Join us as we delve into the fascinating Jewish origins of celebrating Christmas, exploring how the prophetic promise of Emmanuel, God with us, came to be. Throughout the episode, we learn about the supernatural implications of the virgin birth and the deeper meaning of God’s Kingdom coming to earth. Rabbi Schneider invites us to recognize God’s presence in our lives, not just in the future, but right now and in every moment.
Hello and welcome to Discovering the Jewish Jesus. I’m Dustin Roberts, the outreach minister here on staff, and for the next half hour, I’ll also be your host as our Bible teacher, Rabbi Schneider, presents a special Christmas message on Messianic Prophecy. Have you ever wondered why the wise men traveled so far to celebrate the birth of a Jewish baby? They weren’t Jewish. Well, the answer lies in a beautiful truth. The birth of Messiah was prophesied centuries before in the Hebrew Scriptures. And this wasn’t just another birth. It was the fulfillment of ancient prophecies that promised God would dwell among His people. And today, Rabbi Schneider, he’s going to be showing us how we can experience God’s divine presence every day. Rabbi.
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We need to understand that Messiah’s birth into the world is a very Jewish thing because it was prophesied in the Hebrew scriptures. This is why the wise men or magi rejoiced exceedingly, we read, when they found Messiah through following the star. You see, the birth of Messiah is rooted in the Hebrew scriptures. So Father God, today in Yeshua’s name, we ask you that by the power of your Holy Spirit, you would cause us to know that you’re here and how near you are to each and every one of your children. Father, we love you and we rejoice with the Magi today, with the wise men that you have come in the person of your son, Messiah Yeshua. Well, you know, in Israel, there’s a greeting that they exchange, those that believe in Messiah and celebrate his birth. They say Chag Milad Sameach, which is a special greeting that is translated into our English vocabulary as Merry Christmas. Now, most of us know that Jesus wasn’t born on December 25th. That’s kind of a no-brainer for theologians and scholars. We know that, but it still makes sense to mark a day to celebrate the birth of Messiah into the world. It’s not mandatory, but to celebrate what God has done, to mark what God has done, beloved, that’s always a good thing. I mean, think about it. We celebrate the birth of our children, right? We celebrate the birth of our mom or dad or husband or wife. Why would we not want to especially praise God for the birth of his son? I want to go now to the book of Isaiah, chapter 7, and read a foundational scripture through which we see that the celebration of Messiah’s birth, once again, is rooted in the Hebrew scriptures. Isaiah said this, Isaiah 7, 14, “‘Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign. Behold, the virgin will be with child and bear a son, and she will call his name Emmanuel.'” Now, the word Emmanuel is Hebrew for God is with us. So thinking about this, God is with us, that God gave the Jewish people a sign, and the sign was a virgin would conceive. There’s been some debate over the years as to whether this word Alma was actually a virgin or not, but how would it be a sign that was supernatural if it was an ordinary birth? It had to be a virgin birth. In fact, when we look at the birth of Isaac, going back to the beginning of Jewish history, we go with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and we know that God made a promise to Abraham, and God said to Abraham, Abraham, through your seed, all the nations of the earth shall be blessed. So Abraham was waiting most of his life for the fulfillment of this prophecy, but we know his wife, Sarai, couldn’t conceive. She wasn’t getting pregnant. Eventually, we know the story. Abraham tried to take matters into his own hands and had relations with his maid, Hagar. But God said, no, Abraham, it’s going to be through your own wife. So the story continues. Sarah is now 100 years old. And God says, next year at this time, she’s going to have a child. And we read the story. And Sarah laughed. She just found it, you know, is that even possible? but is anything too difficult for the Lord? But I want you to think about this in relationship to the scripture in Isaiah that we just read and its fulfillment that’s recorded in Matthew. Listen, that the virgin would conceive, Isaiah said in Isaiah 7 and 14. So if we go back to Abraham