The Birth of JesusSýnishorn

Isaiah’s Prophecy

There are dozens of prophecies in the Old Testament that point to Jesus as the Messiah, but Matthew singles out this verse from Isaiah 7:14a: “Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel.” Matthew, who was writing primarily for Jewish listeners, knew the people would not accept Jesus as the Son of God unless he gave them proof from the Scriptures they were so familiar with.

This prophecy was understood in Isaiah’s day as a sign of redemption from political oppression. Surrounding Isaiah’s prophecy of the virgin birth was a war between Judah, the nation from which Jesus came, and the nations of Israel and Syria, who were attacking Judah. The Lord sent Isaiah to tell Ahaz, the king of Judah, that Judah would not fall to these enemy nations.

God gave Ahaz a sign of deliverance from Judah’s oppressors, and the virgin birth of Jesus was that sign! It’s no wonder that 700 years later, in Jesus’ day, the Jews believed that when the Messiah came, He would come to defeat Rome, the nation then ruling over Judah. Little did they know that the Messiah had an even greater mission than physical deliverance: spiritual redemption.

Joseph’s Obedience

Were Mary and Joseph familiar with this prophecy? Did they recognize that this was the moment that had been prophesied nearly 700 years before? Perhaps they too thought this Messiah would be a warrior to save His people from political oppression, or perhaps they understood the deeper redemption he would give to their souls.

Whatever the reason, Joseph immediately obeyed God’s instructions from the vision the angel showed him. He took Mary as his wife, assuming the responsibilities of being Jesus’ father even though he was not. He and Mary lived together, worked together, and behaved in every way like a normal married couple, except that Mary’s child was anything but normal.

Because Mary was still a virgin, and Isaiah’s prophecy stated that a virgin would give birth to a child, Joseph did not sleep with Mary until after Jesus’ birth. This shows that Joseph and Mary both honored God’s will that Mary be a virgin when she gave birth to Jesus. After all, if Joseph had slept with Mary while she was pregnant with Jesus, people might have believed that Jesus was an ordinary child. But in this way, through a miraculous birth, there could be no question about it: Jesus was indeed the prophesied Messiah born of a virgin.

Reflection

What might you have thought about Jesus if you were a Jew hearing Matthew’s message for the first time? Would you have believed that Jesus was the Messiah?