Jesus in the Old Testament

Written by Rev. Daniel Forster

“Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign. Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel.” (Isaiah 7:14, ESV)

It is common today to think of Jesus only in conjunction with the New Testament. We look at Jesus as the baby in the manger as the place where the story begins and sadly miss what He fulfilled – the promises that came to pass. Jesus is mentioned and prophesied about all throughout the Old Testament. Jesus was with God before creation even began and was with God and His chosen people all throughout the Old Testament until it was time for Him to be revealed.

God sent prophetic words and promises about salvation to the prophets of the Old Testament – promises of freedom from sin and an eternal life with God. One of the most common of these scriptures is in Isaiah 7:14, “Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign. Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel.”

The Treasure Box

Written by Kristi Huseby

“[B]ut Mary kept all these things in her heart and thought about them often.” (Luke 2:19, NLT)

Did you have a treasure box growing up? I did. In my treasure box I had a very old dollar coin that my Mom had given to me, some chapstick, and various other items that you might have considered junk but to me they were valued possessions.

In Luke 2:19 (NLT) we get the idea that Mary had a treasure box of sorts, only her treasures were memories of Jesus and how his life intersected with hers. Look at what it says, “But Mary treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart.”

What were those things she stored in her “treasure box”? Could it have been the time when the Angel came to tell her that she would bear a child even though she was a virgin? Or what about when she visited with Elizabeth who was old, wrinkled and very pregnant? Did she treasure watching God’s miracle growing within her?

The Manger

In 1994, two Americans answered an invitation from the Russian Department of Education to teach morals and ethics based on biblical principles) in the public schools. They were invited to teach at prisons, businesses, the fire and police departments and a large orphanage. 


About 100 boys and girls who had been abandoned, abused, and left in the care of a government-run program were in the orphanage. They relate the following story in their own words:

It was nearing the holiday season, 1994, time for our orphans to hear, for the first time, the traditional story of Christmas. We told them about Mary and Joseph arriving in Bethlehem. Finding no room in the inn, the couple went to a stable, where the baby Jesus was born and placed in a manger.

Throughout the story, the children and orphanage staff sat in amazement as they listened. Some sat on the edges of their stools, trying to grasp every word.