with great joy.
11 And going into the house they saw the child with Mary his mother, and they fell down and worshiped him. Then, opening their treasures, they offered him gifts, gold and frankincense and myrrh.
They worshiped him and offered their lives to him. Let’s do the same as the band leads us.