Whether you celebrate Christmas or not, or whether you
celebrate Jesus’ birth in December or not, it’s good to occasionally look back
at the birth of Yeshua (Jesus) and be reminded of what an awesome event it was.* More than just a cute baby born in Bethlehem,
he was the Messianic Son of David, the fulfillment of prophecies stretching
back through the ages to the Creation itself.
* December 25th first became the date for the
celebration of Jesus’ birth in the 4th century. Before this, January 6th was the
date of celebration. The connection
between December 25th and January 6th is still marked by
the festal period known as the Twelve Days of Christmas. The New Testament itself doesn’t mention the date
of Jesus’ birth.
Beginning in the Middle Ages (10th cent.),
Christian art expressed the anticipation of Jesus’ coming with the Jesse Tree. This was a symbolic tree or vine that represented
the prophecy in Isaiah 11:1 that the Messiah would be “a branch…from the stump
of Jesse.” The spreading branches
represented Jesse’s descendants, the ancestors of Jesus listed in the
genealogies in Matthew 1 and Luke 3. The
prophets that prophesied his coming were also often shown, as in the illuminated manuscript shown here. (For more pictures, see the
Wikipedia article Jesse Tree).*
* This led to the idea of representing one’s ancestry as a
tree, resulting in the idea of a family tree.
In recent years, the tradition has started of putting up a Jesse Tree in the weeks before Christmas and hanging on it symbols of Jesus’ ancestors and the
prophets that prophesied his birth. This
is usually done during the month of December, with a new symbol being added
each day accompanied by a Scripture reading.
This is an improvement over many Advent calendars because it includes the prophecies and events all through the Bible that point to Jesus’ birth. This makes it more clear to
children and others why this birth is so extremely important.
Many of the Jesse tree kits and craft ideas on the web use verses that introduce the ancestors of Jesus in a general way. I thought it might be interesting to make a
list of the actual prophecies connected with these ancestors that point to
Jesus. Following the Jesse Tree (or Advent
calendar) format, I have chosen twenty-five passages that can be used from December
1 to 25, or on any other dates, to remind us why this birth was such an
extraordinary event. These can be used
with a Jesse Tree or Advent calendar, or just read on their own. Some interpretation will be needed for
younger children. Symbols that can be
used in making a Jesse tree are also listed.
Individuals and couples that are starred are direct ancestors of Jesus.
1 Genesis
3:8-19 Adam & Eve* (Heel, Snake) c. 4115
BC
The earliest ancestors of Jesus are Adam and Eve. Though made in the image of God (Gen.
1:26,27), they disobeyed him because of the lies of the serpent. Their Fall and the Curse they received cut off
their descendants—all of us—from eternal life (Rom 5:12). But even in this terrible moment, God
provided the promise of a deliverer.
This prophecy is in Gen. 3:15, the first Messianic prophecy in the Bible: “I will put hatred between you [the serpent]
and the woman, and between your seed and her seed. He will strike you on your head, and you will
strike him on his heel.” The "seed" of the
woman is the Messiah, who will crush and destroy Satan forever. This prophecy is echoed in Isaiah 11:4 (see #12 below) and in Revelation 12:4,9 where the serpent appears as a dragon
(see our teaching on Gen. 3:1 and Rev. 12:3 in “Dinosaurs in the Bible”).
2 Genesis
9:1-27 Noah* (Noah’s Ark, Rainbow) c. 2459 BC
Noah’s Flood was another terrible catastrophe brought on by
sin, in which the world was destroyed by water.
Soon after the Flood, Noah gave an important prophecy about the future: “And he said, ‘Blessed be the LORD, the God
of Shem, and Canaan will be his servant.
God will enlarge Japheth and he will dwell in the tents of Shem…” (Gen.
9:26,27). Of the three sons of Noah, God
is identified only with Shem (“the God of Shem”). This is a prophecy that God would identify
himself with the Hebrew people, the descendants of Shem, through whom the
Messiah would be revealed to the world.
As Jesus himself said, “Salvation is from the Jews” (John 4:22). It’s also a prophecy that the descendants of
Japheth, which in Bible times were mostly Europeans, would be the first large non-Semitic people group to accept
the Hebrew God. These Japhethites came
to the God of Shem because of the gospel of Jesus the Messiah.
3 Genesis
12:1-7 Abraham & Sarah* (Tent) 2166-1991
BC
Through the faith of Abraham, God began to establish his
holy people through whom the Messiah would be revealed. Of all the beautiful promises made to Abraham
in Genesis 12, one contains a prophecy of the Messiah: “And I will bless those who bless you, and
those who curse you, I will curse; and all the families of the earth will be blessed
by you” (Gen. 12:3, quoted in Gal. 3:8; also Gen. 22:16-18). How would all the families of the earth be blessed
by Abraham? Because of his “seed” (which
is singular in Hebrew) mentioned in Gen. 12:7:
“I will give this land to your seed.”
