Why Believe in Christmas?

Why Believe in Christmas?
Meaning of the word “Christmas”
Did you know that the original meaning of the word Christmas meant to celebrate
the birth of the Messiah? Christ is the Greek word for the Hebrew word Messiah.
Why Believe in the Birth of Jesus?
Because of the testimony of the prophets and the announcements by the angels.
Deuteronomy 19:15
“One witness cannot establish any iniquity or sin against a person, whatever that
person has done. A fact must be established by the testimony of two or three
witnesses.
Why Believe the OT Prophecies Were Written Before the Time of Jesus?
Because we have evidence that proves they were written at least before 250 B.C..
Septuagint translation of the Hebrew Bible into Greek happened during the reign of
Ptolemy II Philadelphus of Egypt (285-246 B.C.). (Scroll of Isaiah from 125 B. C.)
FYI - Jesus fulfilled over 300 prophecies about the Messiah.
Prophecies about the Birth of the Jesus
Luke 1:11-17 The Angel Gabriel Announces John the Baptist’s Birth
11 An angel of the Lord appeared to him, standing to the right of the altar of
incense. 12 When Zechariah saw him, he was terrified and overcome with fear. 13 But
the angel said to him: “Do not be afraid, Zechariah, because your prayer has been
heard. Your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you will name him John. 14 There
will be joy and delight for you, and many will rejoice at his birth. 15 For he will be
great in the sight of the Lord and will never drink wine or beer. He will be filled with
the Holy Spirit while still in his mother’s womb. 16 He will turn many of the children of
Israel to the Lord their God. 17 And he will go before him in the spirit and power of
Elijah, to turn the hearts of fathers to their children, and the disobedient to the
understanding of the righteous, to make ready for the Lord a prepared people.”
Malachi 4:5-6 Prophecy Quoted by the Angel Gabriel (written between 440-400 B.C.)
5 Look, I am going to send you the prophet Elijah before the great and terrible day of
the Lord comes. 6 And he will turn the hearts of fathers to their children and the
hearts of children to their fathers. Otherwise, I will come and strike the land with a
curse.”
Luke 1:26-38 The Angel Gabriel Announces Jesus’s Birth to Mary
26 In the sixth month, the angel Gabriel was sent by God to a town in Galilee called
Nazareth, 27 to a virgin engaged to a man named Joseph, of the house of David.The
virgin’s name was Mary. 28 And the angel came to her and said, “Greetings, favored
woman! The Lord is with you.” 29 But she was deeply troubled by this statement,
wondering what kind of greeting this could be. 30 Then the angel told her: “Do not
be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. 31 Now listen: You will conceive

and give birth to a son, and you will name him Jesus.* 32 He will be great and will be
called the Son of the Most High, and the Lord God will give him the throne of his
father David. 33 He will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and his kingdom will
have no end.” (The name Jesus means “The Lord Saves” or “The Lord Is Salvation.”)
Angel Gabriel is quoting from a few prophecies.
2 Samuel 7:16 Prophecy of Nathan to King David (written between 931–722 B.C.)
Your house and kingdom will endure before me forever, and your throne will be
established forever.’”
Isaiah 9:6-7 Prophecy of a Son Being Given Who Would Rule Forever
6 For a child will be born for us, a son will be given to us, and the government will be
on his shoulders. He will be named Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Eternal
Father, Prince of Peace. 7 The dominion will be vast, and its prosperity will never
end. He will reign on the throne of David and over his kingdom, to establish and
sustain it with justice and righteousness from now on and forever. The zeal of
the Lord of Armies will accomplish this. (written between 701-681B.C.)
Matthew 1:18-25 Angel Appears to Joseph in a Dream
18 The birth of Jesus Christ came about this way: After his mother Mary had been
engaged to Joseph, it was discovered before they came together that she was
pregnant from the Holy Spirit. 19 So her husband Joseph, being a righteous man, and
not wanting to disgrace her publicly, decided to divorce her secretly. 20 But after he
had considered these things, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream,
saying, “Joseph, son of David, don’t be afraid to take Mary as your wife, because
what has been conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. 21 She will give birth to a
son, and you are to name him Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins.”
22 Now all this took place to fulﬁll what was spoken by the Lord through the
prophet: 23 See, the virgin will become pregnant and give birth to a son, and they
will name him Immanuel, which is translated “God is with us.” 24 When Joseph woke
up, he did as the Lord’s angel had commanded him. He married her 25 but did not
have sexual relations with her until she gave birth to a son. And he named him Jesus.
Isaiah 7:14 Prophecy About a Virgin Giving Birth (written between 701-681B.C.)
14 Therefore, the Lord himself will give you a sign: See, the virgin will conceive, have
a son, and name him Immanuel.
Matthew 1-12 The Arrival of the Magi (Jesus was most likely 1 to 2 years old)
1 After Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of King Herod, wise men
from the east arrived in Jerusalem, 2 saying, “Where is he who has been born king of
the Jews? For we saw his star at its rising and have come to worship him.” 3 When
King Herod heard this, he was deeply disturbed, and all Jerusalem with him. 4 So he
assembled all the chief priests and scribes of the people and asked them where the
Christ would be born. 5 “In Bethlehem of Judea,” they told him, “because this is
what was written by the prophet: 6 And you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah, are by
no means least among the rulers of Judah: Because out of you will come a ruler who
will shepherd my people Israel.”

