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…
Look for the daily devotional book “Equipped for Battle – From Generation to Generation”, the marriage book “So, You Want to Be Married”, “One Year in the Sermon on the Mount” and the new poetry book "Random Mushrooms Volumes I and II" and the new novel "Elizabeth County" in all major bookstore sites, http://www.amazon.com ; http://www.barnesandnobles.com ; download to e-books, and find it locally at www.mrzlc.com/bookstore.
Look for the daily devotional book “Equipped for Battle – From Generation to Generation”, the marriage book “So, You Want to Be Married”, “One Year in the Sermon on the Mount” and the new poetry book "Random Mushrooms Volumes I and II" and the new novel "Elizabeth County" in all major bookstore sites, http://www.amazon.com ; http://www.barnesandnobles.com ; download to e-books, and find it locally at www.mrzlc.com/bookstore.
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