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CHRISTMAS PROPHECIES FULFILLED – written by Tanis Harms
TOPIC: Jesus’ birth and salvation message
SCRIPTURE: Gen.12:2, 49:10; Num.24:17; Dt.18:15-18;
. 2Sam.7:12-16; Ps.2:6, 110:4; Is.7:14;
. Mic.5:2; Mt.1:1,2,16,18,23, 2:6, 21:5,11;
. Lk.2:3-4; Jhn.18:37; Acts3:22-23,
. Gal.3:16; Hb.5:6-10, 6:19-20
Style: a Christmas program with scripture readings,
. soliloquys, and songs.
NOTES: ON FLEXIBILITY
. - I’ve recommended songs to be sung either
. by soloists, choir or congregational
. – you can choose not to do the soliloquys
Readers: OLD TESTAMENT READER
. (can be in costume, read from scroll)
. NEW TESTAMENT READER
. (dressed modern, read from Bible)
Cast: (IF YOU DO THE SOLILOQUYS)
. JOSEPH (in 30s)
. MARY (late teens, early 20s)
. SHEPHERD (young man)
. MAGI (wise man from Asia)
. ANNA (prophetess in 80s)
. SIMEON (priest, older)
Props: scroll, Bible
SCRIPT:
SONG “It Came Upon the Midnight Clear
. by Edmund H.Sears, and Richard S. Willis
. (particularly verse 4)
JOSEPH To an Israelite, genealogy is very important.
. Even though there hasn’t been a king on
. the throne for many years, one keeps hoping.
. And Israel’s hope lies within the prophecies
. of the expected Messiah. Both my wife, Mary,
. and I - come from the line of Abraham, Judah
. and King David. So any child of ours
. would have been able to legitimately
. and rightfully take the thrown of Israel –
. along with many other offspring
. from many other families. Except that -
. the Messiah would be the perfect King
. to bring about perfect peace. To be perfect?
(JOSEPH thinks and reacts to this thought.)
. 2
JOSEPH Well, this is just not possible with mankind –
. So what was most astounding about our
. firstborn – Jesus – He didn’t really come
. from me - He came from God. God the Father.
. How worthy is that? How else
. to bless the nations through our genealogy?
(If you need to shorten this reading a bit, I have
put a few things in brackets which may be omitted.
I would suggest the New Testament reader to follow
quickly, but the Old Testament reader can take
a slight pause before beginning again.)
OT READER The prophecy of Jesus being from the line
. of ABRAHAM - is found in Genesis (12:2) –
. “And I will make you a great nation, and
. I will bless you, And make your name great;
. And so you shall be a blessing...”
NT READER Prophecy fulfilled. Galatians 3:16 –
. “Now the promises were spoken to Abraham
. (and to his seed He does not say,
. ‘And to seeds,’ as referring
. to many, but rather to one,)
. ‘And to your seed,’ that is, Christ.”
OT READER From the line of JUDAH - in Genesis (49:10) -
. “The scepter shall not depart from Judah,
. Nor the ruler's staff from between his feet,
. Until Shiloh comes, And to him
. shall be the obedience of the peoples.”
NT READER Prophecy fulfilled. Matthew 1:2 –
. “Abraham was the father of Isaac,
. Isaac the father of Jacob, and
. Jacob the father of Judah and his brothers.”
. This genealogy leads to verse 16 – “by whom
. Jesus was born, who is called the Messiah.
OT READER From the line of DAVID in 2 Samuel (7:12-13) -
. “(When your days are complete
. and you lie down with your fathers,)
. I will raise up your descendant after you,
. who will come forth from you,
. and I will establish his kingdom.
. He shall build a house for My name,
. and I will establish the throne
. of his kingdom forever.”
NT READER Prophecy fulfilled. Matthew 1:1 - 3
. “The record of the genealogy of Jesus
. the Messiah, the son of DAVID,
. the son - of Abraham.”
