CHRISTMAS SIGNS
Everywhere you look there are signs telling you it's the Christmas season. It could be a literal sign like one promoting a sale or a show, or simply an indicator like the decorations or music. Whether it's as big as a billboard or as small as a flyer, the signs about Christmas are everywhere. And whether it's an advertisement, office party, a show or event; it's quite obvious that Christmas is upon us. There were also some signs surrounding the first Christmas. Let's take a look at some of those and see what significance they hold for us.
1) Prophecy.
God was in the business of providing signs from the very beginning. After the flood, when the rainbow appeared, he told Noah it was a sign that he would not flood the entire earth like that again. Whenever we see a rainbow, that sign serves as a reminder of that promise. God continued to provide signs.
Through Moses and Aaron God gave signs to Pharaoh. God provided multiple signs for the Israelites throughout their wanderings in the desert. He gave the Prophets (later the Apostles) the ability to perform signs and wonders. Since God is in the business of giving people signs, it makes sense that he would give a sign when it came to the most important birth in human history.
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."
A prophecy is a foretelling of a future event. A Prophet was given insight regarding something previously unknown. The fulfillment of prophecy would be legitimate proof and a sign that God could be believed and trusted. Sometimes a prophecy was fulfilled soon after, sometimes the fulfillment was hundreds of years away, like this one. This prophecy was written 700 years before it was fulfilled.
When Joseph found out Mary was pregnant, he thought she cheated on him. But an angel appeared to him in a dream, encouraging him that Mary had done no wrong. Then Matthew includes the prophecy from Isaiah as confirmation.
Matt. 1:21-23, " 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.” All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had said through the prophet: “The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel” —which means, “God with us.” Joseph and Mary received signs that confirmed what they were told.
There are other prophecies concerning the birth of Jesus. When the Magi had visited King Herod, they told him they were there to search for the newborn king of the Jews. This disturbed Herod so he called together the chief priests and teachers of the law, asking them where the Christ was to be born.
Matt. 2:5-6, “In Bethlehem in Judea,” they replied, “for this is what the prophet has written: “ ‘But you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah, are by no means least among the rulers of Judah; for out of you will come a ruler who will be the shepherd of my people Israel.’”
This prophecy is from Micah 5:2. Interestingly, there's an added line at the end that reads, "whose origins are from old, from ancient times". Many translations have, 'from eternity' or 'from everlasting'. This doesn't make sense; how can there be someone coming in the future who has ancient origins? It makes sense when you're talking about Jesus. His birth was not his beginning. It was his beginning in human form, but Jesus existed long prior-from the very beginning.
John 1:1-2, "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning." Okay, but how do we know that Jesus is the Word? Vs. 14, "The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the One and Only, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth." More legitimate signs that Jesus is the Christ.
One more birth prophecy. Herod told the Wise Men to come back and tell him where Jesus was so he could go and worship him. But that was a trick and the Wise Men were told in a dream to not go back to Herod, so they left another way. When Herod found this out he was furious and ordered that all males two years old and under be killed, hoping to get rid of this 'rival king'.
But before this happened, an angel came to Joseph in a dream and told him to take Mary and Jesus to Egypt and stay there until he was told to come back.
Matt. 2:14-15, "So he got up, took the child and his mother during the night and left for Egypt, 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.” This prophecy is taken from Hosea 11:1.
There are many more Messianic prophecies. It is estimated there are at least 300 prophecies in the OT concerning Jesus and he fulfilled them all. That's a lot of signs; that's a lot of proof. These fulfilled prophecies would be signs of confirmation that Jesus was the one the Jews had been waiting for all these years.
And anyone who would accuse Jesus of orchestrating events to coincide with prophecy would be silenced when it came to the birth prophecies. Obviously Jesus couldn't control where he would be born or that he would end up in Egypt not long thereafter. Yet there were plenty of people, mainly the religious leaders, who would not allow themselves to see the signs for what they were. They had plenty of reasons to believe that Jesus was the Savior who was to come into the world.
