December 3, 2023
Reading: Daniel 9
Focus: Daniel 9:25 – “Know and understand this: From the time the word goes out to restore and rebuild Jerusalem until the Anointed One, the ruler, comes, there will be seven ‘sevens,’ and sixty-two ‘sevens.’ It will be rebuilt with streets and a trench, but in times of trouble.
Father God, as we prepare our hearts for the celebration of Jesus’ birth, open our minds to the prophecies that told of His coming. Help us to see that You told us He was coming but we did not see it. Help us to see the promises and the prophecies of our future when Jesus comes again. In Jesus Name, Amen.
I apologize for missing last week. We celebrated Thanksgiving with the flu. The whole house was down sick, some worse than others. But we are recovering.
For the next few weeks, we are going to leave Joseph behind and look to Jesus’ birth and some of the prophecies that are in the Old Testament about it. I have a list of 365 prophecies in the Old Testament that Jesus fulfilled. And He fulfilled every single one of them. An astronomical accomplishment. For one person to fulfill just 8 of these prophecies is something like 1017. Or 1 with 17 zeros behind it. Serious odds, right? We are going to take a look at prophecies of who Jesus is. Where He come from, and is He descended from Abraham, his son and grandsons, as prophesied.
The prophet Daniel, told of ‘the Anointed One’ coming to Israel about 500 years before he was born. The prophecy in the focus verse talks of 490 years. Seven years of that prophecy has not yet occurred, but 483 years after Jerusalem was rebuilt after the Babylonian captivity, Jesus was crucified. The decree, recorded in the book of Nehemiah, was made in 444 BC (according to our calendar). The calendar that we use is a more ‘modern’ calendar than the one used back in the day. A 360-day year was used at that time. So, 483 years X 360 days is 173,800 days. 173,800 divided by 365 equals 476 years. 444 BC plus 476 years (there is no zero year by the way), is 33 AD. Based on this calculations, this is the year Jesus was crucified. Judaism uses 490 years (70×7) of the prophecy rather than 483 years (69×7). They will not see the 62 ‘sevens’ plus the 7 ‘sevens’ as the Messianic prophecy. This allows them to say that Jesus is not the Messiah, based on their calculations.
Jesus is called the Seed of Abraham (Genesis 12:3), the Seed of Isaac (Genesis 17:19, 21:12, 22:18 and 26:2-5), Seed of Judah (Genesis 49:10), David’s Seed (2 Samuel 7:12,and 1 Chronicles 17:11), David’s son called Lord (Psalms 110:1) and Descendant of David (Jeremiah 23: 5-6, Jeremiah 33:14-15; Ezekiel 17:22-24 and Ezekiel 34:23-24) Just to name of few.
Now, remember that a Jewish person is very aware of what family, clan and tribe they are from. It was part of a child’s training to memorize their genealogy. Some families have volumes and volumes of family history. Many of these were lost during the Holocaust but most were salvaged and protected so that families can keep track of their family history. It is important in the end times when the Temple in Jerusalem is rebuilt before the return of Jesus. The new Temple will require a high priest and the high priest must be a descendant of the last legitimate high priest, Zadok. That descendant may know who he is because of his genealogy. And then again, maybe he won’t but he will be found. The additional priests and Levites who will also serve in Temple will also know who they are.
So given that, we look to Genesis 49:10, which states “The scepter will not depart from Judah, nor the ruler’s staff from between his feet, until he to whom it belongs shall come and the obedience of the nations shall be his.” This was the blessing that was given by Jacob at his death. His three eldest sons were passed over due to their actions. Reuben slept with his father’s concubine. Simeon and Levi were responsible for the complete massacre of the people of Shechem. They lost the blessing due to their sins. The mantle of the Keeper of the Covenant was settled onto Judah’s shoulders. He was the father of kings and the father of the King. Jesus is the prophesied King.
We are told that Jesus was of the house and lineage of David. David’s line was nearly wiped out again and again, however, one survivor of David’s direct lineage was always found. No matter how aggressively the line of David was pursued, God protected one to be a forefather of Jesus. The genealogy of Jesus is recorded in Luke and Matthew. Matthew’s is the lineage of Joseph, His earthy father and begins with Abraham, ending with Jesus. Luke’s is the lineage of Mary, his mother, beginning with Jesus and moving backward to Adam. One is the royal legacy, and the other is the physical legacy. Jesus fulfilled the genealogical prophecies.
If we go back to Genesis 3:15, the coming of Jesus was prophesied by God Himself. There was a promise that one would come to ‘crush’ the serpent. This was the first prophecy of Jesus. This prophecy is continued throughout the Old Testament in many forms. His birth, His life and His death is prophesied. Not only that, His status as the Son of God, the King of Kings is also prophesied.
We have looked at only 8 prophecies. Prophecies of Jesus’ lineage. Jesus fulfilled each one. He fulfilled these with the odds against it of 1017, or 1 in 100,000,000,000,000,000. Virtually impossible for any human but not impossible for God.
Father God, we see how Jesus fulfills prophecy. We see that He came to us just as You directed. Help us to see that Christmas is the celebration of the gift of Jesus to us. In Jesus Name, Amen.
Food for thought
- Do you believe that Jesus fulfilled all the prophecies about Him? Why or why not?
- Why do think that the Jews of Jesus’ day refused to see who He actually was?
- Do you think that the Jews of today are beginning to see who Jesus is?
- What can you do to help other see who Jesus is?
- Are you doing that?
