People make a lot of promises, don’t they? But so often, those promises aren’t kept.
They either forget the promises they made or they can’t keep them for some reason…or maybe they do remember and do have the ability to follow through, but they just don’t care enough to keep their word.
But no matter why someone breaks their promise, it really hurts, doesn’t it? Especially when you were really counting on them.
Well, Acts 13:32-33 tells us the true story of an unbroken promise—one that has significance for us today.
“And we preach to you the good news of the promise made to the fathers, 33 that God has fulfilled this promise [a]to our children in that He raised up Jesus, as it is also written in the second Psalm, ‘You are My Son; today I have begotten You.’”(NASB)
You see, not long after Adam and Eve sinned and placed humanity under a curse, God made a promise.
He promised that one day He would send the Messiah—a Savior—who would free them from the curse of sin and set everything right.
All throughout the Old Testament, God gave the Israelites specific promises about this coming Messiah.
He would be:
the Son of God (Psalm 2)
born of a virgin (Isaiah 7:14)
born in Bethlehem (Micah 5:2)
rejected by His people (Isaiah 53:1-3)
betrayed for 30 pieces of silver (Zechariah 11:12-13)
He would die for our sins (Isaiah 53:4-9), but He would also be resurrected (Psalm 16:8-11).
Those are only a few of the promises God made through the Old Testament prophets. But every single one of them is fulfilled in Jesus Christ.
Jesus was born of virgin named Mary and, thanks to a census, He was born in the city of Bethlehem. He was, in fact, the Son of God. And not only was He rejected by His people, He was betrayed by one of His own disciples for 30 pieces of silver.
Jesus died on the cross, but He didn’t stay dead. God raised Him back to life on the third day.
Jesus is the Messiah—sent to rescue and redeem His people from the curse of sin. And He is also proof that God keeps His promises.
Over hundreds of years, God never abandoned His plan. In His perfect timing, He sent Jesus—the Messiah.
2 Corinthians 1:20 says, “For as many as are the promises of God, in Him they are yes…” (NASB)
Not a single promise that God made has ever failed.
So let me ask you:
How does God’s track record of faithfulness help you trust Him with personal promises He has yet to fulfill?
And how does seeing Jesus fulfill those ancient messianic prophecies bolster your faith in Him?
I also want to acknowledge that you might be reading this as someone who doesn’t believe in Jesus. And if that’s you, I hope that these fulfilled prophecies will spark a curiosity to learn more about Jesus.
Would you consider reading the Bible and asking God to show you that Jesus is who He says He is?
Jesus isn’t just the Messiah—the Savior—for people hundreds of years ago. He is the Savior for all people who will turn to Him in faith. Will you take some time to consider Him today?
Scripture quotations taken from the NASB. Copyright by The Lockman Foundation. www.lockman.org