SONG “O Come, O Come, Emmanuel”
. by Thomas Helmore, and Tom Fettke;
. or “Hark! The Herald Angels Sing”
. by Charles Wesley, and Felix Mendelssohn
MARY Before we were married, an angel appeared
. to me to explain that I would conceive
. and bear a Son, and was to name Him Jesus.
. The angel went on to say that - He will be
. great and be called the Son of the Most High;
. and the Lord God will give Him the throne
. of His father David; and He will reign
. over the house of Jacob forever.
. (humbly looks down a moment, remembering)
. Joseph found out that I was expecting.
. Naturally, he wanted to do the right thing,
. but God sent an angel - to him - to explain
. that this Son was of the Holy Spirit.
. I don’t know, how ELSE can one believe
. that this would even happen – except -
. through the power of God’s word?
OT READER The prophecy of the virgin birth
. is found in Isaiah (7:14) - “Therefore
. the Lord Himself will give you a sign:
. Behold, a virgin will be with child and bear
. a son, and she will call His name Immanuel.”
NT READER Prophecy fulfilled. Matthew 1:18
. “Now the birth of Jesus Christ was as follows:
. when His mother Mary had been betrothed
. to Joseph, before they came together
. she was found to be with child
. by the Holy Spirit.”
SONG “Angels We Have Heard on High”
. traditional French carol
SHEPHERD I was with a group of shepherds one night,
. when an angel of the Lord suddenly appeared.
. It was very bright and - very frightening.
. But the angel told us not be afraid, because
. there was good news - of peace and great joy –
. for... everyone. Even including us –
. outcast members of society.
. 4
(SHEPHERD continues humbly.)
SHEPHERD We were told that we would find the Savior,
. Christ the Lord, as a baby, in a manager -
. in the city of Bethlehem. Then the sky lit up
. with angels all giving glory to God.
. As soon as they were gone, we all decided
. we HAD to go straight to Bethlehem
. to see this great and awesome thing.
OT READER The prophecy of Jesus being born
. in Bethlehem is found in Micah (5:2) -
. “’But as for you, Bethlehem Ephrathah,
. Too little to be among the clans of Judah,
. From you One will go forth for Me
. to be ruler in Israel
. His goings forth are from long ago,
. From the days of eternity.’”
NT READER Prophecy fulfilled. Luke 2:3-4 –
. “And everyone was on his way to register
. for the census, each to his own city.
. Joseph also went up from Galilee,
. from the city of Nazareth, to Judea,
. to the city of David
. which is called - Bethlehem, (because
. he was of the house and family of David.)”
SONG “Come, Thou Long-Expected Jesus”
. by Charles Wesley, and Rowland H.Prichard;
. or “Thou Didst Leave Thy Throne”
. by Emily E.S.Elliott and Timothy R.Matthews
MAGI Throughout the ages, we had the word
. passed down to us. We knew of the prophecies
. told about the coming of the King of kings.
. So when we saw His star appear,
. we set out with a large caravan – in search
. of Him. Finding ourselves in Jerusalem,
. we stopped to ask King Herod where
. this King of the Jews had been born.
. He was unaware - and questioned us,
. asking us to send word back to him
. once we had found this Child King.
. After continuing our trek, once again,
. the star led us to Jesus. With great joy
. we spent time worshiping and honoring Him.
(MAGI puts hands together in a slight bow of honor.)
. 5
MAGI Then being warned in a dream not to go back
. to Herod, we returned to our homeland
. by another way. We knew this Child
. had a great purpose to fulfill - which would
. impact people of all nations - for all time.
OT READER The prophecy of Jesus being a King
. is found in Numbers (24:17) and Psalms (2:6) -
. “I see him, but not now;
. I behold him, but not near;
. A star shall come forth from Jacob,
. A scepter shall rise from Israel,
. And shall crush through the forehead of Moab,
. And tear down all the sons of Sheth.”
. (Psalm 2:6) “But as for Me,
. I have installed My King upon Zion,
. My holy mountain.”
NT READER Prophecy fulfilled. John 18:37 -
. “Therefore Pilate said to Him,
. ‘So You are a king?’
