JOHN THE BAPTIST FORERUNNER OF CHRIST CHAPTER XI. JESUS THE CHRIST IN PROPHECY 75. Did Isaiah prophesy, 712 years before Christ that John the Baptist would be his forerunner? BIBLE EVIDENCE. Isaiah 40:3 (B. C. 712)—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. Matthew 3:1-3-In those days came John the Baptist, preaching in the wilderness of Judaea, And saying, Repent ye: for the kingdom. of heaven is at hand. For this is he that was spoken of by the prophet Esaias, saying, The voice of one crying in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the Lord, make his paths straight. SECULAR EVIDENCE. John the Baptist,.... It was John's special mission to prepare the way for the ministry of the Messiah, and in the year 26 A. D. he was in the wilderness of Judea, clad in a garment of camel's hair, calling upon the people to repent. He baptized Christ in the River Jordan and continued to preach until imprisoned by Herod Antipas. This official caused him to be beheaded, to gratify the malice of his wife, Herodias. Home and School Reference Work. Vol. III, p. 1511. Editor-In-Chief The recovery of several anciet sites; the careful verification of Machaerus, the scene of John the Baptist's imprisonment and martyrdom; the very interesting discovery of Zoar, with the valuable iilustration it affords of the careful accuracy of the Scriptural narrative in the minutest details;....these certainly were enough to reward the most sanguine explorer. 76. H. B. TRISTRAM, M.A.,LLD.,F.R.S., Canon of Durham; Preface. The Land of Moab. Did Jesus fulfill a prophecy in the Pentateuch that a Star would come out of Jacob? BIBLE EVIDENCE. Numbers 24:17-I shall see him, but not now: I shall behold him, but not nigh: there shall come a Star out of Jacob, and a Sceptre shall rise out of Israel, . . . . 86 LINEAGE OF CHRIST IN PROPHECY Matthew 2:1, 2-Now when Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judaea in the days of Herod the king, behold, there came wise men from the east to Jerusalem, Saying, Where is he that is born King of the Jews for we have seen his star in the east, and are come to worship him. SECULAR EVIDENCE. Wise men in the eastern limits of the vast empire of Augustus, having read the prophecies, were watching for His star, and they, too, beheld a shining company of angels, and knew that God dwelt with S. N. HASKELL, The Story of Daniel the Prophet, p. 243. men. One of the most vividly beautiful recitals of the "old, old Story," is that by Dr. J. G. Holland: "There's a song in the air, there's a star in the sky, there's a mother's deep prayer and a baby's low cry; and the star rains its fire while the beautiful sing, for the manger of Bethlehem cradles a King. There's a tumult of joy o'er the wonderful birth, for the virgin's sweet boy is the Lord of the earth; ay, the star rains its fire and the beautiful sing, for the manger of Bethlehem cradles a King! In the light of that star lie the ages impearled, and that song from afar has swept over the world. Every hearth is aflame, and the beautiful sing in the homes of the nations that Jesus is King. We rejoice in the light, and we echo the song that comes down through the night from the heavenly throng. Ay! we shout to the lovely evangel they bring, and we greet in his cradle our Savior and King." FRANKLIN EDSON BELDEN, The Crown Jewels of Art, p. 316. 77. Was Christ a descendant of David in fulfillment of prophecies made many hundred years before His birth by Moses, Isaiah and Jeremiah? BIBLE EVIDENCE. Genesis 49:10-The sceptre shall not depart from Judah, nor a lawgiver from between his feet, until Shiloh come; and unto him shall the gathering of the people be. Isaiah 11:10-And in that day there shall be a root of Jesse, which shall stand for an ensign of the people; to it shall the Gentiles seek: and his rest shall be glorious. Jeremiah 23:5 (B. C. 599)-Behold, the days come, saith the Lord, that I will raise unto David a righteous Branch, and a King shall reign and prosper, and shall execute judgment and justice in the earth. Revelation 22:16-I Jesus have sent mine angel to testify unto you these things in the churches. I am the root and the offspring of David, and the bright and morning star. SECULAR EVIDENCE. In a measure the Jews fulfilled their mission. For nearly two thousand years they were kept a separate people, but not wholly in harmony with God's intention. As a separate people, from a genealogical standpoint, their records were perfectly accurate; for whenever a child was born his name, his family, was immediately recorded with his tribal ancestry. In order to lay claim to any inheritance, his genealogy must be proved beyond any shadow of doubt. "O LITTLE TOWN OF BETHLEHEM!" 87 For this reason when Jesus was born, the people at the time never questioned His lineage; they all knew He belonged to the family of David, of the tribe of Judah. About twenty times in the New Testament it is recorded that He was the Son of David. F. C. GILBERT, A Hebrew Christian-Practical Lessons from the Experience of Israel for the Church of To-day, pp. 20, 21. 78. Did Micah, 710 years before He was born, prophesy the birthplace of Jesus? BIBLE EVIDENCE. Micah 5:2 (B. C. 710)-But thou, Bethlehem Ephratah, though thou be little among the thousands of Judah, yet out of thee shall he come forth unto me that is to be ruler in Israel; whose goings forth have been from old, from everlasting. Matthew 2:1-Now when Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judaea in the days of Herod the king, . . . ..... SECULAR EVIDENCE. O little town of Bethlehem! How still we see thee lie; Above thy deep and dreamless sleep, The silent stars go by. Yet, in thy dark street shineth The everlasting Light; The hopes and fears of all the years, Are met in thee, to-night. PHILLIPS BROOKS, O Little Town of Bethlehem, in Holy-Days and Holidays. The Lord set the whole Roman world in commotion to bring a young woman to the little town where she was born. To the Roman government taxes were the chief thing; to heaven Mary's coming to Bethlehem was the object. And Caesar decreed, and the clerks wrote, and wheels turned, and armies marched, and Mary was brought where God wanted her. REV. GUSTAV F. JOHNSON, Pastor, Swedish Tabernacle, Minneapolis, Minn. O little town, O little town, Upon the hills afar, You call to us, a thing sublime, Across the great gray wastes of time, For men go up and men go down, But follow still the star! CLINTON SCOLLARD, "The Little Town," in Christ in the Poetry of Today. An Every day should be the birthday of the Saviour to a renewed soul. Amid all that is humiliating there is much that is honorable in the circumstances of the birth of our Immanuel. Whose birth was ever ushered in by a long train of prophecy, or longed for by such a multitude of hearts? Who but He can boast of a forerunner who marked Him as the coming Man? When did angels indulge in midnight songs, or did God ever hang a new star in the sky before? To whose cradle |