Christmas 2018 Born of a Virgin
Hello this is Eric again. A friend asked me, “How can I know that the Bible is true?” So, I am taking some time to answer my friends question and to do this I am looking at one of the evidences the Bible gives to answer this question, Prophecy.
(Read the previous blog here)
Prophecy is like Ogre’s is like Onion’s is like Parfait. OK, I like the movie ‘Shrek’. In one scene the sidekick, Donkey, is talking with the Ogre, Shrek, about Shrek's personality. Shrek says that Ogre’s are like onion’s—they have layers. Donkey, being the chiding snarky friend he is, says that he likes parfait—and it has layers. Their discussion is comical, but helps to describe prophecy, because it has layers too.
Sometimes a prophetic word from God is for the near future. Sometimes for a far away time, and sometimes the prophecy is for the end of time; and sometimes it may be more than just one. I like to think about prophecy as God speaking in His native language. God isn’t bound by time. He is eternal. When He speaks it isn’t bound by time. His word being powerful, and God’s knowledge of all things means that when He speaks it can have affect throughout time.
The prophecy we are going to look at today is one of those prophecies that has layers. The prophecy is given at a time when Judah is being threatened by by two strong foreign kings, and there is concern that Judah won’t survive this. Isaiah comes and tells King Ahaz that he doesn’t need to worry, even though these two forces have plotted your ruin, God will deal with them. Isaiah gives the prophecy to Ahaz, and then God did something; Isaiah 7:10-11,
“Again the Lord spoke to Ahaz, ‘Ask the Lord your God for a sign, whether in the deepest depths or in the highest heights.”
Now, Ahaz did not do what was pleasing in the eyes of the Lord (2 Kings 16) and here again, we see him disobey God. Isaiah 7:12,
“But Ahaz said, ‘I will not ask; I will not put the Lord to the test.’”
Another missed opportunity for a King of Israel, but not a missed opportunity for God.
“Then Isaiah said, ‘Listen well, you royal family of David! Isn’t it enough to exhaust human patience? Must you exhaust the patience of my God as well? All right then, the Lord himself will give you the sign. Look! The virgin will conceive a child! She will give birth to a son and will call him Immanuel (which means ‘God is with us’). By the time this child is old enough to choose what is right and reject what is wrong, he will be eating yogurt and honey. For before the child is that old, the lands of the two kings you fear so much will both be deserted.’”
God Himself will give you a sign. LOOK! Pay-Attention! Yes, You! The Virgin will be with Child…
Now, as we read the rest of this passage, we see that this child will be born, and by the time the child is old enough to eat on it’s own, the lands of these two kings will be deserted. (BTW, that’s exactly what happened. Within a few years the nations who threatened Judah were gone.)
OK, so what does this have to do with Christmas? Layers, remember. When have you heard about the Virgin being with Child before? This prophecy had a near-future application dealing with the situation that Judah was in, but God was going to do something amazing—He had given Ahaz the opportunity to ask for anything—and since Ahaz wouldn’t…God chose for him and this prophecy would have a far away time affect.
Matthew 1:18 says,
“This is how Jesus the Messiah was born. His mother, Mary, was engaged to be married to Joseph. But before the marriage took place, while she was still a virgin, she became pregnant through the power of the Holy Spirit.”
I’m no dummy. I’ve worked with people for a long time now, and I know that if a girl comes up to her boyfriend and says, “Honey, I’m pregnant, and it’s from God…” She’s lying. Joseph knew this too. You see, Mary had just been gone for three months visiting her cousin Elizabeth—who was miraculously pregnant—and then she had come back and told Joseph that her pregnancy was from God. Joseph’s response (vs. 19),
“Joseph, to whom she was engaged, was a righteous man and did not want to disgrace her publicly, so he decided to break the engagement quietly.”
Did you know that this kind of relational turmoil was at the heart of the Christmas story? Can you imagine the hurt and pain here? Joseph and Mary were betrothed—a step between engagement and marriage—and in order to break up this would require a divorce. You see, Joseph would have all ready begun to build a home and get things ready for their new family—and now, with this revelation…Adultery is punishable by death. Joseph decided to divorce her quietly, not crush her, because he wanted to do what was right by God and by Mary.
Look at what happens next (vs. 20-23),
As he considered this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream. “Joseph, son of David,” the angel said, “do not be afraid to take Mary as your wife. For the child within her was conceived by the Holy Spirit. And she will have a son, and you are to name him Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins.” All of this occurred to fulfill the Lord’s message through his prophet: “Look! The virgin will conceive a child! She will give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel, which means ‘God is with us.”
Remember that sign from Isaiah 7, well, here is the other layer! The Virgin will be with child! Joseph, this is the one time that this is true—Mary isn’t lying. This is the fulfillment of the prophecy of God--LOOK! Your son, He will be the Rescuer, the Messiah that all y’all have been waiting for; and His name will be Jesus—because He will save His people from their sins.
Incredible! But how do we know that this is true? Walk with me for a moment… If you were in Joseph’s shoes what would it take for you to believe Mary? Look at what Joseph did (vs. 24-25),
“When Joseph woke up, he did as the angel of the Lord commanded and took Mary as his wife. But he did not have sexual relations with her until her son was born. And Joseph named him Jesus.”
Let’s be honest, Joseph was the one who seemed like he had the most to lose here, and if he was willing to believe and trust God’s prophetic word, we certainly can!
