Miraculous Moments: Day #2 Prophets

   Miraculous Moments

Lent 2025: Day #2

"'But what about you?' he [Jesus] asked. 'Who do you say I am?'" 
~Matthew 16:15

Signs and wonders. 

Evidence. We base our beliefs on the proof that can be provided. Today we again return to the Old Testament--the books of the Bible that were recorded long before Jesus walked the earth.

Why? As we discussed yesterday, Jesus' story didn't actually begin in the manger. God's plan began much earlier than that as revealed in several verses in the Old Testament. These verses contain signs and wonders, and they are also paired with verses in the New Testament that reveal the fulfilling of these promises. 

Isaiah 7:14

"Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign: 

The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and will call him Immanuel."

Luke 1:26-35

"In the sixth month of Elizabeth's pregnancy, God sent the angel Gabriel to Nazareth, a town in Galilee, to a virgin pledged to be married to a man named Joseph, a descendant of David. The virgin's name was Mary. The angel went to her and said, 'Greetings, you who are highly favored! the Lord is with you.'

Mary was greatly troubled at his words and wondered what king of greeting this might be. But the angel said to her, 'Do not be afraid, Mary; you have found favor with God. You will conceive and give birth to a son, and you are to call him Jesus. He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his father David, and he will reign over Jacob's descendants forever; his kingdom will never end.'

 'How will this be,' Mary asked the angel, 'since I am a virgin?'

The angel answered, 'The Holy Spirit will come on you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. So the holy one to be born will be called the Son of God."      

Micah 5:2

"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. 

Matthew 2:1-6

"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 when it rose and have come to worship him'

When King Herod heard this he was disturbed, and all Jerusalem with him. when he had called together all the people's chief priests and teachers of the law, he asked them where the Messiah was to be born. '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 shepherd my people Israel, '" 

Hosea 11:1

"When Israel was a child, I loved him, 

and out of Egypt I called my son."

Matthew 2:13-15

"When they [the Magi] had gone, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream. 'Get up,' he said, 'take the child and his mother and escape to Egypt. Stay there until I tell you, for Herod is going to search for the child to kill him.' 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." 

So, who is Jesus?

Someone whose birth was predicted and proclaimed centuries before it happened. 

Let's let these prophesies sink in deeper over the next few days as we look closer at the details surrounding Jesus' birth.

For now, let us close with a promise from another prophet, the prophet Jeremiah. As God's Word was true then, let us apply this promise to our lives as well: 

Jeremiah 29:11

"'For I know the plans I have for you,' declares the LORD, 'plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.'"

God's plans are not like our plans. God's plans are set far in advance. God's plans are for good. God's plans are for now and also for far into the future.

Prayer: 

Almighty God, What a plan You have! What a Mighty God You are! We love You and we want to know You more in order to glorify You. Lord, give us a desire to know Jesus. Build our faith and our boldness. Help us to proclaim our faith in Jesus as our Lord and Savior. In Jesus' Name. Amen. 

"Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever." 

~Hebrews 13:8