What about us? Will you be convinced by the signs that Jesus is truly the one and only Savior? A number of years ago, Peter W. Stoner and Robert C. Newman wrote a book entitled Science Speaks. It was based on the science of probability and vouched for by the American Scientific Affiliation.
It set out the odds of any one man in history fulfilling only eight of the 60 major prophecies (and 270 ramifications) fulfilled by the life of Christ. The probability that Jesus of Nazareth could have fulfilled even eight such prophecies would be only 1 in 1017. That's 1 with 17 zeros after it.
Stoner claims that if you had that many silver dollars it would be enough to cover the face of the entire state of Texas two feet deep. The author of the article writes, "I've been to Texas. Texas is a very big state. Who in his right mind would suppose that a blindfolded man, heading out of Dallas by foot in any direction, would be able, on his very first attempt, to pick up one specifically marked silver dollar out of that many?"
I think that would confirm it. The signs are there to provide the evidence that Jesus is the only one who could be the one.
2) The baby in the manger.
Luke 2:8-20, "And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night. An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid. I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is Christ the Lord.
This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.” Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God and saying, “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace to men on whom his favor rests.”
When the angels had left them and gone into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, “Let’s go to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has told us about.” So they hurried off and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby, who was lying in the manger.
When they had seen him, they spread the word concerning what had been told them about this child, and all who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds said to them. But Mary treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart. The shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things they had heard and seen, which were just as they had been told."
We see their first reaction was fear. Not fear over the birth announcement but fear over the visitation. In fact, it says they were terrified. The way the Greek reads it signifies being seized with a mixture of reverent fear and awe. And who wouldn't be; it's not like angelic appearances were commonplace. In fact, God had pretty much been silent for the previous 400 years so I'm sure this came as quite a shock to them.
Not only because of what they were seeing but also because it was happening to them. Shepherds would not have been considered the upper echelon of society. An angelic appearance would've been expected to happen to the religious leaders but not to a bunch of shepherds. This was the greatest announcement in the history of mankind and it was given to those least likely to receive it.
The angel calms them down and tells them to not be afraid. He gives them the good news. "A Savior has been born to you; he is Christ the Lord". That's the good news that will turn our fear-fear of trouble, fear of the unknown, fear of death-into joy-joy of salvation, joy of the presence and power of the Lord, joy of a future inheritance in heaven.
Then we see that the angels gave the shepherds a sign. They would find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger. That would be a distinct sign. You wouldn't normally find a newborn in a smelly stable. So this sign would be unmistakable. God is in the business of providing unmistakable signs. Unfortunately, some people pass God's signs off as just some weird coincidence.
But the shepherds didn't do that. They believed. They were excited. They took off. "Let's go to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened ". Notice they didn't say, 'let's go see if it's true'. They said, 'this thing that has happened'. It was as good as true to them. And upon their arrival, the sign was confirmed.
They didn't need the sign to believe, the sign was a confirmation of their belief. You'll see this principle in other places. When the disciples asked Jesus for a sign, it was to understand something or to know what to look for regarding what they already believed in faith. The religious leaders asked for signs out of skepticism and unbelief. Asking for a sign when we need clarification is one thing, but demanding a sign in order for God to prove himself is not good.
Then we see the shepherd's reaction to the confirmation-they went around telling people about their experience. Are we telling others about our experience with Jesus and the signs that were confirmed to us? The shepherds returned glorifying and praising God. I'm sure they were never the same after this.
They believed the angel, followed the sign and saw the evidence. Because they did this, they experienced a joyous event that changed their lives forever. Those who ignore the signs miss out on the joy that would change their lives forever.
3) The star.
Matt. 2:1-2, "After Jesus was born in Bethlehem in Judea, during the time of King Herod, Magi from the east came to Jerusalem and asked, “Where is the one who has been born king of the Jews? We saw his star in the east and have come to worship him.”
