This is the week in which Christmas Day falls!
Today, in many churches across the world, the 4th candle of Advent will be lit. On my Advent wreath, it is the rose candle. Many refer to this candle as the Angel Candle or the Candle of Love.
"For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life. For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world but that through Him all the world should be saved."
John 3:16-17
This morning we are going to consider one of the most well-known Messianic Old Testament prophecies, Isaiah 7:13-14, which was given 500 years before the birth of Jesus.
Then Isaiah said, “Hear now, you house of David! Is it not enough to try the patience of humans? Will you try the patience of my God also? 14 Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign: The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and will call him Immanuel.
The prophet Isaiah utters this prophecy during a conversation with Judah's king, Ahaz, who was not one of the great ones. Ahaz refused to honor God. He was a pious hypocrite who tried God's patience and led his people to do the same. The prophecy which Isaiah made gave great comfort to the House of David, the tribe of Judah, who knew they had been promised that Messiah would come from among them. At the time of the prophecy, there were fierce kings waiting in the wings to topple Ahaz and destroy Judah. But, God let them know He was not through with them yet, and would never be. Messiah would come, and He would be born of a virgin.
So, this was not just a sign; it was a miraculous sign! There were no modern fertility clinics in those days. Women became pregnant "the old-fashioned way". Certainly, there was no way devised by man that a woman could become pregnant and give birth while maintaining her virginity. Yet, Messiah would be born through divine power and in divine purity.
And His name? Immanuel. God named that baby boy right there in this prophecy. "God with us".
My niece is pregnant and has talked of perhaps naming the baby after his daddy, giving him one of his daddy's names. My husband and I gave each of our sons one of his daddy's names, in addition to our last name. It is a pretty common practice.
Here God the Father's name is in the Son's, the Messiah's name. He is named "after His Father", Yahweh, God the Father.
His name signifies the miracle of God Himself, whose dwelling place is in the brightest of lights, clothing Himself in flesh, setting aside His majesty to inhabit a body, in order to dwell among us. The way that the commentator Matthew Henry describes Immanuel like this: "introduced on a glorious errand, wrapped up in His glorious name!" The beauty of His condescending to us!
I can't read this verse without thinking of the beautiful music which G.F. Handel wrote, to pair with this text. The very brief recitative from Part One of "The Messiah" is sung by a contralto, and then, the whole chorus breaks out into the famous chorus from Isaiah 9:6 - - "For Unto Us a Child is Born!" I'm so excited to go sing "The Messiah: Part One" with a friend this afternoon!
Mary was told to name her baby, "Jesus", which means "Savior". In the Hebrew it is Yeshua, which is similar to the name, Joshua. See Luke 1:30-33, where we see the Isaiah 7:10-13 prophecy fulfilled.
30The 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; 33and He will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and His kingdom will have no end.”
That may sound confusing....why didn't she name Him "Immanuel"?
There are many descriptive names applied to Jesus in both Old and New Testament Scriptures. Consider that He could not be called Savior unless His name was also Immanuel. He could not be our Savior unless He was also God in human form - - - God With Us.
The angel Gabriel told Mary that Jesus would be given the throne of His father, David, that Jesus would reign over the house of Jacob forever and that of His kingdom there would be no end. The physical rule and reign of Jesus Christ is yet to come, which is why Christians all over the world pray "Maranatha!". This is a Greek word which means, "Come, Lord Jesus!" It was the rallying prayer of the early Church, which endured horrendous persecution, much like many Christians in many parts of our world today.
He will return, though we know not when. However, He has already come to us and dwelled with us, and established His never-ending kingdom in the hearts of His people.
Holy Father, I look forward to the second coming to earth of Your Son. But, I rejoice in the truth that You have given me everything that I need right here, right now, because He lives in my heart. You have allowed me to inherit His eternal kingdom, as Your child; and, Your Spirit is ever with me. God with us. God in me. Thank you from the depths of my soul, for condescending to us - - - for not only coming to dwell among us, but for limiting Yourself by human body, so that you could be one of us. What a marvelous mystery! In Jesus' name, amen.
No comments:
Post a Comment