A series on Isaiah
9:6 – The Child of Prophecy
– Son of God
(Click on the
link below to read the verses.)
Isaiah 7:1-17;
Matthew 1:18-25
[Jesus was a
child of prophecy. The Christmas story in the Bible was predicted in many Old Testament
prophecies but the centerpiece of these is Isaiah 9:6. It was written nearly
six hundred years before Jesus’ birth. In this series we’re going to look at
the meaning and implications of this amazing prophecy.]
Another image of Christmas is the surreal picture of the baby Jesus lying
in a manger with Joseph and Mary gazing at him. A bright star shines overhead.
Close by are some shepherds. Three wise men are kneeling and a few barn animals
graze nearby. It all looks so very peaceful.
However, life was anything but peaceful or idyllic during Isaiah’s
ministry as the Lord’s prophet. Assyria was on a murderous rampage moving
westward and conquering any nation that dared to get in their way… including
Israel and Aram.
To protect themselves, King Rezin of Aram and King Remaliah of
Israel, formed an alliance. Then they devised a plan to coerce King Ahaz of Judah
to join with them. But their real plan was to dismantle Judah and put their own
puppet king in place of Ahaz.
Despite Isaiah telling him that the Sovereign Lord had promised that
their plan would fail, Ahaz trembled in fear. He didn’t have faith in the Lord.
Because of this, he decided to take things into his own hands by making an
alliance with Assyria against Israel and Aram. It’s complicated!
But the Lord gave Ahaz a sign to confirm his promise of protection.
14 Therefore the Lord himself will give you a
sign: The virgin will conceive and give birth to a
son, and will call him Immanuel. NIV
Fast forward over 700 years later. Mary, a teenage
girl was engaged to Joseph. But he learned that she was pregnant so he planned
to divorce her quietly. However, an angel of the Lord appeared to him and told
him that the baby was miraculously conceived by the Holy Spirit. Also, that she
would have a son who was to be named Jesus because he would “save his people from their sins”.
22 All this took place to fulfill what the Lord
had said through the prophet: 23 “The virgin will
conceive and give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel” (which
means “God with us”). NIV
Truth be known, it wasn’t peaceful or idyllic for
Joseph or Mary. In fact, it must have been very stressful! After all, Mary
eventually went to her cousin Elizabeth’s to avoid the rumors and shame of
being pregnant. And Joseph’s carpentry business could very easily have been
hurt by the apparent illicit affair. It’s complicated!
In an effort to make it less complicated, John
explained it like this.
14 The Word became flesh and made his dwelling
among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the one and only Son, who
came from the Father, full of grace and truth. NIV
Jesus, the Son of Man and the Son of God doesn’t
promise peace, but he does give us peace in the midst of chaos. Life is
complicated, but the Sovereign Lord is always with us.
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