The Sign

Isaiah 7:14 Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign: The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and will call him Immanuel. 
&
Luke 1:26-33 In the sixth month, God sent the angel Gabriel to Nazareth, a town in Galilee, 27 to a virgin pledged to be married to a man named Joseph, a descendant of David. The virgin's name was Mary. 28 The angel went to her and said, “Greetings, you who are highly favored! The Lord is with you.” 29 Mary was greatly troubled at his words and wondered what kind of greeting this might be. 30 But the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary, you have found favor with God. 31 You will be with child and give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus. 32 He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his father David, 33 and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever; his kingdom will never end.”
 
PERHAPS this is one of the most identified prophecies and fulfillment of Jesus’ life as truly man. “Immanuel” is “God becomes man.” “Jesus” is “Savior, who is the Son of God.” Unbelieving Jews and other detractors attempt to deny these verses’ true meaning. They quickly reject Jesus’ birth of a virgin. Many even deny he was born, saying he was just a spirit who went about in the appearance of a man. Even many who say they believe in Jesus and call themselves “Christians” say the virgin birth as only a myth. But those lies and false interpretations fall far short of the evidence. These are the deceits of cloaked hearts and closed minds. Let’s always be in prayer we trust Scripture and the Spirit will open more eyes to see Isaiah’s prophecy is fulfilled in Jesus’ virgin birth.
   Indeed, we must see it. This is God’s redemptive story. The prophetic voice and the virgin birth are essential to Christian truth that Jesus is God’s Savior of mankind. If Jesus were born through a natural man-woman union, he would have inherited Adam’s sin nature as we all do. In sin he would not have qualified to be the perfect sacrificial lamb God required for the forgiveness of our sins. It is imperative you confess Jesus as Peter did: “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.” (Matthew 16:16) The Son of God is not a son born of a man. “Immanuel” (or some write it “Emmanuel”) identifies the child born of Mary possessed God’s character. Jesus was “holy, holy, holy” – righteous in every way as a human because he is from God; he is God; and he is of God: John 10:30 “I and the Father are one.”
   Isaiah’s prophecy came because a king lacked faith. King Ahaz rejected God’s desire to give him a sign of God’s presence to protect Judah on the verge of destruction. To encourage Ahaz, God instructed Isaiah to tell Ahaz to ask for a sign from God. The LORD wanted Ahaz to know he was with Judah. But the king refused. Isaiah 7:12 “I will not ask; I will not put the Lord to the test.”  Ahaz faith was too small to do as the LORD commanded. He did not trust God to give a true sign to him.
   In response, God gave a sign to the Jews and to the world. God spoke it. God fulfilled it. His language is clear and precise. Mary, taught in God’s ways, would know the angel’s words were true. She is the chosen woman to be God’s virgin to keep his promise.
   Let’s not be as Ahaz, rejecting God’s Word and God’s promises. Let’s know and believe the power of God’s Word into our lives. The Bible teaches of many signs God has given to us to bring us into a deeper faith relationship with him. Your life, too, is to be a sign of Immanuel born of a virgin, so you can tell how the cross is the sign of eternal salvation.
 
Prayer: Father in heaven, we rejoice in the many signs in your Word, so we know the Savior. Help us be a sign of life to all around us. Amen.