There
are only six days left in our preparations for Christmas. Day eighteen has
arrived. The Scriptures for today focus on a very particular and peculiar
prophecy from the prophet Isaiah. A “sign” is given that will come to pass in
such a way that the fulfillment is utterly unmistakable! This “sign” has been
mocked, explained away and ridiculed over the centuries. But, for us who
believe, it is defining point of Christian orthodoxy. Read on to determine more
about this fascinating three part “sign”.
Isaiah 7:10-14
Again the Lord spoke to Ahaz, 11 “Ask
a sign of the Lord your God; let it be deep as Sheol or high as
heaven.” 12 But Ahaz said, “I will not ask, and I will not put
the Lord to the test.” 13 And he[g] said,
“Hear then, O house of David! Is it too little for you to weary men, that you
weary my God also? 14 Therefore the Lord himself will give you
a sign. Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and shall call his
name Immanuel.
The first part of
Isaiah 7 is rarely read. We usually skip
right to the prophetic statement in verse 14. But, to understand this passage,
we must put it in context. Verse one tells us that Ahaz was the king of Judah.
He lived in Judah’s capital which was Jerusalem. Chapter 7 goes on to tell us
that Israel, the northern part of the kingdom, and Syria had made an alliance.
Between 734 and 732 BC, they waged war with Judah (2 Kings 16:5–18; 2
Chronicles 28:16–21). Here in chapter 7, this unholy alliance was threatening
to overtake Jerusalem and depose Ahaz. They were hoping to dethrone him and
replace him with a king of their own. The Lord spoke to Isaiah saying that this
plan to dethrone the Davidic king would not come to pass (Isaiah 7:7), despite
the rebellion of the king. God sent Isaiah and his son named Shear-Jashub, which means “a remnant will remain.” In
taking his son, Isaiah was not only obeying God, he was presenting Ahab with a
living prophecy. After the fall of Jerusalem, a small remnant would be
reestablished in Jerusalem.
But, God had more to say to Ahaz.
Isaiah instructed the unfaithful king to ask for a sign – from the highest
heights to the lowest depths. Essentially, Ahaz could ask for any sign he
wanted, for God commands everything, whether high or low! Rather than put his
trust in God, Ahaz feigns piety and religiosity. He said, “I will not put the Lord to the test.” This
is reminiscent of Jesus’ answer to Satan during his temptation in the
wilderness (Matthew 4:7). But Ahaz was not answering righteously. He was afraid
that if God offered him a sign, he would be bound to believe it. Isaiah then
offered Ahaz a stern rebuke, claiming that the king is “trying the patience of God.” So,
what does God do? Verse 14 tells us, “Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign: The
virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and will call him Immanuel.”
While there are several possibilities
for fulfillments of this prophecy during the time of Ahaz, the most important
fulfillment was yet to come. We learn from this passage that those “in charge”
are unfaithful and do not trust God as their deliverer. That sounds strangely
similar to wicked King Herod and the unfaithful religious leaders before and
during the earthly life of Jesus. They thoroughly rejected Jesus as being the
Messiah and God’s deliver. God calls the leaders back to faithfulness, but they
balk. Matthew 3:7-8 contains just such a call to repentance from John the
Baptist to the Pharisees. “But when he (John) saw many of the Pharisees and
Sadducees coming to where he was baptizing, he said to them: ‘You brood of
vipers! Who warned you to flee from the coming wrath? Produce fruit
in keeping with repentance.’” Like
King Ahaz, they would not listen to this call to trust the Lord. So, God offers
an unusual and unforgettable sign. A virgin will become pregnant and have
a son who will be named Immanuel which means “God with us.” Ahaz would ignore the blessing of God’s Presence as
His “refuge and strength” and
instead, he would forge an alliance with the Assyrians. This is parallel to
Herod and the religious leaders of Jesus’ day. They aligned themselves, not
with God, but with Rome! In Matthew 19:15, the Chief Priests cry out, “We have no king
but Caesar.” Only 150 years after Ahaz rejected God, God’s judgment
would fall on Jerusalem. In 586 BC, The Davidic King would be deposed and
Solomon’s Temple would be destroyed. Likewise, only 40 years after Jesus, God’s
judgment fell on Jerusalem and Herod’s Temple was destroyed. But out of the
dust and decay, a New Temple stood. Jesus said, “Destroy
this temple, and I will raise it again in three days” (John 2:19). Our of the carnage of God’s righteous
judgment, though Ahaz was gone and Herod was no more, the Davidic King, Jesus,
would be on the throne of God’s kingdom forever! Indeed Immanuel, born of a
virgin, had come into the world. And, a faithful remnant, the Church of Jesus,
would remain!
