Unto Us Week 1

Unto Us

Week 1

Introduction

This morning we are launching into a new series of messages that we are calling Unto Us. As we prepare for the celebration of the birth of our Savior, Jesus Christ at Christmas time, we are going to dive into the book of Isaiah and examine the relationship between this book and the purpose ands work of Christ in the Net Testament. My hope is that you will all experience the joy that comes only through the finished work of Christ Jesus upon the cross. The true story of Jesus’s birth is a power display of God’s faithfulness to bring peace, hope, healing, joy, and life to this lost and dying world. I urge you to dive in with us. We have provided the advent devotional so that you can continue the reflection in your personal devotional times at home.

Unto Us

Big Idea of the Series: Jesus’s birth is a powerful display of God’s faithfulness to bring peace, hope, healing, and life to a lost and dying world. This four-week series explores the Christmas story by examining the relationship between the book of Isaiah and the purpose and work of Christ in the New Testament. Because of Jesus, we can experience the joy that comes through his finished work. ‘Unto Us’ provides a powerful guide for helping your people understand and apply the nativity story.

Week 1

Text:

Isaiah 7:1–17 CSB

This took place during the reign of Ahaz, son of Jotham, son of Uzziah king of Judah: Aram’s King Rezin and Israel’s King Pekah son of Remaliah went to fight against Jerusalem, but they were not able to conquer it. When it became known to the house of David that Aram had occupied Ephraim, the heart of Ahaz and the hearts of his people trembled like trees of a forest shaking in the wind. The Lord said to Isaiah, “Go out with your son Shear-jashub to meet Ahaz at the end of the conduit of the upper pool, by the road to the Launderer’s Field. Say to him: Calm down and be quiet. Don’t be afraid or cowardly because of these two smoldering sticks, the fierce anger of Rezin and Aram, and the son of Remaliah. For Aram, along with Ephraim and the son of Remaliah, has plotted harm against you. They say, ‘Let us go up against Judah, terrorize it, and conquer it for ourselves. Then we can install Tabeel’s son as king in it.’ ” This is what the Lord God says: It will not happen; it will not occur. The chief city of Aram is Damascus, the chief of Damascus is Rezin (within sixty-five years Ephraim will be too shattered to be a people), the chief city of Ephraim is Samaria, and the chief of Samaria is the son of Remaliah. If you do not stand firm in your faith, then you will not stand at all. Then the Lord spoke again to Ahaz: “Ask for a sign from the Lord your God—it can be as deep as Sheol or as high as heaven.” But Ahaz replied, “I will not ask. I will not test the Lord.” Isaiah said, “Listen, house of David! Is it not enough for you to try the patience of men? Will you also try the patience of my God? Therefore, the Lord himself will give you a sign: See, the virgin will conceive, have a son, and name him Immanuel. By the time he learns to reject what is bad and choose what is good, he will be eating curds and honey. For before the boy knows to reject what is bad and choose what is good, the land of the two kings you dread will be abandoned. The Lord will bring on you, your people, and your father’s house such a time as has never been since Ephraim separated from Judah: He will bring the king of Assyria.”

Summarize the passage:

The Big Idea: God would bring a miraculous sign of his faithfulness through a virgin birth that would heal a dark world.

a virgin birth that would heal a dark world.

There’s a big idea here that I want to make sure you understand. When we look at some of these passages in the Old Testament, especially when it’s either lists of names or in some of the books of prophets, our eyes tend to glaze over just a bit. But instead of that what I would encourage you to do is look for the big picture. What’s the big idea?

a virgin birth that would heal a dark world.

and doubt.

Sermon Ideas and Talking Points:

I. The Story - The Events

A People in Crisis

1. We open to a crisis for the kingdom of Judah. The Hebrew people were split in two different kingdoms after the death of Solomon: Israel to the north and Judah to the south. Both kingdoms struggled to stay faithful to God, and eventually both were exiled. shows the kingdom of Israel and Aram trying to invade Jerusalem the capital of Judah. King Ahaz of Judah is nervous about the thought of invasion. Scripture says that the “hearts of Ahaz and his people were shaken, as the trees of the forest are shaken by the wind” (v. 2).

