Title: Christ
Fulfilled the Prophets
Text:
Matthew 1: 22-25
Date:
December 24, 2017
Place:
SGBC, New Jersey
Matthew 1: 22: Now all this was done, that it might be fulfilled which was
spoken of the Lord by the prophet, saying, 23: Behold, a virgin shall be with child, and [a virgin] shall
bring forth a son, and they shall call his name Emmanuel, which being
interpreted is, God with us. 24:
Then Joseph being raised from sleep did as the angel of the Lord had bidden
him, and took unto him his wife: 25:
And knew her not till she had brought forth her firstborn son: and he called
his name JESUS.
Proposition: It was necessary that the Lord Jesus be born of a virgin in order that he might
fulfill the law and the prophets.
Matthew 5: 17:
Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets: I am not come to
destroy, but to fulfil.
In this message, we will see that Christ
fulfilled the prophets—Moses, David, Isaiah,
Jeremiah, Ezekiel, Daniel, Hosea and so on.
CHRIST FULFILLED THE PROPHETS
Matthew 1: 22: Now all this was done, that it might be fulfilled which was
spoken of the Lord by the prophet, saying, 23: Behold, a virgin shall be with child, and shall bring forth a
son, and they shall call his name Emmanuel, which being interpreted is, God
with us.
First, the
Lord Jesus was born of a virgin that he might fulfill the prophets. This was the Lord Jesus fulfilling what was
spoken by the Lord through the prophet Isaiah. (Is 7: 14) He was begotten of a virgin by the Holy
Spirit so he would be the sinless Man fit to bear the sin of his people. He is
God in human flesh so that he made eternal satisfaction for the sin of his
people. The angel of the Lord told Joseph “she
shall bring forth a son, and thou shalt call his name JESUS: for he shall save
his people from their sins.” (Mt 1: 21)
Jesus Christ saves his people from
the penalty of our sins by his blood atonement (Rom. 3:24-26). He saves us from the dominion of our
sins by his regenerating Spirit (John 3:5-8; Rom. 6:18). Christ saves us from the being of our sins
when he takes us out of this world (John 14:1-3; Rom. 7:25). He saves us from the consequences of our sins
in resurrection glory (I Cor. 15:51-56).
Secondly,
we see Christ fulfill what was spoken by the prophet Micah. God promised Christ
would be born in Bethlehem, so he was. (Mic. 5:2).
Matthew 2: 4:
And when [Herod] had gathered all the chief priests and scribes of the people
together, he demanded of them where Christ should be born. 5: And they said unto him, In
Bethlehem of Judaea: for thus it is written by the prophet, 6: And thou Bethlehem, in the
land of Juda, art not the least among the princes of Juda: for out of thee
shall come a Governor, that shall rule my people Israel.
But
Joseph and Mary were not residents of Bethlehem at the time she conceived. They
were living in Galilee, in the city of Nazareth (Luke 2:4). Yet, the Scripture
must be fulfilled. Messiah must be born at Bethlehem. So God moved the heart of a king named Caesar
Augustus to make a decree requiring that every man return to his hometown to
pay his taxes.
Luke 2: 1:
And it came to pass in those days, that there went out a decree from Caesar
Augustus, that all the world should be taxed. 2: (And this taxing was first made when Cyrenius was
governor of Syria.) 3: And all
went to be taxed, every one into his own city. 4: And Joseph also went up from Galilee, out of the city of
Nazareth, into Judaea, unto the city of David, which is called Bethlehem;
(because he was of the house and lineage of David:) 5: To be taxed with Mary his espoused wife, being great with
child. 6: And so it was, that,
while they were there, the days were accomplished that she should be delivered.
7: And she brought forth her
firstborn son, and wrapped him in swaddling clothes, and laid him in a manger;
because there was no room for them in the inn.
Thirdly,
concerning the wise men who came to worship him, the Psalmist prophesied saying
Psalm 72:10: The kings of Tarshish and of the isles shall
bring presents: the kings of Sheba and Seba shall offer gifts…15: And he shall
live, and to him shall be given of the gold of Sheba: prayer also shall be made
for him continually; and daily shall he be praised. [worshipped, bowed down to]
So under
two years after his birth, we read,
Matthew 2: 1: Now when Jesus was born in Bethlehem of
Judaea in the days of Herod the king, behold, there came wise men from the east
to Jerusalem, 2: Saying, Where is he that is born King of the Jews? for we have
seen his star in the east, and are come to worship him…11: And when they were
come into the house, they saw the young child with Mary his mother, and fell
down, and worshipped him: and when they had opened their treasures, they presented
unto him gifts; gold, and frankincense, and myrrh.
