Portraits from the Prophets: Jesus Born of A Virgin

Last week we began looking at how Jesus was born in fulfillment of MANY OT prophecies.

No other religious leader had prophecies about his birth — only Jesus.

Not Mohammed, Confucius or Buddah!

Only Jesus!

Last week we looked at how Jesus was born as the fulfillment of Genesis 49:9 — He is the Lion of the Tribe of Judah.

He is the Lion who is also AT THE VERY SAME TIME, as John the Baptist proclaimed in John 1:29 (LSB) … Jesus … the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!”

Jesus the Lion who is the Lamb

And the Lamb who is a Lion.

Jesus didn’t stay apart from humanity…

As the Phillips translation of Hebrews 4:15 (Phillips) For we have no superhuman High Priest to whom our weaknesses are unintelligible—he himself has shared fully in all our experience …

How much easier if the Son of God had stayed in heaven.

But He didn’t!

He came right down into the nitty-gritty of human existence.

He didn’t even wait until the invention of central heat and air.

Refrigerators, stoves, and microwaves

Cars, planes and trains.

No! He came into a time when everything was rough and difficult.

Jesus Came in the Flesh

John 1:14 (LSB) And the Word became flesh, and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, glory as of the only begotten from the Father, full of grace and truth.

Yes, Jesus was manifested in the flesh.

1 Timothy 3:16 (LSB) And by common confession, great is the mystery of godliness: He who was manifested in the flesh, Was vindicated in the Spirit, Seen by angels, Proclaimed among the nations, Believed on in the world, Taken up in glory.

Jesus was manifested in the flesh.

The scripture tells us this is a great mystery.

That isn’t quite the half of it is it?

Jesus wasn’t just manifested in the flesh by becoming flesh, He became flesh in a mind-boggling way.

He could have literally stepped out of heaven into this world and walked among us.

Actually scholars believe there are several times in the Old Testament when He DID step out of glory into the human realm.

Whenever you read “Angel of the Lord” in the OT, that is probably a theophany — a manifestation of God that humans can see.

Like in:

Judges 6:11–12 (NASB95) Then the angel of the LORD came and sat under the oak that was in Ophrah, which belonged to Joash the Abiezrite as his son Gideon was beating out wheat in the wine press in order to save it from the Midianites. 12 The angel of the LORD appeared to him and said to him, “The LORD is with you, O valiant warrior.”

or in…

(Where it doesn’t say, “Angel of the Lord,” but it does say, “Captain of the Lord’s host”)

Joshua 5:13–15 (NASB95) Now it came about when Joshua was by Jericho, that he lifted up his eyes and looked, and behold, a man was standing opposite him with his sword drawn in his hand, and Joshua went to him and said to him, “Are you for us or for our adversaries?” 14 He said, “No; rather I indeed come now as captain of the host of the LORD.” And Joshua fell on his face to the earth, and bowed down, and said to him, “What has my lord to say to his servant?” 15 The captain of the LORD’S host said to Joshua, “Remove your sandals from your feet, for the place where you are standing is holy.” And Joshua did so.

No other angel tells a human “this is Holy ground.”

This must be a theophany — A visible appearance of God to humans.

But in the New Testament we see the Son of God manifesting Himself in a different way.

As Philippians 2:5–8 (NASB95) Have this attitude in yourselves which was also in Christ Jesus, 6 who, although He existed in the form of God, did not regard equality with God a thing to be grasped, 7 but emptied Himself, taking the form of a bond-servant, and being made in the likeness of men. 8 Being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.

The Old Testament prophets drew portraits that told us of this unique and scandalous manner in which the Son of God would become flesh and dwelt among us.

Look at Isaiah 9:6

Isaiah 9:6 “For a child will be born to us, a son will be given to us; And the government will rest on His shoulders; And His name will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Eternal Father, Prince of Peace.”

A child being born is not unique or scandalous.

But this child is HOW Messiah would lay aside the prerogatives of deity to dwell among us.

Jesus stepped out of heaven and came to earth as a baby.

And then, it is HOW this child was conceived and born that devastatingly defies human understanding.

Born of a Virgin

In Isaiah 7 we have the prophecy of this scandalous birth:

The situation is as described in:

Isaiah 7:1–7 (LSB) Now it happened 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 told 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 before the wind. 3 Then Yahweh 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, to the highway of the fuller’s field, 4 and say to him, ‘Take care and stay quiet, have no fear and do not be fainthearted because of these two stubs of smoldering firebrands, on account of the burning anger of Rezin and Aram and the son of Remaliah. 5 ‘Because Aram, with Ephraim and the son of Remaliah, has counseled 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 Lord Yahweh: “It shall not stand, nor shall it happen.

Isaiah 7:10–14 (LSB) Then Yahweh spoke again to Ahaz [through Isaiah - see vs.3], [to encourage him that what God says will come to pass]

[God speaking through Isaiah [said], 11 “Ask a sign for yourself from Yahweh your God; make it deep as Sheol or high as heaven.” 12 But Ahaz said, “I will not ask, and I will not test Yahweh!” 13 Then [Isaiah] 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, the virgin will be with child and bear a son, and she will call His name Immanuel.

For Ahaz, God gave the prophecy of an impossible thing — a virgin birth:

Yes, He did that to encourage Ahaz that God accomplishes the impossible,

but also

To tell us, all humanity, that the conception and birth of Jesus would be miraculous in nature

The promised Messiah, the Word, will be born of a virgin.

Christmas is first and foremost about the birth of Jesus.

And what a unique birth!

In fact a scandalous birth!

Even Mary, the mother of Jesus, struggled to understand what God would do.

Luke 1:26–38 (LSB) Now in the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent from God to a city in Galilee called Nazareth, 27 to a virgin betrothed to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David, and the virgin’s name was Mary. 28 And coming in, [Gabriel] said to her, “Greetings, favored one! The Lord is with you.” 29 But she was very perplexed at this statement, and was pondering what kind of greeting this was. 30 And the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. 31 “And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall name Him Jesus. 32 “He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High, and the Lord God will give Him the throne of His father David, 33 and He will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and there will be no end of His kingdom.” 34 But Mary said to the angel, “How will this be, since I am a virgin?” 35 The angel answered and said to her, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; and for that reason the holy Child shall be called the Son of God. 36 “And behold, your relative Elizabeth has also conceived a son in her old age; and this is the sixth month for her who was called barren. 37 “For nothing will be impossible with God.” 38 And Mary said, “Behold, the slave of the Lord; may it be done to me according to your word.” And the angel departed from her.

God STILL Does the Impossible!

What God did for Ahaz in giving him a victory over the Arameans.

What God did in giving us a prophecy of an impossible virgin birth.

What God has done time and time again in the Bible.

He will do in OUR lives!

Are you like Mary, the mother of Jesus, perplexed, wondering what is going on?

Are you doubting that you are the favored, the blessed of God?

Are there situations in your life that cause you to doubt?

I would like to ask the Worship team to come and remind us that God is still on the Throne.

That He can make a way where there seems to be no way.

Are you in need this morning?

Do you have a need that defies your ability to solve?

I encourage you to come to the front this morning.

Or maybe you know someone who has a need.

They aren’t here this morning, but you want to come and seek God on their behalf.

If God would bring His Son into the world is such an unexpected, scandalous, and yet miraculous manner, let us not even attempt to dictate how God might answer our prayers today.

Let’s leave it to His creative genius.

Prayer: