Edgardo T Magaoay October 9, 2017

Bibical Writings MDiv

Birth of Jesus Christ according to Matthew

Text: All this took place to fulfil what the Lord had said through the prophet: “The virgin will be with a
child and will give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel” which means “God is with us.” (Matt
1:22-23)

The prophecy of Isaiah- (Isaiah 7:14) Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign: The virgin will be with
child and will give birth to a son, and will call him Immanuel.

The prophesy of Micah- (Micah 5:2) “But you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, though you are small among the clans
of Judah, out of you will come for me one who will be ruler of Israel, whose origins are from of old, from
ancient times.

It was 250 years from the prophesy of Prophets Isaiah and Micah before Jesus Christ was born.
Two and a half centuries was the span of time before the prophesy came true. Meaning to say, there was
already an advance written information that a messiah will be born and it was also written in advance that
the child shall be born in Bethlehem. Isaiah and Micah were two prophets during the reign of King Ahaz
of the kingdom of Judah, the southern kingdom. During these times, the kingdom is suffering from the
attacks of Syria (Damascus) under King Rezin and Israel (Samaria) under Pekah, son of King Remaliah of
the northern kingdom, but they were not victorious. As Judah stood on the ground with the help of the
Lord, prophets Isaiah and Micah foresaw hope and peace in the future thus, those prophesies stated
above.

Why does God foretold a prophesy to the prophets? Because of a promise that if rebellious and
blasphemous Israel will turn away from their sins God will forgive them. In Micah 7:9 Israel acknowledged
their sins – “Because I have sinned against him, I will bear the Lord’s wrath, until he pleads my case and
establishes my right. He will bring me out into the light; I will see his righteousness. True to his promise, Israel
was forgiven and expressed their hope in 7:19 and said “You will again have compassion on us; you will tread
our sins underfoot and hurl all our iniquities into the depth of the sea. And comes the promise of a ruler and
the peace in Micah 5:4 it was stated He will stand and shepherd his flock in the strength of the Lord, in the
majesty of the name of the Lord his God. And they will live securely, for them his greatness will reach to the end of
the earth, and he will be their peace. Truly, God forgave Israel and a promise of a ruler was fulfilled by God
thru his son Jesus Christ who was born from a virgin. His birth became well known to the world that Magi
from the east came to Jerusalem to worship Him and present their gifts of Gold and of incense and of
myrrh.

During the Old Testament days, forgiveness of sins is through offering of animals as said animals
that had no sin is to be sacrificed in lieu for the sins of the people. The system was later did not became
convincing to God as it is being done repeatedly that it does not signify absolute pardon. God wanted his
children to live with him in his kingdom forever however, people should repent and ask forgiveness from
their sins for their absolute redemption, accept Jesus Christ as their personal saviour then live a
righteous life. He sacrificed the life of his only begotten son all in the name of love that even in the beginning
God already know that his son will be forsaken, to suffer insult and will finally face death but it did not bothered
him. What mattered most is the salvation of mankind for he loved the world so much. The Lord Jesus Christ
knows also in advance what will happen to him that before his arrest, he even ceaselessly prayed in the garden of
Gethsemane asking his father to take away the cup from him but he chose to follow the will of God. The promise
of forgiveness, salvation and “God is with us” was fulfilled by the Lord. O’ what a wonderful love of God
and Jesus they showed to the world. Christmas is really a season of celebration, festivities and gift giving
but it was God who gave the BEST GIFT to the world who is no other than the Lord Jesus Christ!
Edgardo T Magaoay October 9, 2017
Biblical Writings MDiv

The Birth of Jesus Christ according to Luke

Text: But the angel said to her, “ Do not be afraid, Mary, you have found favour with God. You
will be with child and give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus. He will be great and will
be called the son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his father David, and he will
reign over the house of Jacob forever; his kingdom will never end.” (Luke 1:30-33)

“How will this be”, Mary asked the angel, “since I am a virgin?” The angel answered, “The Holy
Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the most high will overshadow you. So the holy one to be born
will be called the son of God. (Luke 1:34-35)

It can be seen here that the birth of Jesus was foretold by an angel and Mary even asked, how
could that happened since she is a virgin but when the angel told her that the power of the Holy Spirit
will make everything, and upon told also that her relative Elizabeth will also going to have a child in her old
age and she was also said to be barren is in her sixth month, Mary answered, “May it be to me as you have
said. The foretold birth story of John the Baptist and Jesus Christ signifies great miracle considering that
Mary is a virgin while Elizabeth is barren and is in her old age. But the angel told, “For nothing is impossible
with God”. (Luke 1:37)

Truly, nothing is impossible with God because he is mighty, the designer, the creator of heaven
and earth and everything in this whole world. But why does he need to sacrifice the life of his own son?

a) Because it is the expression of God’s love to mankind. (John 3:16), and the grace and truth (Jn
1:17). God did not let Abraham kill his own son Isaac but the Lord God himself sacrificed the life of his
own son Jesus Christ, all in the name of LOVE.

b) Because he will save his people from their sins. (Matt 1:21) According to Romans 3:10, “There is
no one righteous, not even one”, which means to say, all have sinned and we need forgiveness in order to
be saved. Jesus Christ is our Lord and Saviour.

c) So that we can come again to the father. (John 14:6) Sin separated us from God and if continue
to be away from God what will happen to us? Let us remember Cain, when he was separated from God,
Cain said to the Lord “My punishment is more than I can bear. Today you are driving me from the land, I
will be hidden from your presence; I will be a restless wanderer on the earth, and whoever finds me will kill
me.” We will be a restless wanderer if we are separated from God. It is really the most worst thing to
happen to us because where do we ask our prayers if God does not want to hear us. How can we endure
the hardships of life if there is no God whom we are going to ask help. We really need Christ because as
he told us in John 14:6 – “I am the way, the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through
me”.

God wanted us to be redeemed, saved and to be resurrected so that we may live with him
eternally. With the birth of Jesus Christ, God fulfilled his promise of salvation and the gift of eternal life
into his kingdom. Although Jesus Christ know that he is the son of God, he showed humility beginning
from his birth up to his death. A King should not be treated of what happened to him but the Father and
the Son allowed all those things to happen all in the name of LOVE. However… the feeling must be
mutual, in Mark 12:30, It was written “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul
and with all your mind and with all your strength. Amen!