Christmas in the Bible

God Himself became a man. He was born as a real person into this world in the form of a man that we call "Jesus."

Prophecies of the First Coming of Jesus

When we celebrate Christmas with the true meaning of Christmas in our hearts, we are celebrating the First Coming of Christ into the world. Let's look at Bible verses that relate to His First Coming. Hundreds and thousands of years before Jesus was born there were prophecies about His First Coming. There are many Bible verses like this. These prophecies were given by God to man from the earliest days of the existence of mankind. After the nation of Israel came into being many more prophecies of the coming Messiah (or Christ, or Anointed One,) were given to them and recorded in writing by their priests, scribes, and/or prophets. Here are a few.

Preceded by a messenger (John the Baptist)
A voice of one calling: "In the desert prepare the way for the LORD; make straight in the wilderness a highway for our God. (Isaiah 40:3)

Born in Bethlehem
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. (Micah 5:2)

Born of a virgin
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. (Isaiah 7:14)

Called out of Egypt
When Israel was a child, I loved him, and out of Egypt I called my son. (Hosea 11:1)

God Incarnate, the King of the Universe
For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. Of the increase of his government and peace there will be no end. He will reign on David's throne and over his kingdom, establishing and upholding it with justice and righteousness from that time on and forever. The zeal of the LORD Almighty will accomplish this. (Isaiah 9:6-7)

The Christmas Story

All of the passages in the Christmas story and also a discussion of them are written out completely for adults on the Birth of Jesus page. There is also a Baby Jesus page for children, which has the story told in an easy-to-understand version.

New Testament passages significantly related to Christmas

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning. Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made. In him was life, and that life was the light of men. The light shines in the darkness, but the darkness has not understood it. (John 1:1-5) The true light that gives light to every man was coming into the world. He was in the world, and though the world was made through him, the world did not recognize him. He came to that which was his own, but his own did not receive him. Yet to all who received him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God — children born not of natural descent, nor of human decision or a husband's will, but born of God. 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. (John 1:9-14)

In the past God spoke to our forefathers through the prophets at many times and in various ways, but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed heir of all things, and through whom he made the universe. The Son is the radiance of God's glory and the exact representation of his being, sustaining all things by his powerful word. After he had provided purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty in heaven. (Hebrews 1:1-3)

Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus: Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, but made himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. (Philippians 2:5-7) For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sakes he became poor, so that you through his poverty might become rich. (2 Corinthians 8:9) ... the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many. (Matt 20:28)

More prophecies of the Messiah

Rather than listing them many of them here, we'll simply provide links to sites that have pages that focus on them. On many of these sites you'll find prophecies not only related to events around the birth of the Messiah, but also other prophecies which, when taken together, prove that the man we call "Jesus" was and is the Messiah that had been long foretold. A great thing to do around Christmas would be to print out some of the pages you find on Messianic prophecies and then read them and think about them with your family and friends.

http://www.joshuanet.org/articles/messianic_proph.html

http://www.i-amfaithweb.net/ot_prphcs_flflldby_yeshua.htm

http://www.greatcom.org/resources/areadydefense/ch19/default.htm

http://www.believersweb.org/view.cfm?ID=803

http://www.jesusplusnothing.com/prophecy.htm

http://members.datafast.net.au/sggram/f986.htm

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