Isaiah 7:14 “Behold, a virgin shall be with child, and shall bring forth a son, and they shall call his name Emmanuel, which being interpreted is, God with us.
The fullness of these verses cannot be appreciated without reading the story in its full context. I would encourage you to read Matthew 1:18 to 1:25, it will put my words in context. I am only highlighting one verse.
There are many religious books, many “good words of encouragement, and wise sayings” all helpful in living this life, yet the Bible is unrivaled, for it is not only a book of encouragement and wise sayings, but a book of profound prophecies, many having been fulfilled. The two verses listed are one of many examples of this. The book of Isaiah was penned by the prophet Isaiah in 739-686 B.C and whose name means ” The LORD is salvation.” Isaiah prophesied of Christ virgin birth some 500 years prior. And the “life” that we know as Jesus Christ breastfeed, crawled, walked, ran, worked with his father as a carpenter, then at the appointed time appeared on the stage of humanity performing miracles, healing, teaching and ultimately surrendering his life to the cruelty of the cross.
In this story we have miracle after miracle. We have prophecy being fulfilled, we have a virgin conceiving the Christ child by the Holy Spirit ( vs.20), we have a God fearing man being obedient and protecting his wife from great shame and death (vs. 24) we have the miracle of the ages, as Jesus Christ the second person of the Trinity took on the great limitations of human flesh, and he who made breast for babes to suck, became the receipt of his own creation, and on it goes as he who made legs to walk and run had to learn how to use his. It is a story so incredible that it is either completely made up, or completely true and worthy of all attention. But the story doesn’t stop with Jesus maturing, the story just begins, as he helps fishermen to catch so much fish after a night of wasted effort, to the point that their boats start to sink, heals a leper so that he can once again find acceptance in society, brings joy to the broken heart of a widow by raising her only son from death and teaching truths that the people “marveled” at.
And this is where the story turns, pointing to the hardness of man’s heart. For the people “marveled” at Christ, following him because he healed and fed them, but they did not receive his words. For all the miracles Jesus did they could not get ” their head around” his teaching that he was God in the flesh. And they stumbled at his teaching, which in turn lead to his crucifixion. And to this day we stumble at his teaching, finding it inconceivable that Creator God could ever be one of us. Yet from prophecies to reality we find that truth lived out in the person of Jesus Christ.
Does not love do great things? Would you not give your life for your child. Would not one of those parents not have given their life, placing themselves in front of the shooters bullet to save their child, the teachers did. Would you or I not do the same? So why is it so inconceivable that God would take the bullet of damning sin on the cross, so that we could live. Why is that so hard to believe? Do we too have harden hearts? Did He who made the ocean vast, can His love not be the same in greatness, or He who made the sun to warm us, not warm our souls with His love? We must not allow doubt or disbelief to stumble us, but believe that God’s compassion is seen in the humility of His birth, and its love fulfilled at that cross as Creator God willingly spread his arms so that his hands would receive the nails of rejecting man, his most precious creation.
This Christmas, believe… Believe that it was more than a babe, but our Savior.
Father God,
Take the blindness from my eyes and the hardness from my heart. Help me to more fully understand that it is more than just “the story” that I’ve heard my whole life, but it is the message of Hope and Love that shouts from eternity to earth. Grant me a heart that seeks your love, and a willingness to die to self to follow you. Thank you…and Amen.
Dios lo Bendiga, and have a blessed Christmas,