The Whole Christmas Story
“The Sign of the Savior”
Isaiah 7:10-14
Wayne J. Edwards, Pastor
When it comes to the Christmas story, most people turn to the gospels of Matthew and Luke, which outline the historical and prophetical events of the first coming of the Lord Jesus.
- How Joseph and Mary were forced to go to Bethlehem to register for the Census, and while they were there, the time came for Mary to give birth.
- How Jesus was born in a cave that was used as sheepfold, wrapped in strips of cloth found in the cave, and laid in a feeding trough cut into the sandstone wall of the cave.
- How the angelic host sang glory to God in the highest for what was happening in that stable.
- How shepherd s were the first to see the baby and the first to tell others who that baby was, and what He had been sent to do.
- Many churches spend thousands of dollars each year dramatizing this part of the story, but sadly, they never take the time to tell the whole old story of Jesus and His love.
One of the foundational truths of the whole Christmas story is what is called the “Virgin Birth.”
- The term “Virgin Birth” is used to describe how a young, teenage girl became pregnant without having sexual relations with a man.
- Theologians refer to this as the “Immaculate Conception,” which means the miracle was in the conception, not in the birth.
- Mary’s conception was “immaculate” in that it was without the seed of man’s sin nature; it was pure, innocent, and holy.
- Unbelievers deny that truth, for if Jesus was conceived by the Holy Spirit in Mary’s womb, He was the Savior sent from God, which means Jesus was “deity” in human flesh. Therefore, He is to be worshipped as our Lord and Savior.
Biblical scholars have identified over 300 prophecies in the Old Testament related to Jesus’ birth, life, death, and resurrection.
- According to a study by the Mathematics Department of Pasadena College, 600 students from the Intervarsity Christian Fellowship examined eight of those 300+ prophecies.
- They determined that the probability of all eight of prophecies being fulfilled by one man was 1 in 10 to the 17th power, which would be the equivalent of 100 quadrillion. In effect, it would be a statistical impossibility.
- However, 750 years before it occurred, God spoke through the prophet Isaiah and declared one of those eight prophecies that would be fulfilled in the immaculate conception and birth of Jesus.
- Isaiah said that when that event occurred, the nation of Israel and then the whole world would know that God had kept His promise in Genesis 3:15, to send a Savior to redeem lost man from his sins.
- While many theologians and pastors deny the validity of the immaculate conception of Jesus, unless this prophecy is true, not only is the gospel not true, but the whole Bible is untrue, and we are still lost in our sins and looking for a Savior.
1. The Setting of the Sign – Vs. 11 – “Ask a sign for yourself from the Lord your God; ask it either in the depth or in the height above.”
- This historical event occurs when Israel was divided into two kingdoms: Israel to the North and Judah to the South.
- Of all the kings of Judah, none were as wicked as Ahaz, who forsook his godly heritage and worshipped the god of Molech, even to the point of sacrificing his first-born son to the fires of Molech.
- Ahaz did not fear the one true God until he learned that Judah was about to be destroyed, and that he was about to be deposed.
- Through his prophets, God told Ahaz not to be disturbed, that the threats against him would not stand, and that the wicked kings who were threatening him would be destroyed within 65 years.
- God challenged Ahaz to take Him at His Word, but if he doubted Him, he could ask for a sign in heaven or in hell.
- Ahaz refused to trust God, and instead, made an alliance with an evil nation for Judah’s defense.
- Ahaz failed as a son, a man, a father, and a king, because he would not do what was right in the sight of God as his father David had.
2. The Significance of the Sign – Vs. 13–14 – “Here now, O house of David! Is it a small thing for you to weary men, but will you weary my God also? Therefore, the Lord Himself will give you a sign: Behold, a virgin shall conceive and bear a Son, and shall call His name Immanuel.”
- Isaiah’s words were no longer addressed to Ahaz but to the people of Judah, the House of David.
- Even though they had turned away from God and followed Ahaz, God would not turn away from them.
- Even though they would not seek a sign of His provision and protection, He would give them an unquestionable sign of His love.
- A virgin girl would conceive a child.
- She would give birth to a man child.
- She would name Him “Immanuel” – “God is with us!”
- This is the most significant prophecies concerning the birth of Jesus as the Messiah – the validity of the gospel hangs on its veracity.
- In Genesis 3:15, God told Adam and Eve that a day would come when the Seed of the woman would crush Satan’s head, and for 2000 years, the majority of Christians have believed God’s promise of a Redeemer was fulfilled in Jesus’ birth.
3. The Savior in the Sign – Vs. 14 – “And shall call His name, Immanuel!”
- The whole name is “Immanuel-Jehoshua,” which agrees with what the angel told Joseph after Mary told him she was with child. “You shall call His name ‘Jehosuah’ for He will save His people from their sins.” Matthew 1:21
- For the first 30-years of His life, Jesus kept His deity concealed.
- However, as the Apostle John said, there came that time when “The Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth.” John 1:14
- In his 1st Epistle, the Apostle John expounded on that even more.
- 1 John 1:1– “That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked upon, and our hands have handled, concerning the Word of life.”
- 1 John 1:3 – “That which we have seen and heard we declare unto you.”
- 1 John 1:5 – “This is the message which we have heard from Him and declare to you, that God is light and in Him is no darkness at all.”
- John relived those three wonderful years with Jesus; listening to His every word, watching Him reveal His deity through His mighty miracles, holding Him, hugging Him, and even being allowed to lean upon the Lord’s breast.
According to every Creed, the “Virgin Birth” is included an essential doctrine of the Christian faith, i.e., one cannot be a Christian without embracing the immaculate conception of Jesus.
- Both Matthew and Luke clearly say the conception of Christ took place while Mary was a virgin.
- In John 1:14, the Apostle said “The Word became flesh” which refers to the Incarnation of Jesus as the Son of God in human flesh.
- In 1 Timothy, the Apostle Paul said Jesus “appeared in a body.”
- In Galatians 4:4, the Apostle Paul said Jesus was “born of a woman.”
- Up until the mid 1600s, no Christian denomination dared to even question it, much less deny it.
- Question the prophecy of Isaiah if you can! But how do you explain its fulfillment 750 years later!
- Question the Immaculate Conception if you dare! But can you doubt that the glory of God dwelt within the life of that baby boy?
- Question the miracle of his birth if you must! But can you explain the utter joy that filled the earth that night when the baby boy was born!
- Question His power over our lives today! But can you explain the transformation of life that occurs in every human being that is born again?
When God sent His word to Ahaz, he replied: “I will not ask, neither will I tempt the Lord”, and he died in his unbelief! When God sent His word to Mary, she replied: “Behold the handmaid of the Lord; let it be unto me according to thy word!” What is your answer to Him today?
