It is written: ‘And he was numbered with the transgressors’, and I tell you that this must be fulfilled in me. Yes, what is written about me is reaching its fulfillment.” – Luke 22:37 (NIV)
The authenticity of the gospel message and Christian doctrine is unquestionable and knowing the God of the Bible is so satisfying.
The scripture is a prophetic book of divinely inspired proclamations of your past, present and future. Then I said, “Look, I have come. As is written about me in the Scriptures: I take joy in doing your will, my God, for your instructions are written on my heart.” Psalm 40:7-8 (NLT).
Your eyes have seen my unformed substance; and in Your book were all written, the days that were appointed for me, when as yet there was not one of them [even taking shape]. Psalm 139:16 (AMP)
Many years before our Lord and Master Christ’s birth, death, resurrection and ascension to heaven, prophecies went forth concerning Him.
Christmas is the fulfillment of Old testament scriptural prophecies, one of which was in the book of Isaiah.
Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign: The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and you will call him Immanuel. Isaiah 7:14 (NIV)
She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus, because He will save his people from their sins. All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had said through the prophet: “The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel” (which means “God with us”). (Matthew 1:21-23)
Isaiah also prophesied concerning the death of Christ.
Therefore I will give him a portion among the great, and he will divide the spoils with the strong, because he poured out his life unto death, and was numbered with the transgressors. For he bore the sin of many, and made intercession for the transgressors(Isaiah 53:12). From our reference scripture for today, we see that Christ knew this verse was written concerning His death (Luke 22:37).
He was never in doubt of His 33-year mission on earth. Several times He reminded Himself and His audience about the fulfillment of his prophetic vision on earth “Today this scripture is fulfilled in your hearing.” (Isaiah 61:1-2; Luke 4: 16-21).
Following the example of Christ, we are to pattern our daily lives and experiences in alignment with what has been spoken concerning us. Psalm 139:14 makes it clear that we are fearfully and wonderfully made, meaning God is intentional about our lives.
Our joyful “Christmas”, “feel good” seasons are a fulfillment of scripture concerning us. Our painful “Gethsemane”, sad experiences of sorrow, rejection and persecution are also fulfilling the scriptures concerning us.
Seeing our lives with the divine lens of fulfilling God’s eternal purpose for creating us helps us to look at our pains, losses, successes and good times as not an end in themselves, but a means to an end, the fulfillment of what God had written concerning us.
He said to them, “This is what I told you while I was still with you: Everything must be fulfilled that is written about me in the Law of Moses, the Prophets and the Psalms.” Luke 24:44 (NIV)
PRAYER: Dear Lord, thank you for creating me with a purpose and having a plan for my life. Please give me the grace to be full of this consciousness and help me to live accordingly in Jesus name. Amen.