As Paul teaches in Gal. 3:16, this seed is the Messiah, whose blessing
even now is going out to more and more of the families of the world.
4 Psalm
110:1-7 Melchizedek (Cup, Bread) c.
2080 BC
The name Melchizedek in Hebrew means “king of
righteousness.” In the time of Abraham,
he was the king of Salem, an early name for Jerusalem (Gen. 14:18-20). He was also a priest of El Elyon (“God Most
High”), one of the names in the Bible for the Creator God, the God of Israel. As the “king of righteousness” ruling in Jerusalem,
and also as a priest of God, Melchizedek is a picture of the Messiah, who
reigns both as priest and king (Heb. 6:20-7:3).
The connection of Melchizedek with the Messiah is mentioned in Psalm 110:4
(quoted in Heb. 5:6; 7:17,21): “The LORD
has sworn and will not repent, ‘You [the Messiah] are a priest forever
according to the manner of Melchizedek.’”
(Psalm 110:1 is quoted in Matt. 22:44; Mark 12:36; Luke 20:42,43; Acts
2:34,35; and Heb. 1:13.)
5 Genesis
17:15-19, 22:1-18 Isaac* (Ram,Cradle) 2066-1886
BC
Isaac, the son of Abraham, was a miracle baby. When he was born, Abraham was 100 years old,
Sarah was 90. This is a prophetic picture
of the miraculous birth of Jesus. Isaac received
the same prophecy of the seed that his father Abraham did: “And God said, ‘No, but Sarah your wife will
bear for you a son and you will call his name Isaac (Yitzkhaq, which means “he laughed,” see Gen. 17:17), and I will
establish my covenant with him as an eternal covenant for his seed after him’”
(Gen. 17:19, also Gen. 26:3,4,24). But
there’s another way in which Isaac is a picture of Jesus: when he was nearly killed as a sacrifice by
Abraham (Gen. 22). Why did God ask
Abraham to do this? Child sacrifice was
quite common in those days. It was
considered the highest offering to your god.
God was testing Abraham to see how committed he was to God, but also
used it to teach that he does not want human sacrifice, but will accept a
substitute. This substitute, the ram
caught in the bush, is a picture of Messiah who died as a substitute for our
sins.
6 Genesis
28:10-22 Jacob* (Ladder) 2006-1859
BC
Jacob, the son of Isaac, also received the seed prophecy,
just as his father and grandfather did.
This happened in a vision when he was running away from his brother,
Esau, whose blessing he had stolen. At
Bethel, while he was sleeping out under the stars, he saw a ladder set up
between earth and heaven, with angels going up and down on it. Then he saw someone else on the ladder: “And look, the LORD was standing on it and he
said, ‘I am the LORD, God of Abraham your forefather
and God of Isaac. The land that you are
lying on, I give it to you and to your seed…. And all the families of the earth
will be blessed by you and by your seed’” (Gen. 28:13). But who was this “LORD” that he saw? The Bible teaches that no man has seen God
(John 1:18). This was the Son of God
himself, who would later take on flesh to become Jesus. So not only did Jacob receive a prophecy
about the Messiah, he also had a face to face encounter with him! Later, in his earthly ministry, Jesus also
connected this vision with himself:
“And he [Jesus] said to him, ‘Amen, amen, I say to all of you, you will
see heaven open and the messengers of God ascending and descending for the Son
of Man” (John 1:51).
7 Genesis
49:8-12 Judah*
(Scepter) c.
1950-1850 BC
When Jacob was dying in Egypt, he spoke many prophecies over
his sons. One is a prophecy that the
Messiah would be a descendant of Judah, Jacob’s fourth son: “The scepter will not depart from Judah and
the ruler’s rod from between his feet until he whose it is comes; and the
obedience of the peoples will be to him” (Gen. 49:10). “He whose it is” (shiloh in Hebrew) refers to the Messiah. Only he of the descendants of Judah will rule
over all “the peoples” of the earth. Then
the prophecy mentions the donkey that Jesus rode on Palm Sunday: “Binding his male donkey to the vine, even
the son of his female donkey to the choice vine” (Gen. 49:11). The “vine” is a symbol of Jesus himself (“I
am the true vine…” John 15:1-5). The
prophecy continues: “he will tread [the old way of washing] his clothing
in wine and his garment in the blood of grapes” (Gen. 49:11b). Later that same week, Jesus was literally
washed in blood, having been “trodden” on by the political and religious
authorities.