once again and we think about Sarah giving birth to Isaac, that was a supernatural birth because remember, Sarai or Sarah was 100 years old when she gave birth to Isaac. She was past the age of childbearing. So what this demonstrates here is Sarah’s conceiving at 100 years old and giving birth at 100 years old to Isaac, this was a foreshadow of the virgin birth. And if you think about it, you would think that the birth of Messiah Jesus would be even more spectacular than the birth of Isaac that came through his mom when she was 100, because after all, Yeshua is the most unique and spectacular person on the planet. And so God takes this concept of having a very unique birth that we see rooted at the very beginning of Jewish history through Sarah giving birth at 100. God brings that up to the very climactic level of having a virgin give birth when he brings his own son, Messiah Jesus, into the world. And so once again, We’re looking at the Jewish roots of celebrating the birth of Messiah into the world during this very special time of year. And so let’s read the scripture again, Isaiah 7, 14. Then I’m going to read the counterpart in the book of Matthew, chapter 1, verse 23. I love you, beloved ones. Most importantly, God loves you. Hear the word of God. Therefore, the Lord himself will give you a sign. And remember, if this birth wasn’t virgin, it wouldn’t have been a sign. It had to be something spectacular and supernatural for it to be a sign. The reason I’m making an issue out of this is because Orthodox rabbis dispute that this word in the original Hebrew meant virgin. It could be translated young maiden or virgin, but it wouldn’t make sense to just translate it as a young maiden because a young maiden given birth would be nothing supernatural. It wouldn’t be a sign. And so once again, the virgin shall be with child and bear a son and she will call his name Emmanuel. Matthew 1, 23. Matthew quotes Isaiah 7, 14 as being fulfilled at the birth of Messiah Jesus. Behold, the virgin shall be with child and shall bear a son, and they shall call his name Emmanuel, which translated means God with us. This is why we read in the book of Matthew 2, verse 10, that the wise men or magi from the east, when they saw the star and followed the star to the birth of this son, it says that they rejoiced exceedingly. Why? Because they had read in the Hebrew scriptures while they were in Babylon in the east that someone very special was gonna be born And this one that was to be born would bring God’s presence to his people and would culminate in a messianic government upon the earth. So we see this concept of celebrating or rejoicing at the birth of Messiah. This too is rooted in the Holy Scriptures. Now, who were the wise men or who were the magi? We don’t have a lot of information, but most scholars agree that they were from the East, which was in the area of Babylon. And there was many Jews that had been exiled into Babylon. And so the Jewish scriptures were accessible there. So we believe that these wise men were people that were studying the signs in the heavens, supernatural signs in the heavens that had access to the Hebrew scriptures. star. Now, we read in the book of Acts, for example, chapter 2, and in Joel 2, that God does supernatural things in the heavens above and in the stars to sometimes announce what he’s doing. And this is going to happen at the end of the age, too. There’s going to be signs in the skies that are going to announce the Lord Jesus’ coming, just as there were, beloved one, a sign for his first coming.
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You’ve been listening to Discovering the Jewish Jesus with Rabbi Schneider, and he’ll be right back. But first, I want to let you know that these teachings, they’re available for you to watch on Roku TV, and it’s completely free. You can watch full TV episodes of Discovering the Jewish Jesus from the comfort of your home or on the go. See Rabbi on screen as he brings biblical truths to life and deepens your understanding of Jesus the Messiah. Just search for Discovering the Jewish Jesus on Roku today. Did you know that this ministry is all about preparing the way for the inevitable return of King Jesus? Well, it’s true. And we’d love for you to partner with us in this life-changing mission today. Together, we will change lives, not just locally, but all over the world. To support this team, call 800-777-7835. That’s 800-777-7835. Or you can visit us online at discoveringthejewishjesus.com. And now here’s Rabbi Schneider.
