Incarnation

Prophecy

• Jeremiah 23:5 - Behold, the days are coming, declares the LORD, when I will raise up for David a righteous Branch, and he shall reign as king and deal wisely, and shall execute justice and righteousness in the land.  
• Jeremiah 23:6 - In his days Judah will be saved, and Israel will dwell securely. And this is the name by which he will be called: ’The LORD is our righteousness.'
• Jeremiah 31:15 - Thus says the LORD: “A voice is heard in Ramah, lamentation and bitter weeping. Rachel is weeping for her children; she refuses to be comforted for her children, because they are no more."
• Micah 5:2 - But you, O Bethlehem Ephrathah, who are too little to be among the clans of Judah, from you shall come forth from me one who is to be ruler in Israel, whose coming forth is from of old, from ancient days.
• 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.
• Isaiah 9:7 - Of the increase of his government and of peace there will be no end, on the throne of David and over his kingdom, 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.
• Isaiah 11:1 - There shall come forth a shoot from the stump of Jesse, and a branch from his roots shall bear fruit.
• Hosea 11:1 - When Israel was a child, I loved him, and out of Egypt I called my son.
• Psalm 72:9-10 - May desert tribes bow down before him, and his enemies lick the dust! May the kings of Tarshish and of the coastlands render him tribute; may the kings of Sheba and Sea bring gifts!
• The Messiah Would Come from David - 2 Samuel 7:12-13 - When your days are fulfilled and you lie down with your fathers, I will raise up your offspring after you, who shall come from your body, and I will establish his kingdom. He shall build a house for my name, and I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever.
• The Messiah Would Come from Jacob - Numbers 24:17 - I see him, but not now; I behold him, but not near: a star shall come out of Jacob, and a scepter shall rise out of Israel.
• The Messiah Would Come from Judah - Genesis 49:10 - The scepter shall not depart from Judah, nor the ruler’s staff from between his feet, until tribute comes to him; and to him shall be the obedience of the peoples.
• The Messiah Would Come from Isaac - Genesis 17:19 - God said, “No, but Sarah your wife shall bear you a son, and you shall call his name Isaac. I will establish my covenant with him as an everlasting covenant for his offspring after him.”
• The Messiah Would Come from Isaac - Genesis 12:3; 22:18 - …in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed…and in your offspring shall all the nations of the earth be blessed, because you have obeyed my voice.
• Genesis 3:15 - I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and her offspring; he shall bruise your head, and you shall brush his heel.
• Matthew 1  - The genealogy proves all those people were in the family of Jesus.

Progression

• When God’s people disobeyed God’s rule, they were forbidden to remain in God’s presence.
• Jesus came to obey God’s rule to welcome us back into God’s presence.
• Heaven is when all of God’s people live under God’s rule in God’s presence.
• Sin is the attempt to elevate oneself above the authority of God.
• Redemption is the path of God humbling himself to become one of us.
• Why was Jesus born in Bethlehem?
• Caesar Augustus demanded a census to show the world how great he was.
• This great emperor was merely a pawn in the hand of God to get Joseph and Mary to the city of Bethlehem at the time of Jesus’ birth.
• Caesar wanted to show how great he was by elevating himself above the people; God showed how great he was by becoming one of the people.
• Jesus showed humility by emptying himself to become a human, born in a small town, delivered in a manger, and announced to people on the fringes.

Perception

Matthew 1-2, Luke 1-2

Common Misperceptions

1. Jesus was probably not born on December 25th.
2. It is very doubtful that snow was falling at Jesus’ birth.
3. Jesus was born in a manger, but that doesn’t necessarily mean a barn.
4. Wise men were not present at the birth.
5. We don’t know how many wise men there were.

Correct Perceptions

1. No man could get the credit for Jesus’ birth.
2. We could not make it to God, so God came to us.
3. Jesus Christ was fully God and fully man.
4. Jesus came on a mission to reverse Eden’s curse.
5. Jesus is proof that God desires to dwell with us.

‍