8 Deut.
18:15-19 Moses
(Tablets) 1526-1406
BC
One of the most well-known prophecies of the Messiah in the
time of Jesus was this prophecy given by Moses:
“The LORD your God will raise up for you a prophet like me from among
you, from your brothers; listen to him…. And it will be that the man that will
not listen to my words that he will speak in my name, I will demand it from
him” (Deut. 18:15,19; quoted in Acts 3:22,23; 7:37). This prophet-like-Moses would not be an
ordinary prophet, but a prophet with the lawmaking authority of Moses
himself. This prophet, God said, he would
“raise up.” In the Old Greek (the
Septuagint or LXX), this is the same word used for resurrection. This is why people identified Jesus with one
of the prophets that had long been dead (“‘Who do people say the Son of Man
is?’ So they said, ‘Some John the Baptist, but others Elijah, and others
Jeremiah or one of the prophets,’” Matt. 16:13b-14). They were looking for a prophet raised from
the dead. Only later did many of them
realize that this was a prophecy of Jesus’ own resurrection from the dead.
9 Numbers
24:16-19 Balaam (Star) c.
1410 BC
Balaam was a famous seer who lived up near the Euphrates
River. He was brought down to Moab by
its king, Balak, to curse Israel, but ended up blessing the nation
instead. The key section of his prophecy
is Num. 24:17: “I see him, but not now;
I behold him, but not near. A star will
march out of Jacob, and a scepter will arise from Israel. He will shatter the temples [the sides of the
head] of Moab and destroy all the sons of Seth (Sheth).” The star of the
Messiah appears here as a very militaristic symbol. But that’s the original Biblical meaning of
the Messiah: a strong ruler that will
defend his people against their enemies.
So who are the “sons of Seth” that he will destroy? Seth was the third son of Adam and Eve, from
whom Noah was descended. That makes Seth
the ancestor of everyone living today.
When will the Messiah destroy everyone on earth? After those who believe in him are taken up
from the earth (1 Thess. 4:17). All who
remain behind will be destroyed (2 Thess. 1:6-9, Luke 17:27-30). Here again, the words “will arise” in the old
Greek are the same word used for resurrection (just as in Deut. 18:15, #8
above).
10 Joshua
5:13-15 Joshua
(Sword) c.
1466-1356 BC
The name Joshua in Hebrew is Yehoshua (“the LORD is salvation”).
This is the long form of the Hebrew name of Jesus, Yeshua. No wonder so much of Joshua’s life and so
many of his actions are a prophecy of the ministry of Jesus. One of the most dramatic of these is in Joshua
5:13,14, when Joshua was near Jericho, preparing for his assault on the
city. “And it happened when Joshua was
by Jericho that he lifted up his eyes and he saw—and look—a man was standing in
front of him and his sword was drawn in his hand. And Joshua walked toward him and said to him,
‘Are you for us? Or are you for our
enemies?’ And he said, ‘No, for I, the
commander of the army of the LORD, have now come.’ And Joshua fell on his face to the
earth…” In the next verse, this man
tells Joshua to remove his sandals, “for the place that you are standing on is
holy” (Josh. 5:15). Two verses later,
this commander is called “the LORD” (Josh. 6:2). Who is this leader of the heavenly army of
the LORD, who is also called LORD? This
is another appearance of the Son of God, who had come to lead the Israelites to
victory. So not only is Joshua a picture
of the Messiah; he had a face-to-face encounter with him, and was led by him to
victory.
11 1 Sam.
2:1-10 Hannah
(Animal Horn) c.
1110-1040 BC
Hannah, the mother of the prophet Samuel, suffered as the
childless second wife of Elkanah. But
she cried out to the Lord, and he answered her prayer with a baby boy,
Samuel. Her prayer of thanksgiving
includes a prophecy of the Messiah: “The
LORD will judge the ends of the earth and give strength to his king, and he
will lift up the horn of his Messiah” (1 Sam. 2:10). This is the first time that the word Messiah
(Mashiach) is used of a king in the
Bible. But this is not a local
king. He is connected with God’s
judgment of the entire earth (“the LORD will judge the ends of the
earth”). Even the name of the Messiah is
hinted at prophetically: “because I
rejoice in your salvation (yeshuah)” (1 Sam.
2:1). This is the noun form of the
Hebrew name Yeshua, the name of Jesus. Hannah
also mentions the resurrection of the dead:
“The LORD kills and makes alive; he brings down to Sheol [the place of
the spirits of the dead] and raises up” (1 Sam. 2:6). This beautiful prayer is echoed in Mary’s
song of praise in Luke 1:46-55 (see #22 below).
