The Lord Shall Give You a Sign

“Therefore the Lord himself shall give you a sign, a virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel.”  Isaiah 7:14 KJV

This sign from the Lord himself was foretold to the prophet Isaiah 700 years before the birth of Christ. Surprisingly, Isaiah 7:14 is one of the most controversial verses in the Bible.  Critics often reject that Jesus was conceived by the Holy Spirit.  Many people deny the miracle of the virgin birth; they dismiss that Mary, a virgin in the strictest sense of the word, could bear a child.  They simply cannot comprehend the supernatural nature of the God of the Bible.

However, for the God who saved Daniel from the mouth of the lions and parted the Red Sea this is not a problem. The God of the Old Testament is the same God we worship today. Christians know the immutable power of God witnessed in the virgin birth, in the feeding of the 5,000 and in the communion of the saints.  We take comfort and rejoice in the name Immanuel, which means “God with us”.

In a world where evil surrounds and threatens us, the virgin birth is a sign of God’s grace and faithfulness to his people.  Just as Israel waited the coming of Messiah, we in these last days await his return. The virgin birth of Christ confirms all God spoke through the prophets; the resurrection of Jesus from the dead confirms that salvation is finished; his return confirms God’s covenant promise of eternal life.  “For the promise is to you and your children, and for all who are far off, as many as the Lord our God shall call to himself” (Acts 2:39).  We celebrate the miracle birth of our Lord Jesus Christ and await the glorious day of his return.