Saturday, December 4, 2010
Isaiah 7:10-14 Moreover the LORD spoke again to Ahaz, saying, "Ask a sign for yourself from the LORD your God; ask it either in the depth or in the height above." But Ahaz said, "I will not ask, nor will I test the LORD!" Then he said, "Hear now, O house of David! Is it a small thing for you to weary men, but will you weary my God also? "Therefore the Lord Himself will give you a sign: Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a Son, and shall call His name Immanuel."
A SIGN FOR BELIEVERS GIVEN IN THE FACE OF UNBELIEF
This prophecy of Immanuel was not given in a vacuum. There were events surrounding this momentous occasion. The Lord had promised that the Messiah would come from the tribe of Judah. At times the very existence of what became the nation of Judah was in doubt because of attacks from their enemies. At the time of our text the nation of Syria was bearing down on them, but the Lord in His mercy told King Ahaz through the prophet Isaiah that Judah would be given the victory. The accompanying sign was the prophecy of the virgin birth.
This sign is still relevant in the midst of an unbelieving world. It is a sign that is required to be received by faith. Even though many people will trot out to church December 24-25, there is still a great deal of unbelief toward Jesus Christ, the Son of God. In fact, an interesting poll to take among your co-workers or family members would be to ask whether or not they believe that Jesus was truly born of a virgin. There are some major Christian denominations and even some Lutherans that would say, "No, that is just a legend or a myth. Of course, Jesus had an earthly father."
We must closely guard this doctrine of the virgin birth even though it is under assault. Your very salvation depends upon this fact. Jesus needed to be both true and God and true man in order to procure our salvation. Being true Man He was born under the Law. Being true God He lived that life perfectly for us. Being true Man He would die. Because He was also true God that death was a perfect sacrifice.
Unfortunately, many, many people say it makes no sense that Jesus was born without a human father. It's impossible. By faith, we believe however, that nothing is impossible for God. The birth of Jesus is the true Christmas miracle.