12 Isaiah 11:1-10 Jesse*
(Branch from a Stump) c. 1075-1005 BC
Jesse was the father of King David. He was the grandson of Ruth* in the book of
Ruth, who was herself the daughter-in-law of Rahab*, the harlot who lived in
Jericho in the time of Joshua and helped the Israelites conquer the city. Jesse is mentioned in Isaiah 11:1: “And a branch will come out from the stump of
Jesse, and a shoot from its roots will bear fruit.” This was written 300 years after the time of
Jesse and David (about 700 BC), so it could not be David himself. The “stump of Jesse” refers instead to the end
of the line of kings descended from David.
They ruled in Jerusalem until 597 BC, when the Babylonians conquered
Judah. But from this stump, the prophet
says, a new branch would arise. The
description that follows identifies this branch as the Messiah, who “will slay
the wicked one” with the “breath of his lips” at his coming (Isa. 11:4, see 2
Thess. 2:8). But who then is the “root
of Jesse that will be standing as a signal flag for the peoples; the Gentiles
will seek him, and his resting place will be glory” (Isa. 11:10, quoted in Rom.
15:12)? This, too, is a description of
the Messiah, who made a way of salvation for the Gentiles and ascended into
heaven. But how can Messiah be both the
root of Jesse and a shoot from his stump?
Only if he is more than an ordinary human being. In his humanity, yes the Messiah is descended
from Jesse, but in his divinity, he is the root from which Jesse and all others
are given life.
13 2 Samuel
7:8-17 David*
(Harp) 1040-970
BC
David is the most well-known and popular king of
Israel. He is also a prophetic picture
of the coming Messiah, as can be seen in the Messianic title “Son of David”
that is used so often in the New Testament.
This title is connected with the covenant that God made with David: “I will raise up your seed after you that
will go out from your inner parts, and I will establish his kingdom. He will build a house [of worship] for my
name, and I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever. I will be a father to him, and he will be a
son to me” (2 Samuel 7:12-14a, quoted in Heb. 1:5b). While at first this prophecy seems to refer
to Solomon, in fact Solomon fell into sin in his old age, and his kingdom was
divided soon after his death. In less
than 400 years, it collapsed completely (see #12 above). Though Solomon built a house of worship for
the Lord, the Temple of Solomon, this too was destroyed, in 586 BC. This is why people in Jesus’ day were looking for
a Davidic and not a Solomonic Messiah: Solomon had not fulfilled the prophecies. Jesus was instead descended from Nathan*,
another of David’s sons (Luke 3:31). (For
more on the genealogies of Jesus, see our teaching, “Is Jesus Eligible to be the Messiah?”)
14 Amos
9:11-12 Amos
(Watchman's Booth, Sycamore Fig) c.
750 BC
After Solomon, the Kingdom of Israel was divided in two. The northern kingdom, cut off from the Temple
of God in Jerusalem, descended rapidly into idolatry and the worship of false
gods. Against this, God raised up Amos,
a prophet from Tekoa near Bethlehem. He
was a simple shepherd and a pricker of sycamore figs. This was a humble job in which every fig on a
tree was pricked to help them ripen (Amos 7:14). God called Amos to prophesy against the
northern kingdom of Israel to warn that if it continued in sin, God would take
them into exile. But Amos also
prophesied a future restoration, in which God would bring them back to their
land (Amos 9:14-15). He said, “In that
day, I will raise up the booth of David which is falling, and I will close up
their breaches. And his [David’s] ruins
I will raise up and I will build it [his booth] as in the days of old so that
they will possess the remnant of Edom and all the Gentiles over whom my name is
called…” (Amos 9:11-12 in Hebrew, quoted in Acts 15:16-18). The kingly line of David (“the booth of
David”) would one day be restored over Israel, but not only Israel. The line of David will also rule over all the
Gentiles that have had the name of God spoken over them. What is this talking about? It’s a prophecy of Christian baptism, in
which the name of God is spoken over those who have decided to follow the God
of Israel. The restoration of the booth
of David is in Jesus, the prophetic son of David.
15 Isaiah
7:14, 9:1-7, 42:1-9 Isaiah
(Sunrise) c.
