Jesus miraculous birth was foretold hundreds of years before He was born. The Bible contains several prophecies about the birth of Jesus Christ, all of which were fulfilled. The odds of just these precise prophecies being fulfilled by coincidence is astronomically small. Therefore, it is reasonable to conclude that they would have to be orchestrated by God, who knows all things. This is, of course, further evidence that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of the living God.
The virgin birth of Jesus foretold
Once Matthew established Jesus’ credentials to be the promised Messiah by means of His lineage, he turns to the uniqueness of His birth. Matthew establishes that Jesus is the promised King by virtue of His virgin birth. Jesus had no earthly father. He is the God-man, who was conceived in Mary by the power of the Holy Spirit. So, Jesus was born as the Son of God.
Jesus is the only person who has ever been born without an earthly father. He is man because He came through the womb of Mary, but He is also God because He was conceived by the Holy Spirit. He had to be both truly God and truly Man to fulfill His mission as the Savior of the world. This unique birth fulfilled the prophecy given by Isaiah about seven hundred years before Christ was born.
Isaiah prophecy and fulfillment
| Old Testament Prophecy (Isaiah 7:14) | New Testament Fulfillment (Matthew 1:18-23) |
|---|---|
| Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign: The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and will call him Immanuel. | 18 This is how the birth of Jesus the Messiah came about: His mother Mary was pledged to be married to Joseph, but before they came together, she was found to be pregnant through the Holy Spirit. 19 Because Joseph her husband was faithful to the law, and yet did not want to expose her to public disgrace, he had in mind to divorce her quietly. 20 But after he had considered this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, “Joseph son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary home as your wife, because what is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. 21 She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins.” 22 All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had said through the prophet: 23 “The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel” (which means “God with us”). |
The place of Jesus birth foretold
God orchestrated that Mary and Joseph would travel from Nazareth to Bethlehem to fulfill Micah’s prophecy that the ruler of Israel would come from Bethlehem. Caesar Augustus had issued a decree that a census be taken of the whole Roman world. So, they journeyed to Bethlehem, because Joseph belonged to the line of David. While in Bethlehem, she gave birth to Jesus, her firstborn Son.
Micah was a prophet from Judah, who served from 738-698 BC. He pronounced a message of judgment to both Judah (the southern Kingdom) and Israel (the northern kingdom), because their leaders were evil and corrupt. But in the midst of this sad, weeping message, Micah gives them a message of hope. The eternal ruler to come (i.e., the Messiah) will come from the little town of Bethlehem.
Micah prophecy and fulfillment
| Old Testament Prophecy (Micah 5:2) | New Testament Fulfillment (Luke 2:4-6) |
|---|---|
| “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 over Israel, whose origins are from of old, from ancient times.” | 4 So Joseph also went up from the town of Nazareth in Galilee to Judea, to Bethlehem the town of David, because he belonged to the house and line of David. 5 He went there to register with Mary, who was pledged to be married to him and was expecting a child. 6 While they were there, the time came for the baby to be born, |
A place of mourning over the slaughtered children foretold
The slaughtering of children
Soon after Jesus birth, the wise men from the East came to look for the child and worship Him as the king of the Jews. They came to Jerusalem to inquire where the promised Messiah would be born. King Herod called together the religious leaders and asked them where the Christ was to be born. Upon learning it was to be Bethlehem, Herod told the wise men and sent them on their way. He told them to carefully search for the child and report back to him so he could worship Him too.
But after finding Jesus and worshipping Him, the wise men were warned in a dream not to go back to Herod. So, they returned to their own country by another route. (Joseph was warned in a dream to take Jesus and Mary to Egypt, because Herod was actually planning to search and kill the child.)
When Herod realized he had been outwitted by the wise men, he was furious. So, he gave orders for all the boys, who were two years old or younger and living in the vicinity of Bethlehem, to be killed.
A prophecy with double meaning
In Old Testament times, Ramah was a town located near the border between the northern kingdom and southern kingdom. It was a place where deportees would first be gathered before being taken into captivity and exiled by Assyria and Babylon. Rachel represented Jacob’s wife, who had two sons–Ephraim and Benjamin. Ephraim came to represent the northern kingdom of Israel in Scripture, and Benjamin is associated with the southern kingdom of Judah. So, the prophecy pictures how the two kingdoms would both mourn over their respective peoples being defeated and taken into captivity.
There was another town called Ramah, located near Bethlehem, at the time Jesus was born. This is the town where the tomb of Rachel is located. There was great mourning and weeping over the slaughtering of children by Herod in his attempt to kill the baby Jesus, who would become a rival king. Therefore, this prophecy contains similarities, but also has a double meaning.