Micah 5:2 Prophecy about Where the Messiah Would be Born
Bethlehem Ephrathah, you are small among the clans of Judah; one will come from
you to be ruler over Israel for me. His origin is from antiquity, from ancient times.
(can also be translated “from days of eternity.”) (written between 750-686 B.C.)
Prophecy Extras
Isaiah 46:9-10 What Does God Say about Prophecy?
9 Remember what happened long ago, for I am God, and there is no other; I am God,
and no one is like me. 10 I declare the end from the beginning, and from long ago
what is not yet done, saying: my plan will take place, and I will do all my will.
Deuteronomy 18:18-19 What Does God Say about Prophets?
18 I will raise up for them a prophet like you from among their brothers. I will put my
words in his mouth, and he will tell them everything I command him. 19 I will hold
accountable whoever does not listen to my words that he speaks in my name.
When was the Messiah Prophesied to Come?
Jeremiah 23:3-6 Sometime after 537 B.C. (written between 626-586 B.C.)
3 “I will gather the remnant of my flock from all the lands where I have banished
them, and I will return them to their grazing land. They will become fruitful and
numerous. 4 I will raise up shepherds over them who will tend them. They will no
longer be afraid or discouraged, nor will any be missing.” This is the Lord’s
declaration. 5 “Look, the days are coming”—this is the Lord’s declaration—“when I
will raise up a Righteous Branch for David. He will reign wisely as king and administer
justice and righteousness in the land. 6 In his days Judah will be saved, and Israel will
dwell securely. This is the name he will be called: The Lord Is Our Righteousness.
Daniel 9:24-26 Sometime before 70 A.D. (written around 530 B.C.)
24 Seventy weeks are decreed about your people and your holy city—to bring the
rebellion to an end, to put a stop to sin, to atone for iniquity, to bring in everlasting
righteousness, to seal up vision and prophecy, and to anoint the most holy place. 25
Know and understand this: From the issuing of the decree to restore and rebuild
Jerusalem until an Anointed One, the ruler, will be seven weeks and sixty-two weeks.
It will be rebuilt with a plaza and a moat, but in difficult times. 26 After those sixty-
two weeks the Anointed One will be cut off and will have nothing. The people of the
coming ruler will destroy the city and the sanctuary. The end will come with a flood, 
and until the end there will be war; desolations are decreed.
Luke 19:41-44 Jesus Prophesying the Destruction of Jerusalem and Why
41 As he approached and saw the city, he wept for it, 42 saying, “If you knew this
day what would bring peace—but now it is hidden from your eyes. 43 For the days
will come on you when your enemies will build a barricade around you, surround you,
and hem you in on every side. 44 They will crush you and your children among you to
the ground, and they will not leave one stone on another in your midst, because you
did not recognize the time when God visited you.”

Interesting Historical Facts
The Roman historian Suetonius, speaking of the time around the birth of Christ,
wrote, “There had spread over all the Orient an old and established belief that it was
fated at that time for men coming from Judea to rule the world.” Another Roman
historian, Tacitus, wrote that “there was a firm persuasion that at this very time the
east was to grow powerful and rulers coming from Judea were to acquire a universal
empire.” The Jewish historian Josephus reports in his Jewish Wars that at about the
time of Christ’s birth the Jews believed that one from their country would soon
become ruler of the habitable earth.
Matthew 21:9-11 People Realized Jesus Spoke the Very Words of God
9 Then the crowds who went ahead of him and those who followed shouted:
Hosanna to the Son of David! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord! 
Hosanna in the highest heaven! 10 When he entered Jerusalem, the whole city was in
an uproar, saying, “Who is this?” 11 The crowds were saying, “This is the prophet
Jesus from Nazareth in Galilee.”
Mark 1:22
They were astonished at his teaching because he was teaching them as one who had
authority, and not like the scribes.
John 7:46
The servants answered, “No man ever spoke like this!”
Food for Thought
Blaise Pascal
God is willing to appear openly to those who seek him with all their heart but hidden
to those who reject him with all their heart. He controls the knowledge of himself by
giving signs which can be seen by those who seek him and not by those who do not.
Paul Gould
Given the fact that God wills that we freely and joyfully enter into a loving relationship with
him, the knowledge of God is not forced on humans. Those who do not want there to be a
God, as Thomas Nagel famously describes his own position with respect to God, find it
relatively easy to reject the idea that there is a God. The evidence for God is easily resistible.
Given his intentions for humans, it makes sense that the evidence for God is both widely
available and easily resistible. Those who seek God shall find him. And in finding him, they
will find the happiness that God gives which, as C. S. Lewis reminds us, is the only happiness
there is.

Promises of God
Deuteronomy 4:29
But if from there you seek the Lord your God, you will find him if you seek him with
all your heart and with all your soul.
Jeremiah 29:13
And you will seek Me and find Me, when you search for Me with all your heart.
Acts 17:26-27
From one man he made all the nations, that they should inhabit the whole earth; and
he marked out their appointed times in history and the boundaries of their lands.
God did this so that they would seek him and perhaps reach out for him and find him,
though he is not far from any one of us.
Romans 10:12-13
For there is no difference between Jew and Gentile—the same Lord is Lord of all and
richly blesses all who call on him, for, “Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord
will be saved.”
Hebrews 11:6
And it is impossible to please God without faith. Anyone who wants to come to him
must believe that God exists and that he rewards those who sincerely seek him.
What is needed to discover the truth about Jesus and become a real Christian?
Humility, desire, sincerity and an open heart.
Where to Start?
Having these qualities begin by praying and asking Jesus to reveal Himself to you if
He is real. Then get a Bible and start by reading the gospel accounts in the New
Testament asking Jesus to help you to understand what is written in them. If at all
possible find a Christian who knows the Bible and whose life reflects that they really
love and follow Jesus and ask them to help you on your journey of discovery about
Jesus. It is also advisable to start attending a church where the Bible is taught and
you see evidence of faith, love and hope. If you have doubts or questions ask mature
Christians for answers.

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