As we celebrate this Christmas season, let’s take a moment to reflect on the ancient prophecies that foretold the birth of Jesus. 

Prophecies aren’t just cryptic messages—they’re God’s direct words to prophets, offering hope and guidance to the Israelite people (and to us today!). For the original Jewish audience, they were a roadmap to recognize the true Messiah amid false claims. For us today, it can give us confidence in the Bible, knowing that hundreds of years prior to Jesus’ birth, there were prophets foretelling His arrival.

Focusing just on Matthew’s gospel account, there are 3 types of prophecies of Jesus highlighted:

• Lineage of the Messiah: Matthew kicks off his gospel with Jesus’ genealogy, tracing back to Abraham and David. From Genesis 12, God promised Abraham that all nations would be blessed through his offspring—a promise echoed in Galatians 3:16 as fulfilled in Christ, extending salvation to Gentiles (non-Jews) too. Prophecies like 2 Samuel 7:12-13 and Isaiah 11:1-5 promised an eternal king, coming from the line of David, who perfectly matched Jesus.

• Nature of the Messiah: Matthew 1:18-25 reveals that the Messiah would be born of a virgin birth, quoting Isaiah 7:14: “The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel” (God with us). This underscores Jesus as fully human (born of Mary) and fully divine (conceived by the Holy Spirit).

• Birthplace of the Messiah: In Matthew 2:1-6, wise men seek the “King of the Jews” in Bethlehem, referring to Jesus and fulfilling Micah 5:2. Even King Herod’s priests knew this prophecy well, which is why Herod was so terrified and had all the children under two years old killed in Bethlehem at that time.

These fulfillments aren’t coincidences; they’re threads weaving through 1,500 years of Scripture by 40 authors, affirming Jesus as the promised Savior.

For more insight on Christmas Prophecies of Jesus, check out episode 100 of The Chara Project podcast.