Isaiah 7:14
The story of the Virgin birth of Jesus Christ is crucial to the purity of Christianity. His divine birth assured that He would not be born with the nature to sin of an earthly father, thus doomed to suffer for those sins. His arrival was also a herald of “Immanuel”, meaning in Hebrew, “God with us”. Jesus was the literal appearance of God in human flesh, living and dwelling among men.
What a joyous occasion this must have been! For a Hebrew, the thought that God would descend from heaven and clothe Himself in humanity had to be almost overwhelming. Isaiah’s prophecy of a virgin conception is the token mention of this occasion by God until the angel Gabriel reminds Joseph of this prophecy, some 750 years later (Matthew 1:23), but we can be assured that it was the single most monumental prophecy of Christ’s arrival.
The prophecy is actually given as a sign to the house of David that God is faithful to do what He says that He will do. Though it would take over 7 centuries for the prophecy to be fulfilled, it was to be used as a reminder that God did not forget what He promised to His people. When Mary claimed to be carrying the Son of God by the Holy Ghost, she was taking the people back to this promise and claiming that God had indeed arrived.
It must have been a daily struggle for young Mary to face her community of family and friends. Who would possibly believe her when she explained to them that the baby that she was carrying was neither Joseph’s nor any other man’s? By invoking the power of Isaiah 7:14, she was involving God in her pregnancy, a charge that neither she nor anyone else could take lightly.
It is for this cause that Jesus faced scrutiny in His life, particularly from the Pharisees, who seemed to take pleasure in reminding Him of the circumstances surrounding His birth. Jesus tells them that, “I speak that which I have seen with my Father: and ye do that which ye have seen with your father” (John 8:38). They take Jesus to have been speaking of His earthly father Joseph, so they respond with, “We be not born of fornication” (John 8:41), an obvious jab at the widely held consensus that Jesus was born of a pre-marital affair between Joseph and Mary. Of course this charge was bogus, but a lie does not need to contain any truth in order to be told.
If Christ could face such contradiction against Himself and His heritage, and still maintain His identity as the beloved Son, surely we can take a lesson from the Master. Remember, Jesus did say “learn of me” (Matthew 11:29). We can learn a lot from Jesus’ dealings with other people, both in what He said and in how He responded. He was confident as to who He was and where He was from, and He never allowed other people’s opinions and feelings to persuade Him in any way. May we be more like our Lord Jesus today, knowing that we are what the Bible says that we are, free from the chains of the words of those around us.
Go in peace!
The story of the Virgin birth of Jesus Christ is crucial to the purity of Christianity. His divine birth assured that He would not be born with the nature to sin of an earthly father, thus doomed to suffer for those sins. His arrival was also a herald of “Immanuel”, meaning in Hebrew, “God with us”. Jesus was the literal appearance of God in human flesh, living and dwelling among men.
What a joyous occasion this must have been! For a Hebrew, the thought that God would descend from heaven and clothe Himself in humanity had to be almost overwhelming. Isaiah’s prophecy of a virgin conception is the token mention of this occasion by God until the angel Gabriel reminds Joseph of this prophecy, some 750 years later (Matthew 1:23), but we can be assured that it was the single most monumental prophecy of Christ’s arrival.
The prophecy is actually given as a sign to the house of David that God is faithful to do what He says that He will do. Though it would take over 7 centuries for the prophecy to be fulfilled, it was to be used as a reminder that God did not forget what He promised to His people. When Mary claimed to be carrying the Son of God by the Holy Ghost, she was taking the people back to this promise and claiming that God had indeed arrived.
It must have been a daily struggle for young Mary to face her community of family and friends. Who would possibly believe her when she explained to them that the baby that she was carrying was neither Joseph’s nor any other man’s? By invoking the power of Isaiah 7:14, she was involving God in her pregnancy, a charge that neither she nor anyone else could take lightly.
It is for this cause that Jesus faced scrutiny in His life, particularly from the Pharisees, who seemed to take pleasure in reminding Him of the circumstances surrounding His birth. Jesus tells them that, “I speak that which I have seen with my Father: and ye do that which ye have seen with your father” (John 8:38). They take Jesus to have been speaking of His earthly father Joseph, so they respond with, “We be not born of fornication” (John 8:41), an obvious jab at the widely held consensus that Jesus was born of a pre-marital affair between Joseph and Mary. Of course this charge was bogus, but a lie does not need to contain any truth in order to be told.
If Christ could face such contradiction against Himself and His heritage, and still maintain His identity as the beloved Son, surely we can take a lesson from the Master. Remember, Jesus did say “learn of me” (Matthew 11:29). We can learn a lot from Jesus’ dealings with other people, both in what He said and in how He responded. He was confident as to who He was and where He was from, and He never allowed other people’s opinions and feelings to persuade Him in any way. May we be more like our Lord Jesus today, knowing that we are what the Bible says that we are, free from the chains of the words of those around us.
Go in peace!
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