Do you want to walk on this journey with us?
Subscribe here
(Read the previous blog here)
Prophecy is like Ogre’s is like Onion’s is like Parfait. OK, I like the movie ‘Shrek’. In one scene the sidekick, Donkey, is talking with the Ogre, Shrek, about Shrek's personality. Shrek says that Ogre’s are like onion’s—they have layers. Donkey, being the chiding snarky friend he is, says that he likes parfait—and it has layers. Their discussion is comical, but helps to describe prophecy, because it has layers too.
Sometimes a prophetic word from God is for the near future. Sometimes for a far away time, and sometimes the prophecy is for the end of time; and sometimes it may be more than just one. I like to think about prophecy as God speaking in His native language. God isn’t bound by time. He is eternal. When He speaks it isn’t bound by time. His word being powerful, and God’s knowledge of all things means that when He speaks it can have affect throughout time.
The prophecy we are going to look at today is one of those prophecies that has layers. The prophecy is given at a time when Judah is being threatened by by two strong foreign kings, and there is concern that Judah won’t survive this. Isaiah comes and tells King Ahaz that he doesn’t need to worry, even though these two forces have plotted your ruin, God will deal with them. Isaiah gives the prophecy to Ahaz, and then God did something; Isaiah 7:10-11,
“Again the Lord spoke to Ahaz, ‘Ask the Lord your God for a sign, whether in the deepest depths or in the highest heights.”
Now, Ahaz did not do what was pleasing in the eyes of the Lord (2 Kings 16) and here again, we see him disobey God. Isaiah 7:12,
“But Ahaz said, ‘I will not ask; I will not put the Lord to the test.’”
Another missed opportunity for a King of Israel, but not a missed opportunity for God.
“Then Isaiah said, ‘Listen well, you royal family of David! Isn’t it enough to exhaust human patience? Must you exhaust the patience of my God as well? All right then, the Lord himself will give you the sign. Look! The virgin will conceive a child! She will give birth to a son and will call him Immanuel (which means ‘God is with us’). By the time this child is old enough to choose what is right and reject what is wrong, he will be eating yogurt and honey. For before the child is that old, the lands of the two kings you fear so much will both be deserted.’”
God Himself will give you a sign. LOOK! Pay-Attention! Yes, You! The Virgin will be with Child…
Now, as we read the rest of this passage, we see that this child will be born, and by the time the child is old enough to eat on it’s own, the lands of these two kings will be deserted. (BTW, that’s exactly what happened. Within a few years the nations who threatened Judah were gone.)
OK, so what does this have to do with Christmas? Layers, remember. When have you heard about the Virgin being with Child before? This prophecy had a near-future application dealing with the situation that Judah was in, but God was going to do something amazing—He had given Ahaz the opportunity to ask for anything—and since Ahaz wouldn’t…God chose for him and this prophecy would have a far away time affect.
Matthew 1:18 says,
“This is how Jesus the Messiah was born. His mother, Mary, was engaged to be married to Joseph. But before the marriage took place, while she was still a virgin, she became pregnant through the power of the Holy Spirit.”
I’m no dummy. I’ve worked with people for a long time now, and I know that if a girl comes up to her boyfriend and says, “Honey, I’m pregnant, and it’s from God…” She’s lying. Joseph knew this too. You see, Mary had just been gone for three months visiting her cousin Elizabeth—who was miraculously pregnant—and then she had come back and told Joseph that her pregnancy was from God. Joseph’s response (vs. 19),
“Joseph, to whom she was engaged, was a righteous man and did not want to disgrace her publicly, so he decided to break the engagement quietly.”
Did you know that this kind of relational turmoil was at the heart of the Christmas story? Can you imagine the hurt and pain here? Joseph and Mary were betrothed—a step between engagement and marriage—and in order to break up this would require a divorce. You see, Joseph would have all ready begun to build a home and get things ready for their new family—and now, with this revelation…Adultery is punishable by death. Joseph decided to divorce her quietly, not crush her, because he wanted to do what was right by God and by Mary.
Look at what happens next (vs. 20-23),
As he considered this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream. “Joseph, son of David,” the angel said, “do not be afraid to take Mary as your wife. For the child within her was conceived by the Holy Spirit. And she will have a son, and you are to name him Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins.” All of this occurred to fulfill the Lord’s message through his prophet: “Look! The virgin will conceive a child! She will give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel, which means ‘God is with us.”
Remember that sign from Isaiah 7, well, here is the other layer! The Virgin will be with child! Joseph, this is the one time that this is true—Mary isn’t lying. This is the fulfillment of the prophecy of God--LOOK! Your son, He will be the Rescuer, the Messiah that all y’all have been waiting for; and His name will be Jesus—because He will save His people from their sins.
Incredible! But how do we know that this is true? Walk with me for a moment… If you were in Joseph’s shoes what would it take for you to believe Mary? Look at what Joseph did (vs. 24-25),
“When Joseph woke up, he did as the angel of the Lord commanded and took Mary as his wife. But he did not have sexual relations with her until her son was born. And Joseph named him Jesus.”
Let’s be honest, Joseph was the one who seemed like he had the most to lose here, and if he was willing to believe and trust God’s prophetic word, we certainly can!
Do you want to walk on this journey with us?
Subscribe here
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