Amir Tsarfati: For Unto Us a Child is Born

Should believers celebrate
the birth of the Messiah?

Should Jews or Gentiles alike who believe
in Him celebrate this festival?

Because a lot of people are telling me,

“Amir, you’re a Jewish man, how can you
even believe that God has a Son?”

We must reset our brains in order to
understand the events of 2000 years ago.

We must literally take our
index finger, press right here,

and try to go all the way back
2000 years ago

in order to avoid misinterpretation
and confusion.

FOR UNTO US A CHILD IS BORN

Shalom, everyone!

I’m here, right in the
mountains of the tribe of Judah,

not too far from the city of Bethlehem.

I drove this morning all the way from
the surroundings of the city of Nazareth,

about an hour and a half drive
to this location.

And this is the time of the year when

Jewish people celebrate
the festival of Hanukkah,

and Christians worldwide
are celebrating Christmas.

Interestingly enough, both Hanukkah and
Christmas are traditional holidays.

These are not holidays that the Bible
commands us to celebrate.

They are not mentioned in Leviticus 23
as the Feasts of the Lord;

both Hanukkah and
Christmas are marking events

that took place way after the
Old Testament was written.

And yet, millions around the world
are celebrating these two.

And it’s very interesting because,
according to John 10:22-29,

Jesus Himself came to Jerusalem

and celebrated the Feast of
Dedication, Hanukkah in Hebrew.

Yet, it wasn’t about the Maccabees,
it wasn’t about the victory over the Greek.

It was actually to speak about His deity.

He took advantage of this opportunity.

He did not rebuke people for
celebrating non-biblical holidays.

He was not there angry with anyone saying,

“It’s not written in Leviticus 23;

thus, you shouldn’t even
be gathering here.”

He went up to Jerusalem and
the Bible says in John 10:

“Now it was the Feast of Dedication in
Jerusalem, and it was winter.

And Jesus walked in the
temple, in Solomon’s porch.

Then the Jews surrounded
Him and said to Him,

‘How long do You keep us in doubt?

If You are the Christ (the
Messiah), tell us plainly.’

Jesus answered them, ‘I told you,
and you do not believe.

The works that I do in My Father’s name,
they bear witness of Me.

But you do not believe, because
you are not of My sheep, as I said to you.

My sheep hear My voice,
and I know them, and they follow Me.

And I give them eternal life,
and they shall never perish;

neither shall anyone
snatch them out of My hand.

My Father, who has given them to Me,
is greater than all;

and no one is able to snatch them
out of My Father’s hand.'”

He could have spoken about
the victory of the Maccabees,

He could have spoken about the alleged
miracle that happened in the temple,

He could have spoken about
the Hanukkah menorah.

None of these things
were in His mouth.

He actually chose to tell people that,

in fact, what He was doing and what
He was doing in His Father’s name

spoke louder than titles
that people wanted to give Him.

And anyway, the title “Messiah” in the
minds and the hearts and the thoughts

and the teachings of the
Jewish establishment at that time,

did not match Jesus’
personality and identity.

Being the Son of God,
being God in the flesh,

He could not have been
just an anointed man.

We must reset our brains in order to
understand the events of 2000 years ago

and try to go all the way back

in order to avoid
misinterpretation and confusion.

You see, I love teaching on Bible prophecy.

That portion of the Bible is so exciting

because it speaks of future events

that the Lord God revealed
to His servants the prophets.

I’m talking about Isaiah
and Jeremiah and Hosea.

And it’s interesting because today

we’re very excited about
what is next in Bible prophecy,

about what is next to happen.

We’re excited because we know
that the Bible is accurate.

And we know that the Bible is reliable.

And we know that the Bible is authentic.

But 2000 years ago,

they were also excited about
the fulfillment of Bible prophecy.

Just as today’s events are the amazing
fulfillment of Bible prophecy

so were the events of 2000 years ago.

When Jesus came to the world,
it was FULFILLMENT of Bible prophecy.

Amos 3:7-8

“Surely the Lord God does nothing,
Unless He reveals His secret

to His servants the prophets.

A lion has roared!
Who will not fear?

The Lord God has spoken!
Who can but prophesy?”

Isaiah 46:9-10

“Remember the former things of old,

For I am God, and there is no other;

I am God, and there is none like Me,

Declaring the end from the beginning,
And from ancient times

things that are not yet done,
Saying,

‘My counsel shall stand,
And I will do all My pleasure,'”

Everybody’s trying to
cheapen the role of the prophets

and the identity of the
prophets, saying that

anyone can be a prophet if you only go to a
school of prophets or something like that.

Listen. 2 Peter 1:19-21, says:

“And so we have the
prophetic word confirmed,

which you do well to heed as a
light that shines in a dark place,

until the day dawns and the morning star
rises in your hearts;

knowing this first, that no prophecy of
Scripture is of any private interpretation,

for prophecy never came by the will of man,

but holy men of God spoke as
they were moved by the Holy Spirit.”

And that brings me to the most quoted
prophet in the New Testament.

And that is the prophet Isaiah.

