Matthew 1:22-23
All this took place to fulfill what had been spoken by the Lord through the prophet: “Look, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and they shall name him Emmanuel,” which means, “God is with us.”
At various points throughout Matthew’s gospel, he will quote portions of what we call the Old Testament but might better be called simply the Scriptures – keeping in mind there was no “New Testament” at the time Matthew wrote – in order to show how Jesus is the fulfillment of prophecies and promises made to Israel. In this case, he quotes a portion of Isaiah 7: “the Lord himself will give you a sign. Look, the young woman is with child and shall bear a son, and shall name him Immanuel.” The back-story of these promises is almost always helpful to keep in mind.
In this case, this is a portion of a larger prophecy of salvation that Isaiah is delivering to King Ahaz of Judah, who is soon to be attacked by the combined forces of Syria and Israel (which sounds odd, but Judah, the southern kingdom, and Israel, the northern kingdom, didn’t always get along). The problem was that Syria and Israel wanted to rebel against the Assyrian Empire, who controlled all of them, and Judah didn’t want to join in, so they were going to attack Jerusalem, sack Ahaz, and put someone in his place that would join their revolt.
So Isaiah comes to tell Ahaz not to fear (always a signal of good news) because the Lord would deliver Judah. But Ahaz seems reluctant to believe Isaiah – perhaps because Ahaz has already appealed to the Assyrian King Tiglath-Pileser for help! So Isaiah says that he will give him a sign that indicates how long it will be before the Lord (and not Tiglath-Pileser) saves him, and it will be about the time it takes for a young maiden to conceive, give birth, and wean her child, or about three years.
Interestingly, the word Isaiah uses to describe the maiden doesn’t necessarily imply a virgin or any kind of miraculous conception. Rather, he’s drawing on something fairly ordinary – the birth of a child – to make a point about the time that will pass before the promise of deliverance is kept. But Matthew speaks and reads not Hebrew, but Greek, and the Greek Bible Matthew uses (called the Septuagint) translates the Hebrew word for “young girl” as “virgin.” So Matthew sees and hears in that verse the anticipation of Mary, the young woman who will conceive though the Holy Spirit.
But I wonder if Matthew isn’t also conscious of the issue of time. That is, the “sign” Isaiah gives isn’t meant as a demonstration of his authority or power but rather is telling fearful and unfaithful King Ahaz how long it will take before the Lord will deliver Jerusalem. Knowing that, might Matthew also be saying that in the birth of Jesus we have an answer to the question that is regularly asked throughout the Bible: How long? How long until you come to deliver, O Lord? How long until our suffering is over? How long until you rescue us? And to all these questions, Matthew says, “Now! In the birth of Jesus God is drawing near to save.” For Jesus’ is Emmanuel, God with us.
As Matthew reports, the angel told Joseph to name the child of Mary, “Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins.” Now. Or as the beloved Christmas carol sings,
No more let sin and sorrow grow
Nor thorns infest the ground
He comes to make
His blessings flow
Far as the curse is found
Far as the curse is found
Far as, far as the curse is found.
Prayer: Dear God, let us live in the now of your grace, that we might no longer fear sin or death and be encouraged to share with others word of your mercy, grace, and love…now. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
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