All of History Is His Story

2 Samuel 7:16

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“And your house and your kingdom shall be made sure forever before me. Your throne shall be established forever.”

God promised David that his kingdom would last forever. But how can a man’s kingdom last forever? The Messiah comes from that man’s descendants and establishes his kingdom forever. Jesus traces his genealogy through the line of Abraham and David, just as Scripture promised (Matthew 1; Luke 3).

Isaiah 7:14 & Micah 5:2

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(v. 14) “Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign. Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel.”

(v. 2) “But you, O Bethlehem Ephrathah, who are too little to be among the clans of Judah, from you shall come forth for me one who is to be ruler in Israel, whose coming forth is from of old, from ancient days.”

A prophecy that the Messiah, Immanuel—God with us, will be born in Bethlehem. It is just one of hundreds of prophecies that Jesus fulfilled.

Matthew 1:21–23 & John 1:1, 14

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(v. 21–23) “‘She will bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins.’ All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had spoken by the prophet: ‘Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and they shall call his name Immanuel,’ (which means, God with us).”

(v. 1) “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God."

(v. 14) And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we seen his glory, glory as of the only Son of the Father, full of grace and truth.”

Jesus’ birth was the incarnation of the eternal God, the second person of the Trinity. Jesus, the everlasting God, became a man to pay the debt that we owe but could never pay.

Luke 2:4–7

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“And Joseph also went up from Galilee, from the town of Nazareth, to Judea, to the city of David, which is called Bethlehem, because he was of the house and lineage of David, to be registered with Mary, his betrothed, who was with child. And while they were there, the time came for her to give birth. And she gave birth to her firstborn son and wrapped him in swaddling cloths and laid him in a manger, because there was no place for them in the inn.”

Of course, this would be a great place to read all of Luke 2 and sections from Matthew 1 and 2 if you’re so inclined.

Galatians 4:4–5; John 3:16, 18, 14:6; Mark 10:33-34

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(v. 4–5) “But when the fullness of time had come, God sent forth his Son, born of woman, born under the law, to redeem those who were under the law, so that we might receive adoption as sons.”

(v. 16) “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. . . .

(v. 18) Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God.”

(v. 6) “Jesus said to him, ‘I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.’”

(v. 33–34) “The Son of Man will be delivered over to the chief priests and the scribes, and they will condemn him to death and deliver him over to the Gentiles. And they will mock him and spit on him, and flog him and kill him. And after three days he will rise.”

Jesus repeatedly predicted his death throughout his ministry (Matthew 16:21–23; Mark 9:30–32; Luke 18:31–34).

John 10:17–18

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“For this reason the Father loves me, because I lay down my life that I may take it up again. No one takes it from me, but I lay it down of my own accord. I have authority to lay it down, and I have authority to take it up again. This charge I have received from my Father.”

Jesus, truly God and truly man, willingly laid down his life according to God’s plan that was “foreknown before the foundation of the world” (1 Peter 1:20). He came to die, and RISE! The gospel was God’s plan before the beginning of time!

Matthew 27:26–31 & John 19:28–30

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(v. 26–31) “Then he released for them Barabbas, and having scourged Jesus, delivered him to be crucified. Then the soldiers of the governor took Jesus into the governor’s headquarters, and they gathered the whole battalion before him. And they stripped him and put a scarlet robe on him, and twisting together a crown of thorns, they put it on his head and put a reed in his right hand. And kneeling before him, they mocked him, saying, ‘Hail, King of the Jews!’ And they spit on him and took the reed and struck him on the head. And when they had mocked him, they stripped him of the robe and put his own clothes on him and led him away to crucify him.”

(v. 28–30) “After this, Jesus, knowing that all was now finished, said (to fulfill the Scripture), ‘I thirst.’ A jar full of sour wine stood there, so they put a sponge full of the sour wine on a hyssop branch and held it to his mouth. When Jesus had received the sour wine, he said, ‘It is finished,’ and he bowed his head and gave up his spirit.”

Jesus was perfect, spotless, sinless. Thus, on the cross, he was the perfect sacrifice and paid the perfect, infinite debt that we owed but could never pay.

Matthew 28:1–6

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“Now after the Sabbath, as the first day of the week began to dawn, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary came to see the tomb. And behold, there was a great earthquake; for an angel of the Lord descended from heaven, and came and rolled back the stone from the door, and sat on it. His countenance was like lightning, and his clothing as white as snow. And the guards shook for fear of him, and became like dead men. But the angel answered and said to the women, ‘Do not be afraid, for I know that you seek Jesus who was crucified. He is not here; for he is risen, as he said. Come, see the place where the Lord lay.’”

When Jesus rose from the grave, he defeated death which we could never do. Jesus has done all we never could and thus salvation is found in no other place but Christ.

Romans 3:23

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“For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.”

Since we all descended from Adam, we’re all sinners by nature and choice and are in desperate need of a Savior.

James 2:10

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“For whoever keeps the whole law but fails in one point has become guilty of all of it.”

God’s eternally righteous standard for getting into heaven is perfection, perfect obedience to all his laws our entire lives. Since God is omniscient (knows everything), he sees our motives and thoughts, and those too must always be perfectly pure and God-exalting (Matthew 5:21–30). Of course, this is something no one could do other than Christ.

Isaiah 64:6

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“We have all become like one who is unclean, and all our righteous deeds are like a polluted garment.”

Even our “good works” are polluted garments or filthy rags before a holy God because they are saturated with our sin. We are utterly helpless.

Romans 6:23

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“For the wages of sin is death.”

What we have rightfully earned with our sin is death and eternal separation from God. That’s the bad news, but that’s why the “good news” is the best news!

Romans 5:8 & Mark 1:15

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(v. 8) “But God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.”

(v. 15) “And saying, ‘The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel.’”

To repent means to turn away from sin and pursue Christ.

Romans 10:9

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“Because, if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.”

Believe that Jesus is who he says he is, has done what he says he has done, and submit to him as Lord, God, and King.

Matthew 28:18–20

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“And Jesus came and said to them, ‘All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.’”

This is known as the “great commission,” Jesus’ final command to the eleven disciples before he ascended into heaven. As we go into the world, we are to spread the “good news” and make disciples. Christians are to be about the King’s business until he comes or calls us home. We are to be a “living sacrifice.” Romans 12 is a great summary of what the Christian life should look like.

Philippians 2:5–11 & Revelation 22:12–21

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(v. 5–11) “Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.”

(v. 12–21) “‘Behold, I am coming soon, bringing my recompense with me, to repay each one for what he has done. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the first and the last, the beginning and the end.’ Blessed are those who wash their robes, so that they may have the right to the tree of life and that they may enter the city by the gates. Outside are the dogs and sorcerers and the sexually immoral and murderers and idolaters, and everyone who loves and practices falsehood. ‘I, Jesus, have sent my angel to testify to you about these things for the churches. I am the root and the descendant of David, the bright morning star.’ The Spirit and the Bride say, ‘Come.’ And let the one who hears say, ‘Come.’ And let the one who is thirsty come; let the one who desires take the water of life without price. I warn everyone who hears the words of the prophecy of this book: if anyone adds to them, God will add to him the plagues described in this book, and if anyone takes away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God will take away his share in the tree of life and in the holy city, which are described in this book. He who testifies to these things says, ‘Surely I am coming soon.’ Amen. Come, Lord Jesus! The grace of the Lord Jesus be with all. Amen.”

At Christmas, we celebrate God stepping into history to save us from our sins. Jesus came to live, die, rise again and to return as King of kings and Lord of lords. Christmas should indeed remind us that all of history is his story.