The Alex McFarland Show-141-The Birth of Jesus with guest Dave Glander

You know, at Christmas time, you think about how grateful you are for the past year, and I share a letter that we just got.

A teenage girl that was in one of our camps, she said, Mr. McFarland, I've never read a book for more than five minutes, but since going to your biblical worldview camp last summer, I read my Bible 45 minutes every day. Praise God. And as Christmas time comes, I want to say thank you to all the people who pray and financially support our ministry as we call people to Christ and youth to serve God and country.

But what about you? Do you know Christ? You know, Jesus is as close by as a prayer. And if you need help in your walk with the Lord or encouragement, you can go to my website, which is alexmcfarland.com.

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Thank you for your prayers and support. And in the new year, let's do great things for the sake of the gospel. The spiritual condition of America, politics, culture and current events analyzed through the lens of scripture. Welcome to the Alex McFarland Show. Well, Merry Christmas, everybody.

Alex McFarland here, and we've got a great show. We're going to talk about Messianic prophecy, especially as it relates to the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, the birth of Jesus. As you're hearing this, the world is celebrating and commemorating the birth of Jesus.

And the birth of Jesus was the fulfillment of many, many prophecies, promises of God. And to talk about this with us is a longtime friend and colleague. At this point, he's just about like family to us, but Dave Glander. He is part of Reasons for Hope, R4H, Reasons for Hope, and every summer he leads the Equip Camps, the Biblical Worldview Camps that we'll tell you about those, because they're so exciting. Dave, first of all, Merry Christmas to your family and the Glander family, and thanks for making time to be with us.

I know you love Israel. I know you know a lot about archaeology and apologetics, and like myself, you passionately love Christmas. We were talking about it, and we love Christmas and celebrating the birth of Jesus, and I thought it would be great to get into God's Word and talk about some of these things. But let me ask you this, with Jesus, the Bethlehem manger, the coming of the promised Messiah, what do these things mean to you, David? Hope? If He didn't come at all, then where do we find hope? It kind of brings me back to when I was an atheist, and I thought if there is no God, where do you find hope?

Where do you find value? Where do you find meaning? I think the greatest gift of all mankind was given to us there in Bethlehem that day that He was born, and I can't think of what the world would be like if He never came, if He never satisfied the Old Testament prophecies about His coming, and if He ultimately, Alex, didn't go to the cross and offer up forgiveness for the sins of everyone who's ever breathed. When we talk about the real reason for the season, I think that's the first and foremost place we always have to stop at and just go, thank you, Jesus.

Thank you for coming and being that gift, the ultimate gift that God's ever given, and that ultimate gift that will ever be given. You know, when I was a kid, I loved the song, Away in a Manger, and I saw a meme just recently that showed the manger, the little feed trough, and Jesus in it, and it said, the world's first king-sized bed, because that baby in the manger is the King of Kings. Micah 5-2, written centuries before the birth of Jesus, the Old Testament book of Micah says, But you Bethlehem Ephrathah, though thou be little among the thousands of Judah, yet out of thee shall come forth unto me that is to be ruler in Israel, whose goings forth have been from old, from everlasting." Now, I've been to the outskirts of Bethlehem. It's about five miles south of Jerusalem.

It's a city of Judah that was prophesied. Dave, when we were in Israel, and by the way, we are to go back in March of 26, and we'll keep you posted on that, but sadly, there was a lot of military conflict, and our tour group was not allowed to go into Bethlehem. Dave, isn't it ironic, sadly ironic, that the birthplace of the one called the Prince of Peace, Bethlehem and the whole Middle East, they've not seen a lot of peace, have they?

No, not necessarily through the years. There's been major conflicts ever since the regathering of the Jews to become the nation of Israel in 48, but what was crazy to me was when I was over there, we were allowed to go in, but it was under very strict guidance of IDF who sat at a gate. All of the West Bank is enclosed with a fence around it, the entire thing, and Jews are not allowed inside of that fence. Muslims can come outside for work and shopping and stuff like that, but they've got to go through the same gate, but Jews are not allowed inside of that fence. As a matter of fact, if a Jewish person takes it upon themselves to go inside of there, the IDF says, you're on your own.

