Through the prophet Isaiah, the LORD had delivered a sign to King Ahaz of old. A virgin would bear a son, and she would call his name Immanuel. For Ahaz, who had made an unholy allegiance with the pagan Assyrian nation, and who failed to trust in the LORD for deliverance, this sign--Immanuel, "God with Us"--was a sign of judgment.
When the angel appears to Joseph in a dream, and delivers him the anxiety alleviating message, that the child conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit, Matthew tells us that this child was the fulfillment of Isaiah's prophecy; that this child is Immanuel, "God with us."
How were they to know this Immanuel was not a sign of judgment against them? Mary, for her apparently adulterous ways; and Joseph for even considering the possibility of not administering the full weight and punishment against a woman caught in adultery? If Immanuel was a sign of judgment against Ahaz, how could they know that it was not judgment again?
Because this child, says the angel by the command of God, will also be called Jesus. Not only Immanuel, but also called Jesus, this child would be the LORD's own coming in mercy and grace to bring about the salvation of sinners. Not only was Mary not an adulterer--for what was conceived in her was from the Holy Spirit; not only was Joseph able to take his beloved Mary as his wife; but this child would be the one in whom God was not only with them, but with them to save them--and all sinners! And this is Good News indeed! Uploaded on 2016-09-02
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