Mat 1:18-25; Prophecy of the Virgin Birth.

Class Outline:

Thursday November 2, 2023

 

MAT 1:18-25

Now the birth of Jesus Christ was as follows: when His mother Mary had been betrothed to Joseph, before they came together she was found to be with child by the Holy Spirit. 19 And Joseph her husband, being a righteous man and not wanting to disgrace her, planned to send her away secretly. 20 But when he had considered this, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying, "Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary as your wife; for the Child who has been conceived in her is of the Holy Spirit. 21 "She will bear a Son; and you shall call His name Jesus, for He will save His people from their sins." 22 Now all this took place to fulfill what was spoken by the Lord through the prophet: 23 "BEHOLD, THE VIRGIN SHALL BE WITH CHILD AND SHALL BEAR A SON, AND THEY SHALL CALL HIS NAME IMMANUEL," which translated means, "GOD WITH US." 24 And Joseph awoke from his sleep and did as the angel of the Lord commanded him, and took Mary as his wife, 25 but kept her a virgin until she gave birth to a Son; and he called His name Jesus.

 

“He will save the people from their sins.”

 

Matthew is going to show his readers that Jesus is the promised one from Isaiah who would deliver Israel and the world.

 

ISA 1:4

Alas, sinful nation,

People weighed down with iniquity,

Offspring of evildoers,

Sons who act corruptly!

They have abandoned the Lord,

They have despised the Holy One of Israel,

They have turned away from Him.

 

But Israel in chapter 1 of Isaiah is suffering under intense discipline from God for their rebellion.

 

The account of Isaiah’s calling is not until chapter 6. He is told to make blind the blind and make deaf the deaf.

 

ISA 6:9-10

'Keep on listening, but do not perceive;

Keep on looking, but do not understand.'

10 "Render the hearts of this people insensitive,

Their ears dull,

And their eyes dim,

Otherwise they might see with their eyes,

Hear with their ears,

Understand with their hearts,

And return and be healed."

 

Just after this commission, Isaiah is sent to king Ahaz with a message from God, which includes the prophecy that Matthew records as coming from the angel to Joseph.

 

Prophecy is not given in a vacuum. There is a meaningful event occurring when it is given. 

 

ISA 7:1-2

Now it came about in the days of Ahaz, the son of Jotham, the son of Uzziah, king of Judah, that Rezin the king of Aram and Pekah the son of Remaliah, king of Israel, went up to Jerusalem to wage war against it, but could not conquer it. 2 When it was reported to the house of David, saying, "The Arameans have camped in Ephraim," his heart and the hearts of his people shook as the trees of the forest shake with the wind.

 

Map: Aram and Israel band together and decide to conquer Judah and set their own king there so that they will have a 3 kingdom front before the invading Assyrians.

 

We see that Ahaz and the people of Judah are very afraid.

 

God sends Isaiah to Ahaz with a message from God.

 

ISA 7:3-9

Then the Lord said to Isaiah, "Go out now to meet Ahaz, you and your son Shear-jashub, at the end of the conduit of the upper pool, on the highway to the fuller's field, 4 and say to him, 'Take care and be calm, have no fear and do not be fainthearted because of these two stubs of smoldering firebrands, on account of the fierce anger of Rezin and Aram and the son of Remaliah. 5 'Because Aram, with Ephraim and the son of Remaliah, has planned evil against you, saying, 6 "Let us go up against Judah and terrorize it, and make for ourselves a breach in its walls and set up the son of Tabeel as king in the midst of it," 7 thus says the Lord God: "It shall not stand nor shall it come to pass. 8 "For the head of Aram is Damascus and the head of Damascus is Rezin (now within another 65 years Ephraim will be shattered, so that it is no longer a people), 9 and the head of Ephraim is Samaria and the head of Samaria is the son of Remaliah. If you will not believe, you surely shall not last."'"

 

The report on Ahaz:

Made molten images to Baal.

Served Molech (Ammonite god) by sacrificing his son to the demon god.

Put an altar of Syrian design right next to the brazen altar in the Temple for pagan sacrifices.

Shut up the holy place of the Temple.

Called to Assyria for help.

 

Isaiah reassures Ahaz and then offers this evil king a most curious blessing. Ask for any sign you want.

 

ISA 7:10-12

Then the Lord spoke again to Ahaz, saying, 11 "Ask a sign for yourself from the Lord your God; make it deep as Sheol or high as heaven." 12 But Ahaz said, "I will not ask, nor will I test the Lord!"

 

Ahaz fakes humility. He does not want a sign from the Lord, whom he hates.

 

Remember what Isaiah was called by God to do (to say) in chapter 6.

'Keep on listening, but do not perceive;

Keep on looking, but do not understand.'

10 "Render the hearts of this people insensitive,

Their ears dull,

And their eyes dim,

 

The way in which God makes people blind and deaf is offering them salvation.

 

The offer of deliverance from God involves only God’s actions.

It is a gift in which only God does the work and only God pays the price.

 

Ahaz has already made a deal with Assyria, paying their king (Tiglath-pileser) a large sum of money to not invade. He does not want a sign from the Lord because he relies on himself and loves Baal. He hates Yavah Elohim.

 

God gives the sign anyway. It is a sign that will come to mean incredible things for the world.

 

ISA 7:13-14

Then he said, "Listen now, O house of David! Is it too slight a thing for you to try the patience of men, that you will try the patience of my God as well? 14 "Therefore the Lord Himself will give you a sign: Behold, a virgin will be with child and bear a son, and she will call His name Immanuel.

 

The Syro-Israel league would prove unsuccessful in capturing Jerusalem and Judah would be spared just as God said it would.

 

Isaiah shows us the sin of Israel (mankind) and that no matter how much God disciplined them, they only became more stubborn. Resultant pain from bad decisions does not change a heart to say, “I am guilty.”

 

The pain and suffering for their sin as seen (by faith) to occur upon an innocent Man, the Son of God. That revelation will conclude with, “I am guilty.”

 

You must see Christ as your Savior in everything. He has saved your life from sin and He has saved you from all the bad habits and decisions that render your life void of joy and fulfillment and - peace.