If you get kidnapped and they're holding you for ransom, we're not coming in after you because we already forewarned you that we're not going in because Jews are not allowed in there. It was mind-blowing because we went into caves just like Jesus would have been born into. We looked at the valley that the priests would have had to have crossed to come and get the perfect sacrifice for the offerings, and so there was that aspect of it that took your breath away, but then we went to a Christian church that's one of the few—I think it's 97% Muslim, 3% Christian, and 0% Jewish—where Jesus was born. Did you go—and I've seen some footage of it—the Church of the Nativity, where you have to kneel down and it looks like it's in a basement. Did you get to go there? I did, as a matter of fact, and it was very Catholic over there as far as all the visitors and the artwork and everything.

I've only been a Christian for 21 years. I was 30 years an atheist, so I'm still learning some of what's going on, and I must admit, I don't know anything about the Catholic rites, and so I probably didn't do the right thing when I walked in and said—like I said, the whole place just takes your breath away, but the fact that it's behind a fence and Jewish people can't even get to the place where he was born is just mind-blowing when you stop and think about it. And when you go there—and I recommend you to go to Israel, folks, if you have a chance.

It's just so life-changing, and we completely felt safe over there because, well, for one thing, they know that tourism is the main source of revenue, or one of the main sources of revenue. But the Church of the Nativity over there, I was doing some study on that. The site was really held as sacred by an emperor named Hadrian around 135 AD, so we're talking like a hundred years after the life of Jesus. And it was interesting, Hadrian said of that site where the Church of the Nativity now is, said the birth of Jesus took place there in Bethlehem—now listen to these words—quote, the location of which has long been known.

So is that the actual spot? Well, at least in 135 AD they thought it was. But I want to talk about the city of Bethlehem a little bit. We're talking with Dave Glander of Reasons for Hope, a friend and colleague in apologetics. Bethlehem is referenced in something called the Armana Letters, that is a series of about 200 cuneiform writings that were found some years ago, and these Armana Letters reference Bethlehem before the time of Joshua, and there were wars between the Hebrews and the Canaanites. And what's interesting is, God has been so careful, the prophecies about where the Messiah would be born, who the Messiah would be, and Dave, I just think it's precious that, you know, we read in Luke chapter 2, there were in that same country shepherds abiding in the fields.

Okay, get this, folks. The Messiah was born in the city of Bethlehem as Micah 5-2 prophesied, and just outside there, and we did see what was called Shepherd's Field, but that was a place where the temple sheep were bred and raised, the very sheep that would be sacrificed. And history tells us that it was very careful, the shepherds interacted with the priests, and the priests were just OCD about the raising up of the temple sacrificial lambs, and Luke 2, 8-18 tells us that the angels announced to the shepherds the birth of the one who would be called the Good Shepherd, Jesus, the final Lamb of God, who would give his body and blood to take away the sin of the world. David, I'm just moved by the careful, meticulous way that God rolled out his plan of salvation. Well, and Alex, it's not just that. There was, to go kind of a rabbit trail, I know you never take those, so I'm going to take one.

That was complete sarcasm. When we went to the valley where David defeated Goliath, I always thought it kind of came down to a little point, you know, like you come down the mountain, and about the time that your feet hit flat surface, you go back up the mountain, so it wasn't a big deal for them to come down. He was probably, you know, 50 feet away, 30 feet away, 20 feet away, and boom, and he hit Goliath with the stone. Once you see the valley, it's as long as a football field, and I thought to myself, David had to cross that valley thinking the whole time, God, if you're not with me, this isn't going to work.

