Every year at Christmas time, my favorite tradition is to sit down as a family and watch the old Charlie Brown Christmas special. My son is grown now, but with him or without, every year like clockwork, I still watch it. Even back in the 1960s, it seemed like Hollywood was pushing Christ out of Christmas, but Charles M. Schulz insisted on including the Biblical story of the birth of Jesus in this time-honored cartoon special.
So what is the story of Jesus, and how can we know that this Jesus we worship really is the Son of God? The Old Testament prophesied over 300 times about the birth, life, ministry, death, and resurrection of our Messiah, and each prophecy was fulfilled in the New Testament by Jesus Christ. Every single one.
Isaiah 7:14 prophesied the virgin birth. Luke 1:35 declares Jesus was conceived by the power of the Most High and is the holy Child called the Son of God.
Micah 5:2 prophesied the birth would take place in Bethlehem. This was confirmed and fulfilled in Luke 2:4-7 and Matthew 2:1-6.
Isaiah 60:6 prophesied the wise men would come from the east and bring gifts to the child. This was fulfilled in Matthew 2:1-12.
Isaiah Chapter 53 prophesied the future Messiah as an ordinary guy, not royalty; loved but then despised and betrayed by His own people; struck down, humiliated, pierced for our offenses, crushed for our wrongdoings, and assumed to be abandoned by God. Our punishment was laid upon Him so that by His wounds we are healed, and though oppressed and afflicted, He did not cry out for help. Though He had no sin, He became the offering for sin; He was assigned to be buried like a criminal, but was instead buried in a rich man’s grave.
This was fulfilled in 1 Peter 2:24: “and He Himself brought our sins in His body up on the cross, so that we might die to sin and live for righteousness; by His wounds you were healed.” John 19:38-42 tells of Joseph of Arimathea, a wealthy follower of Christ, offering his own tomb to bury the body of Jesus.
Psalm 16:10 says “For You will not abandon my soul to Sheol; You will not allow Your Holy One to undergo decay.” This was fulfilled in Luke 24 when the stone was rolled away and the tomb found empty. God did not allow the body of Jesus to decay, but instead rose him from the dead.
Isaiah 9:7 prophesied the Messiah would come through the line of David. Jesus did in fact come through the line of David through Joseph, His adopted father, AND through His mother Mary. (They were very distant cousins.)
Genesis 1:1 says in the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. John 1:1 says, “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.” John 1:14 tells us this same WORD was Made Flesh “And the Word became flesh, and dwelt among us, and we saw His glory, glory as of the only begotten from the Father, full of grace and truth.”
There were also those who testified that Jesus is the Christ. In John 1:29-34, John the Baptist testified that Jesus was truly the Messiah. 2 Peter 1:16 states: “For we did not follow cleverly devised tales when we made known to you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but we were eyewitnesses of His majesty.” Not only did these men claim Jesus as the Christ, but they died in a horrendous way for their testimony.
There are many more prophecies fulfilled by Jesus, but there are also many scoffers out there trying to confuse the masses about His identity. If they are making you doubt, then jump into the Word and find out for yourself. After all, Jesus never said to follow Him without reason. He said, “Seek and you will find” (Matthew 7:7).
Now, back to Charlie Brown:
“And there were in the same country shepherds abiding in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night. And, lo, the angel of the Lord came upon them, and the glory of the Lord shone round about them: and they were sore afraid. And the angel said unto them, Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord. And this shall be a sign unto you; Ye shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger. And suddenly there was with the angel multitude of the heavenly host praising God, and saying, Glory to God in the highest, And on earth peace, good will toward men” (Luke 2: 8-14).
And this is what Christmas is all about, Charlie Brown.
Merry Christmas everyone.