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In the previous lessons we saw that the Old Testament prophesied that Christ is both God and man. In His first coming, Christ was God becoming man to enter into mankind with all His riches and to bring God into man in His ministry. For this divine dispensing He needed to be born and to grow up as an ordinary man and to begin His ministry through the recommendation of John the Baptist. Under God’s sovereignty all these matters were recorded in the books of prophecy in the Old Testament long before Christ was born. In this lesson we will consider the prophecies concerning Christ’s birth, His youth, and the recommender of His ministry.
In the previous lesson we saw that the prophet Micah, in his prophecy concerning Christ’s birth, said, “You, O Bethlehem Ephrathah, / So little to be among the thousands of Judah, / From you there will come forth to Me / He who is to be Ruler in Israel” (Micah 5:2). Furthermore, Jeremiah 23:5 is a prophecy concerning Christ as a righteous Shoot raised up by God out of David who would reign as King. These prophecies tell us that, on the one hand, Christ would be born in Bethlehem and, on the other hand, Christ would be the seed of David to reign in the kingdom.
In order to fulfill the prophecies in Micah 5 and Jeremiah 23, Christ had to be born of the royal house and in Bethlehem. According to the genealogy of Christ in Matthew, Mary’s husband, Joseph, was a descendant of Zerubbabel who returned from captivity (1:13-16). Zerubbabel was a leader of the tribe of Judah and a descendant of Solomon, the son of David. He led the captured Israelites in their return to Jerusalem from Babylon to rebuild the temple (Ezra 2:1-2; 3:8; 5:2). Mary, the wife of Joseph, was also a descendant of the returned captives, but she was the descendant of Nathan, another son of David (Luke 3:23-31). Luke 3:23 says, “So it was thought, the son of Joseph, the son of Heli.” So it was thought literally means “according to law,” indicating that Joseph was not the son of Heli in the flesh but was reckoned as the son of Heli according to law. This means that Joseph was the son-in-law of Heli, because Mary was Heli’s daughter. Heli was a descendant of Nathan, who was also a descendant of David. Thus, both Joseph and Mary were descendants of David: Joseph was of the line of Solomon, and Mary was of the line of Nathan. According to the record of Jeremiah, no descendant of Solomon’s son Jeconiah (Jehoiachin) was qualified to inherit the throne of David (22:28, 30). Although Jeremiah prophesied that all the descendants of Jeconiah were excluded from the throne of David, he also prophesied that God would raise up a Shoot (branch) to David, and this Shoot would be King. This prophecy of Jeremiah indicates that Christ must be the descendant of David, but He could not be a descendant of Jeconiah. The birth of Christ truly fulfilled these prophecies. He came out of Mary, a descendant of David, and not out of Joseph. Even though He was a descendant of David, He was not of the line of Jeconiah, who was cursed according to Jeremiah. Thus, He can still sit on the throne of David’s house because He is fully qualified to reign as King.
By the sovereignty of God, the forefathers of both Joseph and Mary returned from the land of captivity. Before the birth of Christ, Joseph and Mary did not live in Bethlehem but in Nazareth of Galilee (Luke 1:26). When Mary was in Nazareth, she was already engaged to Joseph (v. 27). Before they came together, Mary was found to be with child of the Holy Spirit (Matt. 1:18; Luke 1:31-35). During her pregnancy, Caesar Augustus issued the decree for a census to be taken of all the inhabited earth. Hence, all the people went to be registered, each to his own city (2:1, 3). Since Joseph was of the house and family of David, he went with Mary to Bethlehem, David’s city. At that time Mary was already heavy with child. While they were there, Mary’s days were fulfilled for her to bear, and she bore Jesus (vv. 4-7a). Under God’s sovereign arrangement, the birth of Jesus precisely fulfilled the prophecies of the prophets Micah and Jeremiah concerning His birth in Bethlehem and His being a descendant of David.
Soon after Jesus was born, magi from the east went to Jerusalem, seeking to worship Him. When King Herod heard of this, he was troubled. He inquired of the birth place of Jesus and then secretly called the magi to determine accurately from them the time that the star appeared in order to destroy Him (Matt. 2:1-8). But an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream, saying, “Arise, take the child and His mother and flee into Egypt, and stay there until I tell you.” Joseph arose and took the child and His mother by night and departed into Egypt. They stayed there until Herod died (vv. 13-15). This fulfilled the prophecy of the prophet Hosea: “When Israel was a child, I loved him, / And out of Egypt I called My son” (11:1).
Hosea’s prophecy not only explains the fact that Joseph took Mary and Jesus and fled into Egypt. It further reveals that in Christ’s first coming He was in union with Israel as the Son of God by fleeing to Egypt and by being called out of Egypt. In the matter of being the Son of God, Christ was joined to the Israelites. Although Israel became exceedingly evil, Christ still became organically one with them through incarnation to be a real Israelite.
