After Christmas…. Children play with new toys. Teachers prepare for the next semester. Parents watch their children with joy. But what about the first Christmas? The angels who sang ascended to Heaven. The Shepherds returned to the fields. Mary and Joseph took care of the child who would become Savior of the world. Luke 2:21-52 tells us they went to church. They went to the synagogue and encountered two elders who were encouraging them. This little interaction shows us that we have roles to play in the church. Some are great examples of faith for everyone else and give encouragement to everyone else. Some engage in the ministry and teach and make sure their children learn. Some come and bring joy to the rest of the church as they learn and grow. Even young Jesus grew in wisdom and knowledge at the synagogue. 

There's a few ways we relate to others in the church. First is the vertical relationship we have with God as we praise and worship Him. Second, there's the intimate quiet time between God and ourselves. Along with that goes the small groups that we become part of as we learn and grow together. And third is our relationship with nonbelievers, our outreach ministries. These outreach ministries are how we bring others to Christ and His salvation. 

The Messiah will rise from the dead (Isaiah 53:9-11; Psalm 16:8-11). Fulfillment: Acts 2:29-32; 13:34-37….. The resurrection was prophesied. Peter quoted the prophecy on Pentecost and explained it to his audience. He testified that Jesus fulfilled this prophecy and gave three reasons for them to believe it. 1) the prophecy. 2) the empty tomb they could go look at. 3) they were eyewitnesses. The disciples and others had seen Jesus after His resurrection. 

The Messiah will return on the clouds (Daniel 7:13-14). Prophecy repeated: Mark 14:61-62; Revelation 1:7…. Daniel had a vision of the Messiah returning on the clouds. When Pilate questioned Jesus, He only answered one question. Pilate asked if Jesus was the Messiah and He replied by saying that He would sit at the right hand of God and return on a cloud. In Revelation, John sees another vision of Jesus returning on a cloud. It hasn't happened yet, but we have reason to believe it will because so many others have been fulfilled. When it does happen, some people will rejoice and others will mourn as they realize it was true and they aren't saved. 

The Messiah will reign as king forever (Isaiah 9:6-7; 11:1-9) Prophecy repeated: Revelation 19:11-16…. This is prophesied multiple times, but the verses we look at today are Christmas prophecies that tie His birth and reign together. They have two prophecies in one sentence. They jump from His birth to His reign. They describe a powerful ruler who reigns in peace and harmony. Skeptics say there isn't much to celebrate on Christmas because there's still evil in the world. There's still tragedy. That's true, but we aren't celebrating the end. We're celebrating the beginning of the end, the hero's entrance. Christmas is when Jesus entered the world and His music started playing. There's still a battle coming, but we know the outcome and await His reign with joyful anticipation. 

This is the last sermon in this series and hopefully we all learned something about the prophecies of the Messiah that we can use to strengthen our faith and defend it. 

10 prophecies about the suffering and death of Jesus: 

1. The Messiah will be silent before his accusers (Isaiah 53:7;Matthew 27:12-14).

2. The Messiah will be beaten and spit upon (Isaiah 50:6; Matthew 27:27-30).

3. The Messiah’s hands and feet will be pierced (Psalm 22:16; Matthew 27:31).

4. The Messiah will be considered a criminal (Isaiah 53:12; Luke 22:37; 23:32-33).

5. The Messiah’s captors will divide his clothes (Psalm 22:18; Matthew 27:35).

6. The Messiah will be mocked and insulted (Psalm 22:7-8; Matthew 27:39-43).

7. The Messiah will feel abandoned by God (Psalm 22:1; Matthew 27:46).

8. The Messiah will be thirsty and will be offered vinegar to drink (Psalm 22:15; 69:21; John 19:28-30).

9. None of the Messiah’s bones will be broken (Psalm 34:20; John 19:31-37).

10. The Messiah will be buried with the rich (Isaiah 53:9; Matthew 27:57-60).

Isaiah 53:4-6…. This is what it all leads to. This is the reason Jesus fulfilled the prophecies and suffered like He did. He went through all of this to take our place, to die for our sins so that we can have the opportunity to go to Heaven. We're all in the same boat with regard to this. None of us are better than another. We all need salvation and it is offered to all of us equally through the death and resurrection of the Messiah.

The Messiah will be rejected (Psalm 118:22-23). Fulfillment: Matthew 21:42; Acts 4:10-11…. This Psalm describes David, who was the youngest of his brothers and rejected or thought lowly of several times before becoming the cornerstone of the kingdom of Israel. It also describes his descendant many generations later. Jesus was rejected by His people, but He is the cornerstone of our salvation. 