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Now let’s continue on. I want to develop this concept of Emmanuel. Once again, this Hebrew word Emmanuel means God with us. And I want us to really focus on this concept right now. Listen, God with us. with us. This is so important because so oftentimes, beloved one, we look for God, but we look for him somewhere out there. We’re wanting to see him somehow demonstrate his nearness to us in our circumstances. We want him to answer a specific prayer. We want to see him move in our life, whether it’s to get a job or to find a mate or whatever it might be. And all that is awesome. Thank God for all the things that he does when he invades our circumstances and manifest his glory. But I want you to hear there’s something greater and the greater is the revelation and the ability to perceive that God, listen church, is right now with us. Emmanuel, God with us. Hear me church, in this present moment, right now, this very second, As you take your breath right now, hear me, God is in you and with you. And what you and I need to do is work on developing our sensitivity to God’s presence with us. You see, a lot of times because life is a struggle, we try to escape the present moment into something else. But what we need to understand is that the way to find God, the way to lay a hold of him is not to try to escape the present moment for some type of easier existence. But what we need to do is to develop the sensitivity to realize that God is with us right where we’re at in the struggle in this present moment. We don’t want to run from the present moment to something else to find God. but we want to develop the sense that He’s with us in the challenge, listen now, in this present moment. Stop trying to escape and recognize that God is here, He’s with you and I right now. Let’s go to another scripture. I want to read from the book of Isaiah chapter nine, verse six and seven, as we continue to develop this concept. For a child will be born to us, a son will be given to us, and the government will rest on his shoulders. And his name will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Eternal Father, Prince of Peace. There will be no end to the increase of his government or of his peace. on the throne of David and over his kingdom, to establish it, to uphold it with justice and righteousness from then on and forevermore, the zeal of the Lord of hosts will accomplish this. So we’re thinking about number one, Emmanuel, Messiah Jesus has been born into the world. And when he came into the world, he brought the presence of God into the earth for everyone that would come to him to receive and to experience. What we also learn from the book of Isaiah is that the reign of Messiah, the reign of God’s Son, is going to increase. It’s going to increase, the scriptures tell us, until it covers, beloved one, the entire earth. You see, the kingdom of God is here right now, but it’s not fully here yet. The kingdom of God has broken into the world, but it’s not reigning over the entire world in the fullness of the manifestation of God’s glory yet. This is why Jesus told us to pray. Pray in this way. Say, our Father that art in heaven. holy is your name, listen, thy kingdom come, thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven. So what we’re doing, church, is we’re praying for the full ushering in of the kingdom of God into the earth And this is what will happen soon at Messiah Jesus’ second coming. The kingdom of God is here, but not fully yet. Messiah Jesus has been born. Emmanuel God is with us. And now we’re contending for the fullness of the kingdom to arrive here on earth. This happens at the millennial reign and in the new heavens and the new earth. Listen as we read the fulfillment of this in the book of Revelation. Hear the word of God as I begin with Revelation 21, verses 3 through 5. And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, behold, get it now, the tabernacle of God, this is God’s full presence, behold, the tabernacle of God is among men and he will dwell among them and they shall be his people and God himself, get it now, church, will be among them. This is the full ushering in of the kingdom of God. This is what’s coming. This is what our destiny is. He continues, John, he will wipe away every tear from their eyes and there will no longer be any death. There will no longer be any mourning or crying or pain. The first things have passed away. And he who sits on the throne said, behold, I am making all things new. And he said to me, right. For these words are faithful and true. It reminds me of Isaiah’s words in the scripture we just read, the zeal of the Lord will accomplish this. This is exactly what John’s saying. He said, right, these words are faithful and true. Revelation 22, one through seven. I want you just to consider this as we contemplate the birth of Messiah. Contemplate with me now. Revelation 22, one through seven. Then he showed me a river of the water of life. clear as crystal, coming from the throne of God and of the Lamb. In the middle of the street, on either side of the river, was the tree of life, bearing 12 kinds of fruit, yielding its fruit every month. And the leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations. Remember Isaiah was talking about the increase of his government would continue to spread and it would know no bounds. This is what we’re reading here, that In this millennial reign, in the new heavens, in the new earth, God is gonna heal the nations. This tree that is on the side of the river of life will yield its fruit every month. And the leaves of the tree, listen now, were for the healing of the nations. We look on the planet today and we see nations that are under tyrannic dictatorships where we have people in power that reign through tyranny and fear and people are living under that, slaves to it. But in the kingdom of God, the healing of the nations will take place. Let’s continue on. There will no longer be any curse and the throne of God and the lamb will be in it. And his bond servants will serve him. They will see his face and his name will be on their foreheads. There will no longer be any night and they will not have need of the light of a lamp nor the light of the sun because the Lord