Isaiah’s Prophecy to Ahaz⤒🔗

In the previous meditation I tried to make clear the meaning of Isaiah’s prophecy about Immanuel. Its sense, in my opinion, is this: Isaiah announces to Ahaz that his wife Abi will give birth to a son as her first child. The queen will then see in this the proof that God has not abandoned them in this critical time, and therefore she will give the child the name “Immanuel.” When this prophecy concerning the crown prince is fulfilled, it will be for Ahaz a sign—a proof, a guarantee—that the word of the Lord promising the salvation of the throne, land, and people will also surely come to pass. The birth of Hezekiah is the pledge that Judah will escape the threat coming from Israel and Syria.

The Fulfilment in Christ←⤒🔗

Now, in connection with Christmas, we want to reflect on the fulfillment of Isaiah 7:14 as Matthew records it: “All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had spoken through the prophet: ‘Behold, the virgin shall conceive....’”

You know the context in which this word appears in Matthew 1. Joseph wanted to leave Mary, fearing that she had committed adultery. But an angel appeared to him in a dream and told him that Mary had not been unfaithful; she was to be the mother of a child conceived by the Holy Spirit. Her child would be the promised Messiah, for he would save his people from their sins.

Then comes our text. Some consider this quotation from Isaiah as part of the angel’s speech, so that his words do not end at verse 21 but at verse 23. However, that is not very likely. For various reasons I prefer the explanation that these verses are a comment added by Matthew himself.

Matthew’s Understanding of Fulfillment←⤒🔗

Matthew therefore sees in the angel’s appearance to Joseph the fulfillment of Isaiah’s prophecy. He recognises a similarity between Joseph’s situation and that of Ahaz long before. He also sees a connection between Isaiah’s coming to Ahaz and the angel’s appearance to Joseph: both are God’s messengers with a divine word to deliver.

I also see the parallel in the content of their message. Both are told that their bride will bear a son, and that this birth is a sign of God’s grace. For both Hezekiah’s birth and Jesus’ birth proclaim God with us. But I do not see the similarity between Ahaz and Joseph themselves. Joseph was a good and righteous man, while Ahaz was godless.

The Parallel in Office←⤒🔗

This is indeed the difficulty in Matthew. It is easy to see the similarity between the messengers and the content of their message; the difficulty lies in drawing a parallel between the recipients. Yet such a parallel does exist, and it lies in their office.

Matthew begins his Gospel with a genealogy. He wants to present Jesus Christ to the Jews as “the son of David, the son of Abraham” (1:1). Of David he emphasises twice, in verse 6, that he was king. So in this Gospel Matthew portrays Jesus as “the King’s Son,” the one who receives rule over the people of Abraham, the covenant people. That is why the angel so emphatically says that Jesus will save his people. In the same way Isaiah called Judah “your land, O Immanuel.” The angel too speaks of Jesus as the King of Israel.

The Genealogies of Matthew and Luke←⤒🔗

This explains the characteristic difference between Luke’s genealogy (Luke 3) and Matthew’s. For a long time people could not make sense of the major differences between them, and often proposed that one gave Mary’s line and the other Joseph’s. But more recent studies have shown that both genealogies in fact trace Joseph’s line.

Luke 3 presents Joseph’s natural line. Matthew 1 presents the royal line. Luke 3 shows that Joseph, by birth, was a descendant of David—royal blood flowed in his veins. Matthew 1 explains how Joseph, according to law, was the rightful heir to the throne—not only of royal blood but also a legitimate claimant to the royal office. Up to the exile Matthew names only those kings who actually reigned, and after the exile he names those who would have reigned, had David’s throne not fallen into ruin and been seized by foreigners.

In any case, had the dynasty of David still held real power, Joseph would at that moment have been reigning king.

Ahaz and Joseph Compared←⤒🔗

Now you see the parallel, and you also understand why the promise to Ahaz is here called “fulfilled.”

Ahaz saw the throne, kingdom, and people threatened by the alliance between Syria and Ephraim. But the birth of Hezekiah was the God-given sign that Judah would indeed be delivered.

Yet the tragedy for the house of David had grown even greater. Ahaz, though his throne was gravely threatened, still reigned. But Joseph, though his claim to the throne was legitimate, found himself displaced by Herod the Edomite, of whom Matthew 2 will speak further. The Romans held sway in the land of David and oppressed the people of Abraham. For an heir to the throne like Joseph, the wretched condition of the throne, people, and kingdom was a deep humiliation. This was far worse than what Ahaz once experienced. The humiliation of Ahaz is now fulfilled in Joseph.

But the promise of deliverance is also given anew, and fulfilled. This Son will not only deliver from the Syrians, as Hezekiah did; he will deliver his people from their sins. The humiliation is fulfilled; the promise is fulfilled; therefore also the sign is fulfilled. As proof that complete salvation is near, the angel gives Joseph the sign that Mary will bear a Son—the great royal child for whom David and faithful Israelites longed through the ages. The birth of this child is the guarantee of full redemption for his people, just as once the birth of Hezekiah was the pledge of national deliverance.

Christmas: The Guarantee of Full Redemption←⤒🔗

The birth of Christ is therefore the sign of the complete redemption of the church. Thus the sign of Immanuel is fulfilled.

Christmas proclaims to us—since we are today’s Israel—that we are redeemed from all our sins. The birth of Christ is the guarantee of this. And Christmas also tells us, even in a time of persecution, that God is indeed with us.

Now, as we once again celebrate Christmas, let each reader embrace this feast of salvation as the guarantee of the church’s full redemption. And together with the whole church let each one say in his heart: Immanuel!

On Christmas we show ourselves to be living members of the church precisely in this: that amid all darkness we confess with steadfast faith: God is with us!