The Christ Child in the Old and New Testaments

In the last post we discussed Jesus’ life and death as prophesied in the Old Testament and fulfilled in the New Testament. In this post we will look at Jesus’ birth. As God promised, His Son, who all things were created through Him as it says in Colossians and in John, would come into this world, born as a Child to save the world from sin. He did this by living a perfect sinless life, taking on the sins of the world and giving His life for us through His death on the cross. He would grow up to do mighty things, but it started in Bethlehem, in a manger.

Matthew 1:18-23

Now the birth of Jesus Christ was as follows: After His mother Mary was betrothed to Joseph, before they came together, she was found with child of the Holy Spirit. Then Joseph her husband, being a just man, and not wanting to make her a public example, was minded to put her away secretly. But while he thought about these things, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying, “Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take to you Mary your wife, for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Spirit. And she will bring forth a Son, and you shall call His name JESUS, for He will save His people from their sins.” So all this was done that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the Lord through the prophet, saying: “BEHOLD, THE VIRGIN SHALL BE WITH CHILD, AND BEAR A SON, AND THEY SHALL CALL HIS NAME IMMANUEL,” which is translated, “God with us.”

Jesus was no ordinary Child. He was conceived by the Holy Spirit. This is hard to fathom for our human minds, but with God, all things are possible. And He did it for you and me that we may believe, accept His free gift, and be saved from our sins through Christ.

Isaiah 7:14

Therefore the Lord Himself will give you a sign: Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a Son, and shall call His name Immanuel.

So, why was He called Jesus, not Immanuel? In Biblical time, a “name” was a person’s character. When Jesus was born, He literally was “God with us.” He was also Jesus, God (Yahweh) saves. God came to this earth in the flesh to save us from our sins.

John 3:16-18

For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved. “He who believes in Him is not condemned; but he who does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.

John 1:1-3, 14-17

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through Him, and without Him nothing was made that was made.

And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth. John bore witness of Him and cried out, saying, “This was He of whom I said, ‘He who comes after me is preferred before me, for He was before me.’ ” And of His fullness we have all received, and grace for grace. For the law was given through Moses, but grace and truth came through Jesus Christ.

God the Father, sent His only Son, The Word, His message to us, the gospel, God the Son, to come to us in the flesh, to pay for and save us from our sins. In the little town of Bethlehem, our Redeemer was born. Jesus would be born of a virgin and would come to do great things, the greatest of which is giving His life for us, giving us grace and redemption.

Micah 5:2

“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.”

He would be King of Kings and Lord of Lords, but not the way people had in mind. He would die on the cross, be raised again, and one day will come in all His glory, for His people and will rule (More on this in the coming posts).

Revelation 19:11-16

Now I saw heaven opened, and behold, a white horse. And He who sat on him was called Faithful and True, and in righteousness He judges and makes war. His eyes were like a flame of fire, and on His head were many crowns. He had a name written that no one knew except Himself. He was clothed with a robe dipped in blood, and His name is called The Word of God. And the armies in heaven, clothed in fine linen, white and clean, followed Him on white horses. Now out of His mouth goes a sharp sword, that with it He should strike the nations. And He Himself will rule them with a rod of iron. He Himself treads the winepress of the fierceness and wrath of Almighty God. And He has on His robe and on His thigh a name written: KING OF KINGS AND LORD OF LORDS.

And it all started in Bethlehem, as prophesied hundreds of years before.

Luke 2:1-7

And it came to pass in those days that a decree went out from Caesar Augustus that all the world should be registered. This census first took place while Quirinius was governing Syria. So all went to be registered, everyone to his own city. Joseph also went up from Galilee, out of the city of Nazareth, into Judea, to the city of David, which is called Bethlehem, because he was of the house and lineage of David, to be registered with Mary, his betrothed wife, who was with child. So it was, that while they were there, the days were completed for her to be delivered. And she brought forth her firstborn Son, and wrapped Him in swaddling cloths, and laid Him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn.