Trusting the wrong thing

2. It is at this point that God instructs Isaiah to go to Ahaz and tell him, “Be careful, keep calm and don’t be afraid” (v. 4). Speaking of the invasion, God says, “it will not take place, it will not happen” (v. 7). Isaiah even tells Ahaz to test the Lord to show his faithfulness: “Ask the LORD your God for a sign” (v. 10). Ahaz responds by saying, “I will not ask; I will not put the LORD to the test” (v.12). Ahaz seems very holy sounding, but in fact he has no relationship with the Lord. 2 King 16 describes Ahaz: “He did not do what was right in the eyes of the LORD his God.

He followed the ways of the kings of Israel and even sacrificed his son in the fire” (). Ahaz was not a good king. He might have had the temple of the Lord, but he also worshiped other gods. He did not put his trust in God, and in the situation of possible invasion, he put his trust in the Assyrian Empire (Stephen J. Lennox, God’s Story Revealed: A Guide for Understanding the Old Testament [Indianapolis: Wesleyan Publishing House, 2009], 209). He sent a message to the Assyrians, asking for help and saying, “I am your servant and vassal. Come up and save me out of the hand of the king of Aram and the king of Israel” (). The Assyrians made an alliance and destroyed Israel and Aram. However, the relief brought by Assyria would not last; eventually the empire would turn against Judah ().

3. We all have been in situations where God told us to trust him and we trusted something or someone else. We made alliances with our own empires; we trusted ourselves to provide for our needs instead of the Lord to be our provision. Have you ever tried to hold four things at once while going up the stairs? Maybe someone asked if they could help and you said “I got this” shortly before you dropped everything because you tripped. When we struggle to trust God, we can tell him, “I got this” when we really don’t. That lack of trust shows our continual need to grow in our relationship with him.

II. The Significance of the story

III. A message of a virgin

4. So, what does all of this have to do with Jesus and Christmas? Isaiah turns his attention away from speaking to Ahaz and speaks to all the people of God, the “house of David” (v. 13). God’s people are in a dark period of rebellion and judgment. Isaiah uses this situation of anxiety, fear, and helplessness to describe what God will do. “Therefore, the Lord himself will give you a sign: The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and will call him Immanuel” (v. 14). The word virgin can also mean a young woman. Many theologians believe that has a dual prophetic fulfillment. Isaiah was speaking of a young woman who would bear a son during the time of Ahaz and a future Messiah born to bring freedom to all. As Matthew, inspired by God, reflects on the virgin birth of Christ he references (D. A. Carson, “Matthew,” in Matthew, Mark and Luke, The Expositor's Bible Commentary 9, ed. Frank E. Gaebelein [Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 1981], 78). Isaiah is highlighting God’s power to do the miraculous.

5. When Matthew writes his Gospel about the life of Christ, he tells the story of Joseph wrestling with Mary being pregnant while still a virgin. Joseph considers divorcing her when an angel appears and tells him, “She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins. All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had said through the prophet: ‘The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel’” ().

Matthew 1:21–23 CSB

She will give birth to a son, and you are to name him Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins.” Now all this took place to fulfill what was spoken by the Lord through the prophet: See, the virgin will become pregnant and give birth to a son, and they will name him Immanuel, which is translated “God is with us.”

6. Mark Lowry’s song “Mary Did You Know?” is a classic of contemporary Christmas music: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3fbgWa5pH3g. You have probably heard its minor chords as you were trying to find a parking spot while shopping for gifts. The song describes the amazing things that Christ has done and addresses Mary directly, asking if she knew her son would do all these great things. One specific lyric shows the main reason for Mary giving birth to Jesus,

“the child that you delivered will soon deliver you.” Mary had the tremendous responsibility to bring into this world the One who would save her from sin and death.

responsibility to bring into this world the One who would save her from sin and death.

IV. The application to Jesus Christ.

7. Isaiah’s prophecy of hope was given in a time of hopelessness and rebellion, a time where those leading God’s people were not holy. God would fix what was right through the incarnation (as Immanuel, God with us). He would physically walk with his creation and sacrifice himself to give life to those who were lost and dead in sin.

Conclusion and application to our lives

Application Point: We will place our trust in God’s miraculous power in times of trouble

and doubt.

Unto Us 

Week 1: The Virgin

One Big Idea: God would bring a miraculous sign of His faithfulness through a virgin birth that would heal a dark world.  

I. The story - What’s happening?

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A. A people in crisis

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B. A wicked king

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C. Misplaced trust

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II.  The significance of the story.  

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III.  The message of a virgin.

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IV. The application to Jesus Christ.

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Application and Conclusion