Jesus and Prophecy

MATTHEW CHAPTER ONE

Most of the people of Israel did not read or write. They told stories and repeated what they heard from each other and from those who read the scriptures, the scribes and religious leaders. Its hard to imagine how the people reveared prophecies about the future, holding on dearly to portions of their writings knowing that in those writings were hints of a coming era when a new king would rise.

Scribes poured over their writings looking for such passages that could be lifted from their original context and time and give a clue about the kingdom and time that was expected. When Jesus came, a lot of these passages fit so well to him.

“The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel”–which means, “God with us.” (Isaiah 7:14)

In Isaiah's day there were 2 nations / kings battling outside of Jerusalem's walls in hopes of bringing Jerusalem to its knees. King Ahaz protected himself and his city within the walls of the city, but he was very worried that the two kings would take the city and force him into servitude.

In that context Isaiah told King Ahaz that there would be a sign of a young woman / virgin (same word in the Hebrew) who would give birth to a son and before the son was old enough to know right from wrong the 2 armies would be gone. The prophet then went into the prophetess (his wife) and they had a child to fulfill that prophecy (Is 8:1-4) and before the child could say momma or dadda, the armies were gone.

It is one of many prophecies about Jesus that had double fulfillment. The first was in the day shortly after it was written, the second in Christ himself.

The fact that Isaiah's prophecy refered first of all so much to the polical and military situation of Israel brings a cloud of the same over the birth of Jesus... but whereas Isaiah's prophecy was originally about deliverance from a military siege, the angel let Joseph know that Jesus would bring about the deliverence of peoples' sins.