700 BC
Isaiah is best known for his prophecy, “Therefore the Lord
himself will give you a sign. Look, the
virgin will be pregnant and will bear a son; and she will call his name Immanuel [‘God with us’]” (Isa. 7:14, quoted in Matthew 1:23). But this is only one of so many Messianic
prophecies that Isaiah is often called the fifth gospel. We already considered one in #12 above. Another is in Isaiah 9:6,7: “For a child will be born for us, a son will
be given to us, and the dominion will be on his shoulder, and his name will be
called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Eternal Father, Prince of Peace. Of the abundance of his dominion and of peace
on the throne of David and on his kingdom there will be no end, to establish it
and to support it with justice and with righteousness from now and forever…” This prophecy is remarkable for calling the
coming Davidic Messiah both God and Eternal Father, both of which identify the
Messiah as divine, and not merely human.
Another remarkable passage is Isa. 42:6,7 (quoted in Luke 2:32 and Acts
13:47): “I, the LORD, will call you in
righteousness, and I will hold you by your hand and I will watch over you; and
I will make you the people’s covenant, the Gentiles’ light, to open blind eyes,
to bring the prisoner out from the dungeon, those sitting in darkness from the
place of their confinement.” Not only would the Messiah bring spiritual
enlightenment, he would himself become a covenant. As Jesus later described it, “the new
covenant in my blood” (Luke 22:20).
16 Micah 5:2-5a Micah
(City, Bethlehem) c.
700 BC
Micah and Isaiah were contemporaries. Both prophesied the coming destruction of the
northern kingdom, and both had remarkable insight into the coming Messiah. Micah is best remembered for his prophecy of
the place of Messiah’s birth: “And you,
Bethlehem of Ephratah, too little to be among the thousands of Judah; he will
come forth from you to be a ruler for me in Israel; and his goings forth are
from of old, from the days of eternity” (Micah 5:2; quoted in Matthew
2:6). Not only would the Messianic ruler
be from Bethlehem of Judah (Ephratah was the founder of Bethlehem, 1 Chron.
4:4), but unlike ordinary human beings, his origins date back to eternity
past. Since only God has been around
that long, this identifies the Messiah as God.
His “goings forth” include the many times the Son of God was sent to
earth as the Messenger (or Angel) of the Lord, including his visits to Abraham,
Jacob, Joshua, and others (see #5, #6, and #10 above). Micah 5:4 even refers to the Messiah’s return
and the resurrection of the righteous: “And
he will stand and pasture (his flock)
in the strength of the LORD, in the majesty of the name of the LORD his God;
and they will remain [forever], for then he will be great to the ends of the
earth.”
17 Ezekiel
37:24-28 Ezekiel
(Crown) c.
575 BC
After the exile of the northern kingdom by the Assyrians,
the southern kingdom of Judah also fell into sin and was taken into exile by
the Babylonians. Ezekiel prophesied from
exile not only the final collapse of Judah but also the restoration, not only
of Judah, but of the whole of Israel: both
Judah and Ephraim (the northern kingdom) will once again be joined together
(Eze. 37:15-23). This will happen despite
the fact that the northern kingdom was “scattered among the Gentiles” (Eze.
36:19) and was already mixing with the Gentiles, just as Jacob had prophesied—that
Ephraim would become the “fullness of the Gentiles” (Gen. 48:19). Ezekiel’s prophecy is the source of Paul’s
description of Gentile olive branches being joined together with Jewish
branches to become one tree (Rom. 11:16-27).
Once the “fullness of the Gentiles has come in,” Paul taught, the “partial
hardening” of the Jewish people will be removed (they will receive the gospel)
and “all Israel will be saved” (Rom 11:25,26).
Together, Judah and Ephraim will have one king, the Messianic son of
David, forever: “And my servant David
will be king over them, and there will be one shepherd for all of them…. And David my servant will be their prince
forever” (Eze. 37:24-25; also 34:23,24; see John 10:16).
18 Daniel
7:13-14, 9:20-27 Daniel
(Lion) c.
550 BC
Daniel also prophesied from exile. His prophecy of the Son of Man clearly
teaches that the Messiah would be more than an ordinary human being: “I was seeing in visions of the night, and
look, with the clouds of the heavens, one like a son of man was coming; and he
came up to the Ancient of Days and they brought him near before him. And to him was given dominion and honor and a
kingdom; and all the peoples, tribes, and languages will serve him; his
dominion will be an eternal dominion that will not pass away, and his kingdom
one that will not be destroyed” (Dan. 7:13,14; quoted in Matt. 24:30, 26:64;
Mark 13:26, 14:62; and Luke 21:27). In his
prophecy of the Seventy Weeks, Daniel foretold the time when the Messiah would
appear, and that he would die just before the city of Jerusalem was destroyed: “And after the sixty-two weeks, Messiah will
be cut off and he will have nothing; and the people of the coming ruler will
destroy the city and the holy place...” (Dan. 9:26). As Daniel prophesied, Jesus died in AD 30,
the city was destroyed soon after by the Romans (AD 70).
