A Virgin Shall be with Child Matthew 1:23

Matthew continued to share how there were three separate “fourteen generations” which were involved in Jesus' coming, and he referred to Jesus' birth by the Holy Spirit and through Mary before she and Joseph “came together”. “Joseph” was “not willing to make” Mary “a public example”, “But while he thought on these things, behold, the angel of the Lord appeared unto him in a dream, saying, Joseph, you son of David, fear not to take unto you Mary your wife: for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Ghost. And she shall bring forth a son, and you shall call his name JESUS: for he shall save his people from their sins. Now all this was done, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken of the Lord by the prophet, saying”, and in chapter one and verse twenty-three of his book, Matthew shares how the prophet declared, “Behold, a virgin shall be with child” where we read:

Behold, a virgin shall be with child, and shall bring forth a son,

and they shall call his name Emmanuel, which being interpreted is, God with us.

The verse reads, “Behold, a virgin shall be with child, and shall bring forth a son, ...” Matthew began with the word, “Behold” which means “lo and see”, “a virgin” or “a woman who has never had sexual intercourse with a man” “shall be” or “will exist” “with child” which means “will have, hold and possess a baby who is within her belly, womb or stomach”, “and shall bring forth” which means “will produce, birth and bear” “a son” or “a male child, descendant and posterity”. As he shared the prophecy of Jesus being born of a “virgin”, Matthew referred to Isaiah chapter seven and verse fourteen, “Therefore the Lord himself shall give you a sign; Behold, a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel” .

The verse continues, “... and they shall call his name Emmanuel, which being interpreted is, God with us.” Matthew added the words, “and they shall call” which means “people will utter in a voice and salute” “his name” or “the child of Mary's used for everything which the name covers, everything the thought or feeling of which is aroused in the mind by mentioning, hearing and remembering” “Emmanuel” which means “the title applied to the Messiah”, “which being interpreted is” which means “is translated into the language of one with whom I wish to communicate”, “God” which refers to “the Godhead bodily and trinity which is comprised of God the Father, Christ the Son and the Holy Spirit” “with us” or “occupying an intermediate position with people” . Matthew shared how Isaiah prophesied that the Messiah Jesus is “God with us” or God incarnate.

When we think through Matthew's words in this verse, we discover his reference to the Old Testament scripture as proof of Jesus being the Messiah. Isaiah the prophet wrote seven hundred plus years before the Messiah that He would be born of a “virgin”, and although some find this impossible, everything is possible with God. Jesus was born of the “virgin” Mary, and He was “God incarnate” and therefore called “Emmanuel” which means “God with us”. God came to identify with people so that He might “save” them from their “sins”, and those who search these things shall discover to what great lengths God has gone to bring forth His Savior Messiah into the world.

Next time Matthew tells how, “Joseph being raised from sleep did as the angel of the Lord had bidden him”, so read ahead, and we shall join together then.

Until tomorrow…there is more…

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