To Read: Matthew 1:22-25
All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had spoken by the prophet:
23 “Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son,
and they shall call his name Immanuel”
(which means, God with us). 24 When Joseph woke from sleep, he did as the angel of the Lord commanded him: he took his wife, 25 but knew her not until she had given birth to a son. And he called his name Jesus.
Matthew quotes directly from Isaiah 7 here and claims a direct fulfillment of prophecy. Isaiah wrote roughly 700 years before the birth of Christ, and it’s crucial that we see all of human history before the birth of Christ pointing towards this event. All of human history now looks back upon his death and resurrection. It is important to see the birth of Christ as not an urgent response to some local situation on the earth 2000 years ago. Isaiah’s prophecy is in a line of prophecies all that connect, that span all the way back to Genesis 3:15. This is what is said in that text –
I will put enmity between you and the woman,
and between your offspring and her offspring;
he shall bruise your head,
and you shall bruise his heel.
Right at the first sin of man, God declared a battle between Satan and the offspring of man, Jesus Christ. Galatians 3:16 and Romans 5 are strong places to find that the offspring of man – both of Adam and of Abraham, points to one person – the savior, Jesus Christ. Prophecies about the Savior, then, are as old as sin itself. And the sending of Jesus is not God’s Plan B because Israel could not get it together and obey the law – they couldn’t obey it due to man’s sinful nature. The law was a placeholder (Galatians 3), pointing out God’s holiness and man’s lack of holiness, keeping order until the savior came. Jesus was always God’s plan in saving the world – that is his very essence, that’s why his name is Jesus (meaning, “God saves”) – because he will save his people from their sins.
That’s how deep God’s love is for his people – that salvation was his immediate response to sin. The plan unfolds over time to show his faithfulness throughout generations, and it helps us to understand that God’s plan of salvation is not localized to one place or time – the whole arc of human history unfolds under this very plan. There has not been one time or place not affected by this plan. This Christmas, take in the majesty of that kind of grand plan, and don’t lose sight that everyone falls short of God’s glory – we all need a Savior. Thank the Lord today that he revealed himself to you.
Song to Sing: Joy to the World
The first line of this hymn is a great one: ‘Joy to the world, the Lord is come.’ It doesn’t say, he has come, or he is coming, both of which are true; but instead, he has come, he is here, and he will come again. I’m reminded of the great quote from St. Patrick, who had emblazoned on a breastplate these words –
Christ with me, Christ before me, Christ behind me, Christ in me.
Prayer: Lord Jesus, focus our eyes on you this Christmas. Help us to see that the Savior is who you are and always have been – it is your purpose to execute God’s plan of salvation. And we thank you, Jesus, for coming down to the earth to save us. In your name we pray. Amen.
Echoes of Eden: Christmas cards! Even if you don’t have some dashing photo of you and the fam, send someone a reminder of your love for them this Christmas.