God will illumine them and they will reign forever and ever. And he said to me, these words are faithful and true. Beloved, the kingdom of God is here. Why? Because Emmanuel is with us. That’s why we thank Father God during this time of year in a special way for the birth of His Son. Obviously, it’s right to thank God for the birth of the Son of God into the world every day. But during this time of year, as many people are taking time out of their busy schedules to celebrate the birth of Messiah Yeshua into the world, I just want to encourage you today. Let’s, if we’re doing that, let’s put it back in its original context. Let’s recognize that the birth of Messiah into the world is actually first rooted, listen, in the Hebrew Bible, in the book of Isaiah. The book of Daniel tells us of the Messiah’s reign, how Messiah will come into the world. The birth of Messiah Jesus is a Jewish thing. This is why, in fact, Jews for Jesus, an organization that many of you are familiar with, has one of its greatest evangelistic, fruitful seasons during this time of year, because people are thinking about it. People sense oftentimes a special warmth during this time of year. Many people have a desire to show goodwill during this time of year. But at the end of the day, it’s all about Yeshua, right? He’s the reason for the season. I just want us to pray together for a fuller revelation of this reality that we have challenged ourself with today, that God’s with us. I want you to hear me. Listen. God is with you in the present moment. Offer up the present moment, listen now, as a sacrament to God. Begin to treat every present moment as holy. Don’t run from the present moment to try to get to a place where you’re more comfortable because God is not in the future. God is the God of the now. Emmanuel, God is with us in the now. So I want to encourage you to begin to focus as a matter of your discipline, to recognize that in the good times and in the hard times, God is with you. Listen, and you can find God with you in the struggle. Don’t try to run from where you’re at to find God. Recognize that God is with you where you’re at and you can find him in a very deep, real and meaningful way right now in the struggle. So, Father God, we bless you today and we worship you today. We thank you, Father God, for coming into the world as Emmanuel to be with us. Father, deliver us from running. Deliver us from running in fear and stress to try to find you some other place. Help us to realize that, Father, you’re here. Emmanuel, that you’re with us right now. Help us, Father God, to learn how to experience you every present moment. Help us to embrace even the hard times, recognizing that you’re doing something, Father, in our lives, even through the hard times. Father, we worship you. And as we look forward to this next year, we want to thank you that we know you’re going to be with us. And as we keep our eyes on you, we’re going to go from strength to strength, from glory to glory, and from shalom to shalom. Merry Christmas. Beloved, it’s interesting that in our culture, many people celebrate Christmas by focusing on giving gifts to their loved ones. But biblically speaking, we don’t see the wise men celebrating the birth of Messiah by giving gifts to their loved ones, but by giving gifts to Messiah himself. Listen to what we read here in the book of Matthew 2, verse 11. And after coming into the house, they saw the child with Mary his mother. and they fell to the ground and worshiped him. Then opening their treasures, they presented to him gifts.” I want to encourage you. Let’s celebrate the birth of Messiah this year biblically by giving a gift to God himself. I want to ask you today, if you believe in me and what God is doing through Discovering the Jewish Jesus, Would you present your gift to the Lord Himself this year through this ministry? I’m telling you, your gift will go far for reaching people with the gift of Christmas Himself, the Son of God.
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Amen. And if the Lord is prompting you to give a special Christmas offering today, or if he’s calling you to partner with us by giving a monthly donation, would you please follow his leading? You can give generously by becoming a monthly partner or donating at discoveringthejewishjesus.com. You can also send your gift in the mail to Discovering the Jewish Jesus, P.O. Box 777, Blissfield, Michigan, 49228. And as a token of our appreciation, we’ll make sure that you receive our latest newsletter. And we believe that it’ll help you stay engaged and encouraged and inspired each and every month. It’s a great way to stay up to date about what the ministry is doing. And it also comes with an exclusive teaching from Rabbi. And personally, I love reading the testimonies that are included. It’s a reminder of how together that we truly are making a difference in the lives of people all around the world. And so from our heart to you, thank you so much for your generous support. And when you give, you’re not just supporting a cause. You’re becoming the hands and the feet of Messiah Jesus to a hurting world. And you’re helping share the message of Messiah. You’re fulfilling the Great Commission. So give today. Go online to discoveringthejewishjesus.com or call us at 800-777-7835. And on behalf of the entire staff here, Merry Christmas. And now let’s turn things back over to Rabbi. He’s here to share God’s sacred blessing with us on this Christmas day.
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The Aaronic blessing in the book of Numbers, chapter 6, is not a blessing that comes from an impersonal being out there somewhere in the heavens. This special blessing comes from a person, Yahweh, God Almighty, our Creator and Maker. So receive God’s blessing into your life right now.
The Lord bless you and keep you. The Lord make his face shine on you and be gracious to you. The Lord lift you up with his countenance and the Lord give you beloved one his peace. God bless you and shalom.
SPEAKER 01 :
This program is produced and sponsored by Discovering the Jewish Jesus. And I’m Dustin Roberts. Join us again tomorrow when Rabbi Schneider shares a special Hanukkah message on God’s desire for dedication. That’s Thursday on Discovering the Jewish Jesus.