Luke 1:28-36
In the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent from God to
a city of Galilee named Nazareth, 27 to a virgin betrothed
to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David. And the virgin's
name was Mary. 28 And he came to her and said, “Greetings, O
favored one, the Lord is with you!”[c] 29 But
she was greatly troubled at the saying, and tried to discern what sort of
greeting this might be. 30 And the angel said to her, “Do not
be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. 31 And
behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall call his
name Jesus. 32 He will be great and will be called the Son of
the Most High. And the Lord God will give to him the throne of his father
David, 33 and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever,
and of his kingdom there will be no end.” 34 And Mary said to
the angel, “How will this be, since I am a virgin?” 35 And the
angel answered her, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the
Most High will overshadow you; therefore the child to be born will be called
holy—the Son of God. 36 And behold, your relative Elizabeth in
her old age has also conceived a son, and this is the sixth month with her who
was called barren. 37 For nothing will be impossible with God.”
38 And Mary said, “Behold, I am the servant[f] of the
Lord; let it be to me according to your word.” And the angel departed from her.
Luke 1:26-28 served as our Gospel
reading in a previous Advent study. So, rather than tread ground already
covered, let’s focus on this passage as a fulfillment of the “sign” prophesied
in Isaiah 7:14. To fulfill this sign, three things must occur. A virgin must
conceive. She must give birth to a son. And, this son must be called “Immanuel”
which means, “God with us.”
First, a virgin must conceive. In
these nine verses of Luke 1, we hear that Mary is a virgin three times. Verse
twenty-seven has two occurrences. God sent Gabriel…“to a virgin pledged to be married
to a man named Joseph, a descendant of David. The virgin’s name was
Mary.” In verse twenty-seven, Mary is described as a virgin. In
verse thirty-four, Mary declares that she is a virgin. After being told by the
angel what will happen to her, she replied, “How will this be,” Mary asked the angel, “since I am
a virgin?” Matthew’s account also gives evidence to Mary’s
status as a maiden. Chapter one, verse one says, “This is how the birth of Jesus the Messiah
came about: His mother Mary was pledged to be married to Joseph, but before
they came together, she was found to be pregnant through the Holy Spirit.”
Before Mary and Joseph had come together in marriage, she was with
child. This was not because of a premarital lapse, but rather because Mary had
conceived through the Holy Spirit. Further, Matthew 1:25 declares, “But he did not
consummate their marriage before she gave birth...” Most men would
have a problem marrying a pregnant fiancé whose child was not theirs! But,
Joseph did take Mary to be his wife, despite her condition. Why did he do it? “…an angel of
the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, “Joseph son of David, do not be
afraid to take Mary home as your wife, because what is conceived in her is from
the Holy Spirit” (Matthew 1:20). Joseph was not dishonored by this
arrangement because Mary was still a virgin. Without question, she fulfills the
first requirement of Isaiah 7:14. The young woman had to be a virgin. Mary was
a virgin!
The second requirement was that the
virgin must conceive and bear a son. In
Luke 1:31, the angel Gabriel tells Mary, “You will conceive and give birth to a son…” This
language is identical to that of Isaiah 7:14. The child is described as the “Son of
the Most High, (vs. 32)” and the “Son of God” (vs. 35). Matthew 1:21
reiterates, “She
will give birth to a son.” Verse 25 states, “until she gave birth to a son.” Luke
2:7 tells us that, "...she gave birth
to her firstborn, a son, and wrapped him in clothes..." The Apostle
Paul also contributes to our evidence. Galatians 4:4 states, “But when the
set time had fully come, God sent his Son, born of a woman.” Mary,
the virgin, gave to a son. The first two requirements of Isaiah 7:14 are
fulfilled. What about the third?
The third requirement is that they, “will call him
Immanuel.” According to Luke and Matthew, when the son was born,
Mary and Joseph named Him Jesus. Oh well, we got two out of three. That’s
pretty good. But, wait just a minute. The name Immanuel means “God with us.”
This is temple language – speaking of the dwelling of God with men. As we
mentioned, it was Jesus who said, “Destroy this temple, and
I will raise it again in three days” (John
2:19). As the New Covenant Temple, Jesus didn’t just represent the Presence of
God to His people; He embodied the Presence of God! John 1:14 states, “The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us.” The Greek word for “dwelling”
is tabernacle. Jesus became flesh and “tabernacled” with us. So, the name
Immanuel is more than just a proper name, it is a deep theological truth.
Immanuel, which means “God with us” is actualized in the coming of Jesus. God
became flesh and is indeed with us! Jesus is the fulfillment of the last
requirement. He fulfills them all.
Matthew 1:22-23 lays it out rather
succinctly. “All
this took place to fulfill what the Lord had said through the prophet: “The virgin
will conceive and give birth to a son, and they will call him
Immanuel” (which means “God with us”).
Unlike Ahaz, Herod, and the Religious
Leaders of Jesus’ day, may we trust the Word of God when it tells us the most
unbelievable things! May your 18th day of Advent be full of anticipation.
We will soon celebrate the day a virgin gave birth to a son whose
name is Immanuel! Could that really happen? You had better believe it!!
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