19 Zechariah
3:1-10 Zechariah
(Branch) c.
520 BC
Zechariah prophesied in Judah (then known as the Persian
province of Yehud) where many of the Jewish people had returned from exile. One of the first tasks they set out to
accomplish was the rebuilding of the Temple in Jerusalem (Ezra 3:8-13). But the work was stopped by their enemies
(Ezra 4). So God raised up the prophets
Zechariah and Haggai to encourage them, and the Temple was finally finished
(Ezra 5,6). During this time, Zechariah
prophesied over Joshua the high priest: “Hear
now, Joshua the high priest, you and you companions who are sitting before you,
for they are men serving as a sign; for look, I am bringing in my servant, the
Sprout [sometimes translated Branch]” (Zech. 3:8). Joshua (Yehoshua)
was a sign pointing to Messiah in part because he was the high priest, but also
because of his name: Yehoshua is the full form of the name Yeshua,
the Hebrew name of Jesus (see #10 above).
The title “Sprout” for the Messiah appears not only here, but in Isa.
4:2; Jer. 23:5, 33:15; and Zech. 6:12. In
the Old Greek (the Septuagint), this title of the Messiah is translated Anatolee (Jer. 23:5; Zech. 3:8, 6:12;
also Luke 1:78). This Greek word
captures not only the sense of sprouting up as with a plant, but also the sudden
appearing or rising of a star. This is
how it’s used in Matthew 2:2 and 2:9 where it describes the star of Bethlehem “at
its appearing (anatolee)” (often translated “in the east”).
20 Malachi
3:1-6, 3:16-4:6 Malachi
(Furnace) c.
425 BC
Malachi prophesied in Judah (Persian Yehud), at a time when
the Jewish people had become lax in their observance of the Law of God. Against this, he prophesied a coming judgment
of God: “‘Look, I am sending my
messenger, and he will clear a way before me; and suddenly he will come to his
Temple, the Lord that you are seeking, and the messenger of the covenant in
whom you delight. Look, he is coming,’
the Lord of Hosts has said. ‘But who can
endure the day of his coming? And who
will stand when he appears? For he is
like a refiner’s fire and like launderers’ lye” (Mal. 3:1-2; referring to Isa. 40:3-11). This prophecy mentions two individuals coming
in the future. One would “clear a way”
before the Lord (identified with Elijah in Mal. 4:5,6), and then the Lord
himself would come with the messenger (or angel) of the covenant. Jesus himself interpreted the first messenger
to be John the Baptist (quoting this passage in Matt. 11:10 and Luke 7:27; also
quoted in Mark 1:2 and Luke 1:76). The
second was Jesus himself, who appeared “suddenly” in the Temple, casting out
the merchants and moneychangers (John 2:13-22), and bringing a time of painful,
though limited, refining to Israel (Mal. 3:3-6). During this time, “those fearing the LORD,”
God’s precious “possession,” would be raised up (the believers in Jesus, Mal.
3:16-17; see Eph. 1:14, Titus 2:14, 1 Pet. 2:9), after which there will be a
terrible day of judgment (Mal. 4:1).
21 Luke
1:5-25 Zechariah
and Elizabeth (Incense Altar) c.
60 BC-bef. 20 AD
The Persians were defeated by the Greeks, who were in turn defeated
by the Romans. The Romans conquered
Judah (Roman Judea) in 63 BC. This
conquest may have taken place in the lifetimes of Zechariah and Elizabeth, the
parents of John the Baptist, since they were already “advanced in their days”
at the time of his birth (Luke 1:7). Both
of them were from priestly families (Luke 1:5).
Zechariah served in the priestly division of Abijah (Luke 1:5). This was the eighth of the twenty-four
priestly divisions. Each division was on
duty twice a year in the Temple in Jerusalem.
The division of Abijah served the last week of the Jewish month Iyyar
(mid-April to mid-May) and again the last week in the Jewish month of
Marheshvan (mid-October to mid-November).
The honor of offering incense in the Temple, decided by drawing lots,
was usually a once in a lifetime experience.
This was probably the first time Zechariah had ever done it (Luke
1:9). The golden altar of incense, just
before the curtain of the Temple, was the closest an ordinary priest could ever
get to the Holy of Holies. This was an
important and awe-inspiring moment in Zechariah’s life. When he poured out the powdered incense on
the hot coals of the altar, he was all alone in the sanctuary building, until
the angel appeared. The people were out
in the courtyard in front of the building, prostrated in silent prayer (Luke
1:10). That his son would drink no wine
or strong drink meant that he would be a Nazirite from birth (Luke 1:15; the
Nazirite vow is taught in Num. 6:1-21).
