>> today on christian world news celebrating the coming messia the old testament prophet predictea savior would come. wet's look at the biblical text and archaeogical evidence that poins to jesus christ as the jewish messiah and savior of thworld. welcome everyone to this special christmas edition of world worli am wendy griffith. christmas season is the time we celebrate the coming of jesus the messiah. it is a testament that prophets

wrote about hundreds of years before he was bn. starti with the christmas story. cbn's gordan robertson explains. >> everyday religious jews pray for the coming of the messiah. >> traditional jews believe in every generation there is a potential messiah. if the generation is worthy, there is a son of david according to the prophecies, greater than david. >> old testament says the messiah uld be a son of david, born in bethlehem, called out of egypt and raised in nazareth. he would be a teacher and a healer. he would calm can the seas and

cleanse the temple. he would be welcomed as a king and killed as a criminal. then 3 days after hisdeath he would rise from the dead. these are a few of the prophesies written by the messiah. only 1 man in history fulfilled them all. >> if we rightly understand the hebrew bibleeither jesus is our messiah or there could never be a messiah. no question in the mind of god he was going to send a redeemr. his intent for israel was to be a priestly nation for whom the whether or not he will world could be blessed. it ok 2,000 years to prepare people that could welcome the messiah. >> jesus was born into a world of political upheaval. jews returned from exile to a nation nay no longer ruled. >> during these centuries, the

jewish people gan to hear the promises of a son of david and realizedit is someone greer. the regular kings have fallen short, speaking of this anointed one known as the messiah. every prophecy spoken about the son of david. >> line of david no longer in power. herod the great was on the throne and the jews had a gentile ing. >> hehad been a convert from the enemy of people to judaism. >> because of his unlowly birth, herod was threaten by the desen dents of david and burnethe genealogies of the jews.

>> he settled in a village behind me, e town of the branch, referring to the branch of vid. today we know it better by its hebrew name, nazareth. >> boyhood home of jesus, filadelfia batak of ancient prophecy of isaiah. it didn't exist until 650 years after isaiah's time. at firstglance you won't find the word nazareneanywhere unless you read it in hebrew. >> matthew puts tolth the voice of several prophets, he'll be the branch comingfrom the place, nazarethit is a perfect fit. it is one of these little jewels matthew puts the that you have to dig to discover and understand.

>> messiah was the shoot that came up out of the root of david. >> in jesus' day, only about 150 people lived in nazareth. once a family of kings, they now worked as farmers and shepherds, they recorded their genealogies and kept them hidden. by protecting their family history, ey were tracing the bloodline of the messiah. >> it was impornt that it was establishe that the messiah was from the line of david. >> gospels of matthew and luke record the bloodlines of jesus' parents, joseph through king soloman and mary through david's other son, nathan. >> matthew wants to show the royal decent, he is a direct descend through his earthly father, foster father, joseph. through his mother, mariam,

better known to christians as mary, he is a bloodescendant of david. >> it was here in nazareth that the angel gabrielle visited mary. he told her she would give birth to the son of god. it was the fulfillment to the birth announcement recorded 700 years earlier, in the book of isaiah. in the 9th chapter of isaiah speaks of the son of david born called mighty called. and isaiah 11th chapter, this bran, this is the same 7, 9, isaiah11. this is a child born supernaturall you have to dig to find it. it is one of those hidden treasure. >> royal family in hiding, a virgin with child and a nation

waiting for a redeemer. the ste was set for the most significant birtin the history of the world, jesus, the messiah of israel. >> fascinating. up next how archaeolical discoveries helping illuminate the biblicaaccount of christmas. stay tuned.

>> welcome back, a thousand years before the birth of jesus, jewish prophets foretold the cominof the messiah, those prophees were finding support in sciee, gordan robertson take as look at one archaeological diovery and how it changes the course of history. >> the only people that seen the sta in the night are the people that are looking for it. >> ones who saw the sign were

the wise men from the east. the search ought them to the palace of herod, the great. >> the rising of a king over jacob. >> who exactly were the wise men that called on kingerod and why did they know jewish prophecy better than the jews? the answer may lie in a 3,000 year old inscription discovered in jordan >> archologist found a village called dearall la. >> there was an inscription about bay lum, the prophet. the same character from the book of number >> bay lum, visited by an angel

and a donkey. he prophesied the coming of the messiah the star of jacob. only smallfragments of bay lum inscription have svived. it is written in air mayic and talks about fire, terror, and judgment the land of kay nen. from a deity named sha di, one of the hebrew names for god and the bible. bay lum's prophesy describes a similar judgment on the kay anyoniets. the star of jacob, the jewish messiah. >> totally an archaeological contextwith a story not the biblical story. it shows us his reputaton as a profession foreteller, prophet exited throughout the eastern jordan, the transjordan.

>> bay lum is one of the few prophets with archaeological proof of his existence. >> it is exciting. it lends plausibility to matthew's stor. the people who are familiar with bay lum's prophecies are people coming from that side of the jordan river. >> they led the wisemen to look for a star and star led them to jerusalem. this is the tower of david, spot where herod's palace stood, wound rous beyond words. it was here that herod summoned the wise men to a secret meetg. >> the humor, they come to the king of the jews, herod who does not know his own scriptures and has to asked his advisors to search the jewish scriptures while they who are

gentiles know the prophecy of bay lum. >> herod's men micah, the scripture that led are the wise men to the birthplace of the messiah. >> they went to bethlehem and found joseph, mary and jesus, brought gold, franken frankincen and myrrh gifts brought by the prophe, hundreds of years earlier. but while they worshipped jesus, herod planned tokill him. >> nowadays, we would consider herod the great suffered from pair noi ya >> wise men fueled his parano. they were in herod's palace looking for the one born king

of the jews, herod saw their visit as a threat. >> he is a concrt with no actual jewish blo who is always fearful. doesn't trust anyone. loved his fe so much he killed her. loved her to death, i say. >> herod orders a massacre in bethlehem. every male under the age of 2 killed an event prophesied by jeremiah more than 600 years before it happened. joseph and mary fled to egypt. journey predict by the prophet sea and fulfilled in the gospel of matthew. >> hosea 11:1, isaiah was a child i loved him, my son.