The prophet Isaiah prophesied
between 687 and 742 [B.C.];

in fact, that’s what we believe
his lifespan was:

throughout at least three different
kings in Judah,

Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah.

And it is Isaiah who said [29:13]:

“Therefore the Lord said:
‘Inasmuch as these people

draw near with their mouths
And honor Me with their lips,

But have removed their hearts far from Me,
And their fear toward Me is taught

by the commandment of men…’ ”

Isaiah, from the very first chapter
all the way throughout the book,

warned the nation of Israel

hundreds of years before Christ came,

he warned the nation of Israel
that they were actually following men

and men’s teachings and men’s doctrines,
and Isaiah warned against it.

Now, our verse today,
the verse of Christmas and, of course,

I’m talking about Isaiah 9:6,

“For unto us a Child is born,
Unto us a Son is given;

– in Hebrew, [speaking in Hebrew] –

And the government will be upon His shoulder.
And His name will be called

Wonderful – pe·le,

Counselor – yo·v·’etz

Mighty God – el-gib·bo·vr,

Everlasting Father – a·vi·’ad,

Prince of Peace – sar-sha·lo·vm.”

A lot of people are telling me,

“Amir, you’re a Jewish man. How can you
even believe that God has a son?”

And I always tell them, “When was
the last time you read the Bible?”

They say, “Ah, we don’t believe in your
Bible. We believe in the Old Testament.”

I say, “I’m talking about
the Old Testament.

I’m not talking about the New Testament.”

I became a believer in Yeshua not by
reading any verse from the New Testament.

I actually read the prophet Isaiah,

but not only there – in Proverbs, Mishlei,
chapter 30 verse 4:

“Who has ascended into heaven,
or descended?

[Speaking in Hebrew.]

Who has gathered the wind in His fists?

[Speaking in Hebrew.]

Who has bound the waters in a garment?
Who has established all the ends of the earth?

What is His name, [speaking in Hebrew]

and what is His Son’s name,
[speaking in Hebrew]

If you know?” [Speaking in Hebrew.]

The concept of the Son of God
is not foreign to the Jewish writings,

it’s foreign to the teachings
of the rabbis.

They ignored these verses.

The same as Psalm chapter 2,

the book of Psalms, Tehillim,
chapter 2 [verses 7-12]:

“I will declare the decree:
The Lord has said to Me,

‘You are My Son,
Today I have begotten You.

Ask of Me, and I will give You
The nations for Your inheritance,

And the ends of the earth
for Your possession.

You shall break them with a rod of iron;
You shall dash them to pieces

like a potter’s vessel.’

Now therefore, be wise, O kings;
Be instructed, you judges of the earth.

Serve the Lord with fear,
And rejoice with trembling.

Kiss the Son, lest He be angry…”

Beautiful!

And how can God have a Son?

How is that Son supposed
to come to the world?

And again, I’m not quoting
the New Testament.

It is the book of Isaiah,
chapter 7, verse 14:

“Therefore the Lord Himself
will give you a sign:

Behold, the virgin shall conceive
and bear a Son …”

[Speaking in Hebrew.]

What is Emmanuel?

Emmanuel means “God is with us”.

Now why?
Why was He born?

First of all, let’s make it very clear.

In our day and age, it has to be made
very clear: He was a boy.

There is no gender fluidity in the Bible.

Now He was not just born as “he”,
but He was born UNTO US.

It’s not like a baby that
was born to a family only.

Matthew 1 [verse 20-21] says,
“But while he thought about these things,

behold, an angel of the Lord
appeared to him in a dream, saying,

‘Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid
to take to you Mary your wife,

for that which is conceived in her
is of the Holy Spirit.

And she will bring forth a Son,

and you shall call His name Jesus (Yeshua),
for He will save His people

[speaking in Hebrew]
from their sins.'”

“He wasn’t born just to be your son.

He’s… I’ll tell you what His name
is going to be.

And I’ll tell you why He’s called that way.

Yeshua, Yoshia,

He is coming to save His people.”

Jesus wouldn’t just be born
unto Mary and Joseph,

He would be born unto us, the whole
nation, and the whole world.

Jesus was given,
[speaking in Hebrew]

not purchased, given to us.

It’s a free gift. He was given to us.
You don’t buy salvation anywhere.

You don’t buy forgiveness of sins anywhere,

not like in the Middle Ages, when
people would buy indulgences

when they would pay money

and then they’d receive some
written forgiveness for their sins.

No.

[Speaking in Hebrew.]
It’s a gift.

It was given,
[Hebrew word] in Hebrew – gift,

something that you receive,
something you did not purchase.

Now, who gave His Son to whom?

John 3:16

“For GOD so loved the world that
He gave His only begotten Son,

that whoever believes in Him should
not perish but have everlasting life.”

Of course, He came to save the world,

but only those who BELIEVE IN HIM will benefit from it.

He is the only King that was given a name
before the birth,

not by His earthly parents.

And He’s also the only King that was born

with a promise to save,
judge and rule the whole world.

Now, should believers celebrate
the birth of the Messiah?

Should Jews or Gentiles alike who believe
in Him celebrate this festival?

