December 14: Messiah Has Come

Messiah Has Come

Who is this baby, born in a manger, that is said to be the Savior of the world?

Adam will tell you, this is the seed of the woman that bruise the serpent’s head.

“And I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your seed and her Seed; He shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise His heel” (Genesis 3:15).

Ask Abraham, and he will tell you, that this one is Melchizedek, the King of Peace.

“Then Melchizedek king of Salem brought out bread and wine; he was the priest of God Most High” (Genesis 14:18).

Ask Jacob, who became Israel, a prince with God. Jacob will tell you, this baby is Shiloh of the tribe of Judah.

“The scepter shall not depart from Judah, Nor a lawgiver from between his feet, until Shiloh comes; And to Him shall be the obedience of the people” (Genesis 49:10).

700 years before Messiah’s birth, Isaiah, the prophet, declared this baby to “Immanuel.” He will be the Savior of the world.

“Therefore the Lord Himself will give you a sign: Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a Son, and shall call His name Immanuel” (Isaiah7:14).

“For unto us a Child is born,
Unto us a Son is given;
And the government will be upon His shoulder.
And His name will be called
Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God,
Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.
Of the increase of His government and peace
There will be no end,
Upon the throne of David and over His kingdom,
To order it and establish it with judgment and justice
From that time forward, even forever.
The zeal of the Lord of hosts will perform this”
(Isaiah 9:6-7).

Isaiah went on to describe Messiah as a fulfillment of God’s promise to the Hebrews and the hope for the Gentiles.

“I, the Lord, have called You in righteousness, and will hold Your hand; I will keep You and give You as a covenant to the people, as a light to the Gentiles, to open blind eyes, to bring out prisoners from the prison, those who sit in darkness from the prison house” (Isaiah 42:6-7).

600 years before Messiah’s birth, Jeremiah prophesied this baby to be the Branch of David, ” the Lord our Righteousness.”

“’Behold, the days are coming,’ says the Lord, ‘That I will raise to David a Branch of righteousness; a King shall reign and prosper, and execute judgment and righteousness in the earth. In His days Judah will be saved, and Israel will dwell safely; now this is His name by which He will be called: THE LORD OUR RIGHTEOUSNESS’” (Jeremiah 23:5-6).

Daniel and his people had been crushed in the destruction of Jerusalem in 586 B. C. Jerusalem’s holy temple to the Living God had been burned with fire, and its stones overturned. The best and brightest of the nation had been taken to Babylon. During these 70 years of Babylonian captivity, Daniel, both prophet and leader, declares that Messiah is coming (Daniel 9:25).

Hosea had been ordered by God to marry a prostitute, Gomer. Even within Hosea’s loving home, Gomer persisted in her wandering away from her loving husband. From Hosea’s grief he understood the grief of God who had pursued covenant love with the wandering Hebrew people. Hosea will tell you, He is “the Lord God of hosts; the Lord is His memorial.”

“That is, the Lord God of hosts. The Lord is His memorable name” (Hosea 12:5).

Amos, a fig farmer and shepherd, was called of God to be a prophet to Judah. His 8^th century B. C. prophecies declare God’s coming reign in the time of Messiah.

“‘On that day I will raise up the tabernacle of David, which has fallen down, and repair its damages; I will raise up its ruins, and rebuild it as in the days of old; that they may possess the remnant of Edom, and all the Gentiles who are called by My name,’ says the Lord who does this thing” (Amos 9:11-12).

700 years before Messiah’s birth, the prophet, Micah, declared that this baby, the Shepherd-King, would be born in Bethlehem.

“But you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, though you are little among the thousands of Judah, yet out of you shall come forth to Me the One to be Ruler in Israel, whose goings forth are from of old, from everlasting” (Micah 5:2).

During the fifth century Hebrew repatriation from Babylon to Jerusalem, Zechariah prophesied the coming of Messiah, whom he called “Branch.”

“Behold, the Man whose name is the BRANCH! From His place He shall branch out, and He shall build the temple of the Lord; yes, He shall build the temple of the Lord. He shall bear the glory, and shall sit and rule on His throne; so He shall be a priest on His throne, and the counsel of peace shall be between them both” (Zechariah 6:12-13).

Zechariah went on to prophesy that salvation would come to the Hebrews and extend to the Gentile world through this Messiah.

“In that day a fountain shall be opened for the house of David and for the inhabitants of Jerusalem, for sin and for uncleanness” (Zechariah 13:1 NKJV).

John the Baptist announced Messiah’s presence to his disciples, declaring his earthly cousin, Jesus, to be “the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world” (John 1:29 KJV).

God, Himself, proclaimed from his throne, the rumbling news, “This is My beloved Son” (Matthew 3:17).

This Christmas season, we, His disciples, declare, “This is Jesus, Messiah, Savior, and Lord.”

Messiah has come!