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“And the Virgin Shall Be With Child”

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As we move towards Christmas, we are likely to read and reflect on the Christmas story and the details recounted in Matthew 1-2 and Luke 1-2. In these chapters, we see how Jesus is the fulfillment of various Old Testament prophecies, with this a special feature of Matthew, as he repeatedly notes that things happened to fulfill Scripture. Closer examination of many of the Old Testament passages that Matthew quotes shows that they were not always known as predictions of the Messiah in the Old Testament. One of those is Isaiah 7:14, which is famously quoted in Matthew 1:23, as Matthew notes, after describing the angel appearing to Joseph to tell him to take Mary as his wife because the baby is from the Holy Spirit, that “All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had spoken by the prophet: ‘Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and they shall call his name Immanuel’ (which means, God with us).” (Matthew 1:22-24). The statement in the book of Isaiah does not directly say that this will be what will happen when the Messiah comes. These words come in the context of the Syro-Ephraimitic war (when Syria and Israel battled against Assyria, but Judah refused to join the alliance) around 735 BC, when King Ahaz ruled over the Judah and it was being threatened by the kings of Israel and Syria. Ahaz was faithless, and when God asked for him to ask for a sign, he refused – with God then declaring through the prophet that He would give Ahaz a sign, as a young woman, one who had not born a child yet, would have a child as a sign to show that God was with the people. This seems to be a child born during this time, as it says in verses 15 and 16 that before this child grows up to know right from wrong, the two kings will be defeated (but the land will be laid waste). If this child was born shortly after the prophecy was given, why in the world is it then quoted in Matthew?

A number of years ago, I did more research into this passage and found some interesting mysteries that point to another fulfillment of these words. While the child seems to be born in this time period, there is also something mysterious in these words, as it is not clear who this child is exactly; there is great debate (some say it is the king’s child, others that it is the prophet’s child) and no consensus has ever been reached, in large part because the text never tells us who this child is. In addition, the text does not explicitly link this child with the figure described in Isaiah 9, who is clearly the Messiah, but there seems to be some link between the two since Isaiah 7 is directed towards a descendant of King David and other features of link the texts. There also seems to be a reference to the fact that this child will choose what is right and reject what is wrong (Isaiah 7:15), unlike the people of Israel; he seems to be an ideal figure like that found in Isaiah 9. Moreover, there is something odd in the way that the woman who will have a child is described, as an uncommon word is used to describe her rather than the more common term for woman. Therefore, there is something mysterious in the birth that seems to point forward, to point beyond this child to a figure who will bring ultimate peace. In the birth of Jesus, we see the ultimate fulfillment of this prediction.

This mysterious prediction is recalled in the birth of Jesus, with his birth going a step further in that it is not just a young girl but a virgin who is having a child – something that is impossible! Like this other child, Jesus is a sign both of hope but also of judgment coming, that God will put an end to the chaos that rules the day. But above all, he is a sign of hope, that God is at work and remembers his people.

Therefore, one impossible and mysterious thing (the birth of Jesus) is a sign that what seems impossible (peace on earth, God’s good will towards those in whom he is well pleased because they are forgiven) is possible. That the virgin was with child should be a sign of hope for us, that God is doing something even when we cannot see it, and even when it seems impossible. God is with us in Jesus, the child who saves us from our sins. This same Jesus tells us disciples in the concluding words of the Gospel of Matthew that he will be with them (and us!) always, even to the end of the age. May that truth of Jesus being with us even in the midst of the chaos of our world help us to have a Merry Christmas.

Questions about Bible or theology, e-mail them to Pastor Brian at Theology@wearefaith.org. You can also subscribe by filling out the info on the right side.

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