Look, I understand,
there’s so much paganism

in the way people celebrate
Christmas nowadays.

In fact, if you really think about it,

every Christmas season, there
is a barrage of Hollywood movies

about Christmas without Christ.

It’s about being good and doing
good things and looking good,

and eating good and drinking good
– everything is perfect…

But He is missing, He’s not there!

They don’t talk about Him;
they don’t mention Him.

They don’t speak about who He is,
why He came, what for.

They don’t tell anyone about Him.

Whereas the whole point is to celebrate
His birth for a reason.

Now, should we?

Should we celebrate His birth?

Should we take part, God forbid, in this
very Hollywood-style sticky pagan display?

So I’m telling you, take an example
from Him Himself.

When Jesus came to Jerusalem
on the Feast of Dedication, Hanukkah,

He came to Jerusalem to speak, not about
the Maccabees and not about Antiochus,

and not about the Hanukkah,
and not about the miracle of the oil,

and not about the dreidel
and not about anything.

He came to speak about Himself,

who He is, what He was, what He came for.

He is the reason for the season.

And in the Feast of Lights, He talked about
Himself as the Light of the world.

In that Feast of Dedication, He
was speaking about how He is indeed

of the Father, with the Father,
the Son of the Father.

Celebration is an expression
of joy and thanksgiving.

And I think that for us, the
birth of the Messiah should be

a reason for joy and thanksgiving anyway.

So we could actually celebrate
His birth any given day.

Luke chapter 2 [verse 13]:

“And suddenly there was with the
angel a multitude of the heavenly host

praising God and saying:

‘Glory to God in the highest,
And on earth peace, goodwill toward men!'”

The birth of Jesus was the cause
for great celebration not only on earth,

but even in heaven.

Celebrating such an
important biblical event

cannot be worse than celebrating
the feasts and the Sabbaths

without even knowing Him.

Now, as Jews…

as Jews, how can we not celebrate
the birth of the King of the Jews?

I don’t understand.

We ought to be using the season
to speak of the reason.

Now, you know, Christmas
is full of symbols:

there’s the star, there’s the gifts,
there’s the tree… all of those things.

I’m not a big fan of
those things, honestly.

But regarding the star
that you’re about to see,

Revelation 22:16 says:

“I, Jesus, have sent My angel to testify
to you these things in the churches.

I am the Root and the Offspring of David,
the Bright and Morning Star.”

Why don’t we, while we see the star,
talk about the bright morning star?

What about the gift?
Everybody’s giving gifts to one another.

Let’s make mention that Jesus is the gift.

2 Corinthians 9:15

“Thanks be to God for His indescribable
gift!” – The Messiah.

What about the joy?

“Joy to the world!” we’re singing.

The Bible says in 1 Peter 1:8-9,

“whom having not seen you love. Though
now you do not see Him, yet believing,

you rejoice with joy
inexpressible and full of glory,

receiving the end of your
faith — the salvation of your souls.”

That’s the reason for the joy.

Joy to the world because
we can be saved now.

There is the salvation of our souls
and soon, even of our body.

What about the tree?

Well, I’m not a big fan of having
trees being worshipped.

In fact, it is an abomination.

But when you see a Christmas tree,
think about this:

Jesus is like the tree of life.

The Bible says in Revelation 2:7,

“He who has an ear, let him hear
what the Spirit says to the churches.

To him who overcomes I will give
to eat from the tree of life,

which is in the midst of
the Paradise of God.”

Think about the source of life that
existed in the Garden of Eden.

God never told Adam and Eve
not to eat from the tree of life,

He told them not to eat from the tree
of knowledge of good and evil.

They could have eaten
from the tree of life,

but they chose not to.

And they chose to go to the only one
that they should have not eaten from.

And that’s when the access to
the tree of life was forbidden.

And now through Christ, we have access
back to the tree of life.

So instead of focusing on the pagan
characteristics of this holiday,

use the season to speak of the reason.

And 1 Corinthians 9:19-23 –

“For though I am free from all men,

I have made myself a servant
to all, that I might win the more…”

This is the attitude.

If they celebrate with all of these things,
and you want to win them,

don’t go and attack them, USE those things
to explain the Messiah to them.

Look what Paul says to the Corinthians:

“…to the Jews I became as a Jew,
that I might win Jews;

to those who are under
the law, as under the law,

that I might win those
who are under the law;

to those who are
without law, as without law

(not being without law toward
God, but under law toward Christ),

that I might win those who are without law;

to the weak I became as weak,
that I might win the weak.

I have become all things to all men,
that I might by all means save some.

Now this I do for the gospel’s sake,
that I may be partaker of it with you.”

So instead of condemning and
being angry all the time,

and always accusing and
always having a problem…

You know, we have become so bitter
and angry when Philippians 4:4 says,

“Rejoice in the Lord always.
Again I will say, rejoice!

Let your gentleness be known to all men.
[paraphrase:] For the Messiah, the Christ is near.”

As we’re getting closer and closer
to His return,

how much more we should
be MORE joyful and more GENTLE,

instead of angry all the time!

Jesus may not have been born
on December 25.

But praise God, He was born!