This was quite unusual. Normally
the Nazirite vow was for a few days or weeks.
Besides John, only Samson and the prophet Samuel were life-long
Nazirites. But because of his disbelief,
Zechariah was struck dumb (Luke 1:20).
The people would have noticed this immediately after he came out of the
sanctuary when he was unable to say the priestly blessing (Luke 1:21).
22 Luke
1:26-56 Mary*
(Heart, Angel, Nazareth) c.
25 BC-aft. 30 AD
When Elizabeth was six months pregnant, Gabriel came to
Miriam (Mary) at Nazareth. Girls tended
to be married young in those days, so she could have been as young as 14 or
16. We know from archeology that the
village was poor and quite small, no more than 50 homes. Mary was already betrothed to Joseph, which was
a more serious agreement than our modern engagements: it could only be broken by divorce. Husbands were usually quite a few years
older, so Joseph could have been 25 or 30 years old. One of Mary’s jobs as a young girl would have
been to draw water at the nearby well (500 m/1600 feet east of the
village). There is an old tradition that
the angel first met her here, though the Bible says that he “entered in,” which
indicates a room of some kind, likely the family home in the village (Luke
1:28). Soon after the visit of the
angel, Mary went “in a hurry” to visit her relative Elizabeth in Judea. There was probably no one else in the world
Mary could tell her secret to that would understand. It's important not to forget the difficulty
of Mary's situation: being pregnant outside of marriage was considered a
terrible thing. It implied a violation
of the Law that once brought the punishment of death. In the time of Jesus, the death penalty was
rarely used. But this didn’t lessen the difficulty
of the situation. She knew she was
pregnant by a miracle of God, but nobody else did. Just imagine, in this situation, how
powerfully the words of Elizabeth would have struck her when they met,
"Blessed among women are you, and blessed is the fruit of your womb! And how has it happened to me that the mother
of my Lord should come to me?" (Luke 1:42,43) Before Mary had spoken a word, Elizabeth was
led by the Spirit to reassure her that God really was moving in her life. With a sigh of relief, Mary answered
Elizabeth’s greeting: "My soul
exalts the Lord, and my spirit has rejoiced in God my Savior. For he has looked upon the humble state of
his bondslave…" (Luke 1:46-48a).
Mary stayed with Zechariah and Elizabeth for three months. After that, when she returned to Nazareth,
her pregnancy could no longer be hidden.
23 Luke
1:57-80 John
the Baptist (Sandals) c.
5 BC-27 AD
Elizabeth soon gave birth to John. The traditional place of his birth is Ein
Kerem, a picturesque village near Jerusalem.
The Bible says only that it was a city in the hill country of Judah
(Luke 1:39). The eighth day after birth
was the traditional time to circumcise baby boys and name them (Gen.
17:12). This is the covenant of
circumcision by which they officially join the covenant people of Israel. Zechariah regained his ability to speak when
he insisted that his son be named John, the name given to him by the angel
(Luke 1:13,63,64; Johanan in Hebrew
means “the grace of the LORD”). After
this, filled by the Holy Spirit, he spoke a beautiful prophetic blessing based
on the message he received from the angel:
that his son would prepare the way of the Messiah (Luke
1:16,17,76,77). In his blessing,
Zechariah referred to many of the prophecies we have been looking at: the horn of the Messiah (#11) mentioned by
Hannah (1 Sam. 2:10 in Luke 1:69), the promise with an oath made to Abraham (#5
also #3) that in him all the earth will be blessed (Gen. 22:16-18 in Luke
1:73), the messenger prophesied by Malachi (#20) that would precede the fiery coming
of the Lord to his Temple (Mal. 3:1 in Luke 1:76), the Sprout (or Anatolee, the “Rising” or the
“Appearing”) of Zechariah (#19) that would come from on high (Zech. 3:8 in Luke
1:78 where it is sometimes translated Sunrise or Dayspring), and the great
light (the sunrise) of Isaiah (#15) that would illumine the darkness of those
who live in the shadow of death (Isa. 9:2 in Luke 1:79).
24 Matthew
1:18-25 Joseph
(Hammer) c.
35 BC-bef. 27 AD
After Mary returned to Nazareth, "she was found to be
with child" (Matt. 1:18). What a
difficult moment that must have been.
The secret was finally out.