God, I need you right now. He had time to think about what was happening. He had to process that. Well, the same thing's true about the location of Bethlehem to Jerusalem. When you're in Bethlehem and you're up on a high point, you're overlooking this valley that goes way down, and then it goes way up to the Temple Mount, and you stop and think, you know, they were on foot when they came to get those sheep, and that journey was not easy. It may have even taken them a full day to go, just because of the terrain and everything, and how much thought they had to put into, you know, or at least Alex were hoping that they were putting into the sin that was in their lives that they were wrestling with, that they were about to make atonement for, because it wasn't just, you know, you hop in the car, drive down to Walmart, you go into the meat section, you get your meat, and you know, it wasn't like that. They had to cross, the only logical way to get from Jerusalem down to Bethlehem was through this valley that was very intimidating to look at, and I believe the terrain we're looking at today was very similar to the terrain that would have been there in the time of the Temple when Jesus was there. And so, to think about how much thought they had to, and this is why I think our Judaism roots are so important, because when we understand things like that, shouldn't we, Alex, put that much thought into our sin nature when we're asking for forgiveness, when we're wrestling with our sanctification? We should have to, you know, maybe we should do that. Maybe we should force ourselves to go and walk a valley sometimes, and when we get to the other end, we can make retribution through our prayers and asking of forgiveness. But to actually wrestle that long with it and that hard with it, that really struck me to the core.

Well, it's been said that salvation is a free gift, but that free gift definitely cost Jesus his life. It came out of Christ. Yeah, we've got to take a break. Stay tuned. Alex McFarland, Dave Glander, we wish you a merry Christmas, more about Christmas after this.

Don't go away. Fox News and CNN call Alex McFarland a religion and culture expert. Stay tuned for more of his teaching and commentary after this.

Hi, Alex McFarland here. And this Christmas, I want to say to each and everyone listening, we love you. We thank God for you. We wish you a very joyous, Jesus-filled Christmas. But make this the focal point of your Christmas, that Christ the King resides in your heart and in your life, and you've put your faith in him, and that every day you truly do feel his presence because you've invited him in, and he's a welcome guest in your heart, your life, your soul.

That's the most important part of Christmas, but really it's the most important part of life itself. May God bless you. May God be glorified, and merry Christmas.

He's been called trusted, truthful, and timely. Welcome back to the Alex McFarland Show. Welcome back to the program. Merry Christmas.

Alex McFarland here talking with Dave Glander. And talking about Christmas, Dave, I've got to ask you, before we continue talking about Israel and the land where the Messiah was born, do you have a favorite Christmas song? I know you're musical, and so am I, and I love Christmas music. What's your favorite Christmas song, Dave? You know, that's really hard to pinpoint, but if I had to, the one that gets me most excited was, again, like I said in the first segment, I didn't grow up Christian, so I grew up singing Oh Holy Night and all those songs, and it didn't mean anything to me that they do now, but when I first got saved, I remember George, what's his face, from American Idol was in Atlanta doing a Christmas special, and we got there to hear him sing with soul coming out of his, from his toes, go tell it on the mountain that Jesus, and I remember just, I had just gotten saved, and I was so, like, I remember just being so excited about that song that any time I hear it now, I get excited because it's, go tell it on the mountain that Jesus, go to the top of the mountain and scream it from your lungs that Jesus Christ was born. That probably is the one that gets me most excited. I love that one, too.

What about you? What's your favorite? Yours has got to be a Beach Boys Christmas song, I know. Well, yeah, Little Saint Nick, and by the way, the Beach Boys Christmas album is a great album, but you know, the one that I love, ever since I was a little kid, I've always loved O Holy Night, and it's just such a beautiful melody. By the way, Dave, I don't know if you know this, but the first, true, folks, the first song ever broadcast over radio was the song O Holy Night. And it was like Christmas Eve, I think it was like 1905, the guy's name, I'm trying to think, I think it was something like Feddersen or Fesserden, but there was a guy, and it was on the East Coast, very primitive in the early days of radio, and they finally had a tower and one or two stations. Literally, the first piece of music ever broadcast on radio was the Christmas song O Holy Night, and I just love that. That's amazing.