Some people put a star on top of their Christmas tree. The star signifies the Bethlehem star that the Magi (traditionally called wise men) followed that led them to Jesus. Magi is where we get the word "magic" from. Adam Clarke’s commentary, “Anglo-Saxon translates the word magoi, which signifies astrologers, from a star or planet, and to know or understand”. In other words, in the Old English, Magi signified a person who knew or understood the stars and planets.
If these men were astrologers it was not in the sense that was forbidden in scripture. The problem with astrology is that one looks to the stars for guidance and answers instead of looking to God. The wise men looked to the stars not as a substitute for God but rather as a sign and tool God used to communicate. It makes sense for God to use his creation to help tell a story and give signs.
Tradition says the Magi were men of high position from the area near ancient Babylon but they could’ve come from Persia or southern Arabia. It's also understood that Magi were philosophers who would’ve studied religion so it’s likely they would’ve studied and believed the biblical prophecies concerning Jesus like Num. 24:17a, "I see him, but not now; I behold him, but not near. A star will come out of Jacob; a scepter will rise out of Israel."
And concerning the timing of the Messiah’s coming, they may have read and understood Daniel 9 that talks about seventy-sevens which translates to 490 years. Technically they calculate 69 "sevens" equaling 483 years, which corresponds to when Jesus was born, and the last "seven" was to come years later.
It’s also conceivable that they simply received a special message from God directing them to the Messiah. They knew the star they had seen was the Jesus star. “We saw his star”. This was no ordinary star. Matt. 2:9 says it "went ahead of them and stopped over the place where the child was". Stars don’t just stop over a specific location. And the wise men knew that this star meant that the King of the Jews had been born.
Just like God guided the Israelites with a pillar of fire and a cloud, God used this special, divine star to guide the Magi to His Son. They listened to God who revealed to them that the Messiah had been born and that the star they saw was his and that they needed to pack it up and move it out.
The wise men believed and followed the signs they were given. This fact is supported by what they said to Herod, “where is the one who has been born”. They didn’t say, “This might sound crazy but we’ve been following this star and we thought perhaps the messiah might have been born recently. Is it true?”
They spoke confidently that it had happened and they were eager to find him. The wise men were wise because they listened to God and followed his signs. God revealed the way to Jesus and they didn’t dismiss it; they obeyed.
And they had to maintain that trust for the duration of their journey. It’s believed that the journey took the wise men over a year to complete. This involves dedication and proper planning in order to be able to complete such a journey. And they weren't disappointed. When they found the location of the Christ child the sign was confirmed. When you want to get somewhere you follow the signs. If the sign is accurate you know you can trust it.
What did the wise men do when the sign they were following proved accurate? Matt. 2:9-11, "After they had heard the king, they went on their way, and the star they had seen in the east went ahead of them until it stopped over the place where the child was. When they saw the star, they were overjoyed. On coming to the house, they saw the child with his mother Mary, and they bowed down and worshiped him. Then they opened their treasures and presented him with gifts of gold and of incense and of myrrh."
They were overjoyed that their journey had ended and they would now see the Messiah. Then they worshiped Jesus and presented him with gifts that signified they knew whose presence they were in. Gold was for royalty, recognizing Jesus as king. Incense was a temple spice, recognizing Jesus as priest. Myrrh was used to prepare someone for burial, recognizing that Jesus would eventually die for the sins of mankind.
When we realize our search for what will truly fulfill us is found in Christ we are overjoyed because we have finally found what we've been looking for. Alan Perkins said, “Although there is truly nothing more desirable than knowing Christ, many people just can’t see it. Their eyes haven’t been opened. They look into the manger, and they don’t see a king. They don’t see the Savior of the World. They don’t see “the Mighty God, the Everlasting Father, the Prince of Peace”.
All they can see is an ordinary human being. And so, they pass by the child in the manger and instead seek after the presents. Which do you value more, the toys and trinkets of this life that will all eventually crumble into dust or a relationship with Jesus Christ that will last forever?”
Do you want to find what you're looking for? Follow the signs to Jesus.