Jeremiah prophecy and fulfillment
| Old Testament Prophecy (Jeremiah 31:15) | New Testament Fulfillment (Matthew 2:16-18) |
|---|---|
| 15 This is what the Lord says: “A voice is heard in Ramah, mourning and great weeping, Rachel weeping for her children and refusing to be comforted, because they are no more.” | 16 When Herod realized that he had been outwitted by the Magi, he was furious, and he gave orders to kill all the boys in Bethlehem and its vicinity who were two years old and under, in accordance with the time he had learned from the Magi. 17 Then what was said through the prophet Jeremiah was fulfilled: 18 “A voice is heard in Ramah, weeping and great mourning, Rachel weeping for her children and refusing to be comforted, because they are no more.” |
The return of Jesus from Egypt foretold
This prophecy has both a historical reference and a hidden future meaning. In the prophet Hosea’s time, they would understand that this verse in Hosea (Hosea 11:1) refers to God’s work in bringing Israel out of its slavery in Egypt to worship Him, to form a nation, and bring them to the land promised to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.
But, God also had a future meaning in mind. When Herod began plans to kill all the boys, two-years old and under in the vicinity of Bethlehem, the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream to warn him about Herod’s plans to kill the child. The Lord, told Joseph to take the child and his mother and escape to Egypt until he was told to leave. Joseph obeyed the Lord, and the Lord appeared to him once again after Herod died and told him to take his family to the land of Israel. Thus, the prophecy’s hidden meaning was fulfilled.
Hosea prophecy and fulfillment
| Old Testament Prophecy (Hosea 11:1) | New Testament Fulfillment (Matthew 2:13-15) |
|---|---|
| “When Israel was a child, I loved him, and out of Egypt I called my son. | 13 When they had gone, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream. “Get up,” he said, “take the child and his mother and escape to Egypt. Stay there until I tell you, for Herod is going to search for the child to kill him.” 14 So he got up, took the child and his mother during the night and left for Egypt, 15 where he stayed until the death of Herod. And so was fulfilled what the Lord had said through the prophet: “Out of Egypt I called my son.” |
The hometown of Jesus foretold
This fulfilled prophecy is quite unusual, because it relates to a prophecy which is nowhere pronounced in the Scripture. However, Matthew’s gospel states that the prophets called the coming Messiah a Nazarene. So, how should we make sense of this? There is more than one plausible explanation for this apparent omission.
I believe one very reasonable explanation is that not everything spoken by the prophets of God were recorded in Scripture. There were most likely sayings that were commonly known and remembered by the Jews that were uttered by the prophets, but not necessarily canonized. Matthew could be referring to such a saying. For example, we know that Jesus did many things which were never recorded in the New Testament. (See John 21:25) And the apostle Paul referred to a missing letter that he wrote to the Corinthian church. (See 1 Corinthians 5:9.) Regardless, this unrecorded prophecy should be considered fulfilled since Matthew, who was inspired by the Holy Spirit, confirmed its fulfillment.
Nazarene prophecy and fulfillment
| Old Testament Prophecy | New Testament Fulfillment (Matthew 2:19-23) |
|---|---|
| There are no direct Old Testament citations that Jesus would be called a Nazarene. However, there are plausible reasons why Matthew would say that Jesus going and living in Nazareth fulfilled what was said through the prophets. (See comments below) | 19 After Herod died, an angel of the Lord appeared in a dream to Joseph in Egypt 20 and said, “Get up, take the child and his mother and go to the land of Israel, for those who were trying to take the child’s life are dead.” 21 So he got up, took the child and his mother and went to the land of Israel. 22 But when he heard that Archelaus was reigning in Judea in place of his father Herod, he was afraid to go there. Having been warned in a dream, he withdrew to the district of Galilee, 23 and he went and lived in a town called Nazareth. So was fulfilled what was said through the prophets, that he would be called a Nazarene. |
Jesus’ birth fulfills each of the Old Testament prophecies
Jesus has all the credentials to prove He is the Messiah. He is the seed of Abraham from the line of David as Scripture foretold. He was also born of a virgin, born in Bethlehem, called out of Egypt, became a Nazarene. And Herod killed the children in his attempt to kill Jesus, which caused great mourning in Ramah. All of these incidents fulfilled prophecies given hundreds of years before Jesus was born.
God had a good reason for proving that Jesus is the God-man sent from God to save sinners from their sin. His purpose was not just to satisfy our idle curiosity. He wants everyone everywhere to repent of their sins and believe upon His Son for the forgiveness of their sins and hope of eternal life. How about you? Today is the day of salvation. The righteous will live by faith.
Ask yourself two very important questions. First, are you sure that you’ll go to heaven when you die? Secondly, are you certain why God should let you into heaven? If you don’t know for sure, you can settle that matter today. Visit my post, How to Begin Your Life Over Again and you’ll know where and how you’ll spend eternity.
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