After the death of King Herod, who sought the life of Jesus, Joseph and Mary took Jesus and returned to Galilee, settling in Nazareth. This was “so that what was spoken through the prophets might be fulfilled, He shall be called a Nazarene” (Matt. 2:23). The word prophets, in plural, indicates that this is not a particular prophecy but a summary of the significance of several prophecies. The title Nazarene may refer to the branch in Isaiah 11:1, which in Hebrew is netzer. The branch there, signifying Christ, is a sprout out of the stump of Jesse, the father of David.
By the time Jesus was born, the throne of David had been overthrown. This means that the royal stem of David had been cut off. Now a new sprout came forth from the stump of Jesse and grew out of his roots. This sprouting and growing were in a situation of humiliation. Jesus was not born in a recognized and honored royal home, nor did He grow up in a renowned city such as Jerusalem. Rather, He was born in a poor home and grew up in a despised town. All this made Him a Nazarene, a branch—not a lofty branch of a stately tree, but a seemingly insignificant sprout from the stump of Jesse. Although Jesus was a Nazarene, within Him was the Spirit of God, the glory of God. As the prophet Isaiah prophesied, “Then a sprout will come forth from the stump of Jesse, / And a branch from his roots will bear fruit. / And the Spirit of Jehovah will rest upon Him, / The Spirit of wisdom and understanding, / The Spirit of counsel and might, / The Spirit of knowledge and the fear of Jehovah” (Isa. 11:1-2). The Spirit of counsel and might here equals the wisdom and power in 1 Corinthians 1:24, which tells us that Christ is God’s power and God’s wisdom. He is the wisdom which gives counsel and the power which gives might. What a humble yet precious Savior He is!
Isaiah 53:2 prophesies of Christ, saying, “He grew up like a tender plant before Him, / And like a root out of dry ground. / He has no attracting form nor majesty that we should look upon Him, / Nor beautiful appearance that we should desire Him.” In the Bible plants often typify humanity. For Christ to grow up like a tender plant before Jehovah means that Christ grew up before Him in His humanity. In His divinity Christ has always been perfect and complete, and thus there was no need for Him to grow in His divinity. However, He needed to grow in His humanity. First, He was born as a child, and then He grew up into boyhood and eventually into manhood.
He grew up in humanity not only like a tender plant but also like a root out of dry ground. Dry ground signifies a difficult environment. Our Lord was born to a poor carpenter’s family, became the son of a carpenter, and grew up in the city of Nazareth of the despised region of Galilee (John 1:46 Matt 13:53-57). Like a root out of dry ground, He grew up in the midst of hard circumstances. He did not have a physically attractive form nor an appearance that people would desire. Isaiah 52:14 says, “Even as many were astonished at Him— / His visage was marred more than that of any man, / And His form more than that of the sons of men.” The Jews thought the Messiah would be admired by people, like Moses and David, who were attractive in appearance (Acts 7:20; 1 Sam. 16:12). The Jews also thought that when the Messiah came, there would be the royal scepter, an open ceremony, and the support of the people. But they never thought the Messiah, the anointed One of God, Christ the Servant of God, would grow up in Nazareth of Galilee like a root out of dry ground. His visage and form were marred, having no attractiveness or majesty, such that He was reckoned as nearly fifty years old when He was thirty (John 8:57). This certainly astonished the Jews. Our Lord is altogether lovely, altogether beautiful, and altogether rich, but these features are not visible to the naked eyes; only spiritual eyes can see them.
Before Christ began His earthly ministry, the Scriptures prophesied of a recommender who would be a forerunner of His ministry. This recommender was John the Baptist. John is from the Hebrew Johanan (2 Kings 25:23; 1 Chron. 3:24; 2 Chron. 28:12), meaning “Jehovah is gracious,” “Jehovah gives grace,” or “Jehovah the gracious Giver.” According to Matthew 3:1-3 John the Baptist, who appeared and preached in the wilderness, was the one referred to by the prophet Isaiah, who said, “The voice of one who cries / In the wilderness” (Isa. 40:3). This shows that John’s ministry of recommendation was not accidental; neither was it according to John’s will. Rather, it was planned by God and prophesied by the prophet Isaiah.
Malachi 4:5-6 prophesied, “I am about to send Elijah the prophet to you before the great and terrible day of Jehovah comes; and he will turn the heart of the fathers to the children and the heart of the children to their fathers.” The Lord Jesus said clearly that John the Baptist was the coming Elijah prophesied in the Old Testament (Matt. 17:10-13). He said, “Elijah indeed is coming and will restore all things” (v. 11). This refers to the time of the great tribulation when Elijah will be one of the two witnesses who strengthen the people of God (Rev. 11:3-12). But the Lord Jesus also said, “I say to you that Elijah has already come; and they did not recognize him, but did with him the things they wished” (Matt. 17:12). This shows that the recommender of Christ—Elijah—had already come; he was John the Baptist. In Luke 1:17 the angel spoke to John’s father Zachariah concerning John the Baptist, and said, “It is he who will go before Him in the spirit and power of Elijah to turn the hearts of the fathers to the children.” Thus, the Lord Jesus said, “If you are willing to receive it, he is Elijah, who is to come” (Matt. 11:14).
