Could all of this be mere coincidence?

The Hebrew Scriptures (the Old Testament of the Christian Bible) contain many prophecies concerning a Messiah that God, through his prophets, had promised to send.

A truly remarkable prophecy is found in Isaiah 7:14 which says (NIV) “the virgin shall conceive and bear a son and will call his name Immanuel.” Immanuel means “God with us.” Matthew 1:22 tells us that Isaiah’s prophecy was fulfilled through the birth of Jesus.

Both Matthew and Luke are very clear that Mary was still a virgin when Jesus was born. Luke begins his account of the birth of Jesus by telling of a census ordered by Caesar Augustus (Luke 2:1). It was because of this census that Joseph and Mary traveled from Nazareth to Bethlehem where Jesus was born. Micah, another Old Testament prophet, had prophesied that the Messiah would come from Bethlehem (Micah 5:2).

Caesar Augustus was the Roman Emperor from 27 BC until AD 14. Julius Caesar was his adoptive father. Augustus promoted the worship of Julius Caesar as a god. Augustus could then call himself the son of God. Thus, the real Son of God was born to Mary in Bethlehem instead of Nazareth because of an order from an imposter who claimed the title “Son of God” for himself.

Furthermore, King Herod of Judea sought to kill all male children in Bethlehem two years old and younger to prevent the one who had been born King of the Jews there from being a threat. By this time Joseph, warned by an angel of the danger, had taken Mary and Jesus to Egypt.

Since Herod served under the authority of Caesar Augustus, we could say that the imposter, through a proxy, tried but failed to have the real Son of God killed before he could accomplish his mission.

Pastor Dan York ministers at Dover Community Church.