Fourthly,
through the prophet Hosea God promised he would call his Son out of Egypt so God moved Joseph to take him to
Egypt.
Matthew 2: 13:
And when they were departed, behold, the angel of the Lord appeareth to Joseph
in a dream, saying, Arise, and take the young child and his mother, and flee
into Egypt, and be thou there until I bring thee word: for Herod will seek the
young child to destroy him. 14:
When he arose, he took the young child and his mother by night, and departed
into Egypt: 15: And was there
until the death of Herod: that it might be fulfilled which was spoken of the
Lord by the prophet, saying, Out of Egypt have I called my son.
Fifthly, even
Herod’s wickedness fulfilled God’s sovereign purpose, which was prophesied by
Jeremiah,
Matthew 2: 16: Then Herod, when he saw that he was mocked of the wise
men, was exceeding wroth, and sent forth, and slew all the children that were
in Bethlehem, and in all the coasts thereof, from two years old and under,
according to the time which he had diligently enquired of the wise men. 17: Then was fulfilled that which was
spoken by Jeremy the prophet, saying, 18:
In Rama was there a voice heard, lamentation, and weeping, and great mourning,
Rachel weeping for her children, and would not be comforted, because
they are not.
Sixthly, God
even overruled Joseph’s disobedience, to fulfill his purpose which was
prophesied throughout the old testament by more than one prophet.
Matthew 2: 22:
But when he heard that Archelaus did reign in Judaea in the room of his father
Herod, he was afraid to go thither: notwithstanding, being warned of God in a
dream, he turned aside into the parts of Galilee: 23: And he came and dwelt in a city called Nazareth: that it might
be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophets, He shall be called a Nazarene.
The words
“Nazarene” and “Nazarite” are the same word “Netzar” meaning one separated and given up to God and
devoted entirely to God. Long ago, Jacob’s
son, Joseph, typified Christ. Jacob prophesied of Christ being a Nazarite when
he blessed Joseph,
Genesis 49:1: And Jacob called unto his sons, and said,
Gather yourselves together, that I may tell you that which
shall befall you in the last days.
Genesis 49:26: The blessings of thy father have prevailed
above the blessings of my progenitors unto the utmost bound of the everlasting
hills: they shall be on the head of Joseph, and on the crown of the head of him
that was separate from his brethren.
That one separate
from his brethren is Christ the Nazarite who is holy and separate from his
brethren, devoted to God his Father.
So just
as we see Christ fulfill the prophets at his birth likewise throughout the life
of Christ we find it written time and again in the scripture that he did this
and that “that it might be fulfilled
which was spoken of the Lord by the prophet.” We find Christ fulfilling all prophecy right
up to his last acts of taking the vinegar, crying it is finished, and
commending his spirit to the Father.
LESSONS WE LEARN FROM CHRIST FULFILLING THE
PROPHETS
First, we
learn that everything written in the old testament, like the new testament, is
concerning the Lord Jesus Christ. Concerning all the old testament scriptures,
Christ said, “they are they which testify
of me.” (Jn 5: 39) When Christ revealed himself to the two men on the road
to Emmaus,
Luke 24: 27:…beginning at Moses and all the prophets, he
expounded unto them in all the scriptures the things concerning himself.
Luke 24:44: And he said unto them, These are the words which
I spake unto you, while I was yet with you, that all things must be fulfilled,
which were written in the law of Moses, and in the prophets, and in the psalms,
concerning me.
Romans 1: 1: Paul, a servant of Jesus Christ, called to
be an apostle, separated unto the gospel of God, 2: (Which he had promised
afore by his prophets in the holy scriptures,) 3: Concerning his Son Jesus
Christ our Lord,…
Every
word of the old testament scriptures is concerning Christ. From the first
prophecy in Genesis 3: 15 which declared Christ is the Seed of the woman who
would crush the devil’s head to the last prophet Malachi who declared “unto you that fear my name shall the Sun of
righteousness arise with healing in his wings; and ye shall go forth, and grow
up as calves of the stall” (Mal 4: 2) every word of the old testament
scriptures speak of Christ Jesus the Lord.
