His Origins Are From The Distant Past - The One Year Book of Discovering Jesus in the Old Testament
His Origins Are from the Distant Past
Micah, like most of the prophets, was burdened with questions about Israel’s future. He knew that the Messiah was Israel’s ultimate hope. He even knew where the Messiah would be born; he just didn’t know when. He saw the outlines of the One who was coming to save his people, but he could not see him clearly.
But you, O Bethlehem Ephrathah,
are only a small village among all the people of Judah.
Yet a ruler of Israel will come from you,
one whose origins are from the distant past.
The people of Israel will be abandoned to their enemies
until the woman in labor gives birth. . . .
He will stand to lead his flock with the LORD’s strength. . . .
He will be the source of peace. (Micah 5:2-5)
The religious leaders in Jesus’ day knew that Micah 5 was a reference to the Messiah. That’s why they told King Herod to send the wise men to Bethlehem to look for the baby king (Matthew 2:1-6). And because the people were confident that the Messiah would come from Bethlehem, they were confused by the fact that Jesus was raised in Nazareth (John 7:41-43).
But Jesus’ birth in Bethlehem may not be the most striking thing about this prophecy. Micah wrote that the child born to a woman in Bethlehem will be “one whose origins are from the distant past.” Though the Messiah would be born in Bethlehem, that was not the beginning of his life. He would be a ruler whose life would stretch from the distant past into a glorious future, describing the Messiah as eternal—not just a man, but God himself.
And that is exactly what Jesus said about himself when he told the religious leaders, “I tell you the truth, before Abraham was even born, I AM!” (John 8:58). Jesus stands before and beyond the limits of a human lifetime, leading his flock, bringing us into the peace of his fold.
Eternal Word who was with God in the beginning and who is God, you have existed uncreated into eternity past and you will rule and reign into eternity future. Gazing on your glorious eternal nature brings me peace.