Concerning the prophecies in the Bible, first there is a partial fulfillment and then a complete fulfillment. Thus, in the aspect of partial fulfillment of the prophecies, Elijah had already come as John the Baptist. In the aspect of complete fulfillment of the prophecies, the complete coming of Elijah will occur during the great tribulation in the future.
Isaiah 40:3-4 also prophesied the recommendation of Christ’s ministry by John the Baptist, saying, “The voice of one who cries / In the wilderness: Make clear / The way of Jehovah; / Make straight in the desert / A highway for our God. / Every valley will be lifted up, / And every mountain and hill will be made low, / And the crooked places will become straight, / And the rough places, a broad plain.” This was fulfilled in Matthew 3:3-6 through John the Baptist’s ministry. To prepare the way of Jehovah is to prepare the way of the Lord Jesus, which is also to make straight in the desert a highway for our God. Practically speaking, to prepare the way of the Lord and to make straight His paths is to change people’s minds, to turn their minds toward the Lord and make their hearts right, to cause every part and avenue of their heart to be straightened by the Lord through repentance for the kingdom of the heavens (Luke 1:16-17). The ministry of John the Baptist was to deal with man’s heart so that it would be ready to receive the coming Christ. When John came, he commanded the people to repent (Matt. 3:2), which was the real preparing of the Lord’s way and making straight His paths. The purpose of Christ’s coming was to regenerate man by entering into his spirit (John 3:3, 5). However, in order to enter into a person’s spirit, Christ must pass through his heart. Before a man is saved, there are valleys in his heart that need to be filled up, and there are mountains and hills that need to be made low. The heart of man is crooked and needs to be made straight, and it has rough places that need to be made broad. John came to preach repentance and lead people to repent. When a person repents, the way in his heart is made flat, and the path is made straight so that Christ the King can enter his spirit to regenerate him, making him a child of God and a citizen of the kingdom of God. This is the recommending ministry of John the Baptist as prophesied in the Old Testament.
The prophet Micah prophesied that Christ would be born in Bethlehem, and Jeremiah also prophesied that Christ as the righteous Shoot of David, raised up by God to David, would reign as King. The New Testament shows that these prophecies were fulfilled by God’s sovereign arrangements. Both Joseph and Mary were descendants of David: Joseph was of the line of Solomon, and Mary was of the line of Nathan. Jeremiah prophesied that no descendant of Solomon’s son Jeconiah (Jehoiachin) was qualified to inherit the throne of David. However, Christ came out of Mary, a descendant of David, not out of Joseph. Thus, He can sit on the throne of David’s house because He is fully qualified to reign as King. By the sovereignty of God, the forefathers of both Joseph and Mary returned from the land of captivity. Thus, Jesus was born in Bethlehem as a descendant of David. Soon after Jesus was born, King Herod wanted to destroy Him. But the angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream, telling him to take the child and His mother and flee into Egypt. This fulfilled the prophecy of the prophet Hosea. After the death of King Herod, Joseph and Mary took Jesus and returned to Galilee, settling in Nazareth. This fulfilled what was spoken through the prophets, that He would be called a Nazarene. The title Nazarene may refer to the branch in Isaiah 11:1, signifying that Christ is a sprout out of the stump of Jesse, the father of David. This sprouting and growing were in a situation of humiliation. Jesus was born in a poor home and grew up in a despised town. Isaiah 53 prophesied that Christ would grow before Jehovah like a tender plant and like a root out of dry ground. He had no attracting form or beautiful appearance. Our Lord did not have outward beauty, but He was full of beauty within. To those who truly know Him, He is altogether lovely.
Before Christ began His earthly ministry, John the Baptist was His recommender. The name John means “Jehovah is gracious,” “Jehovah gives grace,” or “Jehovah is a gracious Giver.” The recommending ministry of John the Baptist was planned by God and was prophesied by the prophet Isaiah. Malachi 4 prophesied that John would be the coming Elijah. He would go before the Lord in the spirit and power of Elijah to turn the heart of the fathers to the children. The Lord Jesus also said that John was Elijah, who was to come. The ministry of John the Baptist was mainly to deal with man’s heart so that it would be prepared to receive the coming Christ. The purpose of Christ’s coming was to regenerate man by entering into his spirit. John came to preach repentance and lead people to repent. When a person repents, his heart is prepared for Christ the King to enter into his spirit to regenerate him, thus making him a child of God and a citizen of the kingdom of God.