some say it was misqted. non sense. his audience would know the whole verse, when israel was a child, i loved hi just as it happened to israel, so it happened to the messiah. you have this pattern over and over again. >> nowhere is it more powerful than the book of isaiah. spoke of a child born of a virgin, wonderful counselor, mighty god, ever lastingfather and prince of peace. words of isaiah were copied by scribes hidden in caves and protected more than 2,000 years when the dead sea scrolls were redisvered found completely in tact. >> one scroll that has had more impact upon the world's than any other scroll that was found here is the great isaiah scroll. >> this is the oldest known copy of the book of isaiah.

it is the only one we have today. it existed before the birth of christ. >> there we have a scroll from around 100 b.c. nearly as well preserved as it was in the days it was being read. the next copies come from 1,000 years later. with this we are going to say now or for all time we have the text that existed from 2,000 years ago. >> from the desert caves near the dead sea to the ruins to an ancient temple in jordan, it was etched in stone and written on parchmenthundreds of years before jes was born. and now the gentiles can say to zion. arise, shine, for your light has come and the glory of the lord is riseupon you.

>> coming up, what didthe old testament prophet say about the jewish messiah? and how does jesus fit the picture?

>> 2,000 years ago the jewish people were lookg for a messiah to overthrow the romans and restore the kingdom of israel. old testament prophets described a ry different kind of meiah. only 1 man in history fits the description. >> first centurjudea was a small province ruled by rome and ready for a revotion. >> jewish people ready, under

roman rule and greek rule and persian and babylonian rule. they were praying for deliverance and ready to welcome a messiah. >> every would say you are a messiah. >> they want a political lear. instead jesus came as a mirac worker reaching out to jews and gentiles a like. >> rethink your deaf nation of messiah. >> in the village of nazareth, the son of a carpenter stood up and read the words of prophet isaiah, spirit of the lord god is upon me, the lord has anointe me to preach good tideings to the poor. he has sent me to heal the broken hearted and proclaim liberty to the captives. >> reads from the prophet

isaiah, this scripture fulfilled. jesus is saying, i am the one, just as the scripture said. >> people of nazarethrejected jesus' claim. just as the prophets had written. >> something that the people were not expecting. not an expectaton in jesus' day the ma ma shy >> david said those that hate me witht a cause are morthan the hairs of my head. jesus' own family id he was out of his mind. davidprophesied he had become a stranger to his own brothers. >> his family didn't believe he was the messiah. it would be hard for any of us, i think if we had a sibling to suddenly see that person as

god's answer for human salvatn. >> jesus left nazareth and moved to ka person numb. this fishing village became the center of jesus' mintry. just as isaiah written. in the future, he will honor galilee of the gentile the prophe gets even more specific. isaiah predictethe name of the road that led through the capernaum, the way the sea. in isaiah's time the way of the philistines, 600 years later romans conquered judea, given them a latin name, the road of the sea bringing travelers from asiaafrica, and europe to the shores of galilee. this marks the spot where the

via mar ras run through the city. archaeologists tells the story of jesus starting with the house of worship. >> dating to the 4th century after chst. underneathyou can see the foundations of synagogue where jesus taught and healed the sick. here he used a story telling device propsied in the psalms. i will hope my mouth in a parable utter dark sayings of old. it was here that jesus met the synagogue's ruler and raised his daughter from the dead isaiah had prophesied his role as a heale then will the eyes of the blind be opened and the ears of the deaf unstopped. then will the lame leap like a deer and the mute tongues shout for joy. across from the synagogue are the ruins of simon and peter's house. after his death it becamea

meeting place for followers, one of the world's first house chuhes. here on the city of galilee, jesus performed 2 extrodinary miracles, both prophesied severatimes in the old testament, psalms said he would calm the storm, rule the raging of the sea, walk on the wings of the wind. book of job even predicted he would tread on the waves of the sea. hundreds of years earlier, isaiah had written the jewish messiah would also be a light to the gentiles. >> miracles happen and the awareness grows. he understands himself first of all to be sent to the lost sheep the house of israel, not to the gentiles. he is going to focus on israel. >> jesus met a gentile woman asking him to heal her gentile woman. >> can i even just have a crumb?

you have so much to give jesus stops, what this woman says i arrests him and says this understanding has hitme to the core. because of this saying, he says your request is granted. the record is rama. what is it she has said to him? jesus,you main the jewish messiah and i think you are, don't you know what god said to abraham? through his seed, even the gentiles would be blessed. >> before his death, jesus left his disciples with a promise, he who believes in me, the works i do, he will do al. and greater works than these. 2,000 years later, that promise is still being fulfilled. followers of jesus are healing the sick, raising the dead, and

taking his messagaround the world. >> a carpenter from nazareth who basically never left his homeland is now the best known name in the entire world. we devied history in the western world based on his birth, own people rejeblth him. it has all been prophesiedand declared iadvance.

>> that is all for our special christmas edition of christian world news. until next week, good-bye and god bless you. may the peace of christ rule in your heart this christmas and all yearlongmerry christmas.