“For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counselor, The mighty God, the everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace. Of the increase of His government and peace there shall be no end, upon the throne of David, and upon His kingdom, to order it, and to establish it with judgment and with justice from henceforth even for ever. The zeal of the Lord of hosts will perform this.”-Isaiah 9:6-7. This prophecy was written by Isaiah some 755 years before the birth of our savior Jesus Christ. You know, the birth, life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ fulfilled over 300 prophecies.
In Lee Strobel’s book, “The Case for Christ,” he points out that the probability of just eight prophecies being fulfilled is one chance in one hundred million billion. Strobel then quotes mathematician Peter Stoner who calculated that the probability of fulfilling 48 prophecies was one chance in a trillion, trillion, trillion, trillion, trillion, trillion, trillion, trillion, trillion, trillion, trillion, trillion, trillion! Think about the probability of fulfilling 332 prophecies. But Jesus did just that. One pastor I knew illustrated the point by saying that you could fill the entire state of Texas six foot deep in silver dollars and ask a blind man to find one special marked dollar and he would have about the same chances in finding it as a person fulfilling just 48 of these prophecies.
The prophecy of Isaiah, however, says that “The zeal of the Lord of hosts will perform this.” How fantastic, the miracle of miracles performed by the ZEAL of the God. I do not know the chances of a worldwide flood, but we have seen floods before and they are something we can comprehend. I do not know the chances of changing water into wine, but we have seen that wine is a liquid made up of water and juice, so it is something we can understand. I do not know the chances of a virgin birth, but we see children being born everyday, so perhaps that is possible. But the Lord of Hosts wanted the world to know that His Son’s birth, life, death and resurrection was THE miracle, fulfilling over 300 prophecies given over a span of thousands of years.
I wonder how many people who celebrate the birth of the Lord Jesus Christ even know Him. And while we spend time with family, exchange gifts, eat good food, feel the warmth and love around us, where ever we are at, let us take a moment and remember the miracle of Jesus Christ, that He was born into this world as performed by the ZEAL of the Lord of Hosts. That “zeal” was for us, that we might have a way to spend eternity with God. Jesus said in John 3:16, “For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believes in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life.” No other religion has a God who loves us so. Share Christ with someone today.