Well, it is. Before the break, we were talking about the coming of Jesus, and of course Galatians 4, verse 4 says, in the fullness of time, or at just the right time, God sent forth his Son, born of a woman, made under the law, to redeem them that were under the law, that we might receive the adoption of sons. And you know, just that phrase, born of a woman, that was significant, wasn't it?

At a time, very patriarchal culture, when children were, you know, the seed of the man. Dave, why would it say that the Savior was, quote, born of a woman? Well, because that's the fulfillment of Genesis 3.15, the very first mention of the Messiah's coming is Genesis 3.15, when He will, He will crush your head, you will bruise His heel, because it's going to come from the seed of woman, not from the seed of man. And so I think that particular verse is the qualifying verse to be the total fulfillment of the very first prophecy of the coming of the Messiah.

That's where I get that from. And doesn't this connect with Isaiah 7.14, that says, a virgin will conceive and bear a son? So Jesus, born of a virgin, He had no sin nature, right? Well, that's what people don't understand, He had to have been born of a virgin, because if He had been born through the seed of man, then there's no way that He could have been born without sin, and then He would have been born into sin. So He had to have been, it's not, was He born into a virgin? He had to be born into a virgin, because we know that through Adam, death comes, through Adam is where the sin curse comes, not through Eve, it's very specific, it is not through Eve. You know, woman is the carrier and the birther, but it's through the seed of man, through the seed of Adam, that the sin curse comes. So again, it's not, was He born of a virgin? He had to have been, in order to be the fulfillment of the perfect Messiah.

There's no choice about it. The virgin birth is a theological necessity. And I think about this to, you know, and folks, if you're just tuning in, Alex McFarland here, we're talking with Dave Glander, longtime friend and colleague, and our partner in the summer equip camps. By the way, if you like this content, if you, you know, drilling down deeply and getting a good, solid handle on what we believe and the facts that prove Christianity, then the middle schoolers and high schoolers in your life should come to our camps.

Every summer we have hundreds of youth, they make a decision for Christ, a commitment to Jesus, we teach them how to defend the faith. I want to get back to Christmas, but Dave, I was looking over the itinerary that we have next summer, including, oh my goodness, it's going to be the strongest ever, and we're going to be just outside of Richmond at a new camp called Camp...I'm probably going to mispronounce it. Pyeongchotung. Pyeongchotung. Gesundheit. Pyeongchotung. Yeah.

But the website equipretreat.org, and hey, it would be a great Christmas gift even if you have to sign up and maybe let the teens know after the fact. But Dave, between now and next summer, we'll visit online, on air, many times. But folks, we're so excited about the camps. Jesus... Well, I want to go back to Galatians where it said, in the fullness of time, and talk about that for just a second if we can. If Jesus hasn't come yet, then let's just for the sake of argument say He wasn't the expected Messiah. Many people have still missed Him, because there was a fullness of time. You go back to Daniel chapter 9 where the 70 weeks are decreed, and you don't have much of a choice because you go up to the decree of Cyrus with Nehemiah and Ezra to rebuild Jerusalem and the temple, and there's a timeline on there. Well, you and I were speaking earlier, and you were talking about a rabbi from the 10th century who said something.

What was that again? Well, he is said to be... I've got Jewish friends who tell me, Rabbi Rashi, or maybe Rashi, I'm not sure, but he was a commentator on the Talmud, and I'm thinking of a very devout Jewish friend who said, that's the greatest rabbi in history. Well, Rabbi Rashi said, whoever the Messiah is, this Deliverer, this Savior, Messiah, He had to have come after the Babylonian captivity, but before the destruction of Jerusalem in March of 70 AD. Now, Rabbi Rashi lived around 1060, so we're talking like a thousand years ago. Now, think about it, folks.

After the Babylonian captivity, which was, you know, 586 BC, and then before AD 70, help me out here, folks. Was there anybody born in Bethlehem, born of a virgin, miraculous life, spoke in parables, raised the dead, was crucified at Passover, goes from the grave himself? Look, you've got one option. It's the Lord Jesus.