The Messiah will be betrayed for thirty pieces of silver (Zechariah 11:12-13). Fulfillment: Matthew 26:14-15; 27:3-10…. Zechariah tried to teach and correct Israel as they were turning from the Lord, but they didn't listen and they paid him what he considered an insulting amount. So he threw it down. Judas was paid the same amount to betray Jesus then had second thoughts afterward and threw the money down. 

The Messiah will be betrayed by a close friend who eats bread with him (Psalm 41:9). Fulfillment: John 13:18-19, 25-27…. David was betrayed a few times. Jesus was betrayed by one of His disciples, one of His closest friends. 

The Messiah’s followers will leave him (Zechariah 13:7). Fulfillment: Matthew 26:31…. It was said that the Messiah’s followers would scatter. When Jesus told this to His disciples, Peter said he wouldn't leave Jesus, but he would end up scattering too and even deny knowing Jesus three times. 

The Messiah will come 483 years after the decree to rebuild Jerusalem. Then he will be killed.

(Daniel 9:24-26).... Daniel was an old man in Babylon when he wrote this prophecy. The 70 years of exile were almost over. He prays to God about letting His people return home. The exile lasted that long because the Israelites neglected to give the land its sabbath for 490 years. The sabbath is supposed to be every seventh year, a year of rest for the land. 490 years has 70 of those sabbath years. That’s why the exile lasted that long. That’s 70 weeks of years. Daniel had a vision from God that in the 490 years from the decree to rebuild Jerusalem, God would accomplish His plan for salvation. Then He specifies that 483 years from that decree, the Messiah would come. When did that decree come? There’s two candidates. Ezra received the decree in 458 BC. The other was Nehemiah in 445 BC. If you take Ezra’s date and add 483 years you get 26 AD, which most Bible scholars would agree is the year Jesus rode into Jerusalem on a donkey. Taking Nehemiah’s date, it comes to 38 AD (or 33 AD if they used a lunar calendar). That’s a bit long, but either way, the range of 26-38 AD is pretty specific and accurate. The prophecy goes on to say that the Messiah will die and the city and temple be destroyed. That’s exactly what happened. 

The Messiah will be born of a virgin (Isaiah 7:14-16). Fulfillment: Isaiah 8:3-4; 9:6-7; Matthew 1:18-23… This is a dual fulfillment prophecy. Yes, Jesus would fulfill it, but so would Maher-Shalal-Hash-Baz. Maher only partly fulfilled the prophecy though, and Jesus would later fulfill the prophecy to its fullest. Maher was conceived by a virgin in a more conventional way, being conceived by a virgin on her first night of intimacy. Jesus was born of a virgin before she ever experienced that intimacy. 

The Messiah will be born in Bethlehem (Micah 5:2-4). Fulfillment: Luke 2:1-7; Matthew 2:1-6… But, isn't Mary from Galilee? Yes, Joseph and Mary were living in Nazareth of Galilee but a census sent them Bethlehem and Jesus was born there. 

The Messiah will come out of Egypt (Matthew 2:13-15, quoting Hosea 11:1).... But, he was born in Bethlehem, right? And his parents lived in Galilee, right? Yes, but when Jesus was young, his parents took him and fled to Egypt to avoid Herod who was killing babies that might be Jesus. 

The Messiah’s light will shine from Galilee (Isaiah 9:1). Fulfillment: Matthew 2:19-23; John 7:41-43… But they fled to Egypt, right? Mmhmm. When Herod finally died, they returned to Galilee. So, now Jesus could come of age in Galilee and eventually start His ministry there.

Similarities

• John 6:38; 1 Thessalonians 4:16 … Both involve a journey down from Heaven. Heaven is a real place. Once He came down and went back up. He is going to come back down again.

• John 1:14; Acts 1:9-11 … Both comings are literal bodily comings of Christ. Some people suggest the second won’t be bodily, but the Bible makes it pretty clear that it will be a physical return. 

• Luke 2:8-14; 2 Thessalonians 1:7 … Both involve the appearance of angels. Angels heralded His first coming, appearing to Zacheriah, Mary, Joseph, and shepherds. There will be another flurry of angelic activity when Jesus returns. 

• Matthew 2:9; Revelation 6:13-14 … Both affect the stars, the heavens. His appearance causes disruption of the normal patterns of the stars. The Magi followed a star that appeared to them and led them to baby Jesus. The stars will also be different when He comes again. 

Differences

• Matthew 2:13; Revelation 19:11-16 … In the first coming, God came as a vulnerable baby. But in His return, He will come as a full grown man, but not just any man; He will come as a warrior king. 

• Luke 2:15-17; Revelation 1:7 … Only a few saw Him in His first coming. The only witnesses besides Mary and Joseph were the animals and some shepherds. However, in His second coming, everyone will see Him. 

