His Plan Revealed

Today’s Through the Bible Reading: Matthew 2:1- 3:12; Luke 2:41- 3:20; Mark 1:1-8; John 1:1-18

“Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judaea,” Matthew 2:1

Today’s devotion is an excerpt from Jesus, Day by Day (now available). Enjoy!

Jesus came as the babe of Bethlehem, born in a stable. But His humble beginnings don’t detract from the fact that He was the King of kings. As we saw yesterday, Jesus’s genealogies prove He had the legal and spiritual right to the throne of Israel. In today’s reading we find a few wise men who discerned His majesty and followed a star in order to pay homage to the newborn King. Their story fulfills several Old Testament prophecies.

The prophet Micah foretold where the Messiah would be born.

Bethlehem…you are small among the clans of Judah; one will come from you to ruler over Israel for me. His origin is from antiquity, from ancient times. (5:2, CSB)

Jesus, born in Bethlehem, from the tribe of Judah, is indeed our everlasting ruler!

The prophet Hosea spoke of the Messiah as coming out of Egypt (11:1). Matthew’s gospel records how Joseph and Mary took the baby Jesus to Egypt (Matt. 2:13) in order to escape Herod’s decree, which was itself prophesied in Jeremiah 31:15.

And the prophets Isaiah and Malachi, both with miraculous and majestic eloquence, describe the ministry of John the Baptist proclaiming the entrance of the long-awaited Messiah.

The voice of him that crieth in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the LORD, make straight in the desert a highway for our God. (Isa. 40:3)
Behold, I will send my messenger, and he shall prepare the way before me. (Mal. 3:1)

In view of these unmistakable links to prophecy, no wonder the apostle Luke wrote, “Of Him all the prophets bear witness” (Acts 10:43, NASB). Jesus is God’s promised messiah, His plan from the beginning, His purpose throughout the Scriptures, cover to cover.

Jesus, Day by Day_spine.png — Jesus, Day by Day, A One-Year Through the Bible Devotional to Help you See Him on Every Page. Available now.