So when we study this book, look only for Christ and believe on him.
Secondly,
from Christ fulfilling the scriptures we learn that God is absolutely sovereign. God controls everything and every
person in this world. God is able to promise beforehand what he will do then
bring it to pass. No other god can do this, not even if they joined their
counsel together. God said,
Isaiah 45: 21:
yea, let them take counsel together: who hath declared this from ancient time? who
hath told it from that time? have not I the LORD? and there is no
God else beside me; a just God and a Saviour; there is none beside me. 22: Look unto me, and be ye saved, all
the ends of the earth: for I am God, and there is none else.
Isaiah 46: 9:
Remember the former things of old: for I am God, and there is
none else; I am God, and there is none like me, 10: Declaring the end from the
beginning, and from ancient times the things that are not yet
done, saying, My counsel shall stand, and I will do all my pleasure: 11: Calling a ravenous bird from the
east, the man that executeth my counsel from a far country: yea, I have spoken it,
I will also bring it to pass; I have purposed it, I will also do it. 12: Hearken unto me, ye stouthearted,
that are far from righteousness: 13: I bring near my righteousness;
God is so
sovereign that the wicked things that happen in this world, happen only because
they fulfill God’s purpose and God’s word; the remainder of disobedience he
restrains.
Psalm 76: 10: Surely the wrath of man shall praise thee:
the remainder of wrath shalt thou restrain.
Believer,
there is your answer the next time you hear someone ask “Why did God let this tragedy happen?” In some way, it fulfilled
God’s eternal counsel for the glory of Christ and the salvation of his people. Are you concerned about the president and the
rulers of this nation and the nations around the world? Don’t be!
Proverbs 21: 1: The king’s heart is in the hand of
the LORD, as the rivers of water: he turneth it whithersoever he will.
This
means the God of this book is the only true and living God! Trust him alone!
Brethren, as we pray for our children, know that by his sovereign hand, God is
able to make the stouthearted hearken and cast all their care on Christ the
Lord our Righteousness.
Thirdly,
by Christ fulfilling everything God promised, we learn that God cannot and will
not lie. Every word God promises can and should be believed. God cannot lie.
Isaiah 45: 23:
I have sworn by myself, the word is gone out of my mouth in
righteousness, and shall not return, That unto me every knee shall bow, every
tongue shall swear. 24: Surely,
shall one say, in the LORD have I righteousness and strength: even
to him shall men come; and all that are incensed against him shall be
ashamed.
Hebrews 6: 13:
For when God made promise to Abraham, because he could swear by no greater, he
sware by himself, 14: Saying, Surely
blessing I will bless thee, and multiplying I will multiply thee. 15: And so, after he had patiently
endured, he obtained the promise. 16:
For men verily swear by the greater: and an oath for confirmation is to
them an end of all strife. 17:
Wherein God, willing more abundantly to shew unto the heirs of promise the
immutability of his counsel, confirmed it by an oath: 18: That by two immutable things, in
which it was impossible for God to lie, we might have a strong
consolation, who have fled for refuge to lay hold upon the hope set before us:
In the
midst of a world full of liars, it is good to know we have one that we can be
sure always tells us the truth. God cannot lie! We have strong comfort who rest
in Christ. Every word of God is true!
Lastly,
by Christ fulfilling the prophets, we learn Christ is everything God promised
he would be in the scriptures. Christ is the
Seed of Woman who has crushed the devil’s head on the cross and shall soon
crush him under our feet. Christ is our Prophet who teaches his people
effectually in our heart. Christ is our
High Priest who ever lives to make intercession for his elect. Christ is our King who rules all things in heaven and
earth for our good and God’s glory.
Christ is the Lamb of God that
has taken away the sin of his people scattered all over this world throughout
every generation. He alone was fit to
take the sin of his people upon himself. He alone was able to be made a curse
and made eternal satisfaction to God’s justice. So we can be certain that when
Christ cried out, “It is finished”,
the redemption of every elect child of God was accomplished.
Wouldn’t
it be a shame to pass through this life only to find out on judgment day that
all your life you believed only the word of liars and refused the counsel of
the one God who declared the truth to you?
Christ is All and to him belongs all the glory. Every knee shall bow to
him—either in this life in grace or in judgment to come. May God make us each bow and believe on him
while it is the day of grace!
Amen!