Joseph, being a "righteous" man, that is to say, a religious,
Law-observing Jew, had no choice but to "put her away," that is, to
divorce her (Matt. 1:19). Betrothal
then, as in traditional communities today, was formal and binding: lots of gifts and presents had been given,
promises made, family agreements entered into as part of the negotiations
preceding the marriage. To break a
betrothal required a divorce, which under the circumstances would have made
Mary ineligible for remarriage. This was
a fate as good as death for a woman in the society of that time. But Joseph soon had his own visit from an
angel, and as a result did not divorce her, but took her into his home “as his
wife” (Matt. 1:24; though the marriage was not consummated until after Jesus’ birth,
Matt. 1:25). To explain this strange
event, Matthew quotes the prophecy of Isaiah (#15 above) that a virgin would
become pregnant and bear a child, whom she would call Immanuel (“God with us,”
Isa. 7:14 quoted in Matt. 1:23).
25 Luke
2:1-20 Jesus
(Nativity, Manger) c.
5 BC-30 AD
Soon after that, probably that summer, a decree went out
from the Roman emperor for a census to be taken of everyone living in the Roman
Empire. This meant that the taxes would
go up again, which made Roman censuses very unpopular. Mary and Joseph had to go to Bethlehem
because they were descendants of the family of King David, and the census was
done by families.
This meant they had many relatives in Bethlehem. So why were they looking for a room in an
inn? Although “inn” is the traditional translation, the word used in Greek
means “guest room”: "because there
was no place for them in the guest room" (Luke 2:7). When Mary and Joseph came to Bethlehem, of
course they stayed with their relatives.
But because of the census, there wasn't any more room in the guest room.
The only place left was the stable where the animals were
kept. The stable in many homes at the
time was a cave-basement under the house, cut out from the rock. Here Mary had a little privacy. And there were lots of women relatives around
to help. The men were not allowed to
help with the birth.
Why did she lay the baby in a feeding trough (or manger)? “She wrapped him in cloths and laid him in a
feeding trough” (Luke 2:7). This is
where food was put for the animals to eat, the cleanest place in the barn,
farmers say. But they didn't use wooden
mangers as in Europe. They used stone
mangers, many of which have been found.
Why was this a sign?
“And this will be the sign to you:
you will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a feeding trough”
(Luke 2:12). Stone lasts a long time. It’s a symbol of eternity. It’s strong, like God is (all powerful). And it was always ritually clean, just like
God is always ritually clean. So stone
was considered a symbol of God (“My God, my rock, I seek refuge in him,” Psa.
18:2,46; also Psa. 28:1; 31:3; 42:9; 62:2,6; etc.). For the baby to be lying in a manger was a
sign that he was more than an ordinary baby, but was in some mysterious way God
himself.
Why were the shepherds outdoors that night? Normally, shepherds only stayed out with their
flocks in the warm months of the year, when they took their flocks out into the
desert to eat. Here they were far from
home, and had to stay with the sheep at night.
Since they were in unfamiliar surroundings, they took turns watching the
sheep. As it says in Luke 2:8: "And in the same region there were
shepherds living outdoors and taking turns keeping watch over their flock
during the night."
Because of this, some believe that Jesus was born before the
winter began. The census, too, would
probably have been finished before winter.
So many scholars put Jesus’ birth sometime in September or early October,
around the time of the Feast of Tabernacles.
If so, this means that December was the time not of Jesus' birth, but of
his conception, the moment when the Incarnation began.
But whether it was this or some other date, no one knows for
sure. What we do know is that Jesus was
born in Bethlehem, the fulfillment of the prophecies of the ages and the hope
of all mankind.
(For more on this topic, see the index category Jesus.)
Artwork by the author is hereby published under the Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported license. Acknowledgements for Creative Commons photos used in creating artwork are below. All other photos are either public domain or photos by the author.
JesseTree.jpg / Public domain
K. S. Seshadri , Gunther's_Vine_snake.jpg / CC BY-SA 3.0
Noah’s Flood was another terrible catastrophe brought on by
sin, in which the world was destroyed by water.
Soon after the Flood, Noah gave an important prophecy about the future: “And he said, ‘Blessed be the LORD, the God
of Shem, and Canaan will be his servant.
God will enlarge Japheth and he will dwell in the tents of Shem…” (Gen.
9:26,27). Of the three sons of Noah, God
is identified only with Shem (“the God of Shem”). This is a prophecy that God would identify
himself with the Hebrew people, the descendants of Shem, through whom the
Messiah would be revealed to the world.
As Jesus himself said, “Salvation is from the Jews” (John 4:22). It’s also a prophecy that the descendants of
Japheth, which in Bible times were mostly Europeans, would be the first large non-Semitic people group to accept
the Hebrew God. These Japhethites came
to the God of Shem because of the gospel of Jesus the Messiah. 
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