Introduction

This is the time of year when we celebrate the birth of our Savior, Jesus the Christ. But did you know that he was and is the long awaited Messiah; the very same Messiah the Jewish people had been waiting for for over 4,000 years? As a matter of fact, the Old Testament has quite a few prophecies concerning who this Messiah would be when he came. And when Jesus came, lived his life, died, and was resurrected, he was the fulfillment of them all.

He truly was the Messiah the whole Old Testament was pointing to for thousands of years. So, as we celebrate this Christmas season by counting down the days and patiently awaiting the arrival of Jesus, let’s look back at some Old Testament prophecies that are true of Jesus.

Prophecy

This first prophecy is found in Genesis 3 right after Adam and Eve took the apple and ate it from the tree of the knowledge of Good and Evil.

So the LORD God said to the serpent, “Because you have done this, ‘Cursed are you above all livestock and all wild animals! You will crawl on your belly and you will eat dust all the days of your life. And I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and hers; he will crush your head, and you will strike his heel.” – Genesis 3:14-15

Doesn’t seem like much, doesn’t? But look closely. The prophecy states there will be one who comes who will be born from a woman and will crush the head of the serpent.

Fulfillment

But when the set time had fully come, God sent his Son, born of a woman, born under the law, to redeem those under the law, that we might receive adoption to sonship. – Galatians 4:4

Here we see that God did indeed send his son, his offspring, who was born of a woman that he might bring salvation to those found under the curse of the law.

The one who does what is sinful is of the devil, because the devil has been sinning from the beginning. The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the devil’s work. – 1 John 3:8

This verse indicates the devil (or the adversary) was present at the fall of man, tempting Eve to take the fruit and eat. It also goes on to say, God sent his Son, Jesus, to destroy the work of the devil, or to ‘crush his head.’

Reflect

As Christmas approaches, what better thought is there that God’s response to man’s first sin was to promise there would one day come a savior who would fix everything? Christmas for us, then, is the realization that Jesus did come and by his wounds we are healed. Because of Jesus and his life given for us, the serpent (the devil) has no more power over us. When Jesus died, the head of the serpent was forever crushed and as Jesus cried out, “It is finished,” we were set free.

In the rush of this season we often lose sight of the fact we have been set free. So many of us experience pain from losing loved ones as we gather together with family, and so many of us get caught in the material as we spend, spend, spend. And what we find out is these things take the Joy out of the Christmas season and they rob us of a life of freedom.

Death is swallowed up in victory and because Jesus came to save us, we can experience a peace that surpasses all understanding. So, stop and breathe. Your life is free. Peace and joy are yours. The head of the serpent has been crushed and life has been given to you! This is truly what Christmas is!