Some three thousand years ago, a foreign king held a nation captive. The people of this nation cried out to their God for help and for rescue from their plight and in response came prophecies. These prophecies told of a person who would come and how, by his coming, the people would know the rescue was underway. There would be a sign and that would confirm that the rescue had begun.
So, what was the sign? What words or action would clearly show that the rescue was underway?
The words told of a King coming from a tiny, insignificant place and being born in such a unique way that there would be not doubt that this was the sign that the rescue mission had begun. The name of the place was Bethlehem; the unique sign was that this ruler would be born of a virgin.
If someone came from Bethlehem, we might say it is was a coincidence. If they had the right name then we might perhaps think it might be him. However, if they also came into the world in what is, after all, a unique way, a virgin birth, this must surely confirm that we definitely had the right person.
Well, there are many more prophecies that tell us that Jesus is the man the prophets spoke of and the odds against someone fulfilling them all is apparently pretty large (actually it is 1:10,000,000,000,000,000 - fancy having put a pound on at those odds!) and yet fulfil them He does!
As we, this evening, celebrate the birth of Jesus in a tiny, insignificant place; born of a Virgin, we can also celebrate that in His coming we have the evidence that the saving of this world. God has indeed begun His salvation of this world of ours. As the prophet Isaiah puts it:
For a child has been born—for us!
The gift of a son - for us!
He will take over the running of the world and He will be called:
Wonderful Counsellor, Great God, Eternal Father, Prince of Peace.
Hallelujah!
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