But Satan tried to stop it. He put people in place to try to prevent the coming Messiah from fulfilling His mission. He would stop at nothing to accomplish His deeds and would do great atrocities through King Herod. But God had a plan. And He knew this would happen. But Jesus did fulfill His mission and He lives today, and because of it we are conquerors; we who believe are saved by His grace. Satan has no power over us.

Jeremiah 31:15

Thus says the LORD: “A voice was heard in Ramah, lamentation and bitter weeping, Rachel weeping for her children, refusing to be comforted for her children, because they are no more.”

Hosea 11:1

When Israel was a child, I loved him, and out of Egypt I called My Son.

Matthew 2:13-23

Now when they had departed, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream, saying, “Arise, take the young Child and His mother, flee to Egypt, and stay there until I bring you word; for Herod will seek the young Child to destroy Him.”

When he arose, he took the young Child and His mother by night and departed for Egypt, and was there until the death of Herod, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the Lord through the prophet, saying, “OUT OF EGYPT I CALLED MY SON.”

Then Herod, when he saw that he was deceived by the wise men, was exceedingly angry; and he sent forth and put to death all the male children who were in Bethlehem and in all its districts, from two years old and under, according to the time which he had determined from the wise men. Then was fulfilled what was spoken by Jeremiah the prophet, saying:

“A VOICE WAS HEARD IN RAMAH, LAMENTATION, WEEPING, AND GREAT MOURNING, RACHEL WEEPING FOR HER CHILDREN, REFUSING TO BE COMFORTED, BECAUSE THEY ARE NO MORE.”

Now when Herod was dead, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared in a dream to Joseph in Egypt, saying, “Arise, take the young Child and His mother, and go to the land of Israel, for those who sought the young Child’s life are dead.” Then he arose, took the young Child and His mother, and came into the land of Israel.

But when he heard that Archelaus was reigning over Judea instead of his father Herod, he was afraid to go there. And being warned by God in a dream, he turned aside into the region of Galilee. And he came and dwelt in a city called Nazareth, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophets, “He shall be called a Nazarene.”

Just as was told by the prophets, Herod would kill all the babies in the land just to stop any other potential king from taking his throne, so Joseph, Mary, and the baby obeyed the angel and fled to Egypt. No one knows where the prophecy of being called “a Nazarene” came from, but by what I have read, it is believed that it may have been a word passed down or from another source not in the Old Testament. Some also believe that it was an indirect quote that Nazareth was looked upon poorly by the people in Israel at the time.

John 1:45-46

Philip found Nathanael and said to him, “We have found Him of whom Moses in the law, and also the prophets, wrote—Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph.” And Nathanael said to him, “Can anything good come out of Nazareth?” Philip said to him, “Come and see.”

Isaiah 53:3

He is despised and rejected by men, a Man of sorrows and acquainted with grief. And we hid, as it were, our faces from Him; He was despised, and we did not esteem Him.

Psalms 22:6-7

But I am a worm, and no man; a reproach of men, and despised by the people. All those who see Me ridicule Me…

As we saw in the previous post, He was rejected and despised. And as Nathaniel pointed out, those who are from Nazareth were looked down upon. But as Philip proclaimed and as many did, the Messiah would come, He would save the world. Many were blinded by their own sin and some were expected a different kind of savior. But some knew immediately from a young age, that Jesus was the Christ, the Redeemer, who would bring salvation to Jews and Gentiles alike. More on this in the next post.

Luke 2:25-32

And behold, there was a man in Jerusalem whose name was Simeon, and this man was just and devout, waiting for the Consolation of Israel, and the Holy Spirit was upon him. And it had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he would not see death before he had seen the Lord’s Christ. So he came by the Spirit into the temple. And when the parents brought in the Child Jesus, to do for Him according to the custom of the law, he took Him up in his arms and blessed God and said: “Lord, now You are letting Your servant depart in peace, according to Your word; for my eyes have seen Your salvation which You have prepared before the face of all peoples, a light to bring revelation to the Gentiles, and the glory of Your people Israel.”