• John 1:10-11; Philippians 2:10-11 … At His first coming, He was largely rejected. The second coming will see Him universally acknowledged as Lord and all will bow to Him. 

• John 1:29; Revelation 5:5 … He was compared to a lamb in His first coming. He fulfilled that role perfectly. He was innocent and without blemish. He was sacrificed on the cross for all of our sins once and for all. However, His second coming will see Him be more like a lion. He is the king, the royal one. He will triumph. But that doesn’t mean He isn’t still the lamb too. He’s always been both, just each coming exemplifies one over the other. 

• John 5:22-26; 28-29 … In the first coming He came to raise the spiritually dead. He brought real, eternal life to all who accept Him. His second coming will see Him raise the physically dead. He’s already redeemed our souls and will also redeem our bodies.

• Matthew 13:36-38; 38-43 … He came to plant disciples in the first coming. His second coming will be to harvest and weed. The weeds will be pulled up and burned, but the righteous will be harvested and will shine like stars. 

• John 10:9; Revelation 3:8; Luke 13:22-25 … His first coming opened the door to Heaven. Jesus is the only door to Heaven; He is the way. But on His second coming, He will close that door. That door is open right now and anyone may enter. There is coming a time when it will close. 

Jesus was at the side of God. Then the time came for Him to leave God’s side and come down to Earth. He was born, carried out His ministry, was crucified, buried, rose, and ascended to Heaven. He sits in Heaven now and there will come a time where he returns to Earth. 

Isaiah 9

Isaiah 11

Isaiah 61

Zephaniah 9

Do you believe Jesus is coming again? Let’s look at the first column. Those prophecies were all fulfilled. God has a pretty good track record. Why should we doubt that what He has revealed to us won’t come true?

The main theme of the whole Bible is God’s intention to save us. The Christmas story reveals some things about God’s salvation that we did not clearly see before then.

1. Christmas reveals the nature of God’s salvation:
   God saves us from our sins (Matthew 1:20-21; John 3:17-18). … The very name of Jesus means “God saves”. The angel tells Joseph to name the baby Jesus to show the character of God. The angel also told Joseph whose sins the people needed to be saved from: their own, not their oppressor’s sins. Our biggest problem is ourselves. My biggest problem is me and your biggest problem is you. Our sins, not others’, are what condemn us to Hell, but Christ came to save us from our own sins so that we may have a way into to Heaven.

2. Christmas reveals the method of God’s salvation:
   God saves us through His Son (1 John 4:14; Matthew 20:28). … It was possible to keep the law and make it to Heaven before. God tried to reach the world through the Israelites. They failed Him over and over again. Eventually God decided to go Himself, to send His Son. They used to teach “reach, throw, row, and go” in lifeguard classes. The first option to reach in and help is the safest but isn’t always possible. The last one, going out to the person who needs help, is the most dangerous and can result in the deaths of both the original person in need and the one who went to help. God sent His Son knowing that He would have to die to save us all.

3. Christmas reveals the scope of God’s salvation:
   God extends His off of salvation to the whole world (Luke 2:10-11, 29-32; John 4:42). … Luke emphasizes in his Gospel that Jesus is the savior for all, not just the Jews. Jesus is the Savior of the World, not just the savior of the Jews or the savior of my family or your family. He is the Savior of the World. What this means for us is that the best gift we can give to others is our testimony in Christ and the offer of salvation through Christ.

How do we know God loves us? 1 John 4:9-10 shares two ways you know God loves you:

1. Christmas (1 John 4:9) … The Greek word here used for “sent” is the same root word we get the word “apostle” from. The term for “one and only son” was previously translated as “only begotten” but that, while a good translation at its time, is not completely accurate. God did not “beget” or create Jesus. God and Jesus are one and the same. Jesus has existed forever. They are of the same “genetic makeup” in human terms. … Jesus was sent to the world because God loves us.

2. The Cross (1 John 4:10) … Jesus was not only sent, but He was sent as an atoning sacrifice for our sins. … The crazy part of this is that our sins that Jesus is the sacrifice for are against His law. Our sins are against God. Yet, Jesus, who is God, has paid the price for our sins. … It’s similar to a police chief pulling over a car for speeding and the driver is his wife. The police chief writes the ticket and then pays it himself because it was for his wife. … We know God loves us because he sacrificed Himself for us.

John 3:16 tells us that God loves the world. … The term translated “so” can have two meanings. It could refer to degree (“so much” or manner (“in this way”). John is known for using phrases with double meanings, so it is likely supposed to be both.

Here is a four-part summary of John 3:16 by Max Lucado:

1. God Loves

2. God Gave

3. You Believe

4. You Live

The initiative is with God. God loves us and gives us the chance for salvation. All we do is believe and are granted eternal life.