December 3, The Sign
Therefore, the Lord Himself will give you a sign. Isaiah 7:14
God Himself gave a sign. I am sure for Mary that this didn’t seem as simple as a sign. For the shepherds on the hillside, their engagement with thousands upon thousands of angels seemed more than a sign. Even Joseph’s vision that called forth faith unlike any man could imagine, seemed more than simply a sign. So, why did the prophet, some 7 centuries before the first Christmas, announce the details of Christ’s birth as “a sign”?
In Biblical times, four specific and divine indicators were represented by such a sign:
The sign was a realization that God would initiate His divine plan in the most perfect way possible.
The sign was a demonstration of an eternal plan for the salvation of man.
The sign was a revelation that God Himself had all things completely in hand (even in the midst of significant military and political unrest that faced Judah during the time of this prophecy).
The sign was a manifestation that God had specifically interceded. He reached in.
The sign of God’s activity among man is always tangible, and always unmistakable. The sign is the undeniable. God becoming man. The Messiah. Although the sign mentioned in Isaiah 7:14 may have seemed to point toward something more immediate in history, Matthew 1:23 (a direct quote of this verse) proves that this prophecy pointed exclusively to Jesus Christ:
The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel (which means “God with us”).
Now that we understand that the sign marked God’s very real interposition with man, can we not understand how real and personal God proved Himself to be through the sign of the virgin birth? “The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and will call Him Immanuel (God with us).” Mary became pregnant by the Holy Spirit; this was a divine and sacred pregnancy that had never happened before and would never happen again. This is God coming to man in the form of man by way of humanity’s delivery method. Why? There was no other way for God to step into our lives so perfectly, personally, and precisely. He came to us. The greatest giver and the greatest lover came to us in the greatest form of love ever witnessed. God came to us. He is real; His presence is real. He can be trusted. Take hope. He is here for you.
Blessings.