I just wish there was somebody that fit that description, Alex. Yeah, let's... we've got to put our heads together, and maybe we... hey, we've got to take a break, folks. And Jesus is real. If you need help, on my website, AlexMcFarlane.com, there's a tab, What Does God Say?

And there's a little booklet, we've given it out to a quarter million people. What Does God Say About My Relationship to Him? If you need to come to Christ, or you need to come back to Jesus, look, this is real. Go to my website, AlexMcFarlane.com, and just read, just with an open mind, take a look at Jesus.

I assure you, and Dave would concur, it's real. Stay tuned, we've got a break, and we'll be back after this with more about Christmas and Jesus. Fox News and CNN call Alex McFarland a religion and culture expert. Stay tuned for more of his teaching and commentary after this.

Hi, Alex McFarland here. I want to make you aware of two really important speaking engagements in July of 2025. I'll be at the Cove, the Billy Graham Training Center, July 18-20, teaching the book of Job. And then, July 28-August 1, with J. Warner Wallace, a week of apologetics with myself and Jim Wallace.

Go to thecove.org, thecove.org, and I hope to see you next summer. He's been called trusted, truthful, and timely. Welcome back to the Alex McFarland Show. Welcome back to the program. Merry Christmas to one and all. We're talking about Jesus. And Dave, before the break, you and I were talking about the virgin birth, and you said that Jesus had to be born of a virgin, and I agree, because we needed a sinless Savior. And for Jesus to not inherit the guilt of Adam and Eve, we needed a virgin-born sinless Savior. That was a theological necessity, wasn't it? It was, and it was also fulfillment of the prophecy in Genesis 3.15. So I mean, it was in the fulfillment of that, you know, is the thing that we look to, to say, well, here's, if I can take just a second, I'll make this real short and sweet. I've always said, can you prove the virgin birth?

You know, it's kind of a crazy concept. And I said, I think I can, because here's the thing. We know through the Scriptures that Mary was there when Jesus was being beaten, and we know that she was there when he was hanging on the cross and took his last breath.

And so here's the thing. If Jesus wasn't born the way that she knew he was, meaning like she knew he was, she was conceived from the Holy Spirit, then all she had to do was just say, hey, Joseph and I had premarital sex, or this was the milkman's, I don't know if they had milkman back then, but this was the milkman's. She could have just made up a lie to stop her son from being beaten to death through Roman torture. She did not open her mouth because she knew the truth, Alex. There's not a woman that I've ever met who's a mom, or even not even a mom, that would say, you know what, if that were a lie about the virgin birth, I would keep my mouth shut because I wanted to play along with the game. I couldn't break the game, you know?

It wasn't a game. She knew that he was born of a virgin, qualifying him to be the king of kings, which means that she sat there and had to watch that, even though she could have lied to stop it. She knew the truth, she knew who he was, and she didn't say a word. And the fact that a mom sat there and watched her child be beaten to death without saying a word is the ultimate proof that it had to be true, because there's not a sadistic person in this world who would have allowed that.

Does that make sense? That is a great point. I've never thought of that, but you're so right.

Every mother would lay down their life for their child. And do you know, I was reading in Luke 2—okay, this is so fascinating, and oh my goodness, I just wish we had so much more time. But 40 days after Jesus was born, Mary and Joseph went to the temple to dedicate him, consecrate him. They were observant Jews. And it's fascinating.

Read it, folks. It's so moving. In Luke 2, 25 and following, there was an elderly man named Simeon, and it says that he was a righteous man and he had prayed that he would not see death before he had seen the Lord's Christ. So Simeon is there in the temple, Mary and Joseph are bringing in the baby Jesus to be dedicated. Simeon—and this must have been very surprising—but he comes over, he takes up the baby in his arms, and he blessed God, saying, Lord, now let your servant depart in peace, according to your word, for mine eyes have seen your salvation.