. Jesus answered,
. ‘You say correctly that I am a king
. For this I have been born,
. and for this I have come into the world,
. to testify to the truth
. Everyone who is of the truth hears My voice.’”
SONG “I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day”
. by Henry W. Longfellow, Jean Baptiste Calkin
. (particularly verses 4 and 5)
ANNA I am the prophetess, daughter of Phanuel,
. of the tribe of Asher. As a widow,
. I have served at the temple, with fasting
. and prayers, day and night. Never leaving.
. Oh, how I longed to see the Messiah,
. the coming of our King, the Great Prophet-
. who would not only speak to His people
. with the message of hope and salvation,
. but would BE our hope and salvation.
. And then - I saw Him. When Joseph and Mary
. brought the baby Jesus to the temple where
. I served. At the very moment I happened upon
. them, I began giving thanks to God.
. And continued to speak of Him – to all those
. who were looking for the redemption
. of Jerusalem. This is the great news
. of redemption - for all people.
. 6
OT READER The prophecy of Jesus being a Prophet
. is found in Deuteronomy (18:15-18) -
. “(The LORD your God will raise up for you
. a prophet like me from among you,
. from your countrymen, you shall listen to him.
. This is according to all that you asked
. of the LORD your God in Horeb
. on the day of the assembly, saying,
. ‘Let me not hear again
. the voice of the LORD my God,
. let me not see this great fire anymore,
. or I will die.’)
. The LORD said to me, ‘They have spoken well.
. I will raise up a prophet
. from among their countrymen like you,
. and I will put My words in his mouth,
. and he shall speak to them
. all that I command him.’”
NT READER Prophecy fulfilled. Matthew 21:11
. “And the crowds were saying,
. ‘This is the prophet Jesus,
. from Nazareth in Galilee.’”
SONG “Once in Royal David’s City”
. by Cecil F. Alexander, Henry J. Gauntlett
. (in particular verse 4)
SIMEON The parents of Jesus were obedient
. to the law of Moses. Accordingly, after
. eight days had passed, Joseph had named
. the baby – and Jesus was circumcised.
. Accordingly, after thirty-three more days,
. Mary completed the days for - purification.
. And accordingly, after this – a sin offering,
. Joseph and Mary presented an acceptable
. sacrifice of two turtledoves, because
. they could not afford to present - a lamb.
. Were they aware at that moment, that JESUS –
. was the Lamb of God – who would one day -
. be ultimately sacrificed - for ALL sins?
. For many years, while serving in the temple,
. I so longed to see the consolation of Israel.
. One day the Holy Spirit had revealed to me,
. that I would not see death BEFORE I had seen
. the Lord’s Christ – our Messiah. And there
. He was – in my arms – when Joseph and Mary
. had brought Jesus to the temple to carry out
. for Him the custom of the Law.
. 7
(SIMEON holds his arms out as if holding a baby and
looks down in awe, and then slowly up with praise.)
SIMEON There in my arms, I blessed God, saying-
. “Now Lord, You are releasing
. Your bond-servant to depart in peace,
. According to Your word; For my eyes
. have seen Your salvation, Which You have
. prepared in the presence of all peoples,
. A LIGHT - OF REVELATION TO THE GENTILES,
. And the glory - of Your people Israel."
. I am just a priest. Jesus – is to be
. our High Priest - to forever
. intercede for us on our behalf.
OT READER The prophecy of Jesus being a Priest
. is found in the Psalms (110:4) -
. “The LORD has sworn and will not change
. His mind, ‘You are a priest forever
. According to the order of Melchizedek.’”
NT READER Prophesy fulfilled. Hebrews 6:19-20 -
. “This hope we have as an anchor of the soul,
. a hope both sure and steadfast
. and one which enters within the veil,
. where Jesus has entered as a forerunner
. for us, having become a high priest forever
. according to the order of Melchizedek.”
SONG “O Little Town of Bethlehem”
. by Phillips Brooks, and Lewis H.Redner