PARADOXES IN PROPHECIES CONCERNING CHRIST

Bro. Michael Jacob

1. Concerning His Birth

A virgin •••• shall bear a Son:  something unknown in human experience. And this man child will be GOD   Isa 7:14, Isa 9:6

To  fulfill  these  amazing  prophecies  God  performed  a  biological miracle  and Christ was  conceived by the Holy Spirit (Luke 1:35) and born of virgin Mary as recorded in Mathew 1:16-25. God manifest  in the flesh (I Tim 3:16, John 1:1-3,14, Luke 1:31-33) and all this Mary "knew not a man"  (Luke 1:34). Wonder of wonders, Jesus was!  The Lord Jesus was God  (John 1:1)  He was man (John 1:14) He was the ' seed of the woman' (Gal 4:4) He was the Son of man (Luke 19:10) He was the Son of God (John 3:16) He was the 'seed of Abraham' and   the 'seed of David' (Mathew 1:1)

2. The Place of His ORIGIN

From where did He come : Bethlehem ?  Egypt  ?   Nazareth  ?

Micah 5:2  - From Bethlehem,   Hosea 11:1, Mathew 2:15  from  Egypt,

Mathew 2:23 - Nazarene, from Nazareth.

Are these contradictory ?.. Not at all .  He was born in Bethlehem, as Micah said; soon after He was taken to Egypt by Joseph and Mary from whence God "call led" Him back after the death of wicked king Herod (Math 2:13-23).  They settled in Nazareth.  Hence He was called 'Jesus of Nazareth, Luke 18:37 Acts 2:22 etc.  Isn't strange that, though He was born in 'Bethlehem'  no one ever calls Him 'Jesus of Bethlehem'

3. Messiah should be both David's son and David's Lord

Mathew 22:41-45   Christ was David's son in that He was descendant of David, after the  flesh (Luke 1:32, Rom 1:3) and He was David's Lord, for Messiah is not only David's Lord, but He is LORD OF ALL.

4. Christ's Right to David's Throne

 CHRIST should be the seed of David yet must be virgin-born and yet have a legal right to the throne of DAVID.  One of Solomon's descendants was a certain evil man named Jeconiah, of whom it was written that none of his descendants would ever rule in Judah (Jer. 22:29-30) Despite the fact that in Israel the right to the throne was transmitted only thro' the male line, here Christ was born of a virgin.

The two genealogies of JESUS CHRIST

 In Math - God says 'Behold thy king' (Zech 9:9)

 In Mark - He says 'Behold My servant' (Isa. 40:1)

 In Luke - He says 'Behold the Man' (Zech 6:12)

 In John - He says 'Behold your God' (Isa 40:9)

Now a servant need not produce his genealogy, neither can God have one.  It is a King who must have one, and a Man who should have one. Therefore it is that we have two genealogies.  And that is why we have one in Mathew giving the Royal  genealogy of Jesus Christ as King, and one in Luke giving the Human genealogy of Jesus as Man.

Hence it is that Mathew's is a descending genealogy while Luke is an ascending one.

As  far  as  David  both  the  lists  agree.   But  here  an  important divergence  takes  place.  In  Mathew,  after  David,  we have his  son Solomon. While in Luke we have another son, Nathan. One gives the royal and legal line through Solomon on the other natural line through Nathan.  Both lines meet in Joseph, the son of Jacob by birth, and the son of Heli (the word 'son' will be found in italics) by marriage with Mary, Heli's only daughter.

 In Luke 3   -    77 names with God at one end and Jesus at the other.

 Mathew -

 41 names are mentioned in Mathew     -    41

4 names are omitted ....                            -     4

Add 21 names before Abraham ...          -    21

                                                                         66

So that while Jesus is the 77the name in the line of Nathan it is the 66th in the line of Solomon.

 6 - number of man

 7 - Divine number

 Jesus is both Son of God and Son of Man

 JESUS - as Man- In greek - 6 letters

CHRIST " God - In greek   -  7 letters

 Thro' Mary Jesus the Christ obtained His literal descent from King David and from Mary's marriage to Joseph, He obtained His legal right to David's throne, for Mary was Joseph's wife before Jesus was born. Math 1:18-20.  Since JESUS CHRIST is NOT THE SEED- a direct descendant of Jeconiah, prophecy concerning Jeconiah was fulfilled too.

5. Messiah, was to be both the "Chief corner stone" and the "Rock of offence"

 Isa 8:14,  Psa. 118:22,  Isa 28:16  - To those who disbelieve Messiah would be a Rock of offence (I Pet 2:6-8,  Rom 9:32-33, Math 21:42, 44)

To the believer Christ is the Chief corner stone and He is very precious

6. Rejected by Israel (Isa 53:3) Messiah would then become a "light to the Gentiles" (Isa 49:5,6)

 Messiah would be a Jew and yet the Gentiles will seek Him (Isa 11:10) an unheard of thing,  for there is and has been for ages a natural animosity between Jesus and Gentiles. But this enmity is done away "in Christ" (Eph 2:14,15)  Isa 6:10, Isa 49:6

7.  'Thirty pieces of silver'   the price of Christ or the price of the potter's field

 Zech 11:12,13    Judas covenanted with the Chief priest to betray Christ and deliver Him to them  Math 26:15,  Math 27:3-10.  Not only Judas but the nation - Israel sold Christ. Exod 21:32 The perfect agreement of the old testament prediction with its new testament  fulfillment/centering about the  exact amount of  the  sum of money (30 pieces of silver) still the appropriation of the money to purchase the Potter's field.