This is amazing. Which you have prepared for the face of all people, a light to the Gentiles—that's a quote from Isaiah 49—and the glory of your people Israel. Now by the way, Simeon, including Isaiah, which was written about 750 BC, that the Redeemer of Israel is the light to the Gentiles. Jew and Gentile share the same Savior. It's Jesus. But then he goes on, and in 33-35 he says to Mary, Behold, this child is set for the fallen rise of many in Israel, and a spear will pierce your soul also.

Dave, we're almost out of time, but I want you to comment. I think when Simeon—and the infant Jesus was just 40 days old, they're in the temple—but he speaks over the baby Jesus, but then he says to Mary, This will be a sign, and a sword will pierce your soul also, that the thoughts of many hearts will be exposed. I think that was a prophecy. When Mary saw her son nailed to Calvary's cross, her heart had to break. Oh, I can't imagine the pain that she was going through at that moment. I mean, it's one thing to—I just lost my brother a week ago. The pain of death hurts, as it is. But can you imagine the pain that she was going through?

I mean, Roman crucifixion—God, for whatever reason, Alex, maybe you can answer this in a different episode or something—chose for Jesus to show up at probably the most grotesque time in human history when it came to punishable death. I mean, the Romans were experts at it. They loved it. They wrote about it.

They invented new ways of torture. To sit and watch your son go through that, I can't imagine—I don't even think the text of a sword will pierce your soul or your heart is strong enough. But again, that's what I'm saying. She knew he was conceived as a virgin because she would have made up a lie and said something just to stop hitting him, because he's not God.

He's not the King of Kings. But she knew it. She knew it, Alex. And that's what we get to celebrate to this day, is that that woman knew that.

She knew for—and Joseph had to as well, because otherwise the embarrassment and ridicule that they would have gone through for her to have been pregnant before marriage in that day and age was huge. So again, the angel letting Joseph know as well, and his strength. And that's the strength that we should have through all of this because of that event. Well, and you know, folks, his miraculous first coming is tied to his miraculous resurrection and his miraculous second coming. Folks, just as the baby Jesus was born in the fullness of time, he's going to return. And we may very likely be near the return of Christ, and we want you to be ready. You know, one of the songs you might sing at church this Christmas is that great Isaac Watts song, Joy to the World, the Lord is Come. Now we think about Joy to the World, about the birth of Christ, and that's true. But that song very accurately, very biblically, talks about the second coming too, because it says, No more let sin and sorrow grow, nor thorns infest the ground. He comes to make his blessings flow far as the curse is found. Now how far does the curse of sin go?

Well, all around the planet, right? But there's coming a day, and that trumpet might sound even today, we want you to be ready. He rules the world with truth and grace, and makes the nations prove the glories of his righteousness and the wonders of his love. He loves every person, and that's why Christmas happened.

Isn't that right, Dave? Amen. Amen to that. That's the gift of Christmas right there, man, no matter what else we have or don't have or think we need. I know for me, when I discovered the truth of Christ, it changed my life forever, and if nothing else ever happens from it, my life has been forever changed just because of the truth of the virgin birth and the resurrection of Jesus.

Two scientifically impossible things to explain that only God can accomplish, and He did both of them perfectly. Dave Glander of the Equip Retreats, Reasons for Hope, thank you. And everybody listening, we always say this, Jesus is as close by as a prayer. And you know, Christmas is a glorious time, a wonderful time, but right now, why don't you call out to Jesus?

Maybe you are a Christian, you're a believer, that's great. Thank Him. Commit to live for Him. Commit that in the new year, you will lead a soul to Christ, at least one soul to Christ. But if you need help, as we said on my website on alexmcfarland.com, you'll find so many resources, apologetics, biblical worldview, and if you need to know Christ, then reach out to us.

You can reach me, info at alexmcfarland.com, just I-N-F-O. And we again want to say a very, very Merry Christmas. May God bless you in every way, and together, let's stand bold for Jesus, who gave His life for us. by calling 1-877-Yes-God-1. That's 1-877-Y-E-S-G-O-D-1. Thanks for joining us. We'll see